Burke County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Burke County is located in the Western portion of North Carolina and was named for Thomas Burke, delegate to the Continental Congress and governor of the state 1781-1782.

County Courthouse
Burke County Courthouse 201 S Green Street P O Box 219 Morganton, NC 28680 Phone: 828-438-5450 Burke County Website Register of Deeds has birth and death records from 1913 marriage, land and military discharge records from 1865; Clerk Superior Court has divorce, probate and court records from 1865

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:

Bible Records

 * Bible Records at North Carolina Digital Archives - index and images
 * Old Southern Bible Records at Google Books

Cemeteries

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

Census Records

 * Census records on the NCGenWeb Archives

Church Records

 * 1700-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Baptist List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Catawbo River. Constituted 1785.
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1776-1949 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1783-1927 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1791-1868 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1832-1963 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Burke County, NC Court Records at NCGenWeb Archives
 * Official Court Record of the Trial, Conviction and Execution of Francis Silvers : First Woman Hanged in North Carolina. 1944. By Burke County, North Carolina Superior Court. Burke County, North Carolina : Burke County, North Carolina. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.

Many pre-1850 road orders have been published in the Journal of the Burke County Genealogical Society.

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

Funeral Homes

 * Heritage Funeral Service and Crematory in Valdese
 * Kirksey Funeral Home in Morganton
 * Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory Center in Morganton
 * Thomas Murray Funeral Service Licensee in Morganton

Genealogies

 * Plumlee Plumlee, Robert D. The Plumlee Family. Clearwater, Fla.: Plumlee Systems, Inc., 1969, 1979. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library.

Land and Property Records

 * Deeds 1855-1985 -- Search on the Burke County Register of Deeds website
 * Deeds of Burke County -- NCGenWeb Archives

Local Histories

 * Book: Catawba Valley and highlands Burke County, Western North Carolina (1896) - via the Internet Archive

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Burke County Maps - via NC Maps Digital Collection
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

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


 * Old Cherokee Path pre-historic
 * Jonesboro Road 1769
 * Rutherford's War Trace 1776

Military Records
Revolutionary War 
 * 1778-1833 Delamar Transcripts of Revolutionary War Petitions at North Carolina Genealogical Society - index ($)
 * 1779-1782 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1775-1782 Emmett R. White. Revolutionary War soldiers of Western North Carolina : Burke County. 3 volumes. Greenville, South Carolina : Southern Historical Press, c2011. FHL 975.685 M2w

Civil War 


 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch.org - 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
 * 1885 and 1901 1885 and 1901 Confederate Pension Applications at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images


 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, usually known as the Bethel Regiment.
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company B
 * - 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company D
 * - 16th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company E
 * - 41st Regiment Volunteers - 3rd Cavalry, Company F
 * - 5th Battalion, North Carolina Cavalry, Company C
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company F
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company I
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company D
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company E
 * - 8th Battalion, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company C

World War I 
 * 1914-1918 World War I Papers at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
 * 1917-1919 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection; index and images

World War II 
 * 1939-1945 World Ward II Papers at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
 * 1940-1948 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Newspapers

 * North Carolina Newspapers at DigitalNC
 * 1799-1893 Burke County marriages - may be 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 searchable. Available on the North Carolina Digital Collections website.
 * Burke county newspapers - a listing of newspapers published in the county &amp; libraries that hold them; via the Library of Congress.
 * Burke County residents in the newspaper - name listing of people from the county as located in misc. newspaper articles; time span varies. Articles indexed in the NC People in the Papers database.
 * North Carolina Newspaper Digitization Project - contains full-text papers from 1752-1890s. Search for your Burke County ancestors.
 * Deaths of Burke County - list of county area deaths reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.

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

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1660-1790 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1663-1789 Secretary of State Wills at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
 * 1663-1978 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1663-1979 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1665-1998 North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1720-1960 at FamilySearch.org How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1735-1970 at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1760-1800 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1790 Pre-1790 Burke County, North Carolina Genealogy Wills stored at the North Carolina State Archives are online. Website tips.
 * 1793-1905 (*); County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions and Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1793-1963 at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1793-1963 (*); Superior and County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1832-1963 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1869-1922 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Images of Wills and Estates 1793-1869. North Carolina Pioneers ($)
 * Images of Wills & Estates, Book A (1764-1921); Book B, (1908-1924); Book C, (1924-1954) North Carolina Pioneers ($)

School Records

 * Book: The North Carolina School for the Deaf at Morganton, 1894-1944 (1945)
 * Burke County students at NC colleges - list via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index

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.

Tax Records

 * 1760-1839, 1864 - Tax Lists and Related Documents: Old Burke County, North Carolina 1760-1839 & 1864.

Many tax lists have been published in the Journal of the Burke County Genealogical Society.

Vital Records

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

Birth

 * 1800-2000 at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1866-1964 at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1886-1964 North Carolina Births and Christenings, 1866-1964 - search this name index to birth, baptism and christening records from the state; via FamilySearch
 * 1913-1922 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Burke County Births - search on the website of the Burke County Register of Deeds

Marriage

 * 1741-2004 North Carolina, United States Marriages at Findmypast
 * 1741-2004 - North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1759-1979 at FamilySearch.org - 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
 * 1774-1854 - Burke County Marriages 1774-1854 North Carolina Pioneers
 * 1867-1939 - Burke County Marriage Index 1867-1939. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * To 1799 - North Carolina Marriages to 1799, a database, available to members North Carolina Pioneers
 * Burke County Marriages - search on the website of the Burke County Register of Deeds

Death

 * 1898-1994 at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1906-1930 at FamilySearch.org - 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 $
 * 1931-1994 at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Burke County Deaths - search on the website of the Burke County Register of Deeds

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

 * Hickory North Carolina Family History Center
 * Morganton North Carolina Family History Center

Libraries
Burke County Public Library System Website
 * There are three branches in the system.

Museums
History Museum of Burke County 201 W Meeting St PO Box 416 Morganton, NC 28655-0416 Telephone 828-437-1777 Email [mailto:burkehistory@compascable.net burkehistory@compascable.net] Webpage Facebook

Societies
Burke County Genealogical Society PO Box 661 Morganton, NC 28680-0661 Telephone 828-764-9266 Email: [mailto:bcgs-nc@hotmail.com bcgs-nc@hotmail.com] Website Facebook Burke County Historical Society PO Box 151 Morganton, NC 28680-0151 Telephone 828-764-9266

Websites

 * Burke County NCGenWeb genealogy resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project
 * Burke County NCGenWeb Archives
 * North Carolina Pioneers North Carolina Pioneers
 * – 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.