(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:
(Formed in 1764, abolished in 1779. Records transferred to Warren and Franklin Counties)
Clarendon:
(Formed as an original County 1664 and abolished in 1667)
Dobbs:
(Established in 1758 from Johnston County, abolished in 1791. Divided into Glasgow and Lenoir Counties)
Glasgow:
(Formed in 1791 from Dobbs County, renamed Greene in 1799)
Tennessee:
(Formed in 1788 from Davidson County Tennessee County, ceded to the United States in 1790 as part of the Southwest Territory (later Tennessee)
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 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)
