Craven County, North Carolina Genealogy

United States   North Carolina    Craven County

County Courthouse
For wills and estate records contact:

Estates Division Craven County Clerk of Court 302 Broad Street New Bern, NC 28560 (252) 639-9004

For Vital Records (births, deaths, marriages) and Land Records contact:

Craven County Register of Deeds 226 Pollock Street New Bern, NC 28560 (252) 636-6617 Online indexes available at http://deeds.cravencounty.com/default.aspx

History
1.) Craven County one of three counties (Albemarle and Clarendon being the others) set up in 1664 by the Lords Proprietors of Carolina. Its territory embraced what later became South Carolina. 2.) Craven County was established in 1705 as Archdale Precinct of Bath County, although there is evidence that an Archdale County existed as early as 1696. The name was changed to Craven County about 1712. 3.) Craven County included the Ashley River settlement known as Charles Town (Charleston, South Carolina).

Parent County
1705--Craven County was created 3 December 1705 from the Archdale Precinct of Bath County. Bath County was abolished in 1739. County seat: New Bern

Boundary Changes
1722--Carteret County was formed from Craven in 1722, with several boundary changes through the 1880s. 1729--New Hanover County was formed from Craven in 1729. 1746--Johnston County was formed from Craven in 1746. 1757--Part of Beaufort County was annexed to Craven in 1757 and 1801. 1764--Part of Craven was annexed to Dobbs County in 1764. 1778--Jones County was formed from Craven in 1778. 1787--Parts of Craven were annexed to Pitt County in 1787; Lenoir County in 1798, 1804 and 1819; and Greene County in 1801. 1872--Pamlico County was formed from parts of Craven and Beaufort Counties in 1872, and part of Craven was annexed to Pamlico in 1875.

Populated Places

 * Bridgeton (2001 population: 201)
 * Cove City (2001 population: 425)
 * Dover (2001 population: 443)
 * Havelock (2001 population: 22,463)
 * New Bern (2001 population: 23,415)
 * River Bend (2001 population: 2,918)
 * Trent Woods (2001 population: 4,186)
 * Vanceboro (2001 population: 892)

Neighboring Counties

 * Beaufort
 * Carteret
 * Jones
 * Lenoir
 * Pamlico
 * Pitt

African American

 * Craven County African American resources - via the Craven County Public Library

Cemeteries

 * Craven County cemetery information- on the Craven County NCGenWeb site
 * Craven County cemetery transcriptions - via the NCGenWeb Archives
 * Craven County cemeteries - at Find-A-Grave.com
 * Book: Craven County, North Carolina cemeteries by the Eastern NC Genealogical Society - view the index to Volume 2 to see if your persons of interest are listed

Census

 * Craven County census records - via Craven County NCGenWeb

Church

 * Craven County church records - via the NCGenWeb Archives

Court

 * Craven County court records - various transcriptions from the NCGenWeb Archives

Land

 * Deeds of Craven County - via the NCGenWeb Archives

Maps

 * Craven County maps - more than 40 maps from the North Carolina State Library's NC Maps website

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Craven County for European settlers included:


 * Atlantic Ocean
 * King's Highway about 1704
 * Secondary Coast Road late 1730s
 * Jonesboro Road after 1769

Military

 * Craven County military records - via the NCGenWeb Archives

Newspapers
The first newspaper in North Carolina was published in New Bern, N.C., by James Davis in 1751. The North Carolina State Archives has microfilmed copies of many New Bern newspapers. A list of North Carolina Newspapers, including Craven County can be found at the North Carolina Newspaper Index page of the North Carolina Newspaper Project. Craven County newspapers begin on page 37 of the index.


 * The New Bern-Craven County Public Library also has a list of many New Bern newspapers based on the above list from the North Carolina Newspaper Project. That list is available at http://newbern.cpclib.org/research/newspapers.html.
 * North Carolina Newspaper Digitization Project - includes full-text historical newspapers published in New Bern.
 * Craven County newspapers - a listing of newspapers published in the county; via the Library of Congress

Probate

 * Craven County Wills &amp; Estate records - via the NCGenWeb Archives

Vital Records
Birth and death records from 1913 can be found at the Register of Deeds Office for Craven County at 226 Pollock Street, New Bern, NC 28560. An online index is available at http://deeds.cravencounty.com/default.aspx. Uncertified copies can be ordered for a small fee. Please see Register of Deeds 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 registers from 1858 to the present and marriage licenses from 1904 to the present are also available at the Register of Deeds Office. An online index to marriages from 1909 is available at http://deeds.cravencounty.com/default.aspx.
 * North Carolina Marriages, 1762-1979 - via FamilySearch; images included
 * Wake County marriages are included in Carrie Broughton's 6-volume index of the Raleigh Register &amp; State Gazette newspaper (1799-1893). Marriages are listed by year and PDF files are searcheable. Available on the North Carolina Digital Collections website.

Deaths

 * An index to obituaries listed in New Bern newspapers from 1751 to the present (not complete) is available at the Kellenberger Room of the New Bern-Craven County Public Library. The site for the obituaries is http://newbern.cpclib.org/research/obituary.html.
 * Craven County deaths - list of county area deaths reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.
 * Craven County obituaries - transcribed for the NCGenWeb Archives North Carolina Death Certificates, 1906-1930 - via FamilySearch; images included
 * North Carolina Deaths &amp; Burials, 1898-1994 - via FamilySearch

Societies and Libraries

 * Craven County Genealogical Society of North Carolina, Inc.
 * New Bern Historical Society
 * New Bern-Craven County Public Library; Kellenberger Room website: http://newbern.cpclib.org/research
 * Godwin Memorial Library of Craven Community College
 * Family History Society of Eastern North Carolina

Web Sites

 * Craven County NCGenWeb - free genealogy resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project.