Carroll County, New Hampshire Genealogy

Guide to Carroll County, New Hampshire ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Carroll County Courthouse

Deed record since 1840 are kept at the County Courthouse, 96 Water Village Rd. (also known as Rt. 171), Ossipee, NH 03864, tel. 603-539-4872, (mailing address P. O. Box 163), open Mon.-Fri. 8-5.

Probate records since 1840 are at 95 Water Village Rd., (across the street from the deeds location), Ossipee, NH 03864, tel. 603-539-4123 (mailing address P. O. Box 419), open Mon.-Fri. 8 1/2 - 4.

Court records for the southern towns of the county are at: North Circuit Court, 96 Water Village Rd., Box 3, Ossipee, NH 03864, tel. 1-855-212-1234, open Mon.- Fri. 8-4. To learn the names of the towns in the southern and northern regions see this internet site.

Court records of the northern towns of the county are at North Circuit Court, E. Conway Rd., (Rt. 302), North Conway, NY, (maiing address P. O. Box 940, Conway, NH 03818-0940), tel. 1-855-212-1234 (same number as for southern area court above), open Mon.- Fri. 8-4. The Clerk of the Court has divorce and court records from 1859. Town Clerks have birth, marriage, death and burial records. The Probate Judge has probate records, and the Register of Deeds has land records.

Towns Organized Before 1800:  Albany 1766 Brookfield 1794 Chatham 1767 Conway 1765 Eaton 1766 Effingham 1788 Moultonborough 1777 Ossipee 1785 Sandwich 1768 Tamworth 1766 Tuftonborough 1795 Wakefield 1774 Wolfeborough 1770

History



 * The county was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832) who was a delegate to the Continental Congress and later United States Senator for Maryland. He was the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was the longest lived signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Continental Congress. He lived to age 95.

Parent County
Created 22 December 1840 from Strafford County.

Boundary Changes
Strafford County was a large county established in 1769. In 1840 part of Strafford County was taken to form Carroll County, In 1840 also part of Strafford County was taken to form Belknap County.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places / Localities
Towns



Unincorporated township: 



Villages:


 * Center Conway
 * Chocorua
 * Melvin Village
 * North Conway
 * Redstone
 * Silver Lake
 * Wonalancet

Neighboring Counties

Belknap | Coös | Grafton | Strafford | Maine counties: Oxford | York

Archives and Libraries
A useful way to become acquainted with the types of records kept by county officials is to study the Inventory of the County Archives of New Hampshire, No. 2, Carroll County (Ossipee)'''. '''This inventory was made by the U. S. Government in 1939 (FHL book 974.242 A3, film 982,203).

Biography
For the northern part of Carroll County there is a two-volume set with a great deal of biographical and family history information: Gideon Tibbetts Ridlon, Sr., Saco Valley Settlements and Families, published in 1841, and republished in 1984 (FHL book 974 H2rg 1984; films 202,845 vol. 1; 202,846 vol. 2; fiche 6051275. Many Family History Centers have the fiche.The books can be seen online if you are at the Family History Library or at a Family History Center.

Cemeteries
Cemetery Records: Courtesy of the Conway Public Library


 * Conway Public Library
 * Fryeburg, Maine Cemetery Records and other Fryeburg genealogy sources
 * The New Hampshire Old Graveyard Association has the most complete list of cemeteries. This list is available at their Website.


 * The Findagrave organization provides a way for you to request that a volunteer will take a photograph of a gravestone. Often a volunteer will respond and will e-mail you the photo and add it to the web site.
 * If the above internet sources do not list your ancestor's name, you may wish to contact the cemetery sexton, town clerk, town library, or town historical society. Also check the FamilySearch Catalog at www.familysearch.org, since the records may have been microfilmed.

Census
Censuses for 1790 through 1940, except for the 1890 population schedules, are available on several internet sites. The site www.familysearch.org has indexed almost all of these census records.

The 1890 census, except for the list of Civil War veterans or their widows, was destroyed by a fire in Washington, D. C. in 1921. An interesting help for 1890 is the Town and City Atlas of the State of New Hampshire, published in 1892 in Boston by the D. H. Hurd Company. The atlas has maps for almost every city, town, and village in New Hampshire. The maps show the locations of homes, and the map gives the name of the person living in the home. The above web site is from the University of New Hampshire Library. The website images are not yet clear enough to have legible names.

Note: the 1890 census veterans' schedules for New Hampshire were preserved. They are available at familysearch.org, and ancestry.com, also on microfilms from the Family History Library. You can search for veterans' names or their widows' names.

Church Records
If you know the name of the town or city, and the denomination, you may wish to contact the local town historical society. They may be able to send you the names and addresses of churches of that denomination for the town.

Or, if you know the town of residence and the ancestor's denomination, see the Church Records section in the general information for New Hampshire. That section lists archives and other record keepers for the various religious denominations.

If you do not know the denomination, search for a marriage record. This may give the name of the minister. Then you can contact a historical society and learn at which church he was the minister. Also search for an obituary, which may mention the church the person attended. The death certificate may list the name of the cemetery. You can then write to the cemetery and ask if it is affiliated with a local church. The death certificate may mention the funeral home. Their file may have the name of the church, cemetery, or a copy of the obituary. Also, relatives might know the denomination.

Different churches contain a variety of types of records. Many churches keep baptism, marriage, and burial records. Sometimes birth and death information is included. The church records of brothers and sisters, etc. may give clues.

Court Records
On 1 July 2011, the New Hampshire legislature merged the District Court, Probate Court and Family Division Court into one Circuit Court system to improve the court system and to improve services. Jurisdictions for the Circuit Court are the same as their prior jurisdictions. There are now ten (10) circuit courts, one for each of the states counties. Some of the largest counties have more than one circuit court clerk assigned to manage divisions in more than one city or town. The locations of the district, family, and probate divisions are listed by county and/or town at: New Hampshire Judicial Branch.

Carroll County court records are kept at the courthouse at Ossipee, New Hampshire. Some records may begin in 1841 when the county was established from Strafford county. For information before 1841 see the wiki sections for Strafford county.

The Family History Library has microfilms of the following Carroll County court records:

1861-1876 and 1876-1901: Supreme Court, 1861-1876 and 1876-1901

1874-1876: Circuit Court 1874-1876

1901-1916: Superior Court 1901-1916

1861-1916: Court Judgements 1861-1916

1859-1897 and 1897-1928: The records include plaintiff and defendant indexes for 1859-1897, and 1897-1928.

Some New Hampshire counties are transferring their county records to the New Hampshire State Archives in Concord, New Hampshire. You may wish to contact the County Clerk or State Archives to learn if records have been transferred.

Directories
City directories were printed for some towns and cities in Carroll County. For example, ancestry.com has a Conway 1905 city directory. This was very much like a census. Contact the local historical society or the New Hampshire State Historical Society in Concord, New Hampshire to find out about available directories.

Gazetteers

 * Carroll County Town Descriptions from Merrill's Gazetteer of New Hampshire (1817),(accessed 20 August 2011).
 * See the Gazetteers section in the New Hampshire wiki article for information about several early New Hampshire gazetteers.

Genealogy - How to get started?
1. Check familysearch.org and see if your ancestor's information is listed there.

2. Check familysearch.org and see if your family's vital records of births, marriages, and deaths are listed.

3. Check familysearch.org and see if your family is listed on the U. S. census records of 1850-1940. You can also see those censuses at the Family History Center using Heritage Quest, and ancestry.com.

4. If you know the county where your ancestor lived, take a look at the free internet site www.usgenweb.com. A volunteer helper gathers information about ancestors who lived in that county. You might find biographies, cemetery records, deeds, obituaries, queries, vital records, etc. You can leave a query.

5. If you know the town where they lived, look for a town history with a genealogical section. See the section below for how to find out if there is a town history.

6. Read the wiki articles on Carroll County, and on New Hampshire, for ideas of sources. Study the Records Selection Table in the New Hampshire article. This can help you think of new sources to try.

7. Enter your ancestor's information on familysearch.org., genforum.com, or ancestry.com. You can also share your quest with the local historical society, genealogical socieety, or town library and ask for help. Send them a family group form and a pedigree chart.

Genealogy - Town Histories often have Genealogical Sections
For the northern part of Carroll County there is a two-volume set with a great deal of biographical and family history information: Gideon Tibbetts Ridlon, Sr., Saco Valley Settlements and Families, See the Biography section above.

For Carroll County the Family History Library has genealogical books or manuscripts for the following towns:

Conway - There is an alphabetical genealogical collection on six microfilms.

Eaton - There is the Keith Henney Family Records Card File, 1760-1947 on one film.

Tamworth - A collection is available on one microfilm with forms sent out by the town clerk to be completed by families.

Tuftonboro - A history book was written by John William Hayley in 1923. It has 111 pages. It has historical information but does not have a genealogical section. The Family History Library has the book. It is not on film.

Wakefield - There is a film with various records compiled about 1949 by members of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

NOTE: For most of the towns in Carroll County, the birth records to 1900, and marriage and death records to 1947, are on microfilms or in book form available through the Family History Library. These include Albany, Bartlett, Brookfield, Chatham, Conway, Eaton, Effingham, Freedom, Hart's Location, Jackson, Madison, Moultonboroough, Ossipee, Tamworth, Tuftonboro, Wakefield, and Wolfeboro.

Land and Property
The Registry of Deeds at the county courthouse at Ossipee, New Hampshire has the deed records beginning in 1841. Some county records may be transferred from time to time to the New Hampshire State Archives in Concord, New Hampshire. You may wish to check with the county clerk, or the State Archives to ask if records have been transferred.

The Family History Library has microfilms of the following deed records:

Grantor (seller) indexes 1841-1860, and 1861-1909

Grantee (buyer) indexes 1841-1860, and 1861-1909

Deed volumes, 1-115, for 1841-1901.

Please go to the FamilySearch Catalog at familysearch.org and look under Carroll, New Hampshire - Land and Propery, for the film numbers.

Local Histories
There are many local history books available for Carroll County, and, towns in Carroll County. See the FamilySearch Catalog and type New Hampshire, Carroll for county histories and genealogies. See New Hampshire - Carroll - [name of town] - Genealogy or History for town genealogy and history books. Following are examples:


 * History of Carroll County, New Hampshire, hosted by New Hampshire Genealogy Trails, (accessed 20 August 2011).
 * Wiley, Benjamin G., Incidents in White Mountain history, together with many interesting anecdotes illustrating life in the backwoods, (Boston: N.Noyes; Dover, N.H., E. J. Lane; 1856). IOnline book at Internet Archives.
 * See also the Genealogy - Town Histories section above for helpful town histories.

The New Hampshire State Library at Concord, New Hampshire has a vast collection of books about New Hampshire towns and counties. Check their internet catalog for a town of interest.

The New Hampshire Historical Society also in Concord has a very large collection of local history books and other publications.

Maps



 * Map of Carroll County, New Hampshire 1861, You can purchase 1861 maps at this site. (accessed 20 August 2011).
 * Contact the local historical society or public library. They may be able to photocopy a map or a section of a map for a small fee.

American Revolution
The most complete listing of New Hampshire Revolutionary War soldiers is found in volumes 14-17 of the New Hamsphire State Papers. You can go to google.com, and look forNew Hampshire State Papers with the link to ancestry.com. There you will find a name index to voloumes 14-17, then you can go to the needed volume and page for information on the soldier. Often the place of residence is given.

For a military history of New Hampshire, see:

Potter, Chandler Eastman, The Military History of the State of New Hampshire. Concord, N.H.: McFarland and Jenks, 1866. (Family History Library film 1033664; fiche 6046858.) You can search this book on-line by going to google.com. Look for ancestry.com as the internet way to search this book. This history comprises events from the first settlements in New Hampshire to the rebellion in 1861. It includes biographical notices of many of the officers and explanatory notes.

Online Records


 * 1675 - 1835 - at FamilySearch — index and images

War of 1812
See Potter's book above for information on the War of 1812. See also the New Hampshire Online Records box at the beginning of this wiki article.

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861-1866 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Regiments. Civil War service men from Carroll County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are many companies or regiments that were formed from men of Carroll County:


 * - 1st Regiment, New Hampshire Heavy Artillery, Company K.
 * - 2nd Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Company F.
 * - 3rd Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Company G.
 * - 4th Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Company D.
 * - 5th Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Company H.
 * - 6th Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Company D.
 * - 8th Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Company I.
 * - 11th Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Company C.
 * - 12th Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Companies G and K.
 * - 13th Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Company A.
 * - 16th Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Company B.
 * - 18th Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Companies A, C, and E.

Additional Resources for soldiers from Carroll County: Familysearch.org is a free source for locating names of Civil War soldiers and sailors. Ancestry.com is available free at FamilySearch Centers and is also valuable for finding names of soldiers and sailors.

You can go to ancestry.com and search for names in The Revised Register of the Soldiers and Sailors of New Hampshire in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866, by Augustus D. Ayling. This book gives the age, residence, and service information about approximately 32,000 New Hampshire Civil War veterans. The book is also available on microfilm or microfiche from the Family History Library.

Town history books are available through the Family History Library, and other large libraries, for some of the towns in Cheshire County. They often contain extensive information concerning the war and the soldiers.


 * History of Carroll County, New Hampshire, by Georgia Drew Merrill - Chapter XVII - Military Affairs in Carroll County Prior to 1860 - Soldiers in the Rebellion 1861-1865. See pages 134-185.

World War I
A very helpful source for World War I is an index at www.ancestry.com of World War I draft registration records, 1917-1918. All men between ages eighteen and forty-five were required to register. Their birth date and place, address, and sometimes the name of nearest kin, are listed on the card. Many of these men served in the war.

World War II
In the years 1938-1946, men enlisted in World War II. These records are available online at ancestry.com. Look for this collection in the Military Records section under: U. S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946. These record often list birth date and birth place.

There is an index on www.ancestry.com of the 1942 World War II draft registrations for New Hampshire, of men forty-five to sixty-five. Some of these men served in that war. The records contain name, address, birth date and place, name of kin or friend, name and address of employer, and signature. (See www.ancestry.com for further information.) The following book may be helpful:


 * Carroll County, New Hampshire World War II Casualties Army and Air Force, (accessed 20 August 2011).

Naturalization and Citizenship
There are naturalization records at the Carroll Countycourthouse in Ossipee, New Hampshire. The Family History Library has microfilms of those naturalization records for the time period 1871-1942. These are records in the various courts in Carroll County. See the FamilySearch Catalog, New Hampshire, Carroll, Naturalization and Citizenshsip for the microfilm numbers.

If you are looking for naturalization records during the years 1861-1870 you might possibly find them among the court records. See the Court Records section above for information on the indexes and records.

Online Records


 * 1906-1993 - at FamilySearch — images

Newspapers
A good way to find newspaper birth, marriage, death records, and obituaries is to contact the local historical society or public library They may be able to tell you which organization has the newspapers for their region. Go to the internet site of DirectoryNH.com to see if there is a historical society in the town or region where your people lived. Look on the internet for a public library in the town.

The New Hampshire State Library, in Concord, New Hampshire, has a large collection of newspapers.

Several companies are putting newspapers on the internet. They are indexed by ancestors' names. One company is genealogybank.com. They are adding newspapers regularly. They have many newspapers from New Hampshire, for example, newspapers of Concord, for 1790-1890, and some from the years 2002 to the present. You can do some searching free, and then you can purchase a subscription for a fee if you desire.

Other companies include fold3.com and ancestry.com. Ancestry.com has some Portsmouth, New Hampshire newspapers. Type the name of the city and state in the Card Catalog Search.

Probate Records
Carroll County probate records begin with 1840 one year before the county was established from Strafford county. The Carroll County records are kept at the county courthouse at Ossipee. For probate records from the 1770s to 1840 see the records of Strafford County.

Fortunately the Family History Library has microfilms of indexes to the probate packets for 1840-1936, and microfilms of the probate packets for 1840-1936. The packets often contain wills, administration records, settlements, court accounts, etc. See the FamilySearch Catalog, Place Search for New Hampshire, Carroll -  Probate Records for the microfilm numbers.

The Family History Library also has microfilms of several volumes of early probate court records:

Administrations, 1840-1866

Guardianships, 1840-1870

Inventories and widows' records, 1843-1862

Wills and claims, 1840-1855

If you think your ancestor should be listed in the records above, but you do not find the records, there is a microfilm with unfiled propate papers, 1840-1936. These are mostly in alphabetical order.

Online Probate Records
 * 1635 – 1753 New Hampshire Probate Records 1635-1753 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1643 - 1982 New Hampshire Wills and Probate Records 1643-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Taxation
Many town tax records have been preserved by town clerks and town tax officials. Town tax records were generally taken each year. The Family History Library has many town records on microfilms. For film numbers see the FamilySearch Catalog under New Hampshire - Carroll County - [name of town] - Town Records.

There is an index to the town records (which include many tax records) from the early settlement of the town to about 1850. This is the Index to Early Town Records of New Hampshire, Early to 1850 (FHL films 14942-15052). The index cards list volume and page numbers for the town records, many of which are on Family History Library microfilms. The town records are listed in the Family Hiistory Library Catalog in the manner mentioned in the paragraph above.

Ancestry.com has online images of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax lists for New Hampshire and many other states for 1862-1866. Only persons who owned businesses, or valuable items such as carriages, were listed. You may wish to check ancestry.com to see if your ancestor was listed. The record gives the person's name, town of residence, business or valuable item, and amount of tax.

Town Records
Town records are an important source of family history information from the 1600s to about the 1940s. The early New Hampshire town records to about 1850 have an every-name index. The index and film numbers are listed just above in the Taxation section. Many town records are still in the town offices.

To see the types of family history information you might find in town records please go to the heading Town Records in our New Hampshire wiki article.

Vital Records
Certified copies of of birth, death, and marriage records are available from the State Division of Vital Records Administration or from the local city and town clerk where the event took place. Original records are kept by the city or town clerk and copies are sent to the state.

In 1905, when the state created the Bureau of Vital Records and Health, printed cards were distributed to the local clerks and earlier vital records were transcribed onto the cards and submitted to the state.

NOTE: For most of the towns in Carroll County, the birth records to 1900, and marriage and death records to 1947, are on microfilms or in book form available through the Family History Library. These include Albany, Bartlett, Brookfield, Chatham, Conway, Eaton, Effingham, Freedom, Hart's Location, Jackson, Madison, Moultonboroough, Ossipee, Tamworth, Tuftonboro, Wakefield, and Wolfeboro.

Online Records


 * 1656 - 1938 at FamilySearch — index

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * Early to 1900 at FamilySearch.org
 * 1901-1915 at FamilySearch.org - browse images only

Courtesy of the Conway Public Library and constructed from the Annual Reports for the Town of Conway:


 * Births: Begins in 1880 - 2010

Marriages

 * 1637-1964 - New Hampshire, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1637-1947 - are available online from FamilySearch.org.
 * 1880-1991 - Conway Public Library - Marriages Search Begins in 1880 (Some marriage are prior to 1880) - 1991
 * 1789-1854 - Wolfeborough, New Hampshire Marriages Nov. 1789 to July 1854, (accessed 20 August 2011). From: History of Wolfeborough, New Hampshire By: Benjamin Franklin Parker; Published by the town, 1901 Surnames Starting with A to K
 * 1789-1854 - Wolfeborough, New Hampshire Marriages Nov. 1789 to July 1854, (accessed 20 August 2011). From: History of Wolfeborough, New Hampshire By: Benjamin Franklin Parker; Published by the town, 1901 Surnames Starting with L to Y
 * 1948–1959 -  at FamilySearch — index and images

Deaths

 * are available online at FamilySearch.org.
 * Deaths: Begins in 1880 - 2010

Societies and Libraries

 * Carroll County Public Libraries, (accessed 20 August 2011).
 * Carroll County Historical Societies, (accessed 20 August 2011).

Family History Centers

 * Wolfeboro New Hampshire Family History Center

Websites

 * FamilySearch Catalog for Carroll County
 * The Carroll County NHGenWeb Project, an member of The NHGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Carroll County
 * Carroll County, New Hampshire Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Carroll County, New Hampshire, hosted by epodunk, (accessed 20 August 2011).