Washington County, North Carolina Genealogy

United States   North Carolina    Washington County

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

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

Populated Places

 * Creswell
 * Plymouth
 * Roper

Neighboring Counties

 * Beaufort
 * Bertie
 * Chowan
 * Hyde
 * Martin
 * Tyrrell

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.

NCGenWeb: Washington County - Deaths/Obits  - check the NCGenWeb page for resources on locating death &amp; obituary records for Washington County residents.

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 &amp; 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