Family Research

Franklin County Historical Society provides research assistance. Our volunteers do the work and all money collected goes into our operating fund. We are now requesting a donation of $35 to begin research work. You may send this by check, call with a credit/debit card. Once the work is complete, we will send the report with a request for any additional time at $20 per hour for research - plus copying fees (25 cents for copies from our holdings and courthouse documents). We have many resources in our research library to use to complete your request.

Send as much information as you can to make the job quicker. Especially important are approximate or actual birth/death dates as many old Virginia families used the same names over and over in the various generations. Send as much of your ancestor's name as possible and include "guesses" about given names and nicknames that may have been recorded.

Our research library contains hundreds of resource books, thousands of surnames – and a huge collection of material pertaining to the War Between the States. We also have resources for the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 – and  other military events – to assist in membership applications for the various heritage organizations.

Let us know what you'd like us to find: marriage/birth/death records, wills, deeds, other court documents, family connections, information for UDC or DAR membership, etc. We do the work, send it to your postal address.

Let us know how we can help you as you dig for your roots or explore aspects of Franklin County history.

A list of Family Surnames in Our Hanging Files, items in the Billie Redding Lewis Special Collection, and Family Books Available in the Research Library.