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Roanoke County History and Information |
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| Roanoke County was named for the Roanoke River. The name is an Indian word meaning shell money. The county was formed from Botetourt County in 1838, and part of Montgomery County was added later. Its area is 248 square miles, and the county seat is Salem. The population is 85,778 according to the 2000 census. See Extended History for More information.
The Official County Website is located at http://www.roanokecountyva.gov/ . Cities, Towns and Communities include Vinton, Bent Mountain, Bonsack, Bradshaw, Catawba, Cave Spring, Glenvar, Hollins and Masons Cove
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See Also Virginia Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records
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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. |
Roanoke County Clerk of the Circuit Court has Marriage Records from 1838 , Land Records from 1838 , Probate Records from 1838 and Court Records from 1838 and is located at the County Courthouse on Second Floor, Room 200, 305 East Main Street, Salem, VA 24153 and/or P. O. Box 1126, Salem, VA 24153; (540) 387-6205.
The Clerk of the Circuit Court is a constitutional official that is elected by the voters of Roanoke 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.
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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
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Below is a list of online resources for Roanoke County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Roanoke County Court Records by clicking the link below:
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See Also Vital Records in Virginia
Some documents are just too important to wait six weeks for. With VitalChek Express Certificate Service you won't have to. Birth, Marriage, Divorce or Death Certificates Signed. Sealed. Delivered. Often in as few as three business days!
Vital Statistics include the official recordation of marriages, births, and deaths. Bible records, cemetery records, and church records are private sources that may supplement the official records.
A law requiring the systematic statewide recording of births and deaths was passed by the General Assembly on April 11 1853. Every commissioner of revenue registered births and deaths in his district annually and forwarded the information to the clerk of court, who then supplied the information to the state Auditor of Public Accounts. This law continued in effect until 1896. The Auditor turned the lists over to the Bureau of Vital Statistics in 1918 and the registers were later transferred to the state archives.
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The Library of Virginia has copies of surviving birth and death records for the period 1853 to 1896 and marriage records prior to 1936. Also you can order birth and death records online quickly and easily via VitalChek! Usually you recieve them in 2-5 days. |
Virginia Department of Health, Office of Vital Records is located at The Shops at Willow Lawn,
1601 Willow Lawn Drive,
Suite 275,
Richmond, VA 23220;
Ph: (804) 662-6200. The mailing address is
VDH, Office of Vital Records,
and Health Statistics,
P.O. Box 1000,
Richmond, Virginia,
23218-1000. They have the following records:
- Births and Deaths: 1853-1896 and June 1912 to present. Birth cards are no longer available. Only the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Richmond have records between 1896 and June 14, 1912. Click Here to Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE
- Marriage Records: 1853 to the present. If the records are not available from the State office, they should be available from the Clerk of Court in county where the marriage license was issued.
- Divorce Records: 1918 to the present. If the records are not available from the State office, they should be available from the Clerk of Court in county where the marriage license was issued.
Birth records are public information 100 years after the date of the event; death, marriage, and divorce records, 50 years after the event. Due to limited resources they are unable to conduct geneology searches. Contact the Library of Virginia for assistance at http://www.lva.lib.va.us/.
For all birth records, please allow 10 business days. All marriage records, death records, divorce records, non-automated birth records and documents requiring amendments, please allow a delivery time of 4 to 6 weeks. Marriage and divorce records are available at the Circuit Court in which the event took place. Recent death records are available at the local health department where the death certificate was filed. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering HERE
The fee to search for a birth, Marriage or Death certificate is $12.00, which includes one certified copy of the certificate or a "Certificate of Failure to Find." Make checks and money orders should be made payable to "State Health Department ". Please do not send cash. Credit Cards may be uses by using VitalChek services. Fees are non refundable. Additional fees are required for expedited service. Mail all Applications to:Vital Records,
VDH, Office of Vital Records, and Health Statistics, P.O. Box 1000, Richmond, Virginia, 23218-1000 . You can download an application online for Birth, Death, Marriage or Divorce Certificates. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering HERE
Below is a list of online resources for Roanoke County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Roanoke County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
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See Also Research In Census Records
Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Roanoke County, Virginia are 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Roanoke County, Virginia are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880.
See Also Statewide Records that exist for Virginia
Below is a list of online resources for Roanoke County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Roanoke County Census Records by clicking the link below:
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Virginia Antique Maps & Atlases has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Virginia and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Virginia showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Virginia showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries . You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps.
Below is a list of online resources for Roanoke County Maps. Email us with websites containing Roanoke County Maps by clicking the link below:
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See Also Military Records in Virginia
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. A list of Wars fought on American. Read more detailed information on Virginia Military Records and the various wars.
Below is a list of online resources for Roanoke County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Roanoke County Military Records by clicking the link below:
- Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 from the State of Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
- Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War from the State of Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
- Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files from the State of Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, from NARA publication M804.
- Southern Claims Commission from the State of Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
- Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900 from the State of Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Pension applications for service in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served.
- Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from Virginia units, labeled with each soldier's name, rank, and unit, with links to revealing documents about each soldier.
- Virginia Military Dead Database - ongoing project indexing more than 700 sources and listing approximately 32,326 Virginians who have died in service.
- Roanoke County, Virginia Military Books at Amazon.com
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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 Roanoke County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Roanoke County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
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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 Roanoke County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Roanoke County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
- Roanoke Valley Historical Society Museum and Library,
One Market Square, P.O. Box 1904,
Roanoke, VA 24011,
(540) 342-5770
- Salem Historical Society,
Box 201,
Salem, VA 24153
- 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
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See Also Church & Cemetery Records in Virginia
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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 Roanoke County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Roanoke 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 Roanoke County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Roanoke County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
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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 Roanoke County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Roanoke County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
- Search 60 Years Of Everton Data
: For the first time ever you can get access to more than 150,000 pedigree files and family group sheets from Evertons. Learn More
- Search the Family Tree DNA Project- Use DNA testing to break through your genealogical barriers!
- Sites on USGenweb: [ Roanoke County ] [ Virginia ] [ Main Page ]
- [GenForum Message Boards] [Rootsweb Message Boards]
- Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
- Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
- Meet your ancestors. Learn their stories. Start your FREE family tree.
- Virginia Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
- Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
- Roanoke County, Virginia Family Books at Amazon.com
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Named for Lord Botetourt, a royal Governor of Virginia, Botetourt County was formed in 1769 with boundaries extending west to the Mississippi River. Roanoke County was formed from a portion of this land in 1838.
By the 1740s, the first Scotch-Irish and German settlers reached the upper Roanoke Valley by traveling from Pennslyvania through the Shenandoah Valley. They were joined by Tidewater Virginians of English ancestry who journeyed up the valleys of the James and Roanoke rivers.
Roanoke’s earliest era of pioneer settlement produced two major military and political leaders. General Andrew Lewis and Col. William Fleming headed troops from Virginia who defeated the Shawnee at the Battle of Point Pleasant on the Ohio River in 1774. Both Lewis and Fleming then served as western Virginia leaders in the cause of the American Revolution.
The county today (population 80,000) is the mostly affluent surburban area surrounding the City of Roanoke. It includes the Town of Vinton as well as Hollins, home of prestigious Hollins College for women, and historic Bonsack.
Roanoke County’s name comes from the Indian word "Rawrenock", which means wampum. These were white shell beads worn by native Americans. This explanation was handed down from Captain John Smith, who wrote about the origins of Roanoke Island in North Carolina’s Albemarle Sound.
Many of the county’s areas are named for its mountain peaks. One of the most unusual names is Twelve O’ Clock Knob. The Mountain got its name because slaves west of Salem could look at it and tell it was time for lunch when the sun was at a point over the mountain’s 2,707-foot peak.
Another of Roanoke County’s natural resources, underground springs, sparked names for many areas. These include Virginia Etna Springs, site of a former water bottling plant, and Botetourt Springs Resort. Begun in the 1820s, the resort became the nucleus of Hollins College. Another important spring was Big Cook Spring in Bonsack, an area heavily damaged by the Civil War.
Two blanket factories were located in Bonsack during the War between the States. Legend has it that one blanket factory was burned to the ground by the Yankees. However, the second was spared because its owner, with fingers crossed, promised not to sell blankets to the nearby Confederate merchants down the road in Roanoke City.
East of Vinton lies Bonsack, the home of Jim Bonsack. He quit Roanoke College to work on a competition for the first cigarette rolling machine. Young Bonsack won $75,000 competition prize, patented his invention in 1880 at the age of 22, made a fortune and spawned a national industry.
Roanoke County’s pioneering spirit extends to modern times. The county was the first in the state to have curbside recycling. It also has been nationally recognized for governmental cooperation, quality of life and support of the Explore Park.
Explore, a unique recreational and educational experience, is the county’s tourism focus. It opened in 1994, after the National Park Sevice completed a road to the area. This Park is located in East County near Vinton. Explore includes a frontier settlement, North American wilderness zoological park and environmental education center. This park will be completed in various phases with a major emphasis on environmental preservation.
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