Where more than one county contributed to the formation of a descendant county, the parent is not necessarily shown as the one which contributed the most territory, but usually/always the one with the "nearest" link to Botetourt County.
SOURCE: Atlas of County Boundary Changes in Virginia 1634-1895, Michael F. Doran, 1987, Iberian Publishing Co, 548 Cedar Creek Dr., Athens, GA 30605
Botetourt Co (1770) | |--Fincastle Co (1772) | | extinguished as a county in 1777 | | | |--Kentucky Co (1777) - now the State of Kentucky | | | extinguished as a county in 1780, | | | territory ceded by VA to Federal Govt. in 1789 | | | | | |--Fayette Co (1780) - before KY separated from VA | | | | NOT the present WV county | | | | | | | |--Bourbon Co (1786) - before KY separated from VA | | | | | | | | | |--Mason Co (1789) - before KY separated from VA | | | | NOT the present WV county | | | | | | | |--Woodford Co (1789 - before KY separated from VA | | | | | |--Jefferson Co (1780) - before KY separated from VA | | | | NOT the present WV county | | | | | | | |--Nelson Co (1785) - before KY separated from VA | | | NOT the present VA county | | | | | |--Lincoln Co (1780) - before KY separated from VA | | | | NOT the present WV county | | | | | | | |--Madison Co (1786) - before KY separated from VA | | | | NOT the present VA county | | | | | | | |--Mercer Co (1786) - before KY separated from VA | | | NOT the present WV county | | | | |--Montgomery Co (1777) | | | | | |--Wythe Co (1790) | | | | | | | |--Grayson Co (1793) | | | | | | | | | |--Carroll Co (1842) | | | | | | | |--Tazewell Co (1800) | | | | in part, with Russell County | | | | | | | |--McDowell Co (1858) | | | | | |--Giles Co (1806) | | | | in part, with Monroe and Tazewell Counties | | | | | | | |--Mercer Co (1837) - now in WV | | | | in part, with Tazewell County | | | | | | | |--Bland Co (1861) | | | in part, with Wythe and Tazewell Counties | | | | | |--Floyd Co (1831) | | | | | |--Pulaski Co (1839) | | in part, with Wythe County | | | |--Washington Co (1777) | | | | | |--Russell Co (1786) | | | | | | | |--Lee Co (1793 | | | | | | | |--Wise Co (1856) | | | | in part, wih Lee and Scott Counties | | | | | | | |--Buchanan Co (1858) | | | | in part, with Tazewell County | | | | | | | |--Dickenson Co (1880) | | | in part, with Wise and Buchanan Counties | | | | | |--Scott Co (1814) | | in part, with Lee and Russell Counties | | | |--Smyth Co (1832) | in part, with Wythe Co | |--Greenbrier Co (1778) - now in WV | | in part, with Montgomery and Augusta Counties | | | |--Kanawha Co (1789) - now in WV | | | in part, with Montgomery County | | | | | |--Cabell Co (1809) - now in WV | | | | | | | |--Wayne Co (1842) - now in WV. | | | | | |--Logan Co (1824) - now in WV | | | | in part, with Giles, Cabell and Tazewell Counties | | | | | | | |--Wyoming Co (1850) - now in WV | | | | | | | |--Mingo Co (1895) - then in WV | | | | | |--Jackson Co (1831) - now in WV | | | | in part, with Mason and Wood Counties | | | | | | | |--Wirt Co (1848) - now in WV | | | in part, with Wood County | | | | | |--Braxton Co (1836) - now in WV | | | in part, with Lewis and Nicholas Counties | | | | | |--Gilmer Co (1845) - now in WV | | | in part, with Lewis County | | | | | |--Boone Co (1847) - now in WV | | | in part, with Cabell and Logan Counties | | | | | |--Putnam Co (1848) - now in WV | | | in part, with Cabell and Mason Counties | | | | | |--Roane Co (1856) - now in WV | | | in part, with Jackson and Gilmer Counties | | | | | |--Lincoln Co (1867) - then in WV | | in part, with Boone, Cabell, and Putnam Counties | | | |--Monroe Co (1799) - now in WV | | | |--Mason Co (1804) - now in WV | | | |--Nicholas Co (1818) - now in WV | | | in part, with Kanawha and Randolph Counties | | | | | |--Clay Co (1858) - now in WV | | | in part, with Braxton County | | | | | |--Webster Co (1860) - now in WV | | in part, with Braxton and Randolph Counties | | | |--Fayette Co (1831)) - now in WV | | | in part, with Logan, Nicholas, and Kanawha Counties | | | | | |--Raleigh Co (1850) - now in WV | | | |--Summers Co (1871) - then in WV | in part, with Mercer, Monroe, Fayette, and Counties | |--Bath Co (1791) | | in part, with Augusta and Greenbrier Counties | | | |--Pocahontas Co (1821) - now in WV | in part, with Pendleton and Randolph Counties | |--Alleghany Co (1822) | in part, with Bath and Monroe Counties | |--Roanoke Co (1838) | |--Craig Co (1851) in part, with Roanoke, Giles and Monroe Counties
Updated April 7, 1999