Genealogy in the North Carolina Collection

A Selective Guide for Family Research

Getting Started

While it is true that what works for one individual may not prove successful for another, it is hoped that this brief guide will provide you some important essentials in creating your own research strategy. If you are starting genealogical research for the first time and have decided to begin yours search in North Carolina, the following volumes are highly recommended:

North Carolina Research: Genealogy and Local History (2nd ed.)  NoCar Ref CS16.N67 1996

This work explains in detail the fundamentals of genealogical research especially as they relate to North Carolina. In addition to methodology, considerable attention is given to understanding aspects of various sorts of county, state, federal and private records.

The Short, Short Course in the Use of North Carolina’s Early County-Level Records in Genealogical Research  NoCar Ref F253.H633 1988

An Intermediate Short, Short Course in the Use of Some North Carolina Records  NoCar Ref F253.H629 1990

Written by noted genealogist Margaret M. Hofmann, these two very concise volumes serve as handy reference guides in deciphering the many peculiarities of older county and state level records found in North Carolina.

Locating Resources – State, County & Private Collections

Archival and Manuscript Repositories in North Carolina: A Directory  NoCar Ref CD3420.A7 1993

Guide to Private Manuscript Collections in the North Carolina State Archives  NoCar Ref CD3424.C34 1981

Guide to Research Materials in the North Carolina State Archives: State Agency Records  NoCar Ref CD3424.N68 1995

Guide to Research Materials in the North Carolina State Archives: County Records NoCar Ref CD3424.N67a

Guide to the Cataloged Collections in Manuscript Department of the Williams R. Perkins Library, Duke University  NoCar Ref Z881.D8 D8x

Manuscript Bulletin / East Carolina Manuscript Collection  NoCar Ref F251.J29 (See also An Index to Manuscript Bulletins 1-10 East Carolina Manuscript Collection  NoCar Ref F251.J29 1988)

North Carolina Genealogical Research  NoCar Ref F253.S384 1984

North Carolina Genealogical Reference: A Research Guide for All Genealogists Both Amateur and Professional  NoCar F253.N657 1966

Building a Foundation – North Carolina Census Records

United States Bureau of Census Records – North Carolina, 1790-1930

The North Carolina Collection at Joyner Library maintains microfilm copies of the U.S. Census for all North Carolina counties, 1790-1930.The Federal Documents call number is U.S. C332p. Consult the handout, Microforms in the North Carolina Collection, for specific location. For added accessibility, printed indexes are available for the following years:

1800   NoCar Ref F253.I55

1810   NoCar Ref F253.I56

1820-1870   NoCar Ref F253.J3x

Besides microfilm, the North Carolina Collection also has complete printed versions of the 1790 and 1820 Federal Census for North Carolina. Call numbers are NoCar Ref F253.H72 1966 and NoCar Ref F253.U54 1993 respectively. For additional information concerning individual counties beyond 1870, see the guide, Printed Indexes to United States Census Records in the North Carolina Collection, 1790-1920.

Sharing Information – Current Journals

Statewide Interest

North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal  NoCar Ref F253.N882a (See also 1975-1984 Consolidated Index by William D. Bennett  NoCar Ref F253.N882x 1997)

NCGS News  NoCar F 252 N66x

Eastern North Carolina

Pitt County Genealogical Quarterly  NoCar F253.P57

Journal / Washington County Genealogical Society  NoCar F262.W3 W3

Connector: The Newsletter of the Tar River Connections Genealogical Society  NoCar F53.C66

Tyrrell Branches: Journal of the Tyrell County Genealogical and Historical Society  NoCar F262.T9 T98

Additional Resources

Newspapers

Use local newspapers to find possible birth and death notices concerning your ancestor in addition to interesting bits of social information not often found in other genealogical sources. Guide to North Carolina Newspapers on Microfilm in the North Carolina Collection J.Y. Joyner Library is available for reference in print form and via web access. A comprehensive listing of newspapers, the guide is arranged alphabetically by locality. Web access also provides a chronological listing by year. For more information log on to: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-lib/ncc/newspapers.cfm.

Newspaper Indexes

Abstracts from Newspapers of Edenton, Fayetteville and Hilsborough, North Carolina  NoCar Ref F264.E2 F68 1984

Abstracts from Newspapers of Wilmington  NoCar Ref F 264.W7 F68 1984 v. 1-5

Abstracts from the Edenton Gazette and North Carolina General Advertiser  NoCar Ref F264.E2 F68x 1990 v. 1-4

Abstracts from the North Carolina Gazette of New Bern  NoCar Ref F253.F677 1983 v. 1-2

Abstracts from the North Carolina Journal: Halifax, North Carolina  NoCar Ref F264.H33 F68 1988 v. 1-5

Abstracts of Vital Records from Raleigh, North Carolina Newspapers 1799-1839  NoCar Ref F264.R1 N34 v. 1-3

Daily Reflector / Eastern Reflector Index http://www.ecu.edu/cs-lib/ERindxabt.cfm

Marriage and Death Notices in Raleigh Register and North Carolina State Gazette  NoCar Ref F253.N8613 v. 1-5

Early Public Records

Colony of North Carolina 1735-1764 and 1765-1775: Abstracts of Land Patents  NoCar Ref F253.H627 v. 1-2

Index to the Colonial and State Records of North Carolina  NoCar Ref F251.N6 1993 index

North Carolina Wills: A Testator Index, 1665-1990  NoCar Ref F.253 M575 1992

Province of North Carolina 1663-1729: Abstracts of Land Patents  NoCar Ref F253.H63

The Granville District of North Carolina 1748-1763: Abstracts of Land Grants  NoCar Ref F253.H628 1986 v. 1-5

Civil War

North Carolina Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865  NoCar E548.H4 1999 v. 1-3

North Carolina Troops 1861-1865: A Roster  NoCar Ref E573.3 v.1-14 (14 of the projected 17 volumes in this series have been published thus far. The series covers all branches of Civil War military service by North Carolinians)

African American Ancestry

Free African Americans of North Carolina and Virginia  NoCar Ref F258.H45 1997

Preliminary Guide to Records Relating to Blacks in the North Carolina State Archives  NoCar Ref F251.N67a no. 17

North Carolina Freedman’s Savings & Trust Company Records  NoCar HG2463.F74 N6 1992

Somebody Knows My Name: Marriages of Freed People of Color in North Carolina County by County  NoCar Ref E185.96 W53 1995

The Heritage of Blacks in North Carolina  NoCar Ref Oversize E85.93.N6 H47X 1990

Bibliography

Carolina Families: A Bibliography of Books About North and South Carolina Families  NoCar Ref F253.H44 1994

Web Sites

For quick access to web sites of interest to North Carolina Genealogists, log on to the North Carolina Collection’s Related Links Page at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-lib/ncc/links.cfm.

County Record Series

County level records up to the year 1900 are available for the following 13 counties in eastern North Carolina: Beaufort, Bertie, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Edgecombe, Halifax, Hyde, Lenoir, Martin, Pasquotank, Perquimans, and Pitt.

Maps

Unable to locate particular areas or landmarks associated with a particular county? Refer to the Stout Historical Research Maps - North Carolina Counties located in the NCC Closed Stacks. Ask at the NCC Service Desk for assistance. Of related interest also are Historical Map Reprints, 1585-1896. Refer the guide, Map Series in the North Carolina Collection, for further details. For the Civil War era try Confederate Engineer’s Maps: Jeremy Francis Gilmer Collection  NoCar Maps G3881.S5 svar G5 1989. The Stout Maps are extremely useful in locating place names like Post Offices that no longer exist or have been from time to time referred to by other names. Likewise, the Gilmer Collection gives reference to families living along established routes during Union occupation of eastern North Carolina.

Also very useful in locating individual properties in North Carolina towns and cities are the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps  NoCar Microfilm Sa.516a -- located in the microforms section of the North Carolina Collection and online at: http://sanborn.umi.com.

Getting Local – County Related History and Genealogy

While the North Carolina Collection at Joyner Library carries both historical and genealogical information for all 100 counties in the state, collection focus has been primarily but not exclusively geared towards those counties situated in the Coastal Plain Region or east of Route I-95. This is not to infer that resources in most cases are less for areas west of I-95. The best way to access these resources for a particular county is to use the online Joyner Library Catalog and do a subject alphabetical search. For example, type in the search field Pitt County (N.C.) and press enter. Then scroll down the list of sub headings to locate titles connected with genealogy and history. These will likely include local histories, abstracts of census records, deeds, wills and so forth. Most county resources in this type will come under the call number heading F 262 and are shelved alphabetically by county. Thus, it is also possible to browse both the reference and general circulating collections in the North Carolina Collection for these resources. Published family histories are also available in the collection and mainly fall under the call number heading CS 71.