Death Index in Highland County

Highland County death index records span from 1853 through the present for Virginia's least-populous county, tucked in the Allegheny Mountains along the West Virginia border. Deaths filed in Highland County are recorded in historical registers at the Library of Virginia for the period 1853-1896, and certified death certificates from June 1912 forward are held by the Virginia Department of Health. You can search the Highland County death index through state archives, request copies by mail, or visit the county's Circuit Court in Monterey for related probate records.

Highland County Circuit Court

The Highland County Circuit Court Clerk's Office is in Monterey, Virginia. This small rural court handles probate, land records, and court cases for the county. Because Highland County has a very small population and few deaths each year, the Circuit Court Clerk often has detailed familiarity with local families and records. Probate files, which are filed after a death when an estate goes through the court, can provide exact or approximate death dates and a list of surviving relatives.

The Clerk's Office does not issue death certificates. Those come from the Virginia Department of Health. However, the Circuit Court's land and probate records go back to the county's formation in 1847, and some filings include references to deaths and estates from that early period. You can search Highland County court cases through the Virginia Online Case Information System (OCIS), which is free and covers all Virginia courts.

Highland County Death Certificates at VDH

Certified death certificates for Highland County deaths from June 1912 to the present are held by the Virginia Department of Health, Office of Vital Records. The state office is at 8701 Park Central Drive, Suite 100, Richmond, VA 23227. Walk-in service runs Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. You can also apply online through the VDH website or mail a request to P.O. Box 1000, Richmond, VA 23218-1000. The Customer Care Center can be reached at 804-662-6200.

Each certified copy costs $12. Under Virginia Code Title 32.1, Chapter 7, death records become public information 25 years after the date of death. Before that point, only immediate family can get a copy. Eligible requesters are the spouse, parent, child, sibling, or grandparent of the deceased. A legible government-issued photo ID is required with every request. Checks are made payable to State Health Department.

For online ordering, VitalChek processes Highland County death certificate requests on behalf of VDH, with an additional processing fee on top of the $12 state charge.

Highland County Death Index: Historical Records

Highland County was formed in 1847 from Bath and Pendleton counties. Death registers from 1853 through 1896 are on microfilm at the Library of Virginia, covering the county's early period under the statewide registration law. These registers are small in volume given the county's sparse population but include important early entries for Highland County families. The Virginia Genealogical Society has indexed the 1853-1896 death registers statewide, including Highland County.

Highland County genealogy resources are also available through the Highland County GenWeb site, which provides transcriptions, cemetery records, and research tips specific to this mountain county. For a county with such a small population, local genealogical resources and church records often fill in death records from periods when no official registration was required. The gap from 1897 to June 1912 can be particularly challenging for Highland County researchers given the small number of contemporaneous local newspapers and record keepers.

Virginia residents can search the death records index for 1912-2014 at no cost through Ancestry for Virginians. Non-residents can use FamilySearch to access the Virginia Deaths and Burials 1853-1912 collection and the Virginia Death Certificates 1912-1987 database, both free of charge.

Search Highland County Death Records Online

For most researchers, FamilySearch is the easiest free option for Highland County death research. The Virginia Deaths and Burials 1853-1912 collection and the Virginia Death Certificates 1912-1987 database both include Highland County. Searching by name returns indexed results, and images are available for older records. The Social Security Death Index on FamilySearch covers 1935-2017 and can help locate deaths where other records are thin.

The Library of Virginia holds the death index through 1954 and can be reached at 804-692-3888 for reference help. In-person research is available at 800 E. Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219. For Highland County specifically, the small size of the county means the Library of Virginia's microfilm collection may include all known death register entries from the 1853-1896 period in just a few rolls. That makes microfilm research relatively quick for this county compared to more populous ones.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Highland County. Each has its own Circuit Court and vital records resources for deaths in those jurisdictions.