Amherst County, Virginia Genealogy

United States

Virginia

Amherst County

Guide to Amherst County, Virginia ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Virginia Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Amherst Organized: May 1, 1761 Parent County(s): Albemarle Neighboring Counties Appomattox • Bedford • Campbell • Lynchburg (Independent City) • Nelson • Rockbridge See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

Amherst County is located in the Piedmont region near the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was named in honor of Lord Jeffery Amherst, British Commander-in-Chief.

County Courthouse

Amherst County Courthouse
113 Taylor Street
Amherst, Virginia, 24521
Phone: 434-946-9351
Amherst County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, probate court and land records from 1761

Amherst County, Virginia Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records
Birth	Marriage	Death	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1853	1761	1853	1761	1761	1761	1810
* Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1912. General compliance year is unknown.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Parent County: Created from Albemarle County seat: Amherst Virginia Individual County Chronologies - Newberry Library list of all boundary changes by county Virginia Historical Borders - Map at Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Also at: mapofus.org - animated maps illustrating Virginia county boundary changes

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Towns
Amherst
Unincorporated communities
Clifford Elon	Sweet Briar Monroe	Riverville Stapleton
Census-designated places
Madison Heights

History Timeline

1st Baron Amherst

The county was named after Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst (1717-1797). Amherst conquered what is now Canada for the British during the French and Indian War.

Resources

Bible Records

For databases and indexes, see Virginia Bible Records.

• 1607-2007 Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Amherst County, Virginia online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find a Grave VAGenWeb USGenWeb Archives VA Tombstone Transcription Project BillionGraves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Find a Grave FamilySearch Places
See Virginia Cemeteries for more information.

• 1800-1986 Virginia, Jewish Cemetery Records Index, ca. 1800-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Census Records

For databases, indexes, and information online, see Virginia Census.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	13,703	—
1800	16,801	22.6%
1810	10,548	−37.2%
1820	10,423	−1.2%
1830	12,071	15.8%
1840	12,576	4.2%
1850	12,699	1.0%
1860	13,742	8.2%
1870	14,900	8.4%
1880	18,709	25.6%
1890	17,551	−6.2%
1900	17,864	1.8%
1910	18,932	6.0%
1920	19,771	4.4%
1930	19,020	−3.8%
1940	20,273	6.6%
1950	20,332	0.3%
1960	22,953	12.9%
1970	26,072	13.6%
1980	29,122	11.7%
1990	28,578	−1.9%
2000	31,894	11.6%
2010	32,353	1.4%
Source: "Wikipedia.org"

1783 Enumeration

• Amherst County Heads of Families - 1783 at U.S. Census Bureau. County begins on page 47.

1785 Enumeration

• Amherst County Heads of Families - 1785 at U.S. Census Bureau. County begins on page 83.

1890 Union Veterans

• Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. By Ronald Ray Turner. FS Catalog book 975.5 X2t 1890; film 1425065, item 14.
• 1890 Veterans Schedules of the U.S. Federal Census. Online at: Ancestry ($). Includes this county.

Church Records

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Baptist

• 1776 Petition of Baptists (10,000 names!) and sympathizers from all over Virginia, dated 16 October 1776, asking for an end to persecution of Baptists by the established church. After locating your ancestor, view the digital copies.
  – Digital copies at Library of Congress; also at Library of Virginia
  – Hall, Jean Pickett. "Legislative Petitions: the 10,000 name petition" transcription in the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vols. 35-38, with annotations in Vol. 39, (Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Genealogical Society, 1983-) online at Ancestry ($) and in book form at various libraries.
  

Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):

1. Buffaloe River (by 1771). Edwards published a membership list dated 1771 in Materials Towards a History of the Baptists... (1772), 66.
2. Ebenezer (1773)

Amherst County fell within the bounds of the Albemarle Association.

Church of England

• See also Amherst Parish
• See also Lexington Parish
• Meade's 1861 history of parishes in Amherst County is online at: Internet Archive

Court Records

Online Court Indexes and Records

Chancery Court

• Amherst County Chancery Suits. By Lenora Higginbotham Sweeny. The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Jul., 1939), pp. 318-324. Online at: JSTOR ($). Loose chancery papers, also discusses Sweeny's discovery of Amherst's Revolutionary-era court order book.
• Indexed images of Amherst County, Virginia Chancery Records 1773-1879 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. Additional records are also available at the Amherst County Courthouse. These records, often concerned inheritance disputes and contain a wealth of genealogical information.

County Court

• Amherst County Chancery Suits. By Lenora Higginbotham Sweeny. The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Jul., 1939), pp. 318-324. Online at: JSTOR ($). Loose chancery papers, also discusses Sweeny's discovery of Amherst's Revolutionary-era court order book.

Directories

• 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary

Emigration and Immigration

For databases and immigrant groups, see Virginia Emigration and Immigration

• List of imported servants and transported convicts from Europe who served labor terms in Colonial Virginia are online at: Immigrant Servants Database.
  

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

African American

• 1865-1872 Virginia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1935-2009 Virginia, African-American Funeral Programs, 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• Amherst County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1822. By Paul Heinegg. Online at: Free African Americans.
• Strangers in Their Midst the Free Black Population of Amherst County, Virginia. 1993. By Sherrie S. McLeRoy. Bowie, Maryland : Heritage Books. Online at: eBook-Unlimited ($), AncestorStuff ($), FS Catalog 975.5496 F2m; At various libraries (WorldCat). Information was taken from the register of free blacks, census listings, tax records, deeds, wills, marriages and land plats. Time period covers 1761-1865.
• Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans in Amherst County.
• Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware. c2005. By Paul Heinegg. Online at: Free African Americans of North Carolina and Virginia. At various libraries (WorldCat).

Funeral Homes

• 1935-2009 Virginia, African-American Funeral Programs, 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Driskill Funeral Chapel in Amherst Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory in Madison Heights Whitten Monelison Chapel in Madison Heights

Genealogies

Compiled Genealogies by Surname

• See Amherst County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of 225+ published books and Articles, or jump to a surname using the alphabet bar.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families:

• Hardesty, H.H., James S. Presgraves, Jay Cregger, and Diane Neeley. Amherst County Families and History: Compiled from Henry Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopaedia. Wytheville, Va.: J. Presgraves, 1995. FS Library Book 975.5496 D2h
  
• Heinegg, Paul. Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware. 2005-present. - free online book. Ailstock, Ampey, Arnold, Beverly, Brannum, Clark, Coy, Evans, Ferrar, Fields, Fortune, Hailstock, Hartless, Humbles, Jackson, Jenkins, Johns, Key, Lansford, Lantor, Mallory, Mason, Peters, Pinn, Redcross, Sneed, Thomas, Valentine, and Viers families of pre-1820 Amherst County, Virginia.
• Pritchett, John W. Southside Virginia Genealogies. CD-ROM. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. Free online index, courtesy: Virginians - The Family History of John W. Pritchett. [Includes information about residents of Amherst County, see discussion of cited sources.] FS Library US/CAN CD-ROM no. 3887.
• Seaman, Catherine Hawes Coleman. Tuckahoes and Cohees: The Settlers and Cultures of Amherst and Nelson Counties 1607-1807. Sweet Brier, Va.: Sweet Briar College Printing Press, 1992. FS Library Book 975.549 H2sc
  

Land and Property Records

For land indexes, records, and databases, see Virginia Land and Property, including Colonial and State Land Grants.

Online Land Indexes and Records

• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Grants and Patents
Land patents (pre-1779), land grants (after 1779) and surveys are available online at the Library of Virginia website. For step-by-step instructions on retrieving these records, read the Virginia Land and Property article.

• Bannister, 971 patents dated 1738-1844 in what is now Amherst and Nelson Counties, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2005. Names of those who received land patents, dates, land descriptions, and references may be viewed free of charge (click "Index" next to the county listing); however, in order to view the maps, it is necessary to purchase Direct Line Software's DeedMapper product.

Local Histories

Officials

• Amherst County Magistrates, 1779-1798. By Aubrey H. Starke. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1960):125-126. Available at FS Library US/CAN Book 975.5 B2vg. CD available at: New England Ancestors ($).

Maps and Gazetteers

County and state maps, historical and more current, are valuable research tools. For map collections, online and in libraries, see Virginia Maps.

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

French and Indian War

• Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. By William F. Boogher. 2007. Baltimore : Genealogical Pub. Co. Online at: Internet Archive; At various libraries (WorldCat). Includes a chapter titled "Legislative Enactments connecting the preceding historic sketch [French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore's War] with the adjudication of the resulting accounts that follow; with the list of officers, soldiers and civilians entitled to compensation for military and other services rendered." For Amherst County, see p. 104.
• Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. By Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck. 1988. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. Available at FS Library US/CAN Book 975.5 M2bL. Online at: Ancestry ($). Identifies some Amherst County veterans; see place name.

Revolutionary War

• "Petition by the Men of the Amherst County, Virginia Militia who fought at the Battle of Camden," transcribed by James Lynch.
• A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841. Washington : Blair and Rives. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($); At various libraries (WorldCat). See Virginia, Eastern District, Amherst County on page 128.
• Amherst County. By Lenora Higginbotham Sweeny. The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 9, No. 4 (Oct., 1929), p. 324. Online at: JSTOR ($). List, found in private papers, which appears to identify payments made to Amherst County residents for Revolutionary War provisions.
• Index to Revolutionary Pension and Bounty-Land Documents at the Library of Virginia. 2012. Compiled by C. Leon Harris. Online at: Library of Virginia.
• Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." FS Library Book 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). Includes veterans. Virginia section begins on page 238.
• Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War: McAllister's Data. By J. T. McAllister. c1913. Hot Springs, Virginia : McAllister Pub. Co. Online at: Hathitrust, Internet Archive; At various libraries (WorldCat).

Regiments. Service men in Amherst County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Accomack County supplied soldiers for the:

- 6th Virginia Regiment

- 10th Virginia Regiment

War of 1812
Amherst County men served in the 90th Regiments.

• List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... 1883. Washington, D.C : Government Printing Office. Online at: Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Vol. 5, Virginia, Amherst County, p. 61.
• Roster of War of 1812, Southside, Virginia. By James L. Douthat. 2007. Signal Mountain, Tenn : Mountain Press. Mountain Press provides online surname list. At various libraries (WorldCat).

Civil War

• 1861-1865 Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1861-1865 Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1861-1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
• 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
• Amherst County Families and History. Compiled from Henry Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopaedia. Inc. Includes the reigments that served, campaigns and unit rosters on pages 5-19. FS Catalog book 975.5496 D2h

Civil War service men in Amherst County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed here:

- 2nd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company E (Amherst Mounted Rangers)

- 19th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company H (The Southern Rights Guard) and Company I (The Amherst Rifles).

- 20th Battalion, Virginia Heavy Artillery (Confederate). Company D.

- 49th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company B (Amherst Rough and Readys) were presumably from Amherst County.

- 50th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F (Pedlar Mills Guard).

Records and histories are available, including:

World War II

• 1940-1945 Virginia, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1906-1929 Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Newspapers

For online newspaper resources, see the Virginia Newspapers page.

• 1800s-Current Virginia, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Indexed images of the Virginia Gazette (1736-1780) are available online through the Colonial Williamsburg website. In addition, Professor Tom Costa and The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia have created a database of all runaway advertisements for slaves, indentured servants, transported convicts, and ship deserters listed in this source and other Virginia newspapers (1736-1803), see: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia. These newspapers are valuable resources for all regions of Virginia.

Other Records

Petitions

• A Calendar of Legislative Petitions Arranged by Counties Accomac - Bedford (Virginia State Library). By H.J. Eckenrode. 1908. Richmond, Virginia : Davis Bottom, Superintendent of Public Printing. Online at: HathiTrust. Amherst County petitions (1775-1856) are described on pp. 107-132.

Probate Records

For statewide probate records, indexes, and databases, see Virginia Probate Records.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

• 1633-1800 Wills and Estate Records Index at Library of Virginia.
• 1639-1850 Virginia Land, Marriage and Probate Records 1639-1850 at Ancestry — index, incomplete ($)
• 1652-1900 Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• Digital Images of Amherst County Wills 1810-1831; 1832-1897. See names of Testators. Virginia Pioneers ($)
• Virginia Wills Before 1799: A Complete Abstract Register of All Names Mentioned in Over Six Hundred Recorded Wills, ... Copied from the Court House Records of Amherst, Bedford, Campbell, Loudoun, Prince William and Rockbridge Counties. 1924. By William M. Clemens. Pompton Lakes, NJ : Biblio Co. Online at: Access Genealogy, Ancestry ($). Mountain Press provides online surname list for their 2004 reprint.
• Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

For additional online collections and the value and use of Virginia's tax lists in your research, see Virginia Taxation.

Online Tax Indexes and Records

• 1782 Personal Property Tax List. Online at Genealogy Trails.
• 1782-1822 Amherst County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1822. By Paul Heinegg. Online at: Free African Americans.
• 1782-1851 Amherst County, Virginia Personal property tax lists, 1782-1851. Original records, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.; microfilmed reproduction available at FS films - images.
• 1783 Personal Property (or Land) Tax List, 1783. Online at: Revolutionary War Service.
• 1787 The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 & 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 & Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle & Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. By Netti Schreiner-Yantis and Florene Speakman Love. c1987. Springfield, Virginia : Genealogical Books in Print. At various libraries (WorldCat). Amherst County is included in Vol. 1.
• 1800 Amherst County, Virginia, 1800 Tax List. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1961):80-84; Vol. 5, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1961):125-130; Vol. 5, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1961):155-160; Vol. 6, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1962):18-22. FS Catalog 975.5 B2vg; online at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).
• 1800 Tax List, 1800. Bedford Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 9, No. 2 (May 1998); Vol. 9, No. 3 (Aug. 1998); Vol. 9, No. 4 (Nov. 1998).
• 1815 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). By Roger D. Ward. c1997. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co. FS Catalog 975 E4w. At various libraries (WorldCat).

Vital Records

For additional indexes, databases, and details, see Virginia Vital Records.

Birth

• 1715-1901 Virginia, Vital Records, 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1853-1866 Virginia, Slave Birth Index, 1853-1866 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1853-1896 Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Birth Records, 1853-1896 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images, coverage may vary
• 1912-1913 Virginia, Birth Certificates, 1912-1913 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1584-1917 Virginia Births and Christenings, 1584-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage

• 1660-1800 Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages - Findmypast ($).
• 1715-1901 Virginia, Vital Records, 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1753-1783, 1763-1852 Amherst County Marriages 1753-1783, 1763-1852 Virginia Pioneers ($)
• 1771-1989 Virginia, County Marriage Records, 1771-1989 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1785-1940 Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index ; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
• 1815-1821 Marriage Records of Amherst County, 1815-1821. 1961. By Lenora Higginbotham Sweeny. Lynchburg, VA : n.p. At various libraries (WorldCat).
• 1853-1935 Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, County Marriage Registers, 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
• 1936-1988 Virginia, Marriage Certificates, 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Death

• Deaths are online in the Library of Virginia's Death Index of Virginia, 1853-1896, sponsored by The Virginia Genealogical Society.
• 1715-1901 Virginia, Vital Records, 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1853-1911 Virginia, U.S., Death Registers, 1853-1911 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1853-1912 Virginia Deaths and Burials, 1853-1912 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1912-1987 Virginia, Death Certificates, 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Divorce

• 1918-1988 Virginia, Divorce Records, 1918-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Amherst County. For state-wide facilities, see Virginia Archives and Libraries.

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Buckingham Virginia FamilySearch Center
• Buena Vista Virginia FamilySearch Center
• Lynchburg Virginia FamilySearch Center

• Jefferson - Madison Regional Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Amherst County. For state-wide library facilities, see Virginia Archives and Libraries.

• Central Virginia Genealogical Association

Societies

Listed below are societies in Amherst County. For state-wide genealogical and historical societies, see Virginia Societies.

Websites

• Amherst County, Virginia USGENWEB
• Cyndi's List

• FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

• A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Amherst County. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1960):38-40. FS Library US/CAN Book 975.5 B2vg, CD available at: American Ancestors ($).