Kegley Books Mary B. Kegley P.O. Box 134A Wytheville, VA 24382 (276) 228-3420 Mbkegley@aol.com

Titles Now Available

The following titles are now available. All prices include shipping and tax where applicable. Published in limited editions.

• Recent Publications
• Early Adventures on the Western Waters Series
• Wythe County, Virginia
• Montgomery County, Virginia
• Historical Novels and other Light Reading
• Other Virginia Publications

Last updated July 11, 2007

How to Order

Recent Publications

MARRIAGES OF WYTHE COUNTY, VA 1854-1866, compiled by Janie Dillon and Mary B. Kegley, 2007, 203 pages, limited edition, soft-bound, illustrated, indexed.

This publication was compiled from the original documents including certificates to obtain marriage licenses, ministers’ returns and consents for the marriages. In this volume there are 970 marriages with an every name index including the maiden names of the brides, mothers of the brides and mothers of the grooms, when provided. The marriage certificates were checked against the information entered in Marriage Book 2 and Book 2A. As a result 488 footnotes were added explaining the hundreds of differences found.

ABSTRACTS OF LAND ENTRIES OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA: ENTRY BOOKS 1 AND 2, JULY 27, 1790-DECEMBER 27, 1803, compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 2006, limited edition, soft-bound, indexed.

This publication contains abstracts of more than 1,600 records from the 459 pages found in the Land Entry Books filed at the Wythe County Circuit Court Clerk's Office. Most of the entries were based on treasury warrants issued by the state, but there were a few military warrants as well. The geographic area covered includes present Wythe, Bland, Grayson, Carroll, part of Pulaski, part of Russell, and part of Tazewell counties in Virginia. The land was located on the New, Holston, Bluestone and Clinch rivers and their branches. Some land was located on the Guyandotte and Sandy rivers and their branches in what is now West Virginia.

ABSTRACTS OF WILLS OF WYTHE COUNTY, VA: WILL BOOKS 5 AND 6, OCTOBER 9, 1837-SEPTEMBER 11, 1848, compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 2006, 68 pages, limited edition, soft-bound, indexed.

This new book includes an abstract of records found in Will Books 5, and 6 filed at the Wythe County Circuit Court Clerk’s office. The entries not only include wills, but inventories and appraisals, sales of personal property and settlements of estates. This volume has more than 960 names that appear in the index. More than 180 slaves are named.

ABSTRACTS OF WILLS OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, WILL BOOKS 3 AND 4, MAY 1822-APRIL 30, 1837, compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 2006, 81 pages, limited edition, soft-bound, indexed.

This new book includes an abstract of 355 records found in Will Books 3 and 4 filed at the Wythe County Circuit Court Clerk’s office. The entries not only include wills, but inventories and appraisals, sales of personal property and settlements of estates. More than 2,700 names appear in the index and the names of more than 400 slaves are mentioned. Every person who had a listing in the will books, with one exception, were deceased. The exception was Malinda F. Peirce, daughter of David Pierce, whose property received from her father’s estate was listed while she was still alive.

Early Adventures on the Western Waters Series

EARLY ADVENTURERS ON THE WESTERN WATERS, Vol. 1. The New River of Virginia in Pioneer Days, 1745-1800, by Mary B. Kegley and F. B. Kegley, published 1980. 456 pages, indexed, illustrated, cloth-bound with maps and bibliography.

A comprehensive work on the early settlers of the New River, using original records of Augusta, Botetourt, Fincastle, and Montgomery counties. Family sketches number 48 for the Blacksburg-Christiansburg area of Montgomery County, and for the Radford-Dunkard Bottom area of Montgomery and Pulaski counties, 24. They inlcude the following: Bane, Barger, Beard, Billups, John Bingamin, Black, Boles, Broce, Buchanan, Byrn, Chrisman, Conrad, Craig, Crewey, Draper, Elswick, Gresham, Harless, Harman, Haven, Hornbarger, Keister, Kinzer, Kipps, Linkous, Lorton, McCoy, McDonald, McGee, McMullen, Martin, Peterson, Poppicover (Cofer), Preston, Price, Ribble, Ritchie, Shell, Smelser, Sperry, Stephens, Surface, Taylor, Abram Trigg, Vickers, Wall, Westcoat, Wood, Bell, Henry Bingamin, Carty (Carter), Cassidy, Charlton, Christian, Thomas Cloyd, John, Ninian and Samuel Cloyd, Gardner, Grayson, Grills, Ingles, McCorkle, Penner, Reilly, Rife, Sallust, Skaggs, Thompson, Daniel Trigg, Stephen Trigg, Whitt, and Wiley. Thousands of lesser-known families mentioned.

EARLY ADVENTURERS ON THE WESTERN WATERS: The New River of Virginia in Pioneer Days, 1745-1800, Vol. 2. By Mary B. Kegley, 1982, limited edition reprint, 2003, 515 pages containing marriage records of Montgomery County, 1777-1830, Commissioners' Certificates for land records of Montgomery County, lawsuits, wills, deeds, tax lists and other court records. There are 47 photos, 13 maps and 19 other illustrations. Bibliography and complete index, cloth bound.

This is the companion book to Volume 1 and is a comprehensive work on the early settlers of the New River with emphasis on present Pulaski County. There are 64 family sketches representing the founding families in that location, including Addair, Anderson, Birch, Bish, Brown, Caddall, Carper, Cecil, Joseph and Gordon Cloyd, Crouch, Crow, Currin, Eaton, Goldman, Guthrie, Hance, Hevner, Hickman, Hoge, Howe, Hudson, Ingram, Mairs, Edward and Nathaniel Morgan, Patton, Pepper, Pickens, Shufflebarger, Sifford, Starn, Stobaugh, Swope, Taylor, Thompson, Trinkle, Trollinger, Waggoner, Williamson, Wygal, Wysor, Alford, Allison, Boyd, Andrew, James and Samuel Crockett, Drake, Draper, Edwards, Feely, Flora, Foster, Galbraith, Honaker, Montgomery, Morehead, Patrick, Runner, Russell, William and John Thompson Sayers and Shepherd. Thousands of lesser known connecting lines.

IN VA: $57.50    OUT OF STATE: $55.00

EARLY ADVENTURERS ON THE WESTERN WATERS, Vol. 3, The New River of Virginia in Pioneer Days, 1745-1805. Written by Mary B. Kegley, 929 pages, indexed, illustrated, cloth-bound in two parts, with maps and bibliography.

A comprehensive work on the early settlers of the New River using original records. The focus is on the lead mines, Cripple Creek, Fort Chiswell, Crockettt's Cove and Reed Creek areas east of Wytheville. Land records cover more than 180 pages, and abstracts of court orders of Wythe County, never before published, will provide new genealogical information for researchers. 124 family sketches inlcude Austin, Baxter, Bell, Bralley, Carter, Castle, Chiswell, Crockett, Devereaux, Evans, Forbush, Frisbie, Herbert, Jackson, Jenkins, Jones, Kincannon, Lockett, Lyons, Muse, Newell, Peirce, Raper, Rogers, Ross, Sanders, Sayers, Walton, Welshire, Williams, Bebber, Campbell, Catron, Chatwell, Carr (Kerr), Chaney, Cook, Danner, Davis, Dean, Douglas, Dutton, Earhart, Eller, Ewing, Fisher, Francis, Fry, Gannaway, Gleaves, Gose, Henley, Hines, Horn, Huddle, Huffman, Lease, Love, Newland, Noble, Nuckolls, Oats, Patton, Painter, Percival, Porter, Reagh, Rosenbaum, Rutherford, Sanders, Smyth, Spangler, Spraker, Stanger, Swecker, Vaught, Ward, Worley, Adams, Armbrister, Cove Bakers, River Bakers, Bishop, Breckenridge, Calhoun, Carter, Cassell, Clark, Cooley, Craig, Cranston, Crockett, Dougherty, Finley, Friel, Glasgow, Graham, Halsey, Hart, Heldreth, Holston, Keesling, Kent, McCaul, McGavock, Miller, Montgomery, Murphy, Noble, Patterson, Pinkly, Quirk, Rader, Ramsey, Reeder, Sayers, Seybert, Shaffer, Shilliday, Simmerman, Smith, Smyth, Sprinkle, Toncray, Vance, Yerion. Thousands of lesser known connecting lines.

EARLY ADVENTURERS IN THE TOWN OF EVANSHAM, THE COUNTY SEAT OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1790-1839, Vol. 4 in the Early Adventurers series, by Mary B. Kegley, 1998, 416 pages, cloth-bound, indexed, bibliography, illustrated and an 1839-map of the town included.

A comprehensive work on the early settlers of the Town of Evansham from its beginning until the time of the big fire in 1838. The name changed to Wytheville in 1839. Deeds, wills, court orders, lawsuits, coroners' reports, tax records and family data provide information for 152 families. Signatures of 145 persons and occupations and trades, if known, are included. The families mentioned include: Allen, Andruss (Andrews), Armstrong, Baldwin, Barron, Baxter, Bevill, Boyd, Brown, Butler, Chapman, Cook, Crockett, Crouse, Currie, Davis, Decker, Dillman, Draper, Drope, Dulaney, Early, Elbon, Engledove (Ingledove), Evans, Ewald, Fanning, Fishback, Fisher, Flournoy, Floyd, Foster, Friel, Fullen, Fulton, Gibboney, Gragg, Green, Haller, Hay, Henderson, Henning, Hieronymous, Hoback, Holston, Hoofnagle, Hoppess, Huffard, Johnston, Kegley, Kent, Kinder, Lane, Leedy, Leftwich, Lehue, Lindenbarger, Maddox, Marshall, Mathews, Mayse, Miller, Minick, Mitchell, Montgomery, Moore, Morgan, Moyers, McCamant, McCampbell, McComas, McFarlane, McGavock, McKee, Neighbors, Nunn, Nye, Oury, Pardee, Pattison, Perrin, Phelps, Piper, Rader, Reed, Reeder, Reddick, Rich, Rider, Riggle, Robinson, Saftly, Seagle, Seavers,Sexton, Sharitz, Sheffey, Shores, Sikes, Simmerman, Smith, Smyth, Steele, Stockley, Straw, St. Clair, Spence, Spiller, Tate, Toncray, Trigg, Walker, Wampler, Ward,Warner, Watson, Whitman, Williams, Wills, Wilson,Wirt, Wisman, Wolfenberger, Wolford, Wright. There are hundreds of lesser-known families mentioned.

EARLY ADVENTURERS ON THE WESTERN WATERS, The New River of Virginia in Pioneer Days, 1745-1820, Vol. 5, by Mary B. Kegley, 2004 limited edition, 761 pages, more than 150 illustrations (photos, maps, tracings of original records), bibliography, more than 15,000 names in the detailed index, cloth-bound. This is a comprehensive work on the early settlers of the New River with emphasis on the west end of Wythe County where more than ninety percent of the settlers were German-speaking.

Land records from Augusta, Fincastle, Botetourt, Montgomery and Wythe counties for South Fork of Reed Creek, Black Lick, and St. John's Communities are included. The wills found in Wythe County Book 2, (1809-1822) have been abstracted, and Marriages of Wythe County (1790-1826) from various sources bring new information. Some new school records for the years 1830 and 1832 were also added.

This book contains 70 family sketches for South Fork, including Adam Baugh, Blessing, Boyd, Robert Buchanan, Nicholas Cline, Sr., Copenhaver, Cormany, Corvin, Cowden, Michael Crigger of Elk Pond, Michael Crigger of Stage Road, Michael Crigger of Pine Run, other Criggers, Peter Crigger of South Fork, Peter Crigger of Cripple Creek, Jacob Creager, Deckard, Peter and John Etter, James Finley, other Finleys, Charles Fullen, Grubb, Helvey, Hillenberg, Hilton, Hounshell, Ingledove, David and Palser Johnson, Patrick Johnston, Christopher Kettering, Sr., Jacob Kettering, the blacksmith, Jacob Kettering, the miller, Michael Kettering, Kinder, Philip Kinder, John and William King, Kinser, Knipp, Lambert, Litz, Mease, Messersmith, Martin Miller, Peter Moyers, Michael Neff, Phillippi, Phipps, Abraham, Sr., Jacob, Martin, Christian, and Valentine Staley, John, Michael Sr., Peter and Henry Steffey, Leonard Straw, George Tawney, Sr. and Jr., Umberger, Venerick, Waggoner, Walters, Wamplers, Weaver, Wetzell, Daniel and Peter Wiseley.

Those found in the Black Lick and St. John's Communities include 67 sketches for Able, Baugh, Baumgardner, Christopher, Michael, Andrew, and Michael (son of Michael and Anna) Brown, Michael and Nicholas Cassell, George Davis, Doak, Captains Robert and William Doak, Dobler, Dutton, Daniel Etter, Felty, Flohr, Foglesong, Gordon, Gressel, Gullion, Harkrader, Hedrick, Hoppess, Huddle, John George, Sr., Anna Catherine, George, Jr., Lewis, Christian, Martin and John (Johannes) Kegley, Lawrence Kettering, Kimberling, Jacob and George Kinder, Krone, Leedy, Lindamood, Robert and John McFarland, Peter Musser, and two John Mussers, Nowell, Pruner, Repass, Roush, Sharitz, Peter, Jacob, John, and Adam Snavely, Swallow, Nicholas, Peter, Jacob, and Baltzer Tarter, Thompson, Henry Umbarger of Rose Hill, other Umbargers, Philip Umbarger, Walker, Ward, Nicholas and Martin Wyrick, Sr., Yonce, and George Frederick Yontz.

IN VA: $74.25     OUT OF STATE: $71.00

Wythe County, Virginia

GLIMPSES OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA. Compiled by Mary B. Kegley. Included articles published in "Kegley's Corner" in the Southwest Virginia Enterprise, 1983-1985. Iron furnace history, mills, Civil War, etc., as well as many articles providing family history on Dr. John Haller, Moses Austin, the Jackson family, Jesse Evans, David Pierce, David Graham, William Herbert, the Steffeys, the Bralleys, the Straws, the Kegleys, the Grubbs, the Chaneys, the Lamberts, the Repasses, John Adams, the Seagles, and more. Photographs and index. Hard bound with dust jacket with a map of the county.

GLIMPSES OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGNIA, Vol. 2. Compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 1988, 220 pages, illustrated, index, soft-bound. Includes articles published in "Kegley's Corner" in the Southwest Virginia Enterprise, December 1985-December 1987. Also articles from the Wythe County Historical Review, and reprint of the out of print booklet, New River Tithables, 1770-1773 by Mary B. Kegley. New material includes documented article on two Henry Umbergers. Other authors include W. R.Chitwood, M.D., Mrs. W. R. Chitwood, Mrs. Agnes Riley, and John Johnson. Family names include Ribble, McGavock, Umberger, Newell, Montgomery, Huddle, J.E.B. Stuart, Francis, Dean, Monroe, Sayers, Ramsey, Birch, Lewis Miller, Clark, Henley, Foglesong, Frisbie, Crockett (James and Andrew), Toncray, Holston, Ewing, and Christopher Simmerman.

A FAMILY ALBUM OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA. By Mary B. Kegley. A collection of 201 photographs of people in Wythe County. Most are from the 1880s and early 1900s. Reproduced from tintypes, portraits, studio photos, and daguerreotypes. Many pictures include more than one person.

STILL ANOTHER ALBUM OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA. A collection of photographs and drawings of schools, churches, homes, barns, inns, towns, etc. compiled by W. R. Chitwood and Mary B. Kegley. 144 photographs, but no duplication of earlier albums now out of print.

WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, A BICENTENNIAL HISTORY. by Mary B. Kegley. 549 pages, more than 200 illustrations, bibliography, extensive index. Seal of the county in full color on the cover. Contains references to hundreds of lawsuits, Town Minutes, Board of Supervisors' records, early newspapers, and military records. Topical history with chapters on Archeology, Business, Industry, Religion, Education, Black History, Civil War, Spanish American War, Formation and Development of the county and much more. A must for researchers of Wythe County history.

ABSTRACTS OF SCHOOL RECORDS OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1849-1861. Compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 2000. 179 pages, including 60 pages of every-name index with more than 6,000 names, many with multiple entries. Limited edition. soft-bound. More than 1000 documents filed by teachers with the Overseers of the Poor were abstracted to provide genealogical information for the researcher including names of the children, their ages, and names of parents or guardians. Also includes names of the Commissioners of the Poor and the teachers. Area covers what is now Wythe and Bland Counties.

ST. JOHN'S EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA: BAPTISMAL RECORDS BY THE REVEREND GEORGE DANIEL FLOHR AND THE REVEREND JACOB SCHERER, 1804-1836, compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 2006, 64 pages, limited edition, soft-bound, indexed.

This new book was compiled from more than 550 original German records of the church beginning in 1804. Also included are the list of elders and deacons, the regulations of the church for 1804, the list of subscribers to the building of the first church in 1800, and the organ in 1816 as well as sketches of the two pastors, Flohr and Scherer.

ZION CHURCH, WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA: ANNOTATED BAPTISMAL RECORDS, 1791-1835. Compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 1991, soft-bound, 98 pages, bibliography, index, map. Original records in German, translated and annotated with wills, marriage records, lawsuits, deeds, court orders and family records. Many from Rowan County, NC and Pennsylvania, and moving on to Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and other places west. Some of the names included in the index are Arney, Bauer, Baugh, Brandstetter, Buck, Burkhardt, Collup, Copenhaver, Crigger, Darter, Deckert, Dutton, Earhart, Fox, Gose, Groseclose, Hedrick, Hillenberg, Hines, Huddle, Keesling, Kettering, Kimberling, Kinder, Kinzer, Lindamood, Litz, Mease, Phillippi, Reichardt, Rosenbaum, Shupe, Spangler, Spraker, Stanger, Vanhuss (Huss), Vaught, Wampler, Wetzel, Wisman, Wiseley, Wolf, Worley, and many other connecting lines.

ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH, WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA: ANNOTATED BAPTISMAL RECORDS 1793-1833. Compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 1991, soft-bound, 51 pages, bibliography, index, map. Original records in German, translated and annotated with wills, marriage records, lawsuits, deeds, court orders, and family records. Some of the names which appear in the index are Baugh, Buck, Baumgardner, Blessing, Brandstetter, Cassell, Cormany, Creger, Daude, Deckert, Dutton, Fox, Gose, Grub, Hedrick, Hillenberg, Hounshell, Huddle, Kettering, Kinder, Kinser, King, Knipp, Lambert, Lindamood, Messersmith, Miller, Moyers, Neff, Nifong, Phillipi, Pickle, Rouse, Snaveley, Staley, Steffey, Stanger, Swallow, Tarter, Umbarger, Venrick, Wampler, Weaver, Wetzel,Wiseley, Wisman, and many other connecting lines.

REPRINTED: KIMBERLING CHURCH, WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA: ANNOTATED BAPTISMAL AND CEMETERY RECORDS, compiled by Beverly Repass Hoch, Mary B. Kegley and Timothy D. Smith, 1986, 139 pages, soft-bound, bibliography, illustrated, indexed.

This book contains baptismal records, tombstone inscriptions and death records. Baptisms began in 1779 and probably represent both the German Lutheran and Reformed churches. The translation from the German language was used and most entries between 1779 and 1870 were annotated with various courthouse, family and other published records. More than 400 tombstone inscriptions are included, many of them now gone. Approximately 70 additional death records from the church book are included.

IN VA: $24.50     OUT OF STATE: $23.50

THE LOST CHIILDREN OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1790-1878, POOR SCHOOL CHILDREN, ORPHANS, AND APPRENTICES FROM COUNTY RECORDS. Compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 1995, 256 pages, soft-bound, index, bibliography, illustrations, 729 footnotes. School records, 1832-1850 give age and names of parents/guardians under various circumstances. Apprenticeship bonds, 1820-1878, parents, trades, master and overseers of the poor mentioned.

ABSTRACTS OF COURT ORDERS OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1790-1791; 1795-1810. Vol. 1. Compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 1996, 222 pages, soft-bound, index. Abstracts of the records with genealogists in mind. All records of military, court officials, road overseers, orphans, apprentices, executors, appraisers and guardians included. Family origins if given. Up to 1796 published in Early Adventurers, Vol. 3. Now to 1810.

ABSTRACTS OF COURT ORDERS OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1811-1820. Vol. 2. Compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 1997, 164 pages, soft-bound, index. Continuation of Vol. 1, above. This book has references to the War of 1812, innkeepers, jailers, building of the new courthouse and jail, slaves, forges, ferries, mills, and schools, among many other items of historical and genealogical interest. Wythe included what is now eastern Smyth County until 1832, western Pulaski County until 1839 and all of Bland County until 1861.

ABSTRACTS OF COURT ORDERS OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1821-1830, Vol. 3. Compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 1999, limited edition, 185 pages, soft bound, index. Continuation of Volumes 1 and 2. This book has references to appointments of administrators, guardians, militia officers, road workers, and court officials. Also numerous references to naturalization of local citizens with former places of residence. Unusual punishments, payment of claims, and salaries of local officials are mentioned.

ABSTRACTS OF COURT ORDERS OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1831-1840, Vol. 4. Compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 1999, limited edition, 206 pages including 29 pages of every-name index. soft-bound. This book has references to soldiers of the Revolutionary War who applied for pensions, road workers, viewers and surveyors, those paid for kiling wolves and foxes, those in the militia or local govenment, wills and appraisals, and orphaned children who were bound out to trades. In addition there are references to Free Persons of Color and to the fire, which destroyed much of the county seat, then called Evansham. Smyth County was formed in 1832 and Pulaski in 1839, thus eliminating their records as of those dates. Bland County continued to be part of Wythe until 1861.

ABSTRACTS OF COURT ORDERS OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1841-1850, Vol. 5. Compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 2000, 182 pages including 29 pages of every-name index. Limited edition. soft-bound. The last in the series provides names of executors and administrators of the estates of the deceased. Two of the county's notable ministers, Casper Yost, a Methodist, and John Stanger, Lutheran, were included among the estates mentioned. Register of Free Negroes were referred to with the names of those who were free. Children who were poor or orphaned were often noticed as they became apprentices to local craftsman or had guardians appointed. The Southwest Turnpike was mentioned. Officers of the court and the militia are regularly named. Most of Bland county is included in these records.

EARLY ADVENTURERS ON THE WESTERN WATERS, Vol. 3, The New River of Virginia in Pioneer Days, 1745-1805. Written by Mary B. Kegley, 929 pages, indexed, illustrated, cloth-bound in two parts, with maps and bibliography. See above for complete description and pricing.

EARLY ADVENTURERS IN THE TOWN OF EVANSHAM, THE COUNTY SEAT OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1790-1839, Vol. 4 in the Early Adventurers series, by Mary B. Kegley, 1998, 416 pages, cloth-bound, indexed, bibliography, illustrated and an 1839-map of the town included. See above for complete description and pricing.

EARLY ADVENTURERS ON THE WESTERN WATERS, The New River of Virginia in Pioneer Days, 1745-1820, Vol. 5, by Mary B. Kegley, 2004 limited edition, 761 pages, more than 150 illustrations (photos, maps, tracings of original records), bibliography, more than 15,000 names in the detailed index, cloth-bound. This is a comprehensive work on the early settlers of the New River with emphasis on the west end of Wythe County where more than ninety percent of the settlers were German-speaking. See above for complete description and pricing.

DIVORCES OF WYTHE COUNTY, 1816-1886. Abstracted and compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 2004, 113 pages, bibliography, index, soft-bound.

This publication contains six divorce petitions filed with the General Assembly and beginning in 1851 more than 120 cases from Wythe County files. Includes 209 footnotes with annotations of marriages, chancery order books and publications, if applicable.

BIRTH RECORDS OF WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1865-1872. Compiled by Mary B. Kegley and Jean Porter Desmarais, 162 pages, soft-bound, indexed.

This new book was compiled from two sources: the birth record book in the Wythe County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office and a group of more than 1,000 birth cards. Many original records were never indexed and none were found in the book for 1871; however, that year is well represented in the birth cards. In most cases the record gives date and place of birth, names of parents, father’s occupation, and name of the informant. More than 2,000 records are included with 487 footnotes for this eight-year period.

MARRIAGES OF WYTHE COUNTY, VA 1790-1853, compiled by Beverly Repass Hoch and Mary B. Kegley, 2006, 206 pages, limited edition, soft-bound, indexed.

This publication compiled from original documents includes bonds, licenses, ministers’ returns and consents to marry. In this volume approximately 7,200 people are mentioned as brides and grooms, and close to 14,000 are listed in the index which includes ministers, sureties, guardians or parents mentioned in the records. The volume includes new information as the compilers worked from the handwritten original records located at the courthouse.

MARRIAGES OF WYTHE COUNTY, VA 1854-1866, compiled by Janie Dillon and Mary B. Kegley, 2007, 203 pages, limited edition, soft-bound, illustrated, indexed.

This publication was compiled from the original documents including certificates to obtain marriage licenses, ministers’ returns and consents for the marriages. In this volume there are 970 marriages with an every name index including the maiden names of the brides, mothers of the brides and mothers of the grooms, when provided. The marriage certificates were checked against the information entered in Marriage Book 2 and Book 2A. As a result 488 footnotes were added explaining the hundreds of differences found.

THE BIG FORT. By Mary B. Kegley, reprint from Vol. 10, No. 2, Journal of the Roanoke Valley Historical Society, 1978, 28 pages, 111 footnotes, illustrated.

This booklet tells the story of Fort Chiswell, located in Wythe County from the time of its first appearance until about 1831.It includes a few pages from the diary of Louis Philippe, who later became king of France and who visited Southwest Virginia in 1797.

Montgomery County, Virginia

MILITIA OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1777-1790. Compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 1974, reprinted 1997, soft-bound, 82 pages, index. The more than 1,900 militiamen named in the 50 lists of this volume represent the male population between the ages of 16 and 50 prior to the first census.

TAX LIST OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1782. Compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 1974, reprinted 1997, soft-bound, 38 pages, map of Southwest Virginia. More than 1,600 names on the personal property and real estate tax lists have been combined and arranged alphabetically with the number of tithes, slaves, horses and cattle.

Historical Novels and Other Light Reading

LETTERS FROM THE VIRGINIA MOUNTAINS, a work of "factual fiction," by Mary B. Kegley

The characters of this new book were early citizens who wrote their personal stories in detailed letters, revealing their innermost thoughts. The stories of their daily life, complete with fears, loneliness, joys, disappointments and plans for the future, that sometimes did not develop the way they expected, were written regularly to relatives who did not live in the area. The three women, Sarah Herbert, Rachel Dobler Marshall and Judy Findlay, and the three men, James McGavock, Jacob Kettering and the Reverend John Stanger, each gave insight into life in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia in the early days. The first letter is dated 1763 and the last 1848. During this eighty-five-year period, some of the letter-writers mentioned the trip across the ocean and the wars that affected their lives. Others told of family life, personal unexpected events, deaths and births, illegalities and how actions of others changed their lives forever. In addition to the letters, the journal of Almerine Marshall (1789-1811) gave reasons why he left Connecticut and settled in the mountains of Virginia. A fellow traveler gave a vivid account of the great fire of Richmond where Marshall lost his life in 1811.

Lovers of history and lovers of letters will experience joys and sorrows related by the early citizens as the writers give the reader a better understanding of life in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia during this early time period.

FREE IN CHAINS. By Mary B. Kegley, 2002. 267 pages. Fiction. Limited edition. soft-bound. Book of the Month in July 2005 by the Appalachian Authors Guild.

Based on a true story filed in court papers, Free in Chains tells the unimaginable story of an Indian slave, Rachel Findlay in the 18th century. Although Indian slavery was illegal in Virginia at the time and Rachel was freed from those chains in Williamsburg in 1773, she lived an entire life on the frontier of Virginia before she could be truly free. Her master, Mitchell Clay, sold her and her daughter as Negro slaves to John Draper, even though Clay knew they were entitled to their freedom. In what is now Pulaski County, Rachel was held illegally in slavery until 1820 when she was about sixty-seven years old. Her persistence in obtaining her freedom brought her to a seven-year court battle which eventually gave forty-two of her descendants the right to live in freedom.

I LIKE MOLLY TYNES WHETHER SHE RODE OR NOT, and twenty-five other tall tales and cherished myths. By Mary B. Kegley, 2003, 72 pages, 157 footnotes, limited edition, soft-bound.

Molly's story of "saving Wytheville" in the Civil War is the feature of this book, but other tall tales and cherished myths are also explored on topics including Wytheville, George Wythe, slaves during the Civil War, Shot Tower, Lead Mines, Fincastle Resolutions, Fort Chiswell, Rural Retreat, Mount Airy, Drapers Meadow Massacre, Log Houses, Kilmacrenan, David Pierce, Zion Lutheran Church, Dr. John Haller, David Graham, Patton and Preston, Hungry Mother Park, New River, Tombstone inscriptions, the Kegley Family, the Presbyterian Church Bell, the St. John's Lutheran Church Organ and the Wilderness Road.

Other Virginia Publications

SOLDIERS OF FINCASTLE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1774, compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 1974, reprinted 1997, soft bound, 89 pages, index. Approximately 1,600 names appear in 21 militia companies and public service records.

FREE PEOPLE OF COLOUR, FREE NEGROES, INDIANS, PORTUGUESE AND FREED SLAVES, compiled by Mary B. Kegley, 2003, 176 pages, footnotes, soft-bound, limited edition.

This publication includes information about Indian and Negro slavery, with records from Augusta, Wythe, Montgomery, Giles, Pulaski, Lee Russell, Scott, Carroll and Washington counties, Virginia. Deeds, wills, court orders and a sampling of freedom lawsuits are included.

COUNTY COURTHOUSES OF VIRGINIA, OLD AND NEW by Mary Kegley Bucklen and Larrie L. Bucklen. 224 pages, 101 maps, 122 black and white photos of persent county courthouses. More than 50 photos/illustrations of courthouses of the past. Ten of Virginia's finest in full color. Sketches of log, frame, stone, and brick courthouse with notes on architects and builders. Bibliography, index.

REPRINTED: REVOLUTIONARY WAR PENSION APPLICATIONS OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA SOLDIERS. Compiled and edited by Mary B. Kegley, 1997, 361 pages, bibliography, soft bound, every name index.

This publication contains information from 374 pension applications of soldiers who had some connection to Southwest Virginia during or after the Revolutionary War. The area includes the counties of Montgomery, Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Smyth, Wythe, Washington, Lee, Scott, Russell and Tazewell. The records come from the National Archives, the county court order books, legislative petitions, loose papers, family and published sources. Almost all applicants give place and date of birth and places where they had lived at the time of enlistment and since the end of the war. Affidavits from friends and neighbors who served with the soldiers or knew them later are included and often give the only source for their service. 

IN VA: $40.25     OUT OF STATE: $38.50