Pittsylvania

Pittsylvania County Genealogy Records, Wills, Estates

Pittsylvania County was formed in 1767 from Halifax County, Virginia. It was named after William Pitt, the first Earl of Chatham, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1755 to 1768. In 1777 the western part of Pittsylvania County was divided and became Henry County.

Genealogists Search Many States for Answers

All of a person’s ancestors did not reside in one State. After coming to this country, they moved around with great regularity. That is because the land was so important to survival. The habit of allowing fields to remain fallow for two years or more was helpful, but not enough. A good rich, loamy soil was required to sustain generations of families. In Virginia, it was tobacco that quickly depleted the soil, and soon after the American Revolution, families were on the move. Genealogists, look to the land grants of these soldiers (for service) and subsequent land lotteries in Georgia. Many families drew and won land in the lotteries, according to the number of persons in the family. That is why it is important to examine Tax Digests, which list the number of acres and the county. We trace the movement of our ancestors through deed records, tax digests, land grants, and lotteries. As families moved along, it becomes necessary to examine the county records everywhere that they resided. This is where marriage records were recorded, deeds given, and estates probated. Also, a close examination of local cemeteries and churches is indicated. Why? Because burial records and church registers also tell the story. Georgia Pioneers has a vast collection of county records and includes the states of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. It is easy to search from one state to the next using the same portal. List of Traced Virginia Families on this website.

Indexes to Probate Records

Wills, Estates, Inventories 1809 to 1853
Wills, Estates, Inventories 1854 to 1865 (Circuit Court)

Images of Accounts (Inventories)

1770-1788, No. 1
1788-1797, No. 2
1797-1805, No. 3
1805-1812, No. 4

Images of Deeds, Wills

1767-1780, No. 5
1791-1794, No. 9
1794-1797, No. 10
1780-1820, No. 11

Images of Deeds

1774-1778, No. 4

Digital Images of Wills 1854 to 1865

Banks, Will B.
Graves, James
Green, Nathaniel
Harper, George
Holland, Stephen
Nelson, Lucy Mann
Newton, William
Parker, George
Price, Hutchings B. estate
Price, Hutchings B. (will)
Prad, Samuel A.
Robertson, Samuel
Stone, James H.

Digital Images of Wills 1809 to 1853

Adams, James
Adkins, William
Boaz, Shadrack
Buford, William
Clark, William
Clay, Joseph
Doody, Thomas
Fitzgerald, Thomas
Guy, Samuel
Hagood, William R.
Henry, Charles S.
Henry, Samuel H.
Price, Cuthbert
Silly, William A.
Waddell, Charles
Wells, Matthew
Woodson, Murry

Miscellaneous

List of Militia Officers

Traced genealogies and family histories of Pittsylvania County are available to Members!

Clements

Wade

Strangers No More

How exciting it is to locate an old photo of the ancestors. But there is more to come for the genealogist who digs deeply into the past. A visit to the old farm place in the countryside offers a sense of their lifestyle and sacrifice to the American way. Your ancestors were ambitiously unselfishly valiant people and proved it by forging an economy out of a new wilderness country. I hope that you take the time to walk across old pastures and dirt roads, locate rural church yards, and speak to the older generation still in the vicinity. Next, introduce yourself to them by examining deed records and take note of the legal description which provides the land lot number and acreage. A county map from the tax accessor’s office will help you to find the exact spot. Also, while you are in the neighborhood, observe how the land itself seems to be missing the old generation who planted the gardens and fruit trees. How old are some of those trees? As people moved from place to place, they took seeds of trees and favorite plants. Remember, that just as Sir Walter Raleigh introduced? the potato to English soil, that English immigrants also delivered the beautiful boxwood seedlings to Virginia plantations where they continue to flourish in grand beauty today.

Finding the Path Across the Genealogy Maze

Have you ever worked one of the maze puzzles in Altheimer’s books? Once inside the maze, the idea is to find a path out. Actually, it is a good exercise for the researcher who spends years attempting to solve complicated genealogies. We expect to find marriage records, for example, but discover that many county records did not begin requiring this filing until the 1900s. But we are inside the maze and must pause to examine all of the possibilities of exit. In seeking the obvious exit, we miss tiny details which lead to answers. For example, did you realize that the people buried in the old part of a cemetery are “the neighborhood?” It is these tombstones which provide answers. Had you researched the local deed records, wills, and estates, you might recognize some of the names. In other words, you are looking at the neighbors, friends, and relatives of your ancestors. A closer look at the old section might turn up the husbands of daughters. Look closely and write down everyone’s name. Notice when they include a maiden name. Example: Mary Jones Smith. Gosh, Mary’s parents are probably buried close by. And an examination of old wills and estates might help identify if Mary Jones belongs to your family. Thus, just as we examine every outlet in the maze, we identify every possible relationship.

How to Turn Marginal Genealogy into Real Genealogy

As we continue our research, we find ourselves jotting down tidbits of information, thinking that it might be useful later. And it is, as more data reach our computers. But what kind of tidbits are most important? Witnesses to deeds and adjoining properties; every name in the old part of the cemetery, especially those adjoining your family plots. Names in the same district as your ancestor are written down according to the order of the entries, along with such details as acreage, adjoining neighbors, and waters. Purchasers of estate sales as some of these people married the daughters (examine these names in the county marriage records). Remarkably, all of these people were from the old neighborhood! You will be amazed at how this information provides a better understanding of the life and times of your ancestors, plus makes all the puzzle parts fit.