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County Courthouse

History

Washington County, now in Tennessee, was created from the District of Washington in 1777. North Carolina ceded her west territory to the Federal Government in 1789.

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

Newspapers

Probate

Taxation

Vital Records

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.

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.

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

References

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