Rockingham County, North Carolina

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Rockingham County, North Carolina
Map
Location in the state of North Carolina
Location of North Carolina in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	1785
County Seat	Wentworth
Courthouse
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United States    North Carolina    Guilford County

County Courthouse

History

On December 29, 1785, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted legislation that created Rockingham County from the northern half of the Guilford County. The assembly chose to name the new county for Charles Watson-Wentworth, second Marquess of Rockingham (1730-1782). Rockingham was a leading Whig and was Prime Minister of Britian from 1765 to 1766 and again in 1782. His popularity in America was assured when he secured repeal of the hated Stamp Act in 1766 and led the ministry that initiated negotiations to terminate the Revolutionary War. From 1768 to 1781 he had been the leading Parliamentary opponent of both the government's American policy and the war.

Parent County

1785--Rockingham was from Guilford County.
County seat: Wentworth ^[1]

Boundary Changes

Record Loss

Some of the court records are missing.

Places/Localities

Populated Places

Neighboring Counties

• Alamance
• Caswell
• Forsyth
• Guilford
• Henry County, Virginia
• Pittsylvania County, Virginia
• Stokes

Resources

Cemeteries

Rockingham County Cemeteries

Church

Court

Rockingham County Courthouse
1086 NC Highway 65
Wentworth, NC 27375-0127

Mail Address:
P. O. Box 127
Wentworth, NC 27375-0127

Phone: (336) 342-8700

The following sites have copies of transcribed Court Records:

• Rockingham County Court Records

Land

Local Histories

Maps

• Eden-area
• Ellisboro area
• Madison
• Mayfield
• Midway area
• Reidsville area
• Stephens Crossroads
• Stoneville area
• Wentworth area
• Williamsburg area
• 1795 Carey Matthew Map
• 1796 Carey Matthew Map

Military

Newspapers

Probate

Research Guides

• Sweeney, Alice J. "Bassett Historical Center," The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 28, No. 4 (Aug. 2002):1-3. Available at FHL; digital version at Virginia Genealogical Society website.

Taxation

Vital Records

The following sites have transcribed Vital Records:

• Dr. Simpsons Birth Books, Rockingham County, NC - births from 1861-1892
• Rockingham County Marriages
• Rockingham County Obituaries

Societies and Libraries

• Bassett Historical Center, Bassett, Virginia. Website includes descriptions of collections. Excellent resource for family history research in Henry, Patrick, Floyd, Franklin and Pittsylvania counties in Virginia, the city of Martinsville, Virginia, and Rockingham, Stokes and Surry counties in North Carolina.^[2]
• Rockingham County Historical Society
• Genealogical Society of Rockingham & Stokes County, North Carolina

Web Sites

• USGenWeb Project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
• Family History Library Catalog
• Rockingham County, NCGenWeb 
• Rockingham County, NCGenWeb Archives

References

1. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
2. ↑ Sweeney, Alice J. "Bassett Historical Center," The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 28, No. 4 (Aug. 2002):1-3, available online at: http://www.vgs.org/vgsn2804.pdf.