Rockingham County, New Hampshire Genealogy

United States &gt; New Hampshire &gt; Rockingham County

County Courthouse
119 North Road County Complex Brentwood, NH 03833

History

 * First settled by Europeans moving north from the Plymouth Colony as early as 1623.
 * Named for Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, who had been Prime Minister in 1765-1766.
 * The government was tightly linked to Massachusetts until 1679. The counties of New Hampshire were not introduced until 1769.

Parent County

 * Created 19 March 1771 from Colonial Lands and old Norfolk County, Massachusetts. It was originally claimed by Massaschusetts. Eventually the portion that is in Massachusetts was absorbed.

Boundary Changes

 * Merrimack County was set off in 1823.

Populated Places
City:


 * Portsmouth

Towns:

Villages:

Neighboring Counties
Hillsborough | Merrimack | Strafford | York County, Maine | Essex County, Massachusetts

Civil War

 * History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire and Representative Citizens, by Charles A. Hazlett - Chapter 34, Hampton - Soldiers of 1861-65

Newspapers
Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Portsmouth newspapers (1898-2007) and the Lowell Sun Lowell, MA (1878-1977) that covered local news on Rockingham County residents as well as residents from surrounding counties.

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.

Births

 * are available online from FamilySearch.

Marriages

 * are available online from FamilySearch.

Deaths

 * are available online from FamilySearch.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Exeter New Hampshire Family History Center

Web Sites

 * The Rockingham County NHGenWeb Project, an member of The NHGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Rockingham County
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Rockingham County (backup site)
 * Family History Library catalog for Rockingham County
 * Rockingham County, New Hampshire Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)