Botetourt County Virginia Wills 1700s
I am trying to find a will most likely 1780 in Botetourt County, Virginia. This is not available online. It is available at the center in Utah and supposedly my local center in Oxford, Maine. I have contacted the family search library in Oxford, Maine numerous times about viewing this microfilm and no response. Are there still people who do look ups for you when you can't physically go to the source location?
Answers
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According to the listing in the FS Catalog, Botetourt, Virginia early wills are available to view from home: https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/catalog/367591
It's no longer viewing on microfilm, but viewing the digital images. And, according to that same catalog listing, the wills have been processed through the Full-Text Search option, making it, generally, much easier to find the will you want to find.
If you want to share a name, I'll be happy to help.
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Thank you, looking for a John Byers (Byars, Biars, Byer, Buyers) died in 1780 in Botetourt Virginia. I haven't been able to find an online copy. The death date is skeptical based on unsourced trees.
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https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Botetourt_County,_Virginia_Genealogy#Court_Records
You may find thhe WiKi helpful (search by county or tpic)
Tiye can also make a persoal appt with Salt Lake library for lookup,
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
- 1770-1789 Botetourt County, Virginia Lists of Tithables, 1770-1789. Original records, Botetourt County Courthouse, Fincastle, Virginia; also available on microfilm at FS Library.
- 1770-1771 Botetourt County, Virginia, Tithables, 1770-1771. By Pollyanna Creekmore. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1966):51-56; Vol. 10, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1966):109-122. CD available at: American Ancestors ($), FS Library.
- 1770-1777 Botetourt County, Virginia, Its Men, 1770-1777. 1949. By Charles T. Burton. Troutville, Virginia : C.T. Burton. Online at: Digital Library. Contains names of tithable men in Botetourt Co., 1770-1777. Includes delinquent lists.
- 1770-1773 New River Tithables, 1770-1773. 1972. By Mary B. Kegley. Wytheville, Virginia : M.B. Kegley. Available at FS Library.
- 1782 Tithables, 1782. Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Summer 1995). Online at: Ancestry ($),FS Library.
- 1782 Land Tax List, 1782. Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin, Vol. 3, Nos. 1-2 (1974).
- Pre-1783 County Delinquents List, Pre-Revolutionary War Period. Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 41, No. 3 (Aug. 2003). Available at FS Library.
- 1783 Personal Property (or Land) Tax List, 1783. Online at: Revolutionary War Service.
- 1783-1822 Botetourt County Personal Property Tax List 1783-1822. By Paul Heinegg. Online at: Free African Americans. Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.
- 1783-1851 Personal property tax lists, 1783-1851. FS films 2024486-2024490 - images.
- 1784 1784 Personal Property Tax List online at Genealogy Trails.
- 1784 1784 Botetourt County, Virginia Tax Listing. 2012. By James L. Douthat. Signal Mountain, Tennessee : Mountain Press. Free online surname index at Mountain Press.
- 1784 Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published by the United States Census Bureau. 1940. By Augusta B. Fothergill and John Mark Naugle. Reprint, Baltimore, MD : Genealogical Publishing Co., 1978. FS Catalog book 975.5 R4f 1978. Online at FamilySearch Digital Library, FS Library film 874197, item 4 - images. Includes personal property tax list of Botetourt County.
- 1786 1786 Personal Property Tax List online at Genealogy Trails.
- 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). The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Botetourt County is included in Vol. 1.
- 1794 1794 Botetourt County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List. Online at: New River Notes.
- 1800 Botetourt County, Virginia 1800 Tax List. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1965):105-110; Vol. 9, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1965):154-158; Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1966):11-17. Online at: American Ancestors by NEHGS ($), FS Library.
- 1815 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 1997-2000. By Roger D. Ward. Athens, Georgia : Iberian Pub. Co. 6 vols. Available at FS Library. The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Botetourt County is included in Vol. 5.
- 1852 Taxable Property of Botetourt, 1852. Roanoke Historical Society Journal, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Winter 1969).
Vital Records
For additional indexes, databases, and details, see Virginia Vital Records.
Birth
- 1715-1901 Virginia, Vital Records, 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1850s Botetourt County Birth Register (VAGenWeb). Transcript and images. Digital version at FamilySearch PDF.
- 1853-1866 Virginia, Slave Birth Index, 1853-1866 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1853-1896 Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Birth Records, 1853-1896 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images, coverage may vary
- 1885-1896 Botetourt County, Virginia Births, 1885-96. 2000.By Beth Fridley, comp. Provo, UT : The Generations Network, Inc. Online at: Ancestry ($).
- 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 ($)
- 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages. Online at: Findmypast ($).
- 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 ($)
- 1770-1803 Virginia Pioneers ($)
- 1770-1853 Botetourt Co. VA, Marriages 1770-1803. Online at: VAGenWeb (grooms), VAGenWeb (brides).
- 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 ($)
- 1785-1940 Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index ; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
- 1853-1935 Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, County Marriage Registers, 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
- 1936-1988 Virginia, Marriage Certificates, 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
- Early Marriages, Wills, and Some Revolutionary War Records: Botetourt County, Virginia. 1976. (Originally published: Hillsville, Virginia : A.L. Worrell, 1958.) By Anne Lowry Worrell. Baltimore, MD : Genealogical Pub. Co. Available at FS Library.
Death
Deaths are online in the Library of Virginia's Death Index of Virginia, 1853-1896, sponsored by The Virginia Genealogical Society.
- 1715-1901 Virginia, Vital Records, 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1853-1870 Botetourt County Death Records. Online at: VAGenWeb.
- 1853-1911 Virginia, U.S., Death Registers, 1853-1911 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
- 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 Botetourt County. For state-wide facilities, see Virginia Archives and Libraries.
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It’s odd that when I open this page from home, I see the indexes as viewable only from Family History Centers (as above) but the will books appear as only unindexed digital images without the full text search icons.
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Not odd at all. In many record sets, indexes are restricted while the images of records themselves are not restricted.
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Sorry, I mean that it’s odd that what I see from home is different from the screen shot you posted, which I believe you said was accessed from home. You see the will books with the full text search icon but I don’t. I imagine the full text search is accessible by me regardless, but why the difference?
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Do you have Full-Text enabled in Labs?
And, I've noticed that the Full-Text icon is not always in view. Since it is still a Labs experiment, it's not guaranteed to be available 24/7.
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