Washington County, North Carolina Genealogy

United States   North Carolina    Washington County

County Courthouse
Washington County Courthouse 120 Adams Street Plymouth, NC 27962 Phone: 252-793-2325 Courthouse burned 1862, 1869 - 1873 register of Deeds has birth and death records from 1913 marriage recrods  from 1851 and land records from 1799 Clerk Superopr Court has divoce recrods from 1871 probate and court records from 1873

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

Church Records

 * Morattuck. Established by 1785.

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battles were fought in Washington County.


 * April 17-20, 1864 = Plymouth
 * May 5, 1864 = Albemarle Sound


 * Map showing Civil War battles in North Carolina.

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


 * -1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry

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

 * 1872-1967 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

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 &amp; 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 &amp; library needs of several counties in the area, including Washington County.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

 * NCGenWeb project - variety of information relevant to Washington County.