Beaufort County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Beaufort County is located in the Eastern portion of North Carolina and it took its present name from Henry Somerset, Duke of Beaufort to whom King Charles II granted tracts of land in the New World called "Carolina".

County Courthouse
Beaufort County Courthouse 112 W 2nd Street Washington, NC 27889 252-946-2323

Register of Deeds has marriage and land records Clerk Superior Court has probate Records Register of Deeds PO Box 514 Washington, NC 27889 Telephone: 252-946-2323 Fax: 252-946-7938 Website  Clerk of Superior Court PO Box 1403 Washington, NC 27889 Telephone: (252) 940-4000

Parent County
1705--Beaufort County was first called Pamptecough Precinct when it was formed 3 December 1705 from Bath County; the name was changed to Beaufort about 1712. Bath County was abolished in 1739. County seat: Washington


 * History of Beaufort Co., NC
 * Beaufort County: Two Centuries of it's History


 * Formation of Beaufort County, NC

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

 * Beaufort County, NC Records (Original &amp; Microfilm)

Neighboring Counties

 * Craven
 * Hyde
 * Martin
 * Pamlico
 * Pitt
 * Washington

Bibles

 * Beaufort Co., NC Bibles
 * Beaufort Co., NC Bible Records at NCGenWeb Archives

Biographies

 * Beaufort Co., NC Biographies
 * Biographies of Beaufort Co., NC at NCGenWeb Archives

Cemeteries

 * at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Yeatesville Cemetery - Yeatesville (by Sandy Carawan)
 * Access Genealogy for Beaufort County Cemeteries

Census &amp; Tax

 * Beaufort Co., NC Census &amp; Tax Records
 * Beaufort Co., NC Census Records at NCGenWeb Archives

Church

 * Free Church on Chocowinity
 * Church Minutes, Beaufort Co., NC, 1858
 * Churches of Beaufort Co., NC
 * Churches at NCGenWeb Archives

Baptist

 * Durham's Creek. Constituted 1790.
 * The Kehukee Baptist Association, 1765 to 1885 (History of the Church of God)
 * Beaufort Co., NC Subscribers List for 1834

Catholic

 * St. John the Evangelist, Washington, N.C. Consecrated 1829.

Church of England

 * St. Thomas's Parish, Bath, N.C. Built 1734.
 * Trinity Church aka Blount's Chapel. Built about 1775.

County Records

 * 1833-1970 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Court

 * Beaufort Co., NC Court Records
 * Court Records at NCGenWeb Archives

Ethnic

 * NC-US Colored Troops Project
 * Native Americans of Beaufort Co., NC

Land

 * Beaufort Co., NC Deeds &amp; Land Grants
 * Land Records at NCGenWeb Archives

Local Histories

 * Durham's Creek, NC
 * History at NCGenWeb Archives
 * Early history of Washington Park : 1839-1925 (1950) - book by Lida B. Small; freely available online
 * A History of colonial Bath (1955) - book by Herbert Richard Paschal; freely available online
 * Saint Peters Parish, Washington, North Carolina : a record of the century, 1822-1922 (1922) - book by Edmund Harding Hoyt; freely available online
 * Washington and the Pamlico (1976) - book by Ursula Loy; freely available online

Maps

 * 1590 White - de Bry Map of Coastal North Carolina
 * 1630 Map of the Southeast [Mercator] (by Johannes Cloppenburg)
 * 1696 Carte General de la Caroline (Hargrett Library, Univ. of Georgia)
 * 1709 Map by John Lawson (from Francis L. Hawks)
 * 1733 A New and Correct Map of North Carolina (by Edward Moseley)
 * 1770 John Collet Map
 * 1775 A Map of North and South Carolina by Henry Mouzon (Library of Congress)
 * c1779 Plan of the Town of Washington comprised of the original 60 lots (read owners names)
 * 1808 Price-Strothers Map
 * 1833 A New Map of the State of North Carolina (by MacRae-Brazier)
 * 1840 Bath Creek Survey
 * 1862 Civil War Map of North Carolina (from Harper's Weekly)
 * 1882 Kerr-Cain Map of North Carolina
 * 1895 Map of Beaufort Co., NC (from Rand-McNally's Atlas)
 * 2006 State Travel Map of Beaufort Co., NC (NC Dept. of Transportation)
 * Beaufort Co., NC - Earth from Space (NASA-Johnson Space Center)
 * Beaufort County, NC Townships, 1930 Census (by Larry Flowers)
 * Beaufort County, NC Map (showing major towns)
 * Animated Atlas (From the beginning of the 13 states to present--Excellent history lesson!)

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


 * Atlantic Ocean
 * King's Highway about 1704
 * Secondary Coast Road late 1730s

Military

 * Beaufort Co., NC Military Records (from Colonial Militia to Vietnam)
 * Beaufort Co., NC Military Records at NCGenWeb Archives

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


 * -3rd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * -4th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 17th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry (1st Organization), Company K
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Artillery, Company G
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company G
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company I
 * - 3rd Regiment, North Carolina Artillery, Company B
 * - 3rd Regiment, North Carolina Artillery, Company C
 * - 3rd Regiment, North Carolina Artillery, Company I
 * - 3rd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company I
 * - 3rd Regiment, North Carolina State Troops, Company I
 * - 4th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company E
 * - 4th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company I

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battle was fought in Beaufort County:


 * March 30-April 20, 1863 = Washington


 * Map showing Civil War battles in North Carolina.

World War I

 * 1917 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * 1940 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Miscellaneous

 * Masonic Records of Beaufort Co., NC
 * Historical Markers of Beaufort Co., NC
 * Penny Postcards of Beaufort Co., NC at NCGenWeb Archives
 * Hurricanes of North Carolina
 * Blackbeard

Newspapers, Letters &amp; Journals

 * Brief Abstracts From The American Recorder, 1815-1825 from Betsy Ross
 * Beaufort County news from miscellaneous newspapers
 * Beaufort Co., NC Newspapers at NCGenWeb Archives
 * Beaufort Co., NC Letters at NCGenWeb Archives
 * Pamteco Tracings Table of Contents (Journal of the Beaufort County Genealogical Society)

Photographs

 * Beaufort Co., NC Photographs

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 $
 * 1720 - 1960 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
 * 1735 - 1970 - at FamilySearch.org — images
 * 1760 - 1800 - North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry.com — index and images


 * Pre-1790 - Pre-1790 Wills stored at the North Carolina State Archives are online - free. Website tips.
 * 1720 - 1775 - Images of Wills and Estates North Carolina Pioneers ($)


 * Beaufort Co., NC Wills
 * Beaufort Co., NC Estates
 * Beaufort Co., NC CRX Estates
 * J. Bryan Grimes Wills &amp; Inventories
 * Beaufort Co., NC Wills &amp; Estates at NCGenWeb Archives

Schools

 * Beaufort Co., NC Schools
 * Beaufort Co., NC School Yearbooks

Taxation

 * 1717 - A 1715 Corn List for Beaufort and Hyde Precincts (transcript) online at NCGenWeb
 * 1717 - Tax Lists, Beaufort County, 1717 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry ($)
 * 1755 - Tax Lists, Beaufort County, 1755 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry ($)
 * 1755 - Tax Lists, Beaufort County, 1755 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1755 - Tax Lists, Beaufort County, 1755 (images) online at FamilySearch
 * 1755 - 1755 Beaufort County, North Carolina Tax List FHL Book 975.6 A1 no. 249
 * 1755 - 1755 Beaufort County Tax List (transcript) online at FamilySearch
 * 1764 - Tax Lists, Beaufort County, 1764 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry ($)
 * 1764 - Tax Lists, Beaufort County, 1764 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1764 - Tax Lists, Beaufort County, 1764 (images) online at FamilySearch
 * 1779 - Tax Lists, Beaufort County, 1779 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry ($)
 * 1779 - Tax Lists, Beaufort County, 1779 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1779 - Tax Lists, New Bern District, 1779 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry ($)
 * 1779 - Tax Lists, New Bern District, 1779 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1784 - Tax Lists, Beaufort County, 1784 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1786 - Tax Lists, Beaufort County, 1786 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry ($)
 * 1786 - Tax Lists, Beaufort County, 1786 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1787 - Tax Lists, Beaufort County, 1787 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections (stats and names of captains only)
 * 1789 - Tax Lists, Beaufort County, 1789 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1818 - Tax Lists, District of Bath (Beaufort County), 1818 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1832-1852 - Tax Lists, 1832-1852 (images) online at FamilySearch

Vital Records
Uncertified copies of vital records can be ordered for a small fee from the Register of Deeds. Please contact them for more information.

Births

 * 1800 - 2000 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1866 - 1964 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1874 - 1950 - Beaufort County Birth Index, Volumes 1-11, 1874-1950 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Marriages

 * 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 - 1969 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 1763 - 1868 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1778 - 1795, 1847-1930 - Beaufort County Marriage Books A-F, P-Z, 2A-K and 2L-Z Index 1778-1795 and 1847-1930 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * Marriages at NCGenWeb Archives
 * 1799 - 1893 - Beaufort County marriages - are included throughout Carrie Broughton's 6-volume index of the Raleigh Register &amp; State Gazette newspaper (1799-1893). Marriages are listed by year and PDF files are searcheable. Available on the North Carolina Digital Collections website.

Deaths

 * 1898 - 1994 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 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
 * Beaufort Co., NC Obituaries
 * Beaufort Co., NC Obituaries at NCGenWeb Archives
 * Vital Records at NCGenWeb Archives
 * Beaurfort County deaths - list of county area deaths reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.

Divorce

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

Yearbooks

 * Beaufort County students at NC colleges - list via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index

Societies and Libraries
Beaufort County Genealogical Society PO Box 1089 Washington 27889-1089

Beaufort Historical Association PO Box 363 Beaufort, NC 28516-1709

Websites

 * Beaufort County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * NCGenWeb: Beaufort County - free genealogy resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project
 * Beaufort County at Our Family Tree