Washington County, North Carolina Genealogy
Guide to Washington County, North Carolina ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Washington County, North Carolina | |||||||||
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 Location in the state of North Carolina | |||||||||
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| Founded | 1799 | ||||||||
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| County Seat | Plymouth | ||||||||
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Contents
County Courthouse
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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[1]
Register of Deeds
PO Box 1007
Plymouth, NC 27962
Phone: 252-793-2325
Fax: 252-793-6982
Website
Clerk Superior Court
PO Box 901
Plymouth, NC 27962
Phone: (252) 791-4000
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 [2]
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
1862--Courthouse destroyed in Federal bombardment.
1869,1881--Fires have destroyed most of the court records and many of the land records.
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 | ||
| Tombstone Project | ||
| North Carolina Cemeteries | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See North Carolina Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Census
For tips on accessing Washington County, North Carolina Genealogy census records online, see: North Carolina Census.
Church Records
Baptist
- Morattuck. Established by 1785.[3]
Church of England
- Skinners Chapel aka Rehoboth Church. Established about 1735. Now a United Methodist Church.[4]
Court
Land
Local Histories
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 Washington 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 Washington County, North Carolina Genealogy:
- - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
- - 17th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry (1st Organization), Company H
- - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Artillery 10th Regiment Volunteers-1st Artillery, Company K
- - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company G
- - 41st Regiment Volunteers - 3rd Cavalry, Company K
Civil War Battles
The following Civil War battles were fought in Washington County:
- April 17-20, 1864 = Plymouth[5]
- May 5, 1864 = Albemarle Sound[6]
- 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
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
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
- 1872 - 1967 - Will Books (1872-1967) have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
Taxation
- 1815 - Tax Lists, Washington County, 1815 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
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
- 1800 - 2000 - North Carolina Birth Index 1800-2000 at FamilySearch.org — index
- 1866 - 1964 - North Carolina Births and Christenings 1866-1964 at FamilySearch.org — index
Marriages
- 1741 - 2004 - North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
- 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
- 1851 - 1920 - 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.
- 1851 - 1967 - Washington County Marriage Index 1851-1967 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.[7]
- 1880s - Marriages reported in the Roanoke Beacon Newspaper - late 1880s - list of names in news reports of marriages. NCGenWeb
Deaths
- 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
- NCGenWeb: Washington County - Deaths/Obits - check the NCGenWeb page for resources on locating death & obituary records for Washington County residents. There are numerous records available for a wide range of time periods.
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 $
Yearbooks
- Washington County students at NC colleges - via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index
Societies and Libraries
Washington County Genealogical Society
PO Box 567
Plymouth 27619-0567
- Pettigrew Regional Library System: Washington County - handles information & library needs of several counties in the area, including Washington County.
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
- Washington County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
- NCGenWeb project - variety of information relevant to Washington County.
- FamilySearch Catalog
References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Washington County, North Carolina. Page 513 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ George Washington Paschal, History of North Carolina Baptists, 2 vols. (1930; reprint, Gallatin, Tenn.: Church History Research and Archives, 1990), 1:490. FHL Book 975.6 K2p 1990.
- ↑ "Rehoboth Church," North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program, http://www.ncmarkers.com/, accessed 22 October 2012.
- ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 9 August, 2012)
- ↑ 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/f/f5/Iginorthcarolinap.pdf.
