Mecklenburg

Names of Families in Mecklenburg County Genealogy, Wills, Estates, Marriages, Probate Records

Mecklenburg County was organized on March 1, 1765, having split off from Lunenburg County in 1764 as the result of the passage of an Act by the Virginia General Assembly. The result was that Lunenburg was divided in three counties, Lunenburg, Charlotte and Mecklenburg.
Images of Wills 1765 to 1782

–Note: These old documents were pasted together and there is some blurring —

Anderson, Thomas | Arnoll, James | Arnoll, James (2) | Atkinson, John | Baker, Zachariah | Baskerville, George | Bell, William | Bland, Merit | Bott, Ann | Bugg, Jacob | Bugg, Samuel | Burnett, John | Burton, Hutchins | Burton, Nowel | Burwell, Thacker | Cheatham, Leonard | Clarke, Jesse | Cockerham, Philip | Connell, Robert | Cooper, James | Cox, Bowling | Cradle, Briant | Dortch, Noah | Eastland, Thomas | Fargason, Sarah | Fox, Richard | Griffin, Francis | Greenwood, James | Greenwood, Robert | Greer, Joseph | Harris, William | Hatchell, William | Hester, Abraham | Hill, William | Holloway, James | Holmes, Isaac | Holmes, Samuel | Hudson, Charles | Hudson, Christopher | James, Robert | Jefferson, Field | Jeffries, John Jr. | Johnson, Daniel | Ladd, William | Lambert, James | Lawton, John | Lee, Walter | Lewis, Edward | Lucas, William | Luck, Dennis | Mabry, Anne | Maclin, Thomas | Mason, Ann | Mason, Thomas | Murphey, John | Murray, John | Phillips, Martin | Poole, William | Pughe, John | Ragsdale, Benjamin | Reed, John | Roberts, Alexander | Roberts, John | Rudd, Joseph | Ruffin, John | Ruffin, John (2) | Russell, Richard | Shelton, John | Skelton, William | Smith, Preston | Smith, Robert | Speed, John Jr. | Stewart, Martha | Stovall, Thomas | Stroud, John | Tarry, Samuel | Taylor, Thomas Sr. | Taylor, William | Thomason, James | Thompson, Wells | Tillman, Roger | Townsen, William | Tucker, James Tucker, Mat | Walker, Edward | Watson, James | Whitterman, Abraham | Whittmore, Lewis | Wiles, Robert | Willis, Richard | Wilton, Richard | Wright, Reuben | Young, Richard

Indexes to Probate Records
  • Index to Wills 1782-1788
  • Index to Wills 1788-1798
  • Index to Deed Book 5, 1777 to 1778
  • Index to Deed Book 6, 1779 to 1786
  • Index to Deed Book 7, 1786 to 1791
  • Index to Deed Book 8, 1792 to 1795
  • Index to Deed Book 9, 1795 to 1797
  • Index to Deed Book 10, 1798 to 1801
Images of Wills 1782-1788

Testators: Arnold, John | Ballard, John | Blackbourne, Thomas (first page missing from will book) | Bowen, Hicks | Bressie, Elizabeth | Bugg, Jacob | Burwell, Lewis | Camp, John | Carleton, Thomas Christopher, David | Clark, James | Clemonds, Edmund | Collins, Howell | Culbreath, William | Delony, Henry | Duncan, George | Evans, Thomas | Fox, William | Gregory, William | Hill, William | Hix, Amos | Johnson, James | Jones, Robert | Malone, Drury | Malone, Jones | Marable, Matthew | Marshall, John | Maynard, Nicholas | McNeel, John | Munford, R. | Newton, Henry | Ornsbey, Matt | Parish, John | Parish, Peter | Parish, Samuel | Perkins, David | Puryear, John | Puryear, Seymour | Ramsey, Gilbert | Roffe, William | Sandyland, James | Simpson, Richard | Smith, Drury | Speed, John | Stanback, George | Talley, Abraham | Taylor, Goodwyn | Vaughan, William | Walker, Silvanus | Watson, Isaac

Images of Wills 1788-1798

Testators: Allen, William | Baker, Jean | Bevell, Edward | Brame, John | Bugg, Jesse | Chandler, David | Draper, Joshua | Frankling, Owen | Gold, Daniel | Harper, John | Hyde, John Sr. | Jefferies, John | Jones, John Sr. | Keeton, John | Knight, Joseph | Lark, Robert | McGuire, John | Mealer, Philip | Moore, Thomas | Poindexter, Philip | Poindexter, Sarah | Rhodes, William | Smith, Augustin | Stevens, Mary | Taylor, Jesse | Vaughan, Mildenredge | Walker, Henry | Williams, Jones | Witton, Richard

Traced genealogies and family histories of Northampton County available to Members !
Starling
Images of Mecklenburg County Guardian Accounts
  • 1766 to 1793
  • 1802 to 1812
  • 1812 to 1825

Parish Registers Help to Locate the Family Seat

A 1620 tobacco field in Virginia. Early settlers planted in the streets and byways, the land was worn out from tobacco before the onset of the American Revolution. That is why families moved on. It is best not to bypass searching county parish records if they are available. Sometimes the only surviving records are church parish records which processioned the lands. That is, they surveyed the lands in the parish system which verified ownership and neighbors. One can compare this processioning with deed records and tax digests to acquire a better description of the home place. It is important to learn more about the earliest lands occupied by the ancestors. Use a topographical map or a good county map (with legends) to gain a better conception of the layout. It is surprising how things come together. A visit to the area is essential. I actually located the farms in Holland, Virginia of my ancestors using this method. The deeds, wills, estates, etc. did not survive. What did survive was old tax records. As members of the family died, and acreage was divided among the sons, I compared these names and acreage in the tax records. Since the acreage was odd amounts, it was easy to see to whom the acreage passed, down the line. Also, the digest denoted names like John to John Sr. and John Jr. This helped to separate the generations of families. As I toured the area, it was then easy to determine old planting fields and property lines by the age-old lay of the land surrounded and marked by old oak trees, some with cuts on the bark. The former dirt roads were intact. Finally, I understood. Find your Ancestors on 8 Genealogy Websites

Parish Registers Help to Locate the Family Seat

The first settlers to venture beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains were those families from the Germantown settlement to the south. These included the Fishbacks, Holtzclaws, Glascocks, Siers (Sayers), Hitts, and Leach. In 1726 and 1727, the Reverend Alexander Scott aquired two grants totaling 3,533 acres within the present town limits. William Carr, by 1769, had purchased a total of 1,000 acres from John Siers and his neighbor Richard Hailey. The two parcels called White Plains Farm, bordered an old, heavily traveled trail which later became the corner of Main Street and Halfway Road in The Plains. Mostly, the land was owned by absentee land lords and the homes which were built there were small structures. During the 18th and 19th centuries, land in the region was either sold or passed on to a son of the absentee landlord. By an Act of the Virginia Assembly, Richard Apperson, William Birchett, George Somerville, John G. Baptist, Stephen Pool and Howell P. Harper, gentleman, were selected as trustees to creat the town of Clarkesville (in Mecklenburg County) during 1817.

Our Precious Freedom was Won by our Ancestors

Freedom is a precious heritage won by our Ancestors! But do we really know ourselves? The clues lie within our own DNA. Because, you see, we are a composite of them. The way that we think, our appearance, spiritual beliefs and inclinations, all of this is a DNA assemblage of the puzzle of us. To learn some answers about ourselves we must look into the past. Yes, into the lives of those who brought us to this time and place. Discovering our roots is not only fun, but surprisingly delightful. The lineage doubles every generation (into the past), which makes for an unlimited resource of ancestors who were part of the histories which we study today. For example, it is easy to trace the lineage back to a Revolutionary War Soldier. Gosh! The pension itself is loaded with information about the battles they fought and famous officers they served with. You just don’t know how this goes, until you read the pension. Then, there are the Civil War Pensions. Of course, the old wills, estates, deeds, tax digests really open the puzzle to a wonderfully new perspective. The old script used is beautifully executed with a quill and india ink. Some of these documents are simply worth framing!

The census records are not enough. To find ancestors, one must also research county records where your ancestors resided or where you thought they were. This is a must! For one thing, the records, such as wills, estates, marriages, inventories, sales, guardianships will provide names of heirs. Additionally, the tiny details which lead to the next source. For example, in the estate of Henry Holland of Jasper County, an Annual Return made by the administrator revealed a letter sent to Holland, Virginia. From there, it was easy to find this place as the family seat. Another resource are receipts from heirs sometimes found in the estates, including husbands of the daughters. Of course, if you look in the marriage records, that is where the marriage was recorded with the name and full date of the record. The 8 genealogy websites contain county records easy to view online! First, become a member, then view/print/download your ancestor’s old will or estate. It is really cool!

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Biographies of Revolutionary War Soldiers