Person County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Person County is located in the north-central portion of North Carolina and shares a border with Virginia. It was named for Revolutionary War General Thomas Person.

County Courthouse
Person County Courthouse 105 South Main Street Roxboro, NC 27573 Phone: 336-503-5200 Person County Website Register's office has copies of birth, marriage and death records as well as land records.

History Timeline
Person county was formed in 1791 from Caswell. The act was to become effective February 1, 1792. In 1792 the eastern four districts of Caswell County became Person County. In 1792 Pittman's was mentioned in an act as the place where the courthouse was to be established. In 1793 Roxboro was established as the courthouse and is now the county seat. The present area of the county is 390.87 square miles and the 1990 population was 30,180. General Thomas Person was a Revolutionary Patriot, a member of the Council of Safety and a trustee of the University of North Carolina. He gave a large sum of money to the University, and a building was erected in his honor, which is called Person Hall.

Church Records

 * 1700-1970 - at FamilySearch — index

Baptist
 * Flat River. Constituted 1777.
 * Head of Mayo Creek. Constituted 1793.
 * South Hico River Lower Church. Constituted 1793.
 * South Hico River Upper Church. Constituted 1792.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American
 * Redford, Dorothy Spruill. As Long as You Call My Name, I Live: Somerset Place Slave Burial Register, 1785-1865.FHL 975.6165 V3r
 * Redford, Dorothy Spruill and Michael D'orso. Somerset Homecoming: Recovering a Lost Heritage. New York, New York Doubleday, c 1988. FHL 929.273 L732r
 * Redford, Dorothy Spruill. Somerset's Slave Community: an Antebellum Genealogical Study. Portsmouth, Va.: D. S. Redford, 9C. 1986

Land and Property Records

 * Person County Register of Deeds searchable database.

Local Histories

 * Reminiscences A sketch and letters descriptive of life in Person County in former days
 * Resources: Books: listings of Person County books at NCGenWeb.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Person County Maps Page

Military Records
Revolutionary War 
 * 1779-1782  at FamilySearch

Civil War 


 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch
 * 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


 * - U.S. Colored Troops-Person County - list of soldiers from Person Co.
 * - 4th Battalion, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company C
 * - 7th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Captain George F Fisher's Company
 * - 7th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Captain R S Davie's Company

World War I 
 * 1917-1919  at FamilySearch

World War II 
 * 1940-1948  at FamilySearch

Newspapers

 * List of Person County Newspapers, current and past
 * Library of Congress: Chronicling America
 * State Library: North Carolina Newspapers

Probate Records
Online Probate Records


 * 1660-1790 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry $
 * 1663-1979  at FamilySearch
 * 1665-1998 North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998 at Ancestry $
 * 1735-1970  at FamilySearch
 * 1760-1800 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry $
 * 1792-1966  at FamilySearch
 * Transcribed Wills &amp; Estates

Tax Records

 * 1792 1792 - Nash District
 * 1793 1793 - Nash District
 * 1794 1794 - Nash District
 * 1797 1797 - Nash District
 * 1798 1798 - Nash District
 * 1800 1800 - Nash District

Vital Records

 * 1800-2000 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Birth

 * 1800-2000  at FamilySearch
 * 1866-1964  at FamilySearch

Marriage

 * 1741-2004 North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast
 * 1741-2004 North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1759-1979  at FamilySearch
 * 1762-1979  at FamilySearch
 * 1763-1868  at FamilySearch

Death

 * 1898-1994  at FamilySearch
 * 1906-1930  at FamilySearch
 * 1908-2004 North Carolina Death Indexes 1908-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1909-1975 North Carolina Death Certificates 1909-1975 at Ancestry $
 * 1931-1994  at FamilySearch

Divorce

 * 1926-1975  at FamilySearch
 * 1958-2004 North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry $

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Libraries

 * Person County Library 319 S. Main Street Roxboro, NC Phone: 336-597-7881 Website Includes a local history room, large amount of genealogy information
 * UNC-Chapel Hill Library 208 Raleigh Street, CB#3916 UNC Chapel Hill, NC 27599 Ref Phone: 919-962-1151 Circ Phone: 919-962-1053 Website

Societies

 * Person County Historical Society PO Box 887 Roxboro, NC 27573 Phone: 336-597-3134 Email: [mailto:Pchs@esinc.net pchs@esinc.net]
 * Caswell County Historical Association Website
 * Piedmont Genealogical Society PO Box 2272 Danville, VA 24541 Website

Websites

 * Person County NCGenWeb - many genealogy resources for Person County
 * USGenWeb Project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * – 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.