Gaston County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Gaston County is located in the southwestern portion of North Carolina and shares a border with South Carolina. It was named for William Gaston, member of the U.S. House of Representatives and justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina.

County Courthouse
Gaston County Courthouse 325 N Marietta Street Box 1578 Gastonia, NC 28053 Phone: 704-868-7684 Gaston County Website Register of Deeds has birth, marriage and death records from 1913, land records from 1847. Clerk Superior Court has divorce and court records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline
The earliest European settlers of Gaston County were principally Scots Irish, Pennsylvania Dutch, and English. In the 1750s, Dutch settler James Kuykendall and others constructed the Fort at the Point at the junction of the Catawba and South Fork Rivers. The fort was built because of ongoing hostilities with the Cherokee, but it was apparently never attacked. Tensions between the settlers and the Native American inhabitants (primarily of the Catawba tribe) were eased considerably when the boundary dispute between North Carolina and South Carolina was settled in 1772, after which most of the Catawba settled on a reservation near Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Most early farms were small, cultivated primarily by White yeoman farmers of English ancestry. North Carolina's colonial policy restricted the size of land grants, and in Gaston County they tended to be about 400 acres (1.6 km2) each. One of the earliest grants in the area was given to Captain Samuel Cobrin, commander of a local militia company, on September 29, 1750.

Between 1845 and 1848, Gaston County experienced an industrial boom. During this three-year period, the first three cotton mills in the County were established. Some authorities[who?] say that the first one was established by Thomas R. Tate on Mountain Island, near the present site of Duke Energy's Mountain Island Dam and Hydroelectric Station. Other sources say that the first mill was established by the Linebergers and others on the South Fork River near McAdenville. Most sources agree that among the first three mills in operation in the County was the Stowesville Mill, founded by Jasper Stowe and Associates in the South Point Community south of Belmont. Gaston County still leads all other counties in the country both in the number of spindles in operation and in the number of bales of cotton consumed.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Cemeteries

 * at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images Also at: Ancestry ($)

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * 1700-1970 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * FamilySearch Places

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

 * 1862-1870   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1863-1872   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only

Land and Property Records

 * The Bureau of Land Management General Land Office has searchable land records for North Carolina.

Local Histories

 * High Shoals, Gaston county, N.C., a Southern cotton mill town (1908)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

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


 * Occaneechi Path pre-historic
 * Lower Cherokee Traders' Path pre-historic
 * Catawba and Northern Trail pre-historic
 * Fall Line Road about 1735 (overlapped Occaneechi Path)
 * Great Valley Road (south fork) 1740s (overlapped Occaneechi Path)
 * Upper Road about 1783 (overlapped Lower Cherokee Traders' Path)

Military Records
Revolutionary War 
 * 1779-1782  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Civil War 


 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1885-1953  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images


 * - 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company A
 * - 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company I
 * - 16th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company M
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Detailed Men, Company B
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company C
 * - 4th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company E
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company E

World War I 
 * 1917-1919  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

World War II 
 * 1940-1948  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Newspapers

 * North Carolina Newspapers at DigitalNC

Other Records
Voter Registration
 * 1868-1898 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * North Carolina Probate Records tips
 * 1660-1790 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry $
 * 1663-1979  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1663-1789 Secretary of State Wills at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
 * 1665-1998 North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998 at Ancestry $
 * 1720-1960  at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1735-1970  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1760-1800 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry $
 * 1839-1970 NC County Records: Gaston County includes indexed images of Estates 1839-1970 and Guardianships 1849-1964
 * Images of Wills and Estates 1847-67; 1869-98; 1898-1916 North Carolina Pioneers $

School Records

 * Sacred Heart College. Founded in 1892 by the order of the Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy. Closed in 1987.
 * Gaston County College Students. Name list of students at various NC colleges with identified hometowns in the county.

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Vital Records

 * 1800-2000 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Birth

 * 1800-2000  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1866-1964  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1913-1922  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Marriage

 * 1741-2004 North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast
 * 1741-2004 North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1759-1979  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1762-1979  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1763-1868  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1848-1929 Gaston County Marriage Index 1848-1929 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

Death

 * 1898-1994  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1906-1930  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection;index and images  Also at:  MyHeritage ($)
 * 1908-2004 North Carolina Death Indexes 1908-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1909-1975 North Carolina Death Certificates 1909-1975 at Ancestry $
 * 1910-1956 Gaston County Death Index 1910-1956 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch.
 * 1931-1994  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Divorce

 * 1926-1975  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1958-2004 North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry $

Family History Centers

 * Gastonia North Carolina Family History Center

Libraries

 *  Gaston-Lincoln Regional Library System Website

Societies

 * Belmont Historical Society 40 Catawba Street Belmont, North Carolina 28012 (704) 825-4848 Email: [mailto:Charlespatsy@aol.com Charlespatsy@aol.com] Website


 * Cherryville Historical Museum 109 E Main St. Cherryville, NC 28021 (704) 435-8011 Email: [mailto:Charlespatsy@aol.com Charlespatsy@aol.com] Website


 * Gaston-Lincoln Genealogical Society PO Box 584 Mt. Holly, NC 28120 Website


 * Mount Holly Historical Society Museum 131 S Main St. Mount Holly, NC 28012 980-277-1249 Website

Websites

 * Gaston County, NCGenWeb genealogy resources; part of the national USGenWeb project.
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.