North Carolina histories are available in all major research centers. A good example is:

Lefler, Hugh T., and Albert R. Newsome. North Carolina: The History of a Southern State, Rev. ed. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1963. (FHL book 975.6 H2Lh; computer number 244814.)

County and local histories are another good source of information on the early history of places, religions, and early residents. The Family History Library has histories of nearly all counties in the state. Many histories are indexed. Some indexes are listed in the “Biography” and “Genealogy” sections of the United States Research Outline (30972). A bibliography of county and local histories for North Carolina is:

Stevenson, George. North Carolina Local History: A Select Bibliography. Rev. ed. Raleigh, N.C. North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, 1984. (FHL book 975.6 H23sg; computer number 501743.)

The Draper Manuscript Collection is a significant regional source including records of North Carolina.

Draper, Lyman Copeland. Draper Manuscript Collection. Chicago: University of Chicago Library, 197–?. (On 147 FHL films beginning with 889098; computer number 254597.) The Draper Manuscript Collection consists of nearly 500 volumes of manuscripts, papers, and books collected by Lyman Copeland Draper about the history of the Trans-Allegheny West, a region including the western areas of the Carolinas and Virginia, all of the Ohio River Valley, and part of the upper Mississippi Valley from the 1740s to 1830. The collection is divided into 50 series. Some series are titled by geographic area, some by the names of prominent frontier leaders, and some by topic. The bulk of the collection consists of notes from interviews, questionnaires, and letters gathered during Draper’s extensive travels and research to learn about frontier history. Personal papers are much more rare in the collection than government or military records. The collection includes many items of a genealogical or biographical nature. For an inventory and partial indexes, see:

Harper, Josephine L. Guide to the Draper Manuscripts. Madison, Wis.: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1983. (FHL book 977.583/M1 A3h; computer number 37812.) This guide gives series and volume descriptions for some of the Draper manuscripts. There are several indexes at the end of the book, including a name and subject index, an additional personal data index, and a list of references to North Carolina.

Wolfe, Barbara Schull. Index to Lyman C. Draper Manuscripts. Logansport, Ind.: B.S. Wolfe, 197–?. (FHL book 977.583/M1 A3w; computer number 525504.) The name index gives series and volume numbers, but is not complete.

North Carolina local histories can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Locality Search under:

NORTH CAROLINA- HISTORYNORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY]- HISTORYNORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- HISTORY

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