Johnston County, North Carolina Genealogy
From FamilySearch Wiki
Guide to Johnston County, North Carolina ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| 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 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 History
- 3 Places/Localities
- 4 Resources
- 5 Societies and Libraries
- 6 Websites
- 7 References
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].
County Courthouse
| | |||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
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[2]
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 [3]
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.[4]
- Rocky Spring. Constituted 1793.[4]
- Three Creeks. Established by 1789.[5]
Church of England
- St. Patrick's Parish. Established 1756.[6]
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
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[7]
- 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.[8]
- 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.
Websites
- Johnston County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
- NCGenWeb Johnston County
- Johnston County Heritage Center
- Johnston County, NCGenWeb Archives
- FamilySearch Catalog
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 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).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 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/learn/wiki/en/images/9/91/Iginorthcarolinag.pdf.
