North Carolina County Listings - The Lords Proprietors planned three counties in Carolina in 1664: Albemarle, Clarendon, and Craven. Craven County lay in South Carolina, and Clarendon County was abandoned in 1667 after achieving a population of about 800. Albemarle County included too large an area to provide adequate local government, so it was subdivided into Berkeley, Carteret, and Shaftesbury precincts about 1668. About 1681, the three original precincts were divided and renamed Chowan, Currituck, Pasquotank, and Perquimans precincts. By about 1689 the four precincts functioned as de facto counties. In 1696 Bath County was formed; it was divided into Archedale, Pamptecough, and Wickham precincts in 1705. The Provincial Government of North Carolina recognized the de facto status of the precincts and declared all precincts to be counties in their own right in 1739, and Albemarle and Bath counties were abolished.
County seats still may hold additional material, including original deed and will books. What follows on each county page below is an outline of beginning dates of extant records of each county.
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North Carolina State History - North Carolina, originally known as Carolina, and the home of the first English colony in the Americas. It was formed on May 20th, 1775 from the original North Carolina Colony. It was named in honor of King Charles I, North Carolina, state in the southeastern United States. It is bounded by Virginia on the north, Tennessee on the west, and South Carolina and Georgia on the south. The Atlantic Ocean forms its long irregular eastern boundary. Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina. Charlotte is the largest city and the center of the state’s most populous metropolitan region.The Official State Website is http://www.ncgov.com/
The site of an early attempted English settlement in the 1580s, North Carolina has played a significant role throughout U.S. history. North Carolinians were leaders in the American Revolution (1775-1783) and, through the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, contributed significantly to the ultimate American victory. North Carolina joined the Union on November 21, 1789, as the 12th of the original 13 states. Although hesitant to join the Union in 1789, they were equally reluctant to leave it during the American Civil War (1861-1865). However, once they joined the Confederacy, they gave wholeheartedly of North Carolina’s men and wealth.
North Carolina’s name is derived from the Latin word Carolinus, meaning “of Charles.” The state was named in honor of King Charles I and King Charles II of England by their friends and supporters who were establishing colonies in the southern part of the Virginia colony. The state is nicknamed the “Tar Heel State.” While time has obscured the source of the name, some historians believe it refers to one of the state’s major colonial-era products—tar—which was derived from slowly burning the stumps of longleaf pine trees. More commonly accepted is that the name came about during the Civil War. Some say the name may have originally been used derisively, applied to North Carolina soldiers who could not hold a position against Union troops because they had forgotten to “tar their heels” and thus could not stick to their ground. Others contend the name was applied to North Carolina troops by Confederate leaders as a tribute to their sticking quality during battle. The state, once the northern part of the original Carolina colony, is also referred to as the “Old North State.”
The first permanent English settlers in North Carolina were Virginians who heard glowing reports of fertile bottom lands, abundant timber resources, and an excellent climate. They moved into the Albemarle Sound area about 1650, purchasing land from the local Indian tribes. The Virginia Assembly also granted land along the Chowan and Roanoke rivers to Roger Green in 1653. By 1657, Nathaniel Batts had a house at the western end of Albemarle Sound.
English claims on North Carolina date to 1497 when John Cabot visited the New World and claimed the area for King Henry VII. These claims were the basis for Charles I's 1629 grant of "Carolana" to Sir Robert Heath, who failed to settle Carolina before the execution of Charles I in 1649. During the Commonwealth period in England, many citizens remained loyal to Charles II. At his ascension to the throne of England in 1660, eight men pressed their claims for a reward: Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon; George Monck, Duke of Albemarle; Lord William Craven; Lord John Berkeley; Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury; Sir George Carteret; Sir William Berkeley; and Sir John Colleton. Charles II granted Carolina to the eight Lords Proprietors in 1663. After the claims of Heath's successors had been disposed of, the grant was revised and extended in 1665.
Two factors heavily influenced the development of North Carolina. Its stormy coastline, known as the "graveyard of the Atlantic," does not include a natural harbor to promote commerce. The Cape Fear River is the only river that empties into the Atlantic Ocean, and its approaches are endangered by the Frying Pan Shoals. Except for Highland Scots, immigrants to North Carolina generally arrived by overland routes. The second factor influencing North Carolina's development was the presence of approximately 35,000 Native Americans. They taught the European settlers important agricultural techniques such as planting row crops and fertilizing plants. The Europeans also learned the natives' techniques of wilderness war. But the presence of the whites eventually destroyed the native civilization through disease, forceful removal to reservations, and war.
New Bern was founded in 1710 by colonists from Germany, Switzerland, and England under the leadership of Christopher de Graffenried. The colonists landed in Virginia and trekked overland to North Carolina, arriving too late to plant and harvest crops. The settlement survived and flourished, however, and New Bern became the largest town in North Carolina during the colonial period. The New Bern settlement, however, was located in the Tuscarora hunting grounds, and the Cary Rebellion in 1711 left the colonists open to attack. The Tuscarora Indian War (1711-15) was the result.
In 1729 the Lords Proprietors, except for John Carteret, Earl Granville, sold their shares in the provinces of North and South Carolina to King James II of England, ending the proprietary period. North Carolina was the most sparsely settled English colony in America at that time. The end of the proprietary period marked the beginning of a period of great expansion and growth. Scots-Irish and German immigrants traveled over the Great Wagon Road from Pennsylvania through the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia to North Carolina. Highland Scots, the only significant migration that sailed directly to North Carolina, settled in the Cape Fear River valley. The Moravians purchased nearly 100,000 acres in present-day Forsyth County from Earl Granville in 1753 and settled the tract they called "Wachovia."
The movement for independence was strong in North Carolina, and a provincial congress met in New Bern in 1774. Yet not all North Carolinians supported the revolution. The Highland Scots, in particular, remained loyal to the crown and recruited Loyalist military units.
In 1789, North Carolina ratified the United States Constitution and ceded its western lands, now known as Tennessee, to the federal government. The site for the state capital was located and named Raleigh three years later. Dissatisfaction with the state constitution of 1776, which heavily favored the eastern counties and towns, resulted in the constitutional convention of 1835 and the adoption of a new state constitution.
North Carolina was not ardently secessionist in 1860, but when the federal government requested troops to quell the rebellion, Gov. John W. Ellis refused, and North Carolina soon joined the Confederacy. North Carolina supplied about 125,000 troops to the Confederacy, more than any other southern state, and over 14,000 North Carolinians were killed in action.
From the end of the Civil War, North Carolina rapidly developed as an industrial state. Governmental support fostered the growth of the textile, tobacco, and furniture industries for which North Carolina is known.
Early Beginnings of North Carolina Counties: In pre-Revolutionary North Carolina the county was the primary political, as well as geographical unit. The colony relied heavily upon the county for administration of local government. Justices of the peace, as a body or court, administered the affairs of the county. These were men of standing and most often men of substance, and generally the leaders in their communities. Independence from England brought no major changes in this system. In the early days of statehood, justices were appointed by the governor to serve for good behavior; however, in making his appointments the governor relied on recommendations from the General Assembly. The members of the legislature from a given county had a powerful voice in the selection of justices of the peace for their county. This appointment input also gave legislators a good deal of influence in the government at the county level.
As a group, justices of the peace in a county formed a court known as the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions. Any three justices, sitting together, constituted a quorum for the transaction of business. It was common practice for the justices to meet each January, select a chairman, then elect five of their number to hold the regular sessions of the court for the year. During its early existence, the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions appointed the county sheriff, the coroner, and constables. Later these offices became elective positions with the sheriff and coroner elected from the county at large and constables from captain's districts (a militia-mustering area). Justices of the peace were also responsible for appointing a clerk of court, a register of deeds, a county attorney, a county trustee (treasurer), a surveyor, and overseers or wardens of the poor.
The Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions had dual responsibilities; it performed judicial as well as administrative functions. The administrative duties of the justices of the peace included the assessing and levying of taxes; the establishing and maintaining of roads, bridges, and ferries; the granting of licenses to taverns and controlling the prices charged for food; and the erecting and controlling of mills. Through their power of appointment, justices supervised the work of the law enforcement officers, the administrative officers of the court, the surveyor, and the wardens of the poor. Taxes were collected by the sheriff.
In its judicial capacity, the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions heard civil cases (except those assigned by law to a single justice or to a higher court). The court was responsible for probate, dower, guardianships, and the administration of estates and had jurisdiction in criminal cases in which the punishment did not extend to life, limb, or member.
The county itself was a single political unit; there were no townships; and the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, through its appointive and administrative powers, exerted strong control over county affairs. However, it should be emphasized that at this time the voters had no direct control over the court and thus no direct control over county government. Such was the situation until the end of the Civil War.
When the Constitution of North Carolina was rewritten in 1868, the drafters, many of whom were acquainted with local government systems in other parts of the country, devised a new and more democratic plan of organization for the counties.
Although the position of justice of the peace was retained, the old Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions was eliminated. Its judicial responsibilities were distributed between the justices and the North Carolina Superior Court. Its administrative work was assigned to a board of county commissioners composed of five members elected at large by the voters of the county. The county commissioners were made responsible for public buildings, schools, roads and bridges, and the financial affairs of the county, including taxation. The wide appointive powers of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions were not transferred to the board of county commissioners. Instead, the voters of the county elected the sheriff, coroner, clerk of court, register of deeds, surveyor, and treasurer. The sheriff continued to serve as tax collector.
Each county was divided into townships - a distinct innovation - and the voters of each township elected two justices of the peace and a clerk who served as the governing body of the township. Under the county commissioner's supervision, the township board was responsible for roads and bridges and for the assessment of property for taxation. Each township had a constable and each had a school committee.
This long ballot system was consciously constructed to favor the Republican Party. The support of this party lay in the newly enfranchised blacks who had been slaves only three years before, from native whites of small means who had opposed secession and remained loyal to the Union throughout the Civil War, and from a relatively small number of prominent citizens who believed that the state's shattered fortunes could be recovered only through cooperation and understanding between the races and accommodation with the dominant national political party. The ballot was intended to destroy forever the political power of the landowners, professional people, and merchants who had dominated state government, and thus local government under the old system, for nearly a century. Although most of the people were disenfranchised by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States because they had "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof by actively supporting the Confederacy, they formed a new political party called the Conservative Party devoted to restoring as much of the pre-war social and governmental system as was possible under the circumstances. The new system of county government contained in the Constitution of 1868 became one of their targets.
Seven years after the Constitution of 1868 established the county commissioners and township systems, political control shifted to the conservatives. At a constitutional convention in 1875, the Constitution of North Carolina was amended to authorize the General Assembly to modify the plan of county government established in 1868. The legislature was quick to exercise its authority in this matter. The board of county commissioners was not abolished, but members were to be chosen by the justices of the peace of the county rather than by the people at large. While the commissioners retained their responsibilities, decisions on matters of substance could not be put into effect without the concurrence of a majority of the justices - all of whom were elected by the legislature. The justices were made responsible for conducting all elections. In more than a few counties, the board of commissioners was also made subject to legislative appointment.
This troubling arrangement lasted for twenty years. In 1895, the right of the people to elect county commissioners was restored in most counties, and the necessity for approval of the board's decisions by the justices of the peace was repealed. Townships were stripped of their powers, but they were retained as convenient administrative subdivisions, primarily for road building and maintenance purposes. Finally, in 1905 the people of all 100 counties regained direct control over the board of commissioners through the ballot box.
North Carolina Discontinued Counties - This section provides an list of North Carolina counties that no longer exist. They were established by the state, provincial, or territorial government. Most of these counties were created and disbanded in the 19th century; county boundaries have changed little since 1900 in the vast majority of states.
Albemarle County: (Formed in 1664, divided into Carteret, Berkeley, and Shaftesbury precincts about 1668 and abolished in 1739 when precincts were declared counties.. Miscellaneous records from 1678-1737)Bath:(Formed in 1696, divided into Archedale, Pamptecough, and Wickham precincts about 1705 and abolished in 1739 when precincts were declared counties )
Bute County: (Formed in 1764, abolished in 1779. Records transferred to Warren and Franklin Counties)
Clarendon County: (Formed as an original County 1664 and abolished in 1667)
Dobbs County: (Established in 1758 from Johnston County, abolished in 1791. Divided into Glasgow and Lenoir Counties)
Glasgow County: (Formed in 1791 from Dobbs County, renamed Greene in 1799)
Tennessee County: (Formed in 1788 from Davidson County Tennessee County, ceded to the United States in 1790 as part of the Southwest Territory (later Tennessee)
Tryon County: (Formed in 1768 from Mecklenburg County, Divided into Lincoln and Rutherford Counties in 1779. Records transferred to Lincoln County)
Washington District: Ceded to the United States in 1790 as part of the Southwest Territory (later Tennessee)
North Carolina Burned Courthouses - The destruction of courthouses greatly affects genealogists in every way. No only are these historic structures torn from our lives, so are the records they housed: marriage, wills, probate, land records, and others. Once destroyed they are lost forever. Even if they have been placed on mircofilm, computers and film burn too. The most heartbreaking side of this is the fact that many of our courthouses are destroyed at the hands of arsonist. However, not all records were lost.
Below is a list of North Carolina Counties and the years the Courthouses were subjected to a disaster. This does NOT mean that ALL RECORDS were lost. Often, folks took their documents again in for recording after a disaster and later deeds will contain long chains of title, etc. The first item is the county name, followed by the date of courthouse destruction, () describes what caused the destruction and if records were destroyed.
Alleghany - 1932 (fire, record loss)
Alexander - 1865 (civil war, record loss), 1967 (fire)
Craven
- 1712 (records destroyed by Indians)
Anson - 1868 (fire)
Ashe - 1865 (fire, records fragmented)
Bladen - 1770 (fire), 1800 (fire), 1893 (fire)
Brunswick - 1865 (civil war, record loss), 1957 (clerk's office fire)
Buncombe - 1830 (fire), 1865 (fire)
Burke - 1865 (civil war, record loss)
Cabarrus - 1876 (fire)
Cherokee - 1865 (fire), 1895 (fire), 1926 (fire)
Chowan - 1848 (records destroyed by acting clerk)
Clay - 1870 (fire, records destroyed)
Craven - 1712 (records destroyed by Indians)
Currituck - 1842 (fire)
Davidson - 1866 (fire)
Gaston - 1874 (fire)
Greene - 1876 (fire)
Guilford - 1781 (fire), 1872 (fire)
Harnett - 1892 (fire), 1894 (fire)
Haywood - 1932 (records destroyed in move to new courthouse)
Hertford - 1830 (fire), 1822 (fire)
Hyde - 1789 (fire), 1827 (fire)
Iredell - 1854 (fire)
Jackson - 1913 (records lost when county seat moved)
Jones - 1862 (fire)
Lenoir - 1878 (fire), 1880 (fire)
Lincoln - 1797 (records may have been destroyed by fire in private home)
Martin - 1862 (fire)
Mitchell - 1907 (some records destroyed in move to new courthouse)
Montgomery - 1835 (fire), 1840 (fire), 1886 (may have suffered record loss from courthouse fire. The clerk said that he saved the records but that they were "in a state of great confusion.")
Moore - 1889 (fire)
New Hanover - 1789, 1819 & 1840 (all 3 courthouse fires may have destroyed some records)
Onslow - 1752 & 1755 (records destroyed by storm)
Orange - 1781 (records destroyed when buried in woods to avoid capture or destruction by Cornwallis)
Pitt - 1857 (fire)
Rowan - 1865 (civil war, record loss)
Rutherford - 1907 (fire)
Sampson - 1921 (clerk's office fire)
Swain - 1879 (fire)
Wake - 1832 (register's office fire)
Warren - 1935 (Some early County records may have been destroyed)
Washington - 1962 (County records destroyed by bombardment in Civil War)
Watauga - 1873 (fire)
Wayne - 1781 (records may have been destroyed in courthouse fire)
North Carolina County Selection Table - Select a county from the table below to to view more information on genealogical information & records pertaining to each county.
