Watauga County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Watauga County is located in the Western portion of North Carolina and shares a border with Tennessee. It was named after the Watauga River ("Watauga" is an Indian word meaning "beautiful river").

County Courthouse
Watauga County Courthouse 842 W King Street Boone, NC 28607-3531 Phone: 828-265-8052 Register of Deeds has birth and death records from 1914 marriage records from 1872 and land records Clerk Superior Court has divoce, probate and court records from 1872

Register of Deeds 842 W. King Street, Courthouse, Suite 9 Boone, NC 28607 Phone: 828-265-8052 Fax: 828-265-7632 Website

Clerk Superior Court 842 W King St Boone, NC 28607-3560 Phone: 828) 268-6600

History
The area that became Watauga and Ashe counties was part of Anson County during the early period; part of Rowan County in 1753, Surry County in 1771, Wilkes County in 1777 and was briefly part of the State of Franklin from 1784-89. After Franklin it was claimed as part of Washington County (part of the Southwest Territory, and later Tennessee) until it was annexed back by North Carolina into Wilkes County again in 1792. Ashe was incorporated as a separate entity by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1799. North Carolina erected Watauga County primarily from Ashe County in 1849.

Parent County
1849--Watauga County was created from Ashe, Caldwell,Wilkes, and Yancey Counties. County seat: Boone

County histories are available such as:


 * A History of Watauga County, North Carolina : with sketches of prominent families by John Preston Arthur (1915)

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
1873--Courthouse fire destroyed all of the land records and most of the court records.

Populated Places

 * Beech Mountain
 * Blowing Rock
 * Boone
 * Seven Devils

Neighboring Counties

 * Ashe
 * Avery
 * Caldwell
 * Johnson County, Tennessee
 * Wilkes

Bibles

 * Watauga County, North Carolina GenWeb Archives: Bibles (U.S. GenWeb Archives)

Cemeteries

 * at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Watauga County Cultural Features: Cemeteries, locations and maps (NC HomeTownLocator)

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Howard's Chapel

County Records

 * 1833-1970 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories

 * Arthur, John Preston, A History of Watauga County, North Carolina with Sketches of Prominent Families, 1915, reprinted 2002. (information in Genealogy.com)
 * Watauga County Genealogy Study from the William Allan Papers (manuscript collection), Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina

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


 * Great Indian Warpath pre-historic
 * Old Cherokee Path pre-historic
 * Great Valley Road about 1744 (overlapped the Great Indian Warpath)

Revolutionary War

 * 1779 - 1782 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 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 - at FamilySearch — index and images


 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company D
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company G

World War I

 * 1917 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * 1940 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Watauga County, North Carolina Obituaries (Newspaper Obituaries)
 * Watauga Democrat

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1660 - 1790 - North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 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 - at FamilySearch.org — images
 * 1760 - 1800 - North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry.com — index and images
 * 1873 - 1968 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
 * Watauga County, North Carolina GenWeb Archives: Wills &amp; Estates (U.S. GenWeb Archives)

Birth Records

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

Death Records

 * 1898 - 1994 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 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 - at FamilySearch.org — index

Divorce Records

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

Marriage Records

 * 1741 - 2004 - North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1741 - 2004 - North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1759 - 1979 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1762 - 1979 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1763 - 1868 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1873 - 1954 - Watauga County Marriage Index 1873-1954. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Yearbooks

 * Appalachian State University: 1923-2006
 * Watauga County students at NC colleges - via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index

Societies and Libraries
Genealogical Society of Watauga County PO Box 126 Boone, NC 28607 Watauga County Historical Society E. Mast, 253 Wm. Hardy Mast Road Sugar Grove, NC 28679-9707 Website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers
 * Boone North Carolina Family History Center

Websites

 * Watauga County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * NCGenWeb: Watauga County - free genealogy resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project
 * Watauga County Genealogy (North Carolina Genealogy)
 * Watauga County, North Carolina (New River Notes)
 * Watauga County, North Carolina (RootsWeb)
 * Watauga County, North Carolina (Wikipedia)
 * Watauga County, North Carolina Cemetery Inscriptions (Access Genealogy)
 * Watauga County, North Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Watauga County, North Carolina Genealogy Links (Genealogy Links)
 * Watauga County, North Carolina GenWeb Archives (U.S. GenWeb Archives)
 * Watauga County, North Carolina GenWeb Archives (U.S. GenWeb Archives)