Nash County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Nash County is located in the eastern portion of North Carolina and was named for Revolutionary War General Francis Nash.

County Courthouse
Nash County Courthouse 120 W. Washington Street Nashville, NC 27856 Phone: 252-459-9836 Nash County Website Register of Deeds has birth and death records from 1913 and marriage records from 1872. Clerk Superior Court has divorce and court records 1876.

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:

History Timeline
Nash County was formed in 1777 from the western part of Edgecombe County. It was named for American Revolutionary War Brigadier General Francis Nash (1742-1777) of Hillsborough, who had been mortally wounded at the Battle of Germantown that year while fighting under General George Washington. Nashville, the County seat, was settled in 1780 and chartered in 1815. After the Revolutionary War, the County settled down to a pace that made it one of the State's leading farm areas. Since the Civil War, it has been known primarily as a leading agricultural County, but it has experienced steady industrial growth since that time.

Bible Records

 * Bible Records at North Carolina Digital Archives - index and image

Cemeteries

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

Census Records

 * Nash County Census information (NCGenWeb)

Church Records

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

Baptist
 * Falls of Tar. Constituted 1757.
 * Poplar Spring. Constituted 1793.

Presbyterian List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Historical sketch of the First Presbyterian Church of Rocky Mount, North Carolina (Eastern NC Digital Library)
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1751-1878 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1778-1868 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1781-1864 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1868-1963 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Directories

 * North Carolina State business directories. Directories include information about area businesses and citizens. (NCGenWeb)

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American
 * 1862-1870   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1863-1872   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * Nash County African-American resources (NCGenWeb)
 * Nash County Slavery Petitions (NCGenWeb)
 * Rosenwald Schools in Nash County (NCGenWeb)

Funeral Homes

 * Blue Star Cremation in Rocky Mount.
 * Cornerstone Funeral Home and Cremations in Nashville.
 * Davis-Little Funerals and Cremations in Rocky Mount.
 * Gethsemane Memorials, LLC in Battleboro.
 * H.D. Pope Funeral Home in Rocky Mount.
 * Hilliard Funeral Home in Whitakers.
 * Hunter-Odom Funeral Service in Rocky Mount.
 * Johnson Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Rocky Mount.
 * Massey Funeral Home in Zebulon.
 * Matthews Family Mortuary in Rocky Mount.
 * Morgan Funerals and Cremations, Inc in Rocky Mount.
 * Richard Harris Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Inc in Zebulon.
 * Spring Hope Funeral Home in Spring Hope.
 * Sunset Memorial Funeral Home, Inc. in Rocky Mount.
 * Wheeler and Woodlief Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Rocky Mount.
 * William Toney’s Funeral Home Inc. in Spring Hope and Zebulon.

Genealogies

 * [Boddie] Leary, Helen F.M. "The Two William Boddies of North Carolina," The American Genealogist, Vol. 66, No. 1 (Jan. 1991):16-29; Vol. 62, No. 2 (Apr. 1991):106-110; Vol. 66, No. 3 (Jul. 1991):148-153. Available at.
 * [Pridgen] Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library Pridgen family of Sapony Creek, Nash County, North Carolina some descendants of William Pridgen, d. ca. 1762, Vol. II.

Land and Property Records
The first land grants in the area date from 1743.

Online Land Indexes and Records
 * North Carolina Land Grants at NC Historical Records Online - index, requires free account to view images
 * Nash County Deeds (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Property records 1995-present (Nash County Register of Deeds)
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Local Histories

 * Local histories of Nash County (NCGenWeb)
 * Rocky Mount Mills carded cotton yarns, Rocky Mount, N.C. (Eastern NC Digital Library)
 * Rocky Mount Mills, a case history of industrial development, 1818-1943 (Eastern NC Digital Library)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Nash County Maps (NC Maps collection of UNC-Chapel Hill)
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Nash County Military information (NCGenWeb)

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

Civil War 
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - 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 and 1901 1885 and 1901 Confederate Pension Applications at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
 * 1885-1953  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Roster of Nash County Confederate soldiers (Eastern NC Digital Library)


 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 7th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 12th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company H
 * - 13th Battalion, North Carolina Infantry, Company B
 * - 1st Brigade, North Carolina Reserves, Company A
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company A
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company E
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, 1st Company E
 * - 3rd Battalion, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Captain D W William's Company

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
 * WWI Rosters of Nash County men (NCGenWeb)

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

 * 1799-1893 Nash County marriages. Included in 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.
 * Nash County newspapers. Listing of newspapers published in the county. (Library of Congress)
 * North Carolina Newspaper Digitization Project. Full-text papers from 1752-1890s.
 * Nash County deaths. County area deaths reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.
 * North Carolina Newspapers at DigitalNC

Obituaries

 * Nash County Obituaries (USGenWeb Archives)

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

Probate Records
The county's oldest will is at the Dept of Archives, Raleigh, NC.

Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1660-1790 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1663-1789 Secretary of State Wills at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
 * 1663-1978 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1663-1979  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1665-1998 North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1720-1960 at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1735-1970  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1760-1800 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1776-1943 (*); County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions and Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1776-1964  at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1778-1859 (*); County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1778-1868 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1778-1897 Images of Wills & Estates 1778-1867; 1867-1897. North Carolina Pioneers ($)
 * 1778-1964 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1779-1964 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1790 Pre-1790 Nash County, North Carolina Genealogy Wills. (North Carolina State Archives)
 * 1818-1838 (*); County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1862-1866 (*); Clerk of County Court and Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1869-1963 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1869-1964 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Nash County residents wills (NCGenWeb)
 * Nash County wills and estates (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

School Records

 * Wesleyan College Yearbooks: 1962-2009
 * Rosenwald Schools in Nash County, African-American. (NCGenWeb)
 * Nash County students at NC colleges. Yearbook index. (NCGenWeb)

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.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

 * 1782 Tax Lists, Nash County, 1782 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, at Ancestry $
 * 1782 Tax Lists, Nash County, 1782 (images) at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1782 Nash County, NC, 1782 Tax List (transcript) at FamilySearch

Vital Records

 * 1800-2000 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Uncertified copies of vital records can be ordered for a small fee from the Register of Deeds.

Birth

 * 1787-1835 Nash County Bastard Bonds 1787-1835 (NCGenWeb)
 * 1800-2000  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1866-1964  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1913-1922  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Marriage

 * 1741-2004 North Carolina, United States Marriages at Findmypast
 * 1741-2004 North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1759-1979  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1762-1979  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and image
 * 1763-1868  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Death

 * 1898-1994  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1906-1930  at FamilySearch - 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 - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Divorce

 * 1926-1975  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images


 * 1958-2004 North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry $

FamilySearch Centers

 * Apex North Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Raleigh North Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Rocky Mount North Carolina FamilySearch Center


 * Braswell Memorial Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Wake County Public Libraries-Olivia Raney Local History Library Branch - an affiliate library

Libraries
Braswell Memorial Library 727 N Grace St Rocky Mount, NC 27804 Phone: 252-442-1951 Facebook Website Edgecombe County Memorial Library 909 N Main St Tarboro, NC 27886 Phone: 252-823-1141 Website

Societies
Rural Nash Historical Society Nashville, NC E-mail: [mailto:info@nashhistory.org info@nashhistory.org] Facebook Website Wilson Special Collections Library University North Carolina 200 South Road Chapel Hill, NC 27515 Phone: 919-962-3765 Email: [mailto:wilsonlibrary@unc.edu wilsonlibrary@unc.edu] Website
 * Nash County Historical Association Collection, 1806-1928

Websites

 * Nash County, NCGenWeb Project
 * Nash County, USGenWeb Archives
 * – 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.