Facts on Local Court Records

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    There is no effective substitute for an on-site search of county courthouse records. County level records have not yet been centralized. No single county's records have been significantly abstracted or transcribed, making a courthouse visit essential. County records vary widely from county to county in both quality and quantity.

   Research in North Carolina county records can begin with the microfilmed North Carolina material at a central collection, such as the North Carolina State Archives, Allen County Public Library , the FHL, or other repositories with the North Carolina Core Collection. However, county seats still may hold additional material, including original deed and will books. When counties were formed in North Carolina, many county clerks copied appropriate records from the parent county. In other cases, records pertaining to the land and families of the new county were transferred wholesale. Most counties therefore have some records that pre-date the formation of the county. The register of deeds at the county seat holds land and vital records, the clerk of the superior court holds probate records and court records if they have not been transferred to the state archives in Raleigh. Land records may include deeds, grants, plats, and other miscellaneous items. Probate records include not only wills, but also loose estates records, most of which have not been microfilmed. Court records may include apprentice bonds, bastardy bonds, and officials' or constables' bonds in addition to dockets, fee and account books, and court minutes and orders. The beginning dates do not imply that all records are extant since some of North Carolina's county records have been lost due to fire and other causes.

   County records information is quoted from Guide to Research Materials in the North Carolina State Archives (Section B: County Records) (10th rev. ed., Raleigh, N.C.: North Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1988). County formation information is derived from the above Guide, David Leroy Corbitt, The Formation of the North Carolina Counties 1663 to 1943 (1950; 2d printing, Raleigh, N.C.: State Department of Archives and History, 1969); George K. Schweitzer, North Carolina Genealogical Research (Knoxville, Tenn.: the author, 1984);

Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions (ca. 1670–1868)

The court of pleas and quarter sessions was the basic court of North Carolina's counties. As such, it was often called the county court or precinct court before 1739 and the inferior court after 1806.
  The county court was presided over by justices of the peace and handled minor civil matters (usually dealing with indebtedness), misdemeanors, probate, levying and expending of local taxes, matters dealing with public works (buildings, roads, bridges, ferries, and mills), summoning and selection of jurors, and a host of other local matters. The court of pleas and quarter sessions was abolished under the constitution of 1868, and the county superior court took over its functions.
  The county court minutes often are not indexed but are one of the richest sources of genealogical information available. Gaps in local records may be filled in by examination of the Supreme Court of North Carolina case files.

General Court (1670–1754)

The general court, sometimes called the court of grand council, the grand court, and the Court of Albemarle, was the court of appeals for the county court. Additionally, the general court was the court of origin in all criminal cases punishable by loss of life or limb. The court often handled probate of large estates or estates that included land in several counties. Three district courts were added to the general court in 1739, and the court was replaced in 1754 by district courts.

District Courts (1754–1806)

"District courts, sometimes called district superior courts, replaced the general court in 1754. In 1782 district courts acquired jurisdiction over all equity cases. From 1771–78 the district courts did not function. When the courts were reestablished in 1778, their probate authority was transferred to the county courts. District courts were replaced in 1806 by superior courts in each county.

Superior Court (1806–present)

In 1806 each county received a superior court to share the judicial burden until the constitution of 1868 abolished the county court. Initially, superior courts heard cases involving large sums of money or serious criminal charges, and then took over all county-level court jurisdiction in 1868.

Court of Chancery (1663–1776)

"The governor and council were members of the court of chancery. During its period of operation, this court was the only court with jurisdiction over equity cases, such as division of land between partners, enforcement of contracts, and other noncriminal cases. In 1782 the North Carolina legislature vested jurisdiction over equity cases in the district courts. The equity system was abolished by the constitution of 1868.

Court of Conference (1799–1805) and Supreme Court of North Carolina (1805–present).

The supreme court is the highest judicial level in the state. It was originally formed by the judges of the district superior courts, but election of supreme court justices began in 1818. Before the twentieth century, if a case was appealed to the supreme court, the entire case file often was transferred from the lower court to the supreme court. The North Carolina State Archives maintains most original pre-1900 court records, and microfilm copies are available at the FHL. See Leary and Stirewalt, North Carolina Research (cited in Background Sources) for a more thorough discussion of North Carolina's court system. An information circular, “North Carolina Courts of Law and Equity Prior to 1868,” is available from the North Carolina State Archives for a fee

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Facts on Local Probate Records

   Probate records are generally of two types: wills and estate records. Estate records include both recorded and “loose” documents relating to a decedent's estate, such as inventories, divisions of estates, sales of real or personal property, and other documents. Some of this material is recorded in bound books under various titles. Although bound books generally remain in the county, many have been microfilmed and are available at the North Carolina State Archives and the FHL. However, for each county there may be surviving original wills and loose estate papers which have been transferred to the North Carolina State Archives. They are filed by county alphabetically by the surname of the decedent, and may be examined in the Search Room of the archives.

   North Carolina early wills were filed with the secretary of state prior to 1760. For summarized abstracts, see J. B. Grimes, Abstracts of North Carolina Wills 1663 - 1760 (reprint; Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967), and William Perry Johnson, “Grimes Wills: Major Additions and Corrections,” Journal of North Carolina Genealogy 11 (1965) and 12 (1966) and North Carolina Genealogy 13 (1967) and 14 (1968).

   After 1760 wills were recorded in North Carolina counties, with the county court assuming the jurisdiction over probate matters from 1760 to 1868. After 1868, probate jurisdiction was transferred to the clerk of the superior court in each county. Some early probate records can be obtained from the clerk of the superior court in individual counties; however, pre-1868 original records have been sent to the North Carolina State Archives for preservation and copies of all records are available there. The FHL also has an extensive collection of wills and other probate records on microfilm. Thornton W. Mitchell, North Carolina Wills: A Testator Index, 1665-1900 Corrected and revised edition, 2 vols. (Raleigh, N.C.: the author, 1987), is a statewide index to all known wills probated during that period.

• North Carolina Will Abstracts, 1660-1790
• North Carolina Will Abstracts, 1760-1800
• North Carolina Wills and Inventories

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Tips for General Court Records

Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   Even today, few people escape mention in court records at some time during their lives as witnesses, litigants, jurors, appointees to office, or as petition signatories. However, Americans of a few generations ago also expected to attend local court proceedings when they were in session.
Arlene H. Eakle, Ph.D. “Research in Court Records”
In The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy

   American court files mirror U.S. history. Buried away in courthouses and archives everywhere are the dreams and frustrations of millions of citizens. The chances are great that your ancestors have left a detailed record of at least some aspects of their lives in court records.

   Most of us don’t think of court records as the rich source of personal history that they are. But America’s English heritage established a tradition of court processes in which the people have a right to participate actively—and we always have. With relative freedom from royal supervision and with court enforcement of religious as well as civil laws, American courts tried many matters that were not subject to court action in other parts of the British empire and that are now considered too minor to warrant criminal action.

   When a person dies, every state has laws that provide for public supervision over the estate that is left, whether or not there is a will. The term “probate records” broadly covers all the records produced by these laws, although, strictly speaking, “probate” applies only when there is a will.

   Family historians use probate case files far more than any other kind of court record. Probate case files are logical sources because they tend to include so much personal data, and because Americans have depended on the courts to settle their estates since North America was colonized. According to Val Greenwood in his Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, “All records which relate to the disposition of an estate after its owner’s death are referred to as probate records. These are many and varied in both content and value, but basically, they fall into two main classes: testate and intestate” (page 255). Probate case files generally provide names, addresses, and biographical data for the deceased, but frequently provide the same information for other relatives named in the papers. Relationships, maiden names of wives, married names of daughters, past residences, and place of origin in a native country are just a few of the details that can be discovered in probate files. And probate files can be found in courthouses and archives across the United States.

   When requesting probate information from the county clerk, it is important not to limit yourself by asking for a person’s “will.” The clerk will usually take you at your word and not copy other papers in the probate file that may have equally important information if there is no will.

   Even if your ancestor is not mentioned in a probate case, consider all of the other procedures which might have resulted in him or her appearing in court records:

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