Washington County, North Carolina

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Washington County, North Carolina
Map
Location in the state of North Carolina
Location of North Carolina in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	1799
County Seat	Plymouth
Courthouse
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United States    North Carolina    Washington County

County Courthouse

History

Washington County was formed in 1799 from the western third of Tyrrell County. It was named for George Washington.

Parent County

1799--Washington County was created from Tyrrell County.
County seat: Plymouth ^[1]

Boundary Changes

Record Loss

1862--Courthouse destroyed in Federal bombardment.
1869,1881--Fires have destroyed most of the court records and many of the land records.

Places/Localities

Populated Places

• Creswell
• Plymouth
• Roper

Neighboring Counties

• Beaufort
• Bertie
• Chowan
• Hyde
• Martin
• Tyrrell

Resources

Cemeteries

Church

Court

Land

Local Histories

Maps

Military

Civil War

Civil War Confederate units - Brief history, counties where recruited, etc.

Newspapers

The Roanoake Beacon is the primary newspaper for Washington County. 

• Abstracts from Roanoke Beacon Newspaper Plymouth, Washington County, N.C. – located at the Haas/Davenport Homepage. Covers the year 1889.
• Roanoke Beacon Index - ongoing project to index back issues of the paper. Covers late 1880s to early 1900s.
• More newspapers information - on the Washington County, NCGenWeb site

Probate

Taxation

Vital Records

Uncertified copies of vital records can be ordered from the Washington County Register of Deeds for a low fee. Visit their website for more information. 

Births

• North Carolina Births and Christenings, 1866-1964 - search this name index to birth, baptism and christening records from the state; via FamilySearch

Marriages

• Marriage Licenses of Washington County, North Carolina 1851 - 1920.  According to the information on the site no marriage licenses exist for Washington County until the year 1880. The source of all marriage records prior to that year is marriage registers. There are two marriage registers, one of several volumes that contains marriages from 1851 to the present. There is also a marriage register that records acknowledgements of Freedmen's marriages from 1866 to 1868 and "a record of colored marriages" from 8 March, 1867 to 6 June 1872. The Freedmen's Register records slave marriages legalized after the Civil War between 1866 and 1868. Some of these marriages occurred 40 years before the Civil War. The record tells how long each couple has cohabited.  Can be searched by name of either male or female.
• Marriages reported in the Roanoke Beacon Newspaper - late 1880s - list of names in news reports of marriages. 

Deaths

• NCGenWeb: Washington County -  Deaths/Obits  - check the NCGenWeb page for resources on locating death & obituary records for Washington County residents. There are numerous records available for a wide range of time periods. 

Yearbooks

• Washington County students at NC colleges - via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index

Societies and Libraries 

• Washington County Genealogical Society - The Washington County Genealogical Society has been collecting and publishing data for many years.  Their website provides a membership form and back issues of the newsletter are available online for free.
• Pettigrew Regional Library System: Washington County - handles information & library needs of several counties in the area, including Washington County.

Web Sites

• NCGenWeb project - variety of information relevant to Washington County.  
• Family History Library Catalog

References

1. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).