Wake County, North Carolina Genealogy
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Guide to Wake County, North Carolina ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
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County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
Wake County was named in honor of Margaret Wake, wife of colonial Governor William Tryon. The county is located in the north central area of the state.
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Wake County Courthouse
St Garland James Bldg
300 S Salisbury
PO Box 1897
Raleigh, NC 27602
Phone: 919-856-5460
Wake County Website
Registrar of Deeds has marriage and land records.
Clerk of Superior Court has probate records.[2]
Wake County, North Carolina Record Dates[edit | edit source]
Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1913 | 1770 | 1913 | 1769 | 1774 | 1770 | 1784 |
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
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1810, 1820 U.S. Federal Census for Wake County are lost.
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Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
For animated maps illustrating North Carolina county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation North Carolina County Boundary Maps" (1664-1965) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website. |
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[5]
| Cities | ||
| Towns | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
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| Townships | ||
History Timeline[edit | edit source]
Raleigh, History and the Present, NCpedia, site from the North Carolina State Library
Resources[edit | edit source]
Bible Records[edit | edit source]
- Bible Records at North Carolina Digital Archives - index and image
Biographies[edit | edit source]
- [Stacy] Marvin Hendrix Stacy, 1877-1919. 1919. University of North Carolina. (Internet Archive)
Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
- North Carolina, Historical Records Survey, Cemetery Inscription Card Index at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images Also at: Ancestry ($)
- Raleigh City Cemetery
- Cemetery Census - Wake County Cemeteries - over 300 cemeteries
- FHL Microfilm - Pre-1914 Cemetery Inscriptions, Wake County. FHL Microfilm 882940 Item 9
- Manuscript: Confederate deaths and burials in North Carolina. Find in a Library
- Historic Oakwood Cemetery - in Raleigh, NC
Census Records[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1790 | 10,192 | — |
| 1800 | 13,437 | 31.8% |
| 1810 | 17,096 | 27.2% |
| 1820 | 20,102 | 17.6% |
| 1830 | 20,398 | 1.5% |
| 1840 | 21,118 | 3.5% |
| 1850 | 24,888 | 17.9% |
| 1860 | 28,627 | 15.0% |
| 1870 | 35,617 | 24.4% |
| 1880 | 47,939 | 34.6% |
| 1890 | 49,207 | 2.6% |
| 1900 | 54,626 | 11.0% |
| 1910 | 63,229 | 15.7% |
| 1920 | 75,155 | 18.9% |
| 1930 | 94,757 | 26.1% |
| 1940 | 109,544 | 15.6% |
| 1950 | 136,450 | 24.6% |
| 1960 | 169,082 | 23.9% |
| 1970 | 228,453 | 35.1% |
| 1980 | 301,327 | 31.9% |
| 1990 | 423,380 | 40.5% |
| 2000 | 627,846 | 48.3% |
| 2010 | 900,993 | 43.5% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
Church Records[edit | edit source]
- 1700-1970 - North Carolina, Church Records, 1700-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
- Wake County church information (NCGenWeb)
Baptist
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court Records[edit | edit source]
- Wake County court records (USGenWeb Archives)
Directories[edit | edit source]
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]
- 1862-1870 North Carolina, Freedmen's Bureau Assistant Commissioner Records, 1862-1870 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
- 1863-1872 North Carolina, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]
Genealogies[edit | edit source]
- [Lane] Haywood, Marshall DeLancey. "Joel Lane, Pioneer and Patriot." Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
- [Massey] Massey, William W. "Richard Massey of Bartons Creek, Wake County, North Carolina: With the Search for his Parentage," The Genealogist, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Fall 2004):196-227.
Guardianship[edit | edit source]
Land and Property Records[edit | edit source]
- Wake County deeds (USGenWeb Archives)
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
- Historical Raleigh from its foundation in 1792 descriptive, biographical, educational, industrial, religious; reminiscences reviewed and carefully compiled. 1902. (NC Digital Collections)
- History of Wake County, North Carolina with sketches of those who have most influenced its development. 1922. (Internet Archive)
Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
Click a neighboring county
for more resources
for more resources
- Wake County maps. 50+ maps of the area. (North Carolina State Library)
- FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
Migration[edit | edit source]
Military Records[edit | edit source]
- Wake County military information (NCGenWeb)
- Wake County military records (USGenWeb Archives)
Revolutionary War
- 1779-1782 North Carolina Revolutionary Pay Vouchers 1779-1782 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
Civil War
- 1861-1865 North Carolina, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
- 1861-1865 North Carolina, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
- 1861-1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
- 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
- 1885-1953 North Carolina, Confederate Soldiers and Widows Pension Applications, 1885-1953 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
Regiments. Men in Wake County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Wake County:
- - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
- - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
- - 7th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
- - 14th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, formerly the 4th Volunteers, Company E
- - 14th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, formerly the 4th Volunteers, Company K
- - 1st Brigade, North Carolina Reserves, Company D
- - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Artillery 10th Regiment Volunteers-1st Artillery, Company A
- - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company I
- - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company D
- - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company K
- - 41st Regiment Volunteers - 3rd Cavalry, Company I
- - 4th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry (59th North Carolina State Troops), Company I
- - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company I
- - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company K
World War I
- 1917-1919 North Carolina, World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
World War II
- 1940-1948 North Carolina, Discharge and Statement of Service Records, 1940-1948 at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection; index and images
Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
- 1799-1893 Raleigh marriage and death notices from five of the area's newspapers 1799-1893 are posted at the North Carolina Libraries and State Archives website. These papers include the Raleigh Register, the North Carolina State Gazette, Daily Sentinel, Raleigh Observer and News and Observer. The notices are originally found in book form in the SLNC's 6-volume Marriage and Death notices.
- Wake County deaths, deceased individuals of the area as reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.
- Wake county newspaper articles (USGenWeb Archives)
- Newspapers published in Wake County (Library of Congress)
- North Carolina Newspapers at DigitalNC
- NC People in the Papers
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
- Obituaries from the Cary News newspaper are included in GenealogyBank from Feb 2011 forward. $
- Obituaries from the Eastern Wake News paper of Zebulon, NC, are included in GenealogyBank from Jan 2011 forward. $
Other Records[edit | edit source]
Voter Registration
- 1868-1898 - North Carolina, Voter Registration Records, 1868-1898 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
Periodicals[edit | edit source]
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
Online Probate Indexes and Records
- 1660-1790 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry ($)
- 1663-1789 Secretary of State Wills at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
- 1663-1978 Wills and Estate Papers (Wake County), 1663-1978(*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images
- 1663-1979 North Carolina Estate Files 1663-1979 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
- 1665-1998 North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998 at Ancestry ($)
- 1720-1960 Will Books A to F and 1 to 8 (1720-1960) at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
- 1735-1970 North Carolina Probate Records 1735-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
- 1760-1800 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry ($)
- 1770-1946 Record Books of Wills, Inventories, Settlements of Estates (1771-1902), and, Indexes to Wills and Divisions of Land (1770-1946)(*); Superior Court and County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
- 1771-1782 Images of Wills, Estates and Guardianships, 1771-1782 North Carolina Pioneers ($)
- 1771-1802 Wake County, North Carolina Abstracts of Wills, Inventories, and Settlements of Estates: 1771-1802. 1984. By Frances Holloway Wynne. Includes index.
- 1771-1897 Will Books 1 to 35 and A to C (1771-1897) at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
- 1772-1806 Wills and Estate Papers (Hillsborough District), 1772-1806(*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images
- 1788-1794 Images of Wills, Estates and Guardianships, 1788-1794. North Carolina Pioneers ($)
- 1790 Pre-1790 Wake County, North Carolina Genealogy Wills (North Carolina State Archives)
- 1801-1953 Dowers, 1879-1953; Index to Dowers, 1801-1944(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
- 1820-1839 Miscellaneous Records, 1820-1839(*); County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions at FamilySearch Catalog — images
- 1858-1957 Guardian Bonds, 1858-1957(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
- 1858-1958 Estate Indexes, ca.1858-1958 [Wake County, North Carolina](*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
- 1868-1941 Administrators' Bonds, 1868-1941(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
- 1878-1880 Index to Minute Docket, Probate Court (Wake County, North Carolina), 1878-1880(*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
- 1878-1949 Orders' and Decrees' Docket, 1878-1949(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
- 1878-1951 Appointment of Executors and Guardians, 1878-1951(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
- 1879-1928 Partition of Land, 1879-1928(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
- 1883-1950 Final Settlements and Accounts of Estates, 1883-1950(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
- 1891-1959 General Index to Executors and Administrators, 1920-1959; Inventories of Executors and Administrators, 1891-1900(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
- 1910-1950 Administrators' Bonds (1941-1950), and Guardian Bonds (1910-1916)(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
- 1916-1940 Records of Sales by Mortgagees, Trustees, and Executors, 1916-1940(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
- Wake County Wills and Estates (USGenWeb Archives)
School Records[edit | edit source]
- Education page at Wake County (NCGenWeb)
- History of Meredith College (1972), by Mary Lynch Johnson
- Vision Revisited: A History of Meredith College, 1971-1988, by Carolyn C. Robinson
Yearbooks
- Meredith College: 1904-2009
- NC State University: 1903-2010
- Peace College: 1902-2010
- Wake County students at NC colleges. Yearbook Index. (NCGenWeb)
Social Security Records[edit | edit source]
- 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
- 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
Tax Records[edit | edit source]
- 1815 Tax Lists, Wake County, 1815 (images) at North Carolina Digital Collections
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
- 1800-2000 - North Carolina, Department of Archives and History, Index to Vital Records, 1800-2000 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
- Uncertified copies of vital records can be ordered for a small fee from the Register of Deeds.
Birth[edit | edit source]
- 1800-2000 North Carolina Birth Index 1800-2000 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
- 1866-1964 North Carolina Births and Christenings 1866-1964 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
- 1913-1922 North Carolina, Center for Health Statistics, Vital Records Unit, County Birth Records, 1913-1922 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
Marriage[edit | edit source]
- 1741-2004 North Carolina, United States Marriages at Findmypast
- 1741-2004 North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry $
- 1759-1979 North Carolina Marriages 1759-1979 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index
- 1762-1979 North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
- 1763-1868 North Carolina, Civil Marriages, 1763-1868 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
- 1830-1958 Wake County Marriage Index 1830-1958 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch[8]
- Wake County marriage records (USGenWeb Archives)
- Wake county, North Carolina Marriage Bonds Part 2 (NCGenWeb)
Death[edit | edit source]
- 1898-1994 North Carolina Deaths and Burials, 1898-1994 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
- 1900-1909 - North Carolina, County Records, 1833-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; random records; index and images. (incomplete); Also at: Ancestry ($)
- 1900-1909 North Carolina, Wake County, Death Records, 1900-1909 at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection; index and images
- 1906-1930 North Carolina Deaths 1906-1930 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images Also at: MyHeritage ($)
- 1908-2004 North Carolina Death Indexes 1908-2004 at Ancestry $
- 1909-1975 North Carolina Death Certificates 1909-1975 at Ancestry $
- 1931-1994 North Carolina Deaths 1931-1994 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
Divorce[edit | edit source]
- 1926-1975 North Carolina, County Divorce Records, 1926-1975 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
- 1958-2004 North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry $
Research Facilities[edit | edit source]
Archives[edit | edit source]
Listed below are archives in Wake County. For state-wide archival repositories, see North Carolina Archives and Libraries.
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries
- Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
- FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
- Introduction to Family History Centers
- Apex North Carolina Family History Center
- Raleigh North Carolina Family History Center
Libraries[edit | edit source]
Listed below are libraries in Wake County. For state-wide library facilities, see North Carolina Archives and Libraries.
- Olivia Raney Local History Library
4016 Carya Drive
Raleigh, NC 27610
Phone: 919-250-1196
Website
Museums[edit | edit source]
Societies[edit | edit source]
Listed below are societies in Wake County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see North Carolina Societies.
- Apex Historical Society
PO Box 506
Apex, NC 27502
Website
- Wake County Genealogical Society
PO Box 17713
Raleigh, NC 27619-7713
Email: info@WakeCoGen.org
Website
- Wake County Historical Society
PO Box 26655
Raleigh, NC 27611
Website
Websites[edit | edit source]
- NCGenWeb: Wake County - part of the USGenWeb Project
- Wake County Genealogy (North Carolina Genealogy)
- FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection. Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.
Research Guides[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), North Carolina.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), North Carolina.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Wake County, North Carolina. Page 506-514 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 505-509.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), North Carolina.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Wake County, North Carolina," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake_County,_North_Carolina, accessed 29 February 2020.
- ↑ Lemuel Burkitt and Jesse Read, A Concise History of the Kehukee Baptist Association: From Its Original Rise Down to 1808 (1808), Chapter 16. Digital version at archive.org.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 George Washington Paschal, History of North Carolina Baptists, 2 vols. (1930; reprint, Gallatin, Tenn.: Church History Research and Archives, 1990), 2:569. FHL Book 975.6 K2p 1990.
- ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/f/f5/Iginorthcarolinap.pdf.
