Catawba County, North Carolina Genealogy

United States North Carolina  Catawba County

Guide to Catawba County, North Carolina ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Catawba County Courthouse 100 A Southwest Blvd P O Box 389 Newton, NC 28658-0389 Phone: 828-465-1573

Clerk Superior Courtt has divorce, probate and court records from 1843 Register of Deeds has marriage and land records

Parent County
1842--Catawba County was formed 12 December 1842 from the northern section of Lincoln County. County seat: Newton

Boundary Changes
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.

Record Loss
Many court records missing. For a list of record loss in North Carolina counties see: North Carolina Counties with Burned Courthouses

Populated Places
Newton was divided into 8 townships in 1868. Very few changes have been made in the township boundaries since that date. The townships are: Newton | Clines | Caldwell | Jacobs Fork | Mountain Creek | Bandys | Hickory Tavern (changed to Hickory) | Hamilton (changed to Catawba).

Neighboring Counties

 * Alexander
 * Burke
 * Caldwell
 * Cleveland
 * Iredell
 * Lincoln

Cemeteries
The Catawba County Genealogical Society has published several helpful volumes of cemetery records and marriage records. Researchers will find their webpage within the Catawba County NCGenWeb site helpful.

Lutheran

 * Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, near Startown, N.C. Organized before 1797. Originally located in Lincoln County.
 * St. John's Lutheran Church, near Conover, N.C. Organized before 1798. Previously located in Lincoln County.
 * St. Paul's Lutheran Church, near Conover, N.C. Organized before 1771. Previously located in Tryon and Lincoln counties.

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


 * Catawba and Northern Trail pre-historic

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


 * - 12th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company A :- 4th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company C :- 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company E :- 8th Battalion, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company B

Probate

 * 1849-1939 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

Births

 * 1800 - 2000 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1866 - 1964 at FamilySearch.org — index

Deaths

 * 1898 - 1994 at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 1908 - 2004 North Carolina Death Indexes 1908-2004 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1909-1975 North Carolina Death Certificates 1909-1975 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1931 - 1994 at FamilySearch.org — index

Divorce

 * 1958 - 2004North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry.com — index $

Marriages

 * 1842-1938 - Catawba County Marriage Books 1-14 Index 1842-1938 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1741 - 2004 North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1759 - 1979 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1762 - 1969 at FamilySearch.org — index and images

Societies and Library

 * Hickory Public Library has several local history and genealogy resources

Family History Centers

 * Hickory North Carolina Family History Center

Web Sites

 * Catawba County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Catawba County NCGenweb Project, a member of The NCGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Catawba County NCGenweb Project, a member of The NCGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.