North Carolina Historical Societies

This directory lists 3 historical societies, museums, and archives in North Carolina: the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, Old Salem Museums & Gardens in Winston-Salem, and Tryon Palace in New Bern. Because the listing is short, the guide below does the heavy lifting: it explains how North Carolina's state-issued land grants, Register of Deeds offices, marriage bonds, and the DigitalNC newspaper archive fit together for family and house research.

North Carolina joined the Union as the twelfth state on November 21, 1789, and today has 100 counties. It is a state-land state, meaning land passed to private owners through colonial and then state grants rather than federal patents, and the originals of those grants sit in Raleigh. Marriages were documented by county bonds from 1741 to 1868, long before the state required marriage registration in 1962, and births and deaths were not registered statewide until 1913.

Featured Historical Societies

Major repositories in North Carolina

The State Archives of North Carolina, 109 E. Jones St., Raleigh, collects and preserves the state's historically significant records, including the county records, land grants, and military records that genealogists use most. Its Discover Online Catalog (DOC) is the current catalog of holdings and also indexes land grants, warrants, and military bounty warrants. The North Carolina Digital Collections site offers more than 90,000 digitized photographs, state publications, and manuscripts. Phone reference is 919-814-6840.

• Government and Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina, in the same building at 109 E. Jones St.: the state's history and family-history library, publisher of the online encyclopedia NCpedia, with a genealogy research guide and phone reference at 919-814-6780 (library.nc.gov/ghl).
• Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: home of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center, which runs DigitalNC in partnership with the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, and of the university's North Carolina collections.
• North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh: the state history museum, listed in this directory, a useful first stop for context on the county or trade you are researching.

North Carolina birth, death, marriage, and divorce records

Statewide birth and death registration began in 1913, with general compliance by about 1920. North Carolina Vital Records, part of the State Center for Health Statistics in the Division of Public Health, holds births and deaths from 1913 to the present (mailing address 1903 Mail Service Center, Raleigh; offices in the Cooper Memorial Health Building, 225 N. McDowell St.). Before 1913, look to the county Register of Deeds, where a few counties and towns recorded births and deaths on their own, and otherwise to church, cemetery, and Bible records. Indexes to the 1913-and-later certificates are free on FamilySearch, and the State Archives holds microfilmed indexes and many original county registers.

Marriage records have always been a Register of Deeds record. The earliest form is the marriage bond, posted by the groom from 1741 to 1868 as a promise that no legal impediment existed; bonds name the groom, the bride, and a bondsman who was often a relative. After 1868 the county issued licenses and returns, and statewide registration of marriages began only in 1962, so for anything earlier you write to the county. Divorces granted since 1958 are indexed by North Carolina Vital Records; earlier divorces are in the files of the clerk of court in the county where the case was heard.

Land grants, deeds, and property records

North Carolina is a state-land state, so the first private title to a parcel came from the Crown, from the Lords Proprietors, or from the state, never from the federal government. In the northern half of the colony the Granville District was a special case: the heir of one proprietor kept his share, and his agents issued about 4,000 grants from 1748 until the second Earl of Granville's death in 1763. After independence the General Assembly in 1777 created a land office in every county, with an entry-taker and a surveyor empowered to issue warrants for former Crown and Granville land, and state grants continued to be issued until 1959.

The original grant files, with their entries, warrants, surveys, and plats, are at the State Archives in Raleigh and are indexed in the DOC catalog. A separate, widely used index, NC Land Grant Images and Data at nclandgrants.com, covers more than 216,000 grants from 1663 to 1960 and links to patent book images; it is independently run, so cite the Archives file as your authority.

Every later transfer is recorded by the county Register of Deeds. Historically some conveyances were also recorded by clerks of the superior court and by sheriffs (for tax sales), so check those series when a deed seems to be missing. Our article on tracing a property's deed history explains grantor and grantee indexes and how to work a chain of title back to the grant.

Newspapers and city directories

North Carolina has one of the largest free state newspaper archives in the country. DigitalNC, run by the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center at UNC's Wilson Special Collections Library in partnership with the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, holds 637,910 newspaper issues from 1,641 North Carolina titles, drawn from 376 contributing libraries, museums, and archives and covering all 100 counties. The site also hosts digitized city directories, high school and college yearbooks, photographs, and memorabilia, so a single search can return a 1920s directory entry, a yearbook portrait, and an obituary for the same person.

Chronicling America at the Library of Congress adds further North Carolina titles. For papers not yet digitized, the State Archives and the Government and Heritage Library hold microfilm. Read our guide to using old city directories for how to work backward through directory runs to find when a family arrived on a street.

Census and statewide indexes

North Carolina took a state census in 1784-1787 that lists heads of household, though schedules for some counties are missing; it is the only state census, so federal returns carry most of the weight. Federal population schedules survive from 1790 through 1950 except for 1890, which was lost nationwide. The non-population schedules are often overlooked: mortality schedules for 1850-1880 list deaths in the year before each census, slave schedules exist for 1850 and 1860, the 1890 veterans schedule survives for North Carolina, and the 1840 census names Revolutionary War pensioners.

• DOC catalog at the State Archives: the master index to county records, land grants, warrants, and military bounty warrants.
• FamilySearch: free indexes to North Carolina births and deaths from 1913, which also point you to the county Register of Deeds for earlier events.
• North Carolina Digital Collections: 90,000 items including state publications and photographs.

Researching a house or building in North Carolina

The North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office is a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Its best tool for property research is HPOWEB, an interactive GIS map showing more than 130,000 historic resources across the state, including National Register listings and buildings recorded in county architectural surveys. If your house is on the map, the office's survey file may hold a photograph, a construction estimate, and the surveyor's notes. The office also maintains National Register records, administers historic rehabilitation tax credits, and reviews projects affecting historic properties.

The North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program, run with the Department of Transportation since 1935, has placed more than 1,600 silver-and-black markers statewide; the online database is searchable by county and keyword and gives the essay behind each marker.

Sequence for a North Carolina house: start with HPOWEB; pull the chain of title at the Register of Deeds back to the state grant; search DigitalNC for the address in city directories and newspapers; then use tax and permit evidence as described in finding when a house was built and the fuller checklist in researching an old building. For a family cemetery on the land, see how to find where someone is buried.

Visiting North Carolina's state research rooms

The State Archives and the Government and Heritage Library share the building at 109 E. Jones St. in Raleigh, so one trip covers both; check the Archives' researcher services page for current search-room hours and copy fees before you go, and call 919-814-6840 (Archives) or 919-814-6780 (library) with a specific county and date range. Both answer remote requests and will copy records for a fee. The three institutions listed above are museums rather than research libraries, so write to them with a specific question about an object, a building, or a Moravian or colonial family rather than a general genealogy inquiry.

Additional North Carolina History Resources

• State Archives of North Carolina - County records, land grants, marriage bonds, and military records; Raleigh
• Discover Online Catalog (DOC) - Catalog of Archives holdings with land grant and warrant indexes
• North Carolina Digital Collections - More than 90,000 digitized photographs, publications, and manuscripts
• North Carolina Vital Records - Births and deaths from 1913, marriages from 1962, divorces from 1958
• DigitalNC Newspapers - 637,910 free issues from 1,641 North Carolina titles, plus city directories and yearbooks
• North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office - National Register, survey files, and historic tax credits
• HPOWEB GIS - Interactive map of more than 130,000 historic resources
• North Carolina Highway Historical Marker database - Searchable text of more than 1,600 state markers placed since 1935
• Government and Heritage Library - State Library's history and genealogy library; publisher of NCpedia

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find a North Carolina birth or death before 1913?

There was no statewide registration before 1913. Ask the Register of Deeds in the county where the event happened, since a few counties and towns kept their own registers, and otherwise rely on church, cemetery, and Bible records. From 1913 forward, North Carolina Vital Records in Raleigh holds the certificates and FamilySearch has free indexes.

What is a North Carolina marriage bond?

From 1741 to 1868 a groom posted a bond with the county promising there was no legal barrier to the marriage. The bond names the groom, the bride, and a bondsman, who was frequently a relative. Bonds and later licenses are Register of Deeds records, and the State Archives holds microfilm and originals for many counties.

How do I find my ancestor's North Carolina land grant?

Search the State Archives' Discover Online Catalog, which indexes grants, warrants, and military bounty warrants, and the independent NC Land Grant Images and Data site, which covers more than 216,000 grants from 1663 to 1960 with linked patent book images. The original grant files are held at the State Archives in Raleigh.

Is there a map of historic buildings in North Carolina?

Yes. HPOWEB, the State Historic Preservation Office's GIS map, shows more than 130,000 historic resources, including National Register properties and buildings recorded in county architectural surveys. Find your property on the map and then ask the office for the survey file.