North Carolina Genealogy

This page of our website provides links to North Carolina genealogy databases and historical narratives about North Carolina. These genealogical records may include, vital records (birth, marriage and divorce, death), ethnic records (Black, Native American), court records (land, probate and wills, criminal and civil), church records (Bibles, baptisms, marriages, burials and histories), cemeteries, census records, military records directories and yearbooks.

North Carolina Bible Records

Bible Records
Bible records include lists of birth, marriage, and death information recorded throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. This collection presently contains 2,215 family Bibles which have been digitized and placed online for free.

North Carolina Biographies

Biographical Sketches of Western North Carolina
Illustrating Principally the Revolutionary Period of Mecklenburg, Rowan, Lincoln and Adjoining Counties of Burke, Cabarrus, Cleaveland, Gaston, Iredell, and Wilkes. The biographies have been extracted from this manuscript and presented here as part of our larger biographies collection. As with most historical manuscripts, these biographies should provide a glimpse into the genealogy of the leading men and the occasional woman of the western North Carolina area.

North Carolina Black Genealogy

WPA Slave Narratives
Slave narratives are stories of surviving slaves told in their own words and ways. Unique, colorful, and authentic, these slave narratives provide a look at the culture of the South during slavery which heretofore had not been told.

North Carolina African American Genealogy

North Carolina State Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, 1935

Undertaker’s Record Book [New Bern N.C.]Researchers may find use in the Undertaker’s Record Book, a unique source that documents the business and financial interactions of Merritt Whitley & Sons funeral home. The funeral home was an African American owned family operation which appeared in town records as early as 1890. The owner, Merritt Whitley, was also appointed as the County Undertaker in 1897. His sons, William O. Whitley and Hugh L. Whitley operated the funeral after their father’s death in 1910. The record book offers a variety of unique data, documenting the years 1923-1925. In addition to the products and pricing of funeral items, such as caskets, burial clothes, embalming fluid, and cemetery transportation, the ledger also social and demographic information about the deceased. Including everything from family relations and presiding clergy to cause of death and grave location, this resource could be a wealth of information for genealogists or historical researchers.

Cleveland County North Carolina Colored Apprentices
A list of Colored Apprentices that have been indentured in the County Court of Cleveland County since May 1866

North Carolina Runaway Slave Advertisements, 1750-1840
The North Carolina Runaway Slave Advertisements project provides online access to all known runaway slave advertisements (more than 2300 items) published in North Carolina newspapers from 1751 to 1840. These brief ads provide a glimpse into the social, economic, and cultural world of the American slave system and the specific experience within North Carolina. Working from microfilmed copies of these rare publications, the project team scanned the ads to provide digital images, create full-text transcripts and descriptive metadata, and develop a searchable database. The NCRSA website includes digital scans of the ads, contextual essays to address their historical research value, full text transcripts, an annotated bibliography to aid researchers, and a searchable database.

North Carolina Cemeteries

North Carolina Cemetery Records
North Carolina Cemetery Transcriptions are listed by county then name of cemetery within the North Carolina county. Most of these are complete indices at the time of transcription, however, in some cases we list the listing when it is only a partial listing.

North Carolina African American Cemeteries
Cemeteries provide us with a unique link to our past. While many cemeteries contain a few African American graves, some are comprised of only African Americans. The following list shows  African American Cemeteries in North Carolina

Cemetery Records
Material from two collections: contemporary photographs of the Raleigh Hebrew Cemetery and the Hebrew section of Raleigh Historic Oakwood Cemetery, and the 1930s Works Project Administration cemetery surveys.

North Carolina Census Records

North Carolina Church History

History of the German settlements and of the Lutheran church in North and South Carolina
From the earliest period of the colonization of the Dutch, German and Swiss settlers to the close of the first half of the present century.

North Carolina Court Records

North Carolina Wills

North Carolina Genealogy

Transcribed Genealogy Vertical Files
Genealogy information contributed by researchers of all ages and skill levels, organized alphabetically by last name and transcribed by participants in the Genealogy Vertical File Transcription Project at the North Carolina Digital Collections.

North Carolina History

Craven County

New Bern North Carolina Female Benevolent Society
The New Bern Benevolent Society traces its roots to the 1812 founding of the New Bern Female Charitable Society, the first benevolent society incorporated in North Carolina. The society was formed to offer relief to the poor and to educate poor female children. Minute book contains the record of the administration and activities of the Female Benevolent Society of New Bern, N.C. for the dates of January 22, 1878 – May 1905. Roll Book contains the record of members present at meetings of the Female Benevolent Society of New Bern, N.C. for the years 1942-1962.

New Bern City Schools Scrapbook 1903-1918
Scrapbook contains information about public education in Craven County. It includes newspaper clippings, playbills, event advertisements and programs. Much of the information is related to graduation and school-leaving ceremonies.

Randolph County

History of Randolph County, 1779-1979
Free to read and download. This extensive manuscript published in 1979 details the history of Randolph County North Carolina in celebration of its 200-year anniversary. It’s 300 pages are filled with anecdotes and stories about the cast of characters which made Randolph County what it is today.

Randolph County NC Tales
The stories in this book are some of the stories that were told a long time ago. Some are about people who have acted bravely in the face of danger and have become heroes. Some are about places in the county that are like no other places in the state. Some are stories that have been invented just for fun. All of the stories have one thing in common — they are unique to Randolph County.

History of Asheboro North Carolina
Historical sketches by Sidney Swaim Robins concerning Asheboro North Carolina between the years of 1880 and 1910. Taken from memory and the young age at which he resided in Asheboro, they were subject to some errors, but in general seem quite active. Some interesting tidbits of history on the people and place of Asheboro. Free to read or download.

History of Old Seagrove School District
A look at the history and people of the Seagrove area of Randolph County, North Carolina. Using the school district as its focus, it covers the history up to 1976 of several communities: Seagrove, Erect, Pisgah, Ulah, and Why Not. Yes, there is an unincorporated area of NC called Whynot. Book is free to read or download.

History of Randleman North Carolina
The Rotary Club of Randleman compiled a History of Randleman in 1944. The History, together with a reprint of “The Story of Naomi Wise” and “Reminiscences of Randolph County” was published in the interest of preserving the early life of Randolph County, and as a club project. Free to read or download.

North Carolina Maps

North Carolina Military Records

  • North Carolina Forts
    List of colonial forts, trading posts, named camps, redoubts, reservations, general hospitals, national cemeteries, etc., established or erected in the United States from its earliest settlement to 1902.
  • Revolutionary War Records
    • Revolutionary War Pension And Bounty Land Warrants
      This article helps you access the Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrants for free. Following two simple steps, one to search, and the other to browse the actual microfilms, you can quickly find your ancestors Revolutionary War pension record, or Bounty-Land record and download the images. During 1800-1900 the United States issued more than 80,000 pensions and bounty-land-warrants to soldiers of the Revolutionary War, their spouse, or their children. Was your ancestor one of them?
    • 1840 Pensioners Census
      The information contained in this 1840 Pensioners Census database is a compilation of the data on the Revolutionary War pensioners gathered from the 1840 census returns. The information is organized by place – state, county, then township. It also lists the name and age of the veteran, and the name of the head of household with whom the pensioner resided on the census date.
    • Revolutionary War Pension Records
    • Battles
    • Revolutionary Leaders of North Carolina
    • North Carolina, 1780-’81
      Being a history of the invasion of the Carolinas by the British Army under Lord Cornwallis in 1780-’81. with the particular design of showing the part borne by North Carolina in that struggle for liberty and independence, and to correct some of the errors of history in regard to that State and its people.
    • North Carolina Loyalists
      Robert DeMond, Loyalists in North Carolina During the Revolution. Copyright 1940, Duke University Press, Durham, NC.
      • List of Loyalists
        While these lists do not claim to include the names of all the Tories of the state, they are representative of that group who were interested enough to take an active part. Prior to making these transcripts it was impossible to locate by name or profession any considerable number of Tories in the state. The names given here and in the following appendices probably include the greater number of the more prominent Loyalists. The sources from which these documents are derived, are indicated in brackets at the end of each document. The reproduction of these documents without editorial changes accounts for any unusual spelling of proper names and the crude wording of the reports of some of the Loyalist officers.
      • Land Confiscated
        Contains a list of the real estate that was confiscated and sold in North Carolina. Some counties contained a large number of tracts while others possessed comparatively few. Henry McCulloch was the largest loser. A surprisingly large number of small planters lost their holdings, and for the most part before the Treaty of Peace had been signed.
      • Loyalist Claims
        These page includes a list of those Loyalists of North Carolina who made application to Great Britain for compensation for loss of office or property in the state. Sometimes the claims were made by the brother, sister, or heir of the original person who lost the property or office. Both the sum asked for and the sum received have been given to show the great discrepancy that sometimes existed between the two. The names indicate that a great number of the claimants were of Scotch descent.
      • Pension Rolls
        These lists of North Carolinians who received pensions from the British Government are believed to be complete for the years given. Not only did the names constantly change as older members died and new names were added, but the amount allowed to the same individual varied from time to time. The names certify to the loyalty of certain families within the state to the King’s cause.
  • War of 1812 Records
  • Civil War Records
    • North Carolina Civil War Map
    • Civil War Pensions Index Cards
      Each card gives the soldier’s name, unit, the application number, the certificate number and the state from which the soldier served. In some cases, the soldier’s rank, terms of service, date of death and place of death are given. The index cards refer to pension applications of veterans who served in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917. The majority of the records pertain to Civil War veterans, but they also include veterans of the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, Indian wars, and World War I.
  • Spanish American War Records
  • World War 1 Records
  • World War II Records
  • Korean War Casualty List
  • Vietnam War Casualty List

North Carolina Native American Records

North Carolina Newspapers

Marriage and Death Notices 1799-1893
Indexes of marriage and death announcements compiled from five North Carolina newspapers dating 1799 to 1893. Indexes include names, dates, places. Newspapers were the Raleigh register and North Carolina State Gazette and 3 newspapers in Fayetteville.

North Carolina Vital Records

North Carolina Yearbooks