Johnston County, North Carolina Genealogy

Johnston County
	Johnston County, North Carolina
	Map
	; Location in the state of North Carolina
	; Location of North Carolina in the U.S.
	Facts
Founded	1746
County Seat	Smithfield
	Courthouse
	Adopt-a-wiki page
	This page adopted by:; NCGenWeb Project; who welcome you to contribute.
	County Coordinator; Johnston Co. NCGenWeb
	Adopt a page today

United States

North Carolina

Johnston County

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

County Information

Description

Johnston County is located in the Central portion of North Carolina and was named for Royal Governor of North Carolina Gabriel Johnston^[1].

Johnston County, North Carolina Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records^[2]
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1914	1746	1914	1759	1748	1760	1784
Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1913. General compliance by 1920.

Johnston County Courthouse
207 East Johnston Street
P O Box 118
Smithfield, NC 27577-4515
Phone:919-989-5160

Register of Deeds has marriage and land records
Clerk Superior Court has probate and court records^[3]

Register of Deeds
P.O. Box 118
Smithfield , NC 27520
Phone: 919-989-5160
Fax: 919-989-5160
Website

Clerk Superior Court
P.O. Box 297
Smithfield, NC 27577
Phone: (919) 209-5400

History

Parent County

1746--Johnston County was created 28 June 1746 from Craven County.
County seat: Smithfield ^[4]

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

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places/Localities

Populated Places

Neighboring Counties

Resources

Cemeteries

Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Tombstone Transcriptions in Print	List of Cemeteries in the county
Findagrave.com	Family History Library	Findagrave.com
NCGenWeb	WorldCat	Billion Graves
NCGenWeb Archives
Internment
Tombstone Project
North Carolina Cemeteries
Billion Graves
See North Carolina Cemeteries for more information.

North Carolina, Historical Records Survey, Cemetery Inscription Card Index at FamilySearch — index and images

Census

For tips on accessing Johnston County, North Carolina Genealogy census records online, see: North Carolina Census. Links to Free, Online Census Records from 1790-1940 - johnstoncountygenealogy.org/resources/resource.asp?id=5

Church Records

Baptist

Mill Creek. Established by 1808.^[5]
Rocky Spring. Constituted 1793.^[5]
Three Creeks. Established by 1789.^[6]

Church of England

St. Patrick's Parish. Established 1756.^[7]

County Records

1833-1970 - North Carolina, County Records, 1833-1970 at FamilySearch — index and images

Court

Links to Court Records - http://johnstoncountygenealogy.org/resources/resource.asp?id=7

Genealogy

[Humphries] Holcomb, Brent Howard. Ancestors and Descendants of Charles Humphries (d. 1837) of Union District, South Carolina, 1677-1984. Columbia, S.C., 1985. FHL Book 929.273 H889hb.

Land

Local Histories

A Very Short History of the County (Johnston Count)

Historical Timeline

June 28, 1746 - Royal Governor Gabriel Johnston signs legislation creating the County of Johnston.
Oct. 18, 1775 - Independent North Carolina's Provincial Council holds its first meeting at Johnston County Courthouse (Smithfield).
May 9, 1777 - Town of Smithfield chartered by the N.C. General Assembly.
May 3-15, 1779 - N.C. General Assembly meets in Smithfield.
Feb. 16, 1861 - Town of Boon Hill chartered - renamed Princeton in 1873.
March 19-21, 1865 - Civil War Battle of Bentonville rages as the "bloodiest battle ever fought on North Carolina soil."
April 12, 1869 - Town of Clayton chartered.
Feb. 11, 1873 - Town of Selma chartered.
Jan. 30, 1874 - Town of Pine Level chartered.
March 7, 1887 - Towns of Benson and Kenly chartered.
March 11, 1889 - Town of Four Oaks chartered.
May 1, 1899 - Town of Jerome chartered - renamed Micro in 1905.
Aug. 15, 1945 - Farmers Day in Smithfield celebrates the end of World War II.
Sept. 1, 1965 - Johnston County's public schools begin racial desegregation, completed by consolidation of high schools in 1969.
Oct. 1, 1991 - Land-use zoning instituted throughout Johnston County as suburbanization follows recently completed I-40 from Raleigh.
Aug. 2, 1996 - Town of Wilson's Mills re-chartered (original charter issued in 1927, revoked in 1971).
Nov. 3, 2009 - Town of Archer Lodge incorporated by a majority vote of residents within its proposed borders.

Maps

Military

Revolutionary War

1779 - 1782 - North Carolina Revolutionary Pay Vouchers 1779-1782 at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War

Online Records

1861 - 1865 - North Carolina, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch.org — index and images
1861 - 1865 - North Carolina, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch.org — index and images
1861 - 1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
1861 - 1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
1885 - 1953 - North Carolina, Confederate Soldiers and Widows Pension Applications, 1885-1953 at FamilySearch — index and images

Regiments. Service men in Johnston County, North Carolina Genealogy 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 Johnston County, North Carolina Genealogy:

- 5th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry

- 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company H

- 5th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company C

- 7th Battalion, North Carolina Cavalry, Company F

- 7th Battalion, North Carolina Cavalry, Company G

- 8th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Captain John Daniel's Company

Civil War Battle

The following Civil War battle was fought in Johnston County:

March 19-21, 1865 = Bentonville, also known as Bentonsville^[8]

Map showing Civil War battles in North Carolina.

World War I

1917 - 1919 - North Carolina, World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

1940 - 1948 - North Carolina, Discharge and Statement of Service Records, 1940-1948 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

Probate

Online Probate Records

1660 - 1790 - North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
1663 - 1979 - North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979 at FamilySearch — index and images
1665 - 1998 - North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
1735 - 1970 - North Carolina Probate Records 1735-1970 at FamilySearch.org — images
1760 - 1800 - North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry.com — index and images
Pre - 1790 - Pre-1790 Johnston County, North Carolina Genealogy Wills stored at the North Carolina State Archives are online - free. Website tips.
1760 - 1962 - Will Books (1760-1962) have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
1760 - 1859 - Images of Wills and Estates. North Carolina Pioneers ($)

Taxation

1779 - Tax Lists, New Bern District, 1779 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry ($)
1779 - Tax Lists, New Bern District, 1779 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
1784 - Tax Lists, Johnston County, 1784 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry ($)
1784 - Tax Lists, Johnston County, 1784 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
1809-1819, 1863 - Tax Lists, 1809-1819, 1863 (images) online at FamilySearch
1815 - Tax Lists, Johnston County, 1815 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections

Vital Records

Birth

1800 - 2000 - North Carolina Birth Index 1800-2000 at FamilySearch.org — index
1850 - 1895 - Johnston County Bastardy Bonds 1850-1895 at USGenWeb - free.
1866 - 1964 - North Carolina Births and Christenings 1866-1964 at FamilySearch.org — index

Death

Deaths at the Johnston County NCGenWeb site - free.
Obituaries from the Smithfield Herald are included in GenealogyBank from Jan 2011 forward ($)
Johnson County Deaths - list of county area deaths reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.
1898 - 1994 - North Carolina Deaths and Burials, 1898-1994 at FamilySearch.org — index
1906 - 1930 - North Carolina Deaths 1906-1930 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 - North Carolina Deaths 1931-1994 at FamilySearch.org — index

Divorce

1926 - 1975 - North Carolina, County Divorce Records, 1926-1975 at FamilySearch — index and images
1958 - 2004 - North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry.com — index $

Marriage

1741 - 2004 - North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
1764 - 1930 - Johnston County Marriage Index 1764-1930 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.^[9]
Marriages at the Johnston County NCGenWeb site - free.
1741 - 2004 - North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry.com — index $
1759 - 1979 - North Carolina Marriages 1759-1979 at FamilySearch.org — index
1762 - 1979 - North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 at FamilySearch — index and images
1763 - 1868 - North Carolina, Civil Marriages, 1763-1868 at FamilySearch — index and images

Societies and Libraries

Johnston County Genealogical Society
PO Box 2373
Smithfield, NC 27577-2373
Telephone Number: 828-631-2646
website

Family History Centers

Family history centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes. See family history center for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.

Introduction to Family History Centers

Websites

References

↑ https://www.ncpedia.org/geography/johnston
↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Johnston 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), Johnston County, North Carolina. Page 510 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 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.
↑ George Washington Paschal, History of North Carolina Baptists, 2 vols. (1930; reprint, Gallatin, Tenn.: Church History Research and Archives, 1990), 1:491. FHL Book 975.6 K2p 1990.
↑ Robert J. Cain, ed., The Church of England in North Carolina: Documents, 1699-1741 (Raleigh, N.C.: Division of Archives and History, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, 1999), xxxiii. FHL Book 975.6 K2cr.
↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 8 August, 2012)
↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/9/91/Iginorthcarolinag.pdf.

[1] ttps://www.ncpedia.org/geography/johnston

[2] Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Johnston 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.

[HBG-3] Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Johnston County, North Carolina. Page 510 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.

[4] The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).

[keh-5] 5.0 ^5.1 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.

[6] George Washington Paschal, History of North Carolina Baptists, 2 vols. (1930; reprint, Gallatin, Tenn.: Church History Research and Archives, 1990), 1:491. FHL Book 975.6 K2p 1990.

[7] Robert J. Cain, ed., The Church of England in North Carolina: Documents, 1699-1741 (Raleigh, N.C.: Division of Archives and History, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, 1999), xxxiii. FHL Book 975.6 K2cr.

[8] Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 8 August, 2012)

[9] Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/9/91/Iginorthcarolinag.pdf.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]