Wake County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Wake County is located in the Central portion of North Carolina and was named for Margaret Wake Tryon, the wife of Royal Governor William Tryon.

County Courthouse


Wake County Courthouse St Garland James Bldg 300 S Salisbury P O box 1897 Raleigh, NC 27602 Phone: 919-856-5460 1810 &amp; 1820 Census Records are missing. Registrar of Deeds has marriage and land records. Clerk of Superior Court has probate records.

Register of Deeds PO Box 1897 Raleigh, NC 27601 Phone: 919-856-5490 Fax: 919-856-5467 Website

Clerk Superior Court PO Box 351 Raleigh, NC 27602 Phone: (919) 792-4000

History
Raleigh, History and the Present- NCpedia, site from the North Carolina State Library

Parent County
1771--Wake County was created from Cumberland, Johnston, and Orange Counties. County seat: Raleigh

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
1832--Several deed books were destroyed in register's office fire.

1810 and 1820 U.S. Federal Census for Wake County are lost.

Populated Places
Towns in Wake County : Apex, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Holly Springs, Knightdale, Morrisville, Raleigh, Rolesville, Wendell, Zebulon

Unincorporated Communities : Auburn, Bonsal, Carpenter, Chestnut Hills, Clegg, Eagle Rock, Falls, Feltonville, Forestville, Green Level, Kennebec, Lizard Lick, McCullers, Crossroads, Neuse, New Hill, Riley Hill, Shotwell, Stony Hill, Swift Creek, Willow Springs

Neighboring Counties

 * Chatham
 * Durham
 * Franklin
 * Granville
 * Harnett
 * Johnston
 * Nash

Biographies

 * [Stacy] Marvin Hendrix Stacy, 1877-1919 (1919) - a UNC administrator; full-text via the Internet Archive

Cemeteries

 * Raleigh City Cemetery
 * Cemetery Census - Wake County Cemeteries - over 300 cemeteries
 * FHL Microfilm - Pre-1914 Cemetery Inscriptions, Wake County. FHL Microfilm 882940 Item 9
 * Manuscript: Confederate deaths and burials in North Carolina. [Find in a Library]
 * Historic Oakwood Cemetery - in Raleigh, NC

Census

 * Census records - via Wake County NCGenWeb

Church Records

 * Wake County church Information - via NCGenWeb

Baptist

 * Cross Roads. Constituted 1792.
 * New Light Meeting House.
 * Swift Creek. Constituted 1757.

Court

 * Wake County court records - via NCGenWeb Archives

Education

 * Education page at Wake County, NCGenWeb
 * Book: History of Meredith College (1972) - by Mary Lynch Johnson; full-text online
 * Book: Vision Revisited: A History of Meredith College, 1971-1988 - by Carolyn C. Robinson; full-text online

Yearbooks

 * Meredith College: 1904-2009
 * NC State University: 1903-2010
 * Peace College: 1902-2010
 * Wake County students at NC colleges - via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index

Family Histories

 * [Massey] Massey, William W. "Richard Massey of Bartons Creek, Wake County, North Carolina: With the Search for his Parentage," The Genealogist, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Fall 2004):196-227.

Land

 * Wake County deeds - via NCGenWeb Archives

Local Histories

 * Historical Raleigh from its foundation in 1792 : descriptive, biographical, educational, industrial, religious; reminiscences reviewed and carefully compiled. (1902) - full text via NC Digital Collections
 * History of Wake County, North Carolina : with sketches of those who have most influenced its development (1922) - full text via the Internet Archive

Maps

 * Wake County maps - more than 50 maps of the area; via the NC Maps website of the North Carolina State Library

Military

 * Wake County military information - via Wake County NCGenWeb
 * Wake County military records - via the 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


 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 7th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 14th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, formerly the 4th Volunteers, Company E
 * - 14th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, formerly the 4th Volunteers, Company K
 * - 1st Brigade, North Carolina Reserves, Company D
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Artillery 10th Regiment Volunteers-1st Artillery, Company A
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company I
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company D
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company K
 * - 41st Regiment Volunteers - 3rd Cavalry, Company I
 * - 4th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry (59th North Carolina State Troops), Company I
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company I
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company K

World War I

 * 1917 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * 1940 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Wake county newspaper articles - via the NCGenWeb Archives
 * Newspapers published in Wake County - via the Library of Congress

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1660 - 1790 - North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1663 - 1979 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 1665 - 1998 - North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 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.
 * 1771 - 1897 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
 * Wake County Wills and Estates - via the NCGenWeb Archives
 * Book: Wake County, North Carolina Abstracts of Wills, Inventories, and Settlements of Estates: 1771-1802” published in 1984 by Frances Holloway Wynne. View the index for people of interest.
 * Images of Wills, Estates and Guardianships, 1771-1782 and 1788-1794. North Carolina Pioneers ($)

Taxation

 * 1815 - Tax Lists, Wake County, 1815 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections

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

Births

 * 1800 - 2000 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1866 - 1964 - at FamilySearch.org — index

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 - 1979 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1763 - 1868 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1799 - 1893 - Raleigh marriage and death notices from five of the area's newspapers 1799-1893 are posted at the North Carolina Libraries and State Archives website. These papers include the Raleigh Register, the North Carolina State Gazette, Daily Sentinel, Raleigh Observer and News and Observer. The notices are originally found in book form in the SLNC's 6-volume Marriage and Death notices.
 * 1830 - 1958 - Wake County Marriage Index 1830-1958 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * Wake County marriage records  - transcribed for the NCGenWeb Archives
 * Wake county, North Carolina Marriage Bonds Part 2 - free. NCGenWeb Project

Divorce

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

Deaths

 * 1898 - 1994 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 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
 * 1900 - 1908 - Wake County deaths -- deceased individuals of the area as reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.
 * 1900 - 1908 - Wake County Early Death Certificates,1900-1908 - images in NC County Records 1833-1970
 * Obituaries from the Cary News newspaper are included in GenealogyBank from Feb 2011 forward. ($)
 * Obituaries from the Eastern Wake News paper of Zebulon, NC, are included in GenealogyBank from Jan 2011 forward ($)

Societies and Libraries
Wake County Genealogical Society PO Box 17713 Raleigh, NC 27619-7713 Website

Wake County Historical Society PO Box 2 Raleigh, NC 27602 Website

Apex Historical Society PO Box 506 Apex, NC 27502 Website

Olivia Raney Local History Library 4016 Carya Drive Raleigh, North Carolina, 27610 Telephone Number: 919-250-1196 Website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Apex North Carolina Family History Center
 * Raleigh North Carolina Family History Center

Websites

 * Wake County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * NCGenWeb: Wake County - part of the USGenWeb Project
 * Wake County Genealogy (North Carolina Genealogy)
 * Wake County Genealogy (North Carolina Genealogy)