Appomattox County was formed in 1845 from portions of Buckingham, Prince Edward, Charlotte and Campbell counties. In 1848, another part of Campbell County was added and the county presently contains approximately 342 square miles. The county is named for the river, and the river was named after one of the villages of Chief Powhatans’ Confederacy, known in the 1600s as the Appomattoc.
The Courthouse and Its Records
The first courthouse was located on the south side of the stage road between Richmond and Lynchburg in the little village of Clover Hill. The town was laid out around the courthouse, which was located on land owned by Samuel McDearman. The village later was renamed Appomattox Court House.
That first courthouse was built in 1846, but the building and all records contained within that building were destroyed by fired in 1892, so no details are available regarding its construction. Following the fire a new location was chosen for the court on Morton Street in the Town of Appomattox, three miles from Clover Hill. The location was near the Southside (now Norfolk and Western) Railroad at the place called Appomattox Junction, now Appomattox.
In 1940, Congress established Appomattox Court House as a National Historical Monument, and the old village was reconstructed on 1,326 acres of land. There are twenty-eight historic structures, including the Clover Hill Tavern and the McLean House where Lee and Grant concluded the Civil War on 9 April 1865. The old courthouse was reconstructed, but it now serves as a museum and tourist center operated by the National Park Service.
Appomattox Genealogy
Appomattox is known to genealogists as a “burned county,” as fifty years’ worth of marriage, birth and death records as well as court records were lost in that 1892 fire. However, some records have been found in other government buildings, libraries, homes and attics. These discoveries have helped individuals pull together some solid research about who lived in Appomattox County before that date and how they lived.
Many of those recovered records, including family Bible records, are stored at the Library of Virginia in Richmond and at the Jones Library in Lynchburg. Additionally, some records can be found in courthouses located in the counties that formed Appomattox in 1845. Former Appomattox residents also were fond of traveling back and forth over the James River to Amherst and Nelson counties. So, some marriage and death records can be found in those counties as well.
Appomattox County residents were not immune to migration. Not all individuals and families that were born in the Appomattox area stayed in Appomattox. Other states yield information about residents who once resided here, and much of that information can be found online.
On the other hand, many families who remain in Appomattox today have ancestors who voted on the formation of this county in 1845. In all cases for the information on this site we hope to meet two goals:
- To respect the privacy of individuals, and to use respect and good judgment about indelicate information discovered in records.
- To report on individuals who lived in Appomattox County or who had family in that county or in the areas that formed that county before 1845. If you wonder why we included a marriage from Ohio,for instance, just know that there is a connection within that union to Appomattox County.
- To understand that not all information is accurate in original records or in family histories. If we find information that is contrary to other records, this will be reported whenever possible.
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