Most probate records in North Carolina were created on a county level though many were later sent to the North Carolina State Archives. The contents of probate records vary greatly depending on the prevailing law and the personality of the record keeper.

Probate records in the state fall into two general categories: wills and estate papers. Most records mention the names of heirs and frequently specify how those heirs are related. Names of children may be given, as well as married names of daughters. Probate records may not give an exact death date, but a death most often occurred within a few months of the date of probate. See the United States Research Outline (30972) for more information about probate records.

Index to Wills

The first source you should check to determine if your ancestor left a will in North Carolina between the years 1665 and 1900 is:

Mitchell, Thornton W. North Carolina Wills: A Testator Index, 1665–1900. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1992. (FHL book 975.6 P22t 1992; computer number 591461.) This book lists the name of the testator (the person who had the will prepared), the county where the will was probated, the year it was probated, the volume and page number of the recorded will, and the location of the original will. Wills that were not recorded in the county records are also listed. The book has a county-by-county summary of available wills.

Wills

Prior to 1760 most wills were probated by the County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions in the county. The original wills and accompanying estate papers were supposed to be sent to the secretary of state for filing, regardless of where the will was probated. Some counties did not send their records in.

Most of the original wills and papers from this time period, however, are at the North Carolina State Archives. They have been microfilmed in alphabetical order by the name of the testator. Copies of these microfilms are available at the Family History Library in:

North Carolina. Division of Archives and History (Raleigh, North Carolina). Wills and Estate Papers (North Carolina), 1663–1789. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988–1989. (On 7 FHL films beginning with 1605076 item22; computer number 529074.) The wills are in alphabetical order.

Published abstracts and transcripts of some of these early wills can be found in the following two books:

Grimes, John Bryan. Abstract of North Carolina Wills [1690–1760] Compiled from Original and Recorded Wills in the Office of the Secretary of State. 1910. Reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. (FHL book 975.6 P2gr 1967; fiche 6046876; computer number 245443.) This book contains approximately 2,600 wills taken from both original and recorded wills. The index includes all the names that appear in the wills. There are some abstracting errors, so you should examine the original will. The index also lists names of plantations.

Grimes, John Bryan. North Carolina Wills and Inventories Copied from the Original Recorded Wills and Inventories in the Office of the Secretary of State. 1912. Reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. (FHL book 975.6 P2g 1967; computer number 245442; film 459632 item 1; fiche 6051125; computer number 245441.) This book is an incomplete listing of wills. It contains transcripts of 203 wills and 47 inventories recorded from 1665 through 1790. The purpose of this publication was to show examples of what personal items were in possession of early North Carolina families. There is an index to testators, inventories, plantations, slaves’ names, land, and other subjects. The index lists those who made the wills but does not list those persons mentioned in the wills.

For the years 1760–1868, most wills are in the offices of the clerk of the superior court in the county where the testator legally resided. Abstracts of more than 8,000 original wills covering 1760 to 1800 can be found in:

Olds, Fred A. An Abstract of North Carolina Wills from about 1760 to about 1800: Supplementing Grimes’ Abstract of North Carolina Wills, 1663 to 1760. 1925.Reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1978. (FHL book 975.6 P28o; computer number 194664). [The 1925 edition is on FHL film 496782 item 3; computer number 61702. The 1965 Genealogical Publishing edition is on FHL fiche 6019970; computer number 61889].) The wills are listed by county, and there is no index. There is an index to the 1936 typescript on film:

Index to Abstract of North Carolina Wills from about 1760 to About 1800 prepared... by Fred A. Olds. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1981. (FHL film 1033627; computer number 61704.)

Between 1868 and 1966 wills were proved in the superior court of the county. The original will was sent to the clerk in each county court house and a copy may have been sent to the state archives.

Since 1966 all documents relating to probate cases are kept in case files. After the estate is settled, the files are microfilmed and indexed by the name of the deceased and the names of the heirs.

Estate Papers

When an individual died leaving a will, the legal process carrying out the provisions of the will created many loose estate papers. Most early residents of North Carolina who possessed real property did not leave a will and died intestate. The process of settling a person’s intestate estate also created loose papers. These loose papers have a variety of titles and were generally created in the following sequence:

Petition to Probate the Estate
Administrator’s Bond
Petition for a Year’s Allotment for the Widow
Petition for Widow’s Dower
Inventory
Petition of Division of Lands and Slaves
Account of Sale
Guardian’s Bond and Accounts
Yearly Accounts
Final Settlement or Final Distribution