Wilkes County, North Carolina Genealogy

United States   North Carolina    Wilkes County

County Courthouse

 * The Original Wilkes County Courthouse - from Go Wilkes

History
Wilkes was formed in 1777 from Surry and the District of Washington. The act was to become effective February 15, 1778. It was named in honor of John Wilkes who was a violent opponent of the Tory party in England. He was not allowed to take his seat in Parliament to which he had been elected. The Americans imagined that he was suffering in the cause of liberty and named this county in his honor.

It is in the northwestern section of the State and is bounded by Yadkin, Iredell, Alexander, Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany and Surry counties. The present land area is 754.30 square miles and the 1990 population was 59,393.

Parent County
1777--Wilkes County was created from Surry County and the District of Washington. County seat: Wilkesboro

Boundary Changes
Ashe County was created from Wilkes County in 1799.

Record Loss
Some of the early records are missing.

Neighboring Counties

 * Alexander
 * Alleghany
 * Ashe
 * Caldwell
 * Iredell
 * Surry
 * Watauga
 * Yadkin

Church

 * Zion Hill Baptist Church Membership List, 1814

Education

 * Annual report of the public schools of Wilkes County - from about 1906-1921 (not all inclusive); via the Internet Archive
 * Wilkes County students at NC colleges - a name list of students at various NC colleges with identified hometowns in the county.

Genealogy
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:


 * Locate publications about direct ancestors
 * Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
 * Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" [Friends, Associates, and Neighbors]

Land
Wilkes County has land records starting from 1777 which can be obtained from the Register of Deeds.

Wilkes County Register of Deeds 500 Courthouse Drive Suite 1000 Wilkesboro, NC 28697 Phone: (336) 651-7351

Local Histories

 * Bass, Misty, Christy Earp, and Jennifer L. Pena, Wilkes County (Images of America series), Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2007. (Google Books link)
 * Holcomb, Brent, Marriages of Wilkes County, North Carolina, 1778-1868, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1983. (Google Books link)
 * Hunter, C.L., Sketches of Western North Carolina: Historical and Biographical, Raleigh, North Carolina: The Raleigh News Steam Job Print, 1877; see ch. 9: "Wilkes County." (Google Books link)

Maps

 * Wilkes County Property Maps
 * Wilkes County 1895
 * NC Digital Map Collection: Wilkes County

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


 * Catawba and Northern Trail pre-historic

Military
Revolutionary War pension applications at the National Archives for individuals associated with Wilkes County, North Carolina as a place of residence or enlistment, some of which have transcribed copies as indicated:


 * Brookshire, William - North Carolina - S6706
 * Bryan, John - Pennsylvania - W4902
 * Gordon, Richard - North Carolina - S3404
 * Hughes, Jonathan - Virginia - S9591
 * Lyon, William - North Carolina - S8875
 * McCoy, John - North Carolina - S4190
 * Parks, Samuel - North Carolina - S8937
 * Powell, William - North Carolina - W4054
 * Stoakes, John - North Carolina - W8754
 * Pension Statement of James Davis
 * Pension Application of Jasper Billings

Other Records
Eastern Cherokee Applications:


 * Wood, John W., res. Darby, Wilkes County, North Carolina, 24 Aug 1907 (rejected), National Archives

Probate
Wilkes County Clerk of the Superior Court 500 Courthouse Drive Wilkesboro, NC 28697-2497 (336) 667 -1201

Copies of wills, estate records &amp; all records having to do with administrations &amp; settlements.

The following are links to transcribed Records of Wills &amp; Estates for Wilkes County:


 * Index to Devisors List, 1780-1948
 * Elizabeth Baker, 1836
 * John Brown, 1812
 * William Carely, 1796
 * Larkin Carley, 1841
 * Nancy Chambers, 1832
 * Kinchen Cheatham, 1834
 * Elijah Church Sr., 1854
 * John Church Jr., 1870
 * Abraham Cook, 1800
 * Ephraim Cook, 1872
 * Thomas Cook, 1819
 * Thomas Cottrel, 1825
 * Samuel Curtice, 1853
 * Caleb Dyer, 1816
 * John Ferguson Sr., 1838
 * William Gilliam Sr., 1831
 * John Grant, 1835
 * John Greer Sr., 1782
 * Harold Hayes, 1912
 * Mary Ellen Hendren, 1944
 * Benjamin Howard, 1828
 * John Howard, 1811
 * Mary Polly Howard, 1836
 * Benjamin Isbell, 1870
 * John Isbell, 1827
 * Thomas Isbell, 1819
 * James M. Jarvis, 1805
 * John Jarvis, 1848
 * William Jarvis, 1860
 * William Jarvis, 1875
 * Charles Johnson, 1816
 * Charles Johnson2, 1816
 * Jeffery Johnson, 1789
 * Leander Johnson Sr., 1860
 * Moses Johnson, 1855
 * William B. Kennaday, 1860
 * James Marlow, 1850
 * James Martin Marlow, 1920
 * A. C. Moore, 1932
 * Starling Moore, 1836
 * James Norman, 1828
 * William Owen, 1785
 * John Parks Sr.,1793
 * Thomas Parks, 1791
 * William Sale, 1787
 * John Shumate, 1783
 * Henry Sims, 1904
 * Hugh Smith, 1781
 * James Spradling, 1805
 * Sarah Vickers, 1847
 * David Williams, 1855
 * Ann Collins Wisdom, 1801
 * John Witherspoon, 1778
 * Thomas Witherspoon, 1790
 * Henry York, 1817

General

 * Wilkes County Register of Deeds has copies of birth, marriage, and death records. Contact the office for details: 500 Courthouse Drive, Suite 1000, Wilkesboro, NC 28697, (336) 651-7351

Births

 * Birth Records from WWI Registration Cards (Wilkes Co. GenWeb)

Marriages and Divorces

 * Original Wilkes County Marriage Bonds and Licenses (Wilkes Co. GenWeb)
 * Wilkes Co., NC: Anderson-Ellis Marriages (U.S. GenWeb Archives)
 * Wilkes Co., NC: Benge Marriages (U.S. GenWeb Archives)
 * Wilkes Co., NC Marriages: Cannon, N., Col. - Welborn, Rachel S., 1818 (U.S. GenWeb Archives)
 * Wilkes Co., NC Vitals: Divorces, 1820-1899 (U.S. GenWeb Archives)
 * Wilkes County Marriage Bonds (Wilkes Co. GenWeb)
 * Yadkin-Wilkes-Surry Co. NC Archives History: Benge Marriages of Yadkin (U.S. GenWeb Archives)

Deaths
The following sites have copies of transcribed Vital Records for Wilkes County:


 * Wilkes County Marriage Bonds
 * Marriage Bonds annotated by Jodi Friedman
 * Births from WWI Draft Cards
 * Divorces 1820-1899
 * Anderson-Ellis Marriages
 * Benge Marriages
 * Benge Marriages, 2
 * Col. N. Cannon to Rachel Welborn, 1818
 * Henry Chambers to Mary Stokes, 1813
 * Chang Eng to Adelaide Sarah Yates, 1843
 * Rev. Hampton to Neely Tidline, 1892
 * George Hayes to Judah Mills, 1785
 * Leonidas Hayes Agnes Rockwell, 1916
 * Albert F. Houk to Margaret R. Horton, 1882
 * John W. Houpt to Margaret Correll, 1834
 * James Hunt to Diana Martin, 1829
 * Miscellaneous Marriages
 * S. L. Parks to Grace Hulbert, 1893
 * Israel Pickens to Martha Lenoir, 1814
 * Riddle Marriages
 * Roberson-Robertson Marriages
 * Tedder Marriages
 * Triplett Marriages
 * James Walker to Nancy Bradley, 1797
 * Wilkes County Bible Marriage Records
 * Wilkes County Marriages

Societies and Libraries

 * Wilkes County Genealogical Society
 * North Carolina Genealogical Society Inc.
 * Wilkes County Libraries

Web Sites

 * Wilkes County, NCGenWeb
 * USGenWeb Archives, Wilkes County, NC
 * USGenWeb Archives, Wilkes County, NC