Rockbridge County, Virginia Genealogical Records Information

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Rockbridge County History and Information

Rockbridge County Facts

Rockbridge County was named for Natural Bridge, an exceptional rock formation located in the county. The county was formed from Augusta and Botetourt counties in 1778, and another part of Botetourt was added later. The area is 604 square miles, and the county seat is Lexington. The population is 20,808 according to the 2000 census. See Extended History for More information.

The Official County Website is located at http://www.co.rockbridge.va.us/ . Cities, Towns and Communities include Glasgow, Goshen, Brownsburg (unincorporated) and Raphine (unincorporated)

Microfilm available for Rockbridge County at The Library of Virginia
Rockbridge County, Virginia History Books at Amazon.com
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

There are free downloadable and printable forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms, U.K. Census Extraction Forms, Research Calendar, Ancestral Chart, Research Extract, Correspondence Record , Family Group Sheet , Source Summary Form.

Rockbridge County Court Records

See Also Virginia Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

   Rockbridge County Clerk of the Circuit Court has Marriage Records from 1778 , Land Records from 1778 , Probate Records from 1778 and Court Records from 1778 and is located at the County Courthouse on 2 South Main Street, Lexington, VA 24450; 540/463-2232, Fax: 540/463-3850 .
   The Clerk of the Circuit Court is a constitutional official that is elected by the voters of Rockbridge County.
The Clerk is charged with responsibilities that include judicial and non-judicial duties.
   The Clerk provides administrative support for Circuit Court by preparing, recording, and maintaining court orders, subpoenas, and pleadings. The Clerk's Office also manages juries, disposal of evidence, collection of criminal fines and costs. Inquiries concerning the Court's procedures and policies and the records should be directed to the Clerk's Office, which serves as a repository for the Court's records.
   Non-judicial duties include the authority to probate wills, grant administration of estates, appoint guardians, issue marriage licenses. The Clerk acts as the Register of Deeds by recording all deeds, deeds of trust, real estate liens, releases and powers of attorney.
   The Clerk acts as the county archivist by maintaining records of the Court, real estate, probate and numerous other county records. Records management is an immense and critical responsibility of the Clerk's Office due to the volume and types of records.

There are a few online databases for Court, Land and Probate Records which include: Virginia Land, Marriage, and Probate Records, 1639-1850, Virginia County Records, Volume VI, Volume VII and Volume IX

Click Here to Search Virginia Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Below is a list of online resources for Rockbridge County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Rockbridge County Court Records by clicking the link below:

Rockbridge County, Virginia Court Books at Amazon.com
Virginia Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.

Rockbridge County Vital Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

Virginia's tax records are a rich—and largely untapped—resource. During the Colonial period, there were three basic forms of taxation: the quitrent, the parish levy, and the poll tax.
The quitrent was a land tax that had its roots in English manorial society where “the land obligations due the manor, such as plowing and haying the lord's land, were computed to an annual money payment. Upon payment, the obligations were `quit' for the year.” Those living south of the Rappahannock River paid a quitrent to the Crown. An original, incomplete list of land owners for the region in 1704 is in the Public Record Office in London and has been published several times, not always reliably. Residents of the Northern Neck, between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers, paid quitrents to the agents of Lord Fairfax. Many original rent rolls of the Fairfax proprietary are housed at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Extant original rent rolls and facsimiles for Virginia are available at The Library of Virginia.
The parish levy was an annual tax paid by all tithables for support of their ministers, maintenance of the parishes' glebe lands (the parsonage and lands producing income for the parish), and support of the poor of the parish.
The poll tax, except for a brief period from 1645 to 1648, was the main source of revenue for the colony of Virginia. The annual poll tax was computed by dividing the total expenses of the colony and individual counties by the total number of tithables. The result was levied on each tithable.
Tithables were variously defined during the colonial period. The first definition, in 1624, was “every male head above sixteen years of age.” All agricultural workers were added in 1629. In 1643 all males and black females aged sixteen or over were tithables. Imported male servants of any age were added in 1649.
The definition of “tithable” was rewritten in 1658. Tithables included free males aged sixteen or over, imported blacks of either sex, imported white male servants, and Indian servants of either sex; white women employed in agriculture were added in 1662. Complaints from planters with increasing numbers of indentured servants and slaves led to a revision in 1680 that declared Virginia-born male slaves taxable at age twelve and imported male servants taxable at age fourteen; nonwhite women and free males remained taxable at age sixteen.
The laws of Virginia were revised in 1705. From then until 1782, all males and nonwhite females aged sixteen or over were tithables. Wives of free nonwhite males were added in 1723.
Virginia's tax system changed after the Revolutionary War to include taxing land and personal property in 1782, with further revision in 1787. The bulk of those tax lists prior to 1850 survive and are available on microfilm at The Library of Virginia.

Below is a list of online resources for Rockbridge County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Rockbridge County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

Rockbridge County, Virginia Tax Books at Amazon.com

Rockbridge County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Virginia Genealogical Addresses

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Rockbridge County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Rockbridge County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Rockbridge Area Genealogical Society (RAGS), P.O. Box 92, Rockbridge Baths, VA 24473
Rockbridge Historical Society, 101 East Washington Street, Lexington, VA 24450, (540) 464-1058
Leyburn Library, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA 24450, (540) 463-8640
Virginia Military Institute Archives, Preston Library, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, VA 24450, (540) 464-7228
Local Virginia Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
The Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000; 804-692-3500
Virginia Genealogical Society, 5001 West Broad Street, Suite 115, Richmond, Virginia 23230-3023; Telephone (804) 285-8954
Please note that because of our close proximity to the Library of Virginia and the Virginia Historical Society, the Virginia Genealogical Society does not maintain a research facility or surname material.
Virginia Historical Society, 428 North Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia 23220, Phone: 804.358.4901
Mail: P.O.Box 7311, 23221-0311;Hours: Monday-Saturday 10-5 / Sunday 1-5 (galleries only)
Virginia Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Virginia Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com

Rockbridge County Church & Cemeteries

Click Here to Search Virginia Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Rockbridge County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Rockbridge County Tombstone Transcription Project.

Unlike New England, colonial Virginia left few early church records. The first Virginians were members of the Church of England, or Anglican church, which became the Episcopal Church in 1786. Early parish registers are incomplete and challenging to use. Parish boundaries changed rapidly and are hard to pinpoint.
Since colonial times, many religious groups have established congregations in Virginia, including Baptist, Catholic, Jewish, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Quaker or Friends, to name a few. Except for the Quakers, few of these groups kept records containing such genealogical information as birth, marriage, and death dates. A number of church vestry books and registers have been published and are available at The Library of Virginia and the FHL.

The list of published tombstone inscriptions for Virginia, if a comprehensive list existed, would be lengthy. The DAR has compiled an extensive collection of Virginia tombstone inscriptions. The collection, along with other cemetery record publications, can be found at the DAR Library in Washington, D.C., The Library of Virginia, the Virginia Historical Society, and the FHL.

Cemetery interment registers and gravestone inscriptions may often be sources of useful information for Virginia researchers. The state government does not have a long, uninterrupted, centralized file of birth and death records that are readily accessible to researchers. Wars, floods, and fires have destroyed the vital record of many of Virginia's counties. Oftentimes, information found in cemetery records and on gravestones cannot be found anywhere else. When looking for a specific cemetery in Virginia, you may wish to start with the following comprehensive resource.

Below is a list of online resources for Rockbridge County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Rockbridge County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Virginia Old Churches, Vol. 1
Virginia Old Churches, Vol. 2
Virginia Early Quaker Records
The Virginia Baptist Historical Society
L. T. Christian Funeral Home Records Database - indexes the client files contained in the forty-one cubic feet of records covering the period 1912-1986.
J. Henry Brown Monuments Inc., Order Book - a searchable database indexing tombstone inscriptions covering the period 1899-1907. Many of the individuals listed were born before Virginia began keeping vital statistics in 1853.
Rockbridge County, Virginia Cemetery Books at Amazon.com
Rockbridge County, Virginia Church Books at Amazon.com

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Click Here to Search Virginia Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Rockbridge County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Rockbridge County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Rockbridge County, Virginia Family Books at Amazon.com

Extended History

Thus arose the valley's name: Shenandoah - Clear-Eyed Daughter of the Stars. The Valley was first viewed by English settlers in 1716 by then Virginia Governor Spottswood and a company of explorers, the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe, when they viewed it from the peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Scotch-Irish and German immigrants coming from Pennsylvania began to settle the valley in the 1730's and established themselves along a well worn Indian path, known as the Great Wagon Road, that traversed the center of the valley. This road is still traveled today and is called The Valley Pike - U.S. Rt. 11. Indians from Georgia to Canada used this well watered path as a migratory route and hunting grounds. Resident tribes in the valley were probably sparsely settled in small villages and raised a few crops in addition to their traditional hunting, trapping and fishing.

Benjamin Borden received a royal grant, that included what is now Rockbridge County, with the stipulation that he would settle a hundred families there. He, therefore, made portions of this land available to settlers for the establishment of farms. The name of the county was derived from the "Rocky Bridge", an early reference to The Natural Bridge of Virginia, located in the southern portion of the county and one of the natural wonders of the world. The name of the county is unique as it has never been duplicated, to our knowledge, by any other county in the United States.

The shape of the county is in the form of an irregular rectangle stretching 32 miles down the Great Valley of Virginia. The Blue Ridge Mountains bound it on the east, and the Allegheny Mountains form its boundary on the west. Most of the county, as it appeared to early settlers, was comprised largely by meadows and savannas surrounded by beautifully rolling hills bordered by the two large mountain ranges. Soon farmsteads formed along the bottomlands and in the foothills began producing surplus grains and beef. Mills that processed wheat, barley, rye, and corn served as community business centers. Hunting and trapping supplemented farm production, and bounties for wolves and other predators helped produce cash.

With the arrival of the sawmill and the development of better methods of making brock came a half century of significant growth and development. Many of the buildings in and around the present City of Lexington date back to the early 19th century when men like John Jordan, ironmaster and engineer, built many substantial homes, bridges, mills, roadways, and iron furnaces throughout the county.

The coming of canals to the county spelled the end of bateau travel, By 1850, the James River and Kanawha Canal were completed through Balcony Falls. Starting from Glasgow, in the southern part of the county, the canal arrived at Lexington in 1852 and caused the creation of more facilities, such as warehouses, to take advantage of the convenience

The Civil War had a profound effect on the county. Union General Hunter burned Virginia Military Institute and pillaged Washington College yet spared most of Rockbridge County from the devastation that was experienced by some of our neighbors to the north.

Among the great men who have been born in Rockbridge County over the years are Cyrus McCormick (inventor of the reaper which revolutionized farming), Sam Houston (Senator of two states, trailblazer,governor & president of Texas ), "Big Foot" Wallace (well known frontiersman) and James A. Gibbs. Among those who have lived here are Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

Buena Vista originated from the unexpected construction of two railroads in 1880. Surrounding a junction, the resulting village of Green Forest, inhabited by approximately 100 persons, occupied the area now covered by Beech Avenue, Canal Street, Brook Street, Allegheny Avenue and Twenty Ninth Street. the laid off for the town amounted to about 900 acres. The streets, which were 75' wide, generally conformed to the cardinal points of the compass. The twenty six north-south avenues were given the names of trees while the east-west streets were numbered. The business quarter was established next to the river along the railroad tracks, while the residential section was established toward the Blue Ridge and spread somewhat onto some of its lower foothills. Under the management of A.T. Barclay, the Buena Vista Company was created in 1889 to promote the development of the iron resources of the vicinity, to utilize the water power of the North River (now known as the Maury River), and to create an industrial and manufacturing center. Within a year, Buena Vista was established as a town with a population of approximately 400 and all the promise of good things to come.

The construction of the Norfolk and Western Railroad helped trigger a great land boom in 1889 over the entire Valley. access to the industrial cities of the North would be easier and quicker. People eager to take advantage of the opportunities relocated to the town and by February 15, 1892 it had a population of 5,240 persons. The City of Buena Vista quickly became the center for this "boom" activity in the county. It was incorporated as a first class city in 1891 and thus became politically independent of Rockbridge County.

The attraction to Buena Vista was iron ore which was located in the foothills, The Buena Vista Company decided to build a furnace to convert pig iron to steel and opened an old mine which had been use for many years before by John Jordan. Though the furnace was operated for many years , the supply of local ore only lasted a short time and the furnace had to be fed by ores transported over a long distance. Subsequently, a fertilizer factory was built along with a glass plant, woolen mills, firebrick plant and a foundry. The Buena Vista Paper Mills manufactured from eight to ten tons of books, news and wrapping paper per day. The Buena Vista Cassimere Mills, producer of cassimere and woolen cloths, was capable of 650 yards per day of 3 quarter goods. The Marr Egg Crate Company manufactured its owner's patented invention designed for the safe transportation of eggs. The Wise Wagon Works, which was capable of producing 1,000 wagons per year, and the Wilbourne Saddle and Harness Factory, were also located in Buena Vista. The panic of 1893 signaled the end of the land boom. and like many other boom towns of the period, Buena Vista suffered.as a result. By that time it had over 5,000 residents and 19 industries employing 1,000 workers. Buena Vista's hearty people survived the crash better than most other towns that experienced the same disappointments. and has always managed to bounce back so that progress is steady toward the establishment of a viable economy. It has also been the victim over the years of mother nature's hand in the form of occasional flooding that has occurred mostly in the downtown business district. The Army Corps. of Engineers, however, is close to completing a floodwall project that will make such occurrences a thing of the past.

A hotel built by the Buena Vista Company in 1890 burned down and another was constructed shortly thereafter. While it never attracted many visitors, the hotel was eventually converted into the Southern Seminary Junior College for Women. This institution for higher learning, which served young ladies from all over the country for many years, became the Southern Virginia College for Women in the 1990s and recently was rejuvenated by the establishment of Southern Virginia College, a four year, co-educational institution for higher learning that will probably serve as the catalyst for another boom period for Buena Vista's economy.

In in the Spring of 1778. The name chosen by the Virginia Legislature for the new county seat was in honor of the first battle of the Revolutionary War, the battle of Lexington, Massachusetts, which has occurred three years earlier. It was created at the junction of the "Great Road" and the "Midland Trail". These two are now called the Valley Pike (U.S. Rt. 11) and Midland Trail (Rt. 60).

Thomas Jefferson, who owned a tract of land in the new county that included the Natural Bridge, is reported to have played a part in naming the county as well as the town of Lexington.

Lexington, which benefited from its location on the Great Wagon Road and close to the North River (now known as the Maury River), was originally 1,300 feet long and 900 feet wide. It was smaller than what today comprises the city's Central Business District (CBD). Four original interior blocks were created by the intersection of Henry, Washington and Nelson Streets by Randolph, Main and Jefferson Streets. All but one was named after prominent supporters of the nation's struggle for independence.

The City of Lexington was incorporated in 1841 and almost from the beginning its main industry was education. Liberty Hall Academy was established in 1790 just to the west of the town. When George Washington made a sizable gift to the college's endowment, the institution's name was changed to Washington College so as to honor the nation's first president. At the end of the Civil War the presidency of the college was offered to General Robert E. Lee who presided over it for the five years preceding his death. Upon his death the trustees renamed the school Washington & Lee University. Today, it enjoys a reputation as one of the finest coeducational centers of learning in the country. Its enrollment is in excess of 1600 undergraduates and 350 law students.

In 1816 the General Assembly of Virginia established three arsenals for the the housing of arms. One of these was built in Lexington. By the mid 1830's a prominent local attorney and graduate of Washington College, John T.L. Preston, advocated the establishment of a state military school at the arsenal. The Virginia Military Institute enrolled its first cadets in November of 1839 and prospered in the years prior to the Civil War. Among its faculty was Major Thomas J. Jackson, soon to become known as "Stonewall Jackson" and be noted as one of the South's most famous and revered heroes. The rigid military lifestyle of V.M.I. together with its reputation for requiring academic excellence in engineering, the sciences and liberal arts has earned it a national reputation for producing graduates who consistently go on to achievements in both the military and business worlds.

Lexington began to grow with the arrival of the railroad arrived between 1860 and 1880 as well as with the speculative real estate boom of the 1890's which saw the Lexington Land Company acquire 1,275 acres to the west of the town and along the railroad and river fronts. Lots were marketed in the spring and summer of 1891 but there were few buyers at the time. The stage was set, however, for the expansion which was to take place as the new century arrived.

A modern bridge was constructed over the Maury River in 1935, replacing an old covered bridge that had been there for years and could not handle the increased traffic the growing town was entertaining. The present Rt. 11 going uphill from the city was constructed and the Rt. 11 bypass was completed in 1956 giving driver the option of going around town rather than through it. Commercial shopping began to be constructed along East Nelson Street in the early 1960's and this area now serves as a second major commercial center within the city limits.

Interstate 81 (I-81) was constructed through the heart of the Shenandoah Valley in the early 1960's as well. Two Lexington exits were provide at that time. This replaced Rt.11 as the main north-south artery connecting various cities and towns in the Valley. It also meant that the valley had become a major conduit for truck and automobile traffic.

Interstate 64 (I-64) leading traffic from I-81, as it passed north of Lexington, to Charleston, West Virginia was completed in 1978. Lexington now finds itself conveniently located at the junction of two interstate highways giving the traveler easy north/south and east/west access.

Today, Lexington serves as the retail, cultural and historic center of Rockbridge County as well as the home of local government and the courts. The addition of major shopping centers both within its boundaries and to its north on U.S. Rt. 11 has changed the character of the retail trade within its CBD. Thanks to the Historic Lexington Foundation, Lexington Downtown Development Association and active Chamber of Commerce, Lexington's downtown is a thriving collection of shops and restaurants housed in restored buildings with brick sidewalks and old fashioned lantern street lamps that serve the many visitors and tourists that come here all year long. Because of the style of the city as well as its many historic attractions (such as the Stonewall Jackson House, Lee Chapel, Marshall Museum, historic walking tour and carriage rides), tourism is challenging education as the city's largest industry.

The entire town is well known for its outstanding architecture, record for historic preservation, friendly people, cleanliness and extremely low crime rate. In short, Lexington is a very unique and special place. But don't take our word for it.

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