Perquimans County, North Carolina Genealogy

United States   North Carolina    Perquimans County

History
Perquimans was formed as early as 1668 as a precinct in Albemarle County. It was named in honor of an Indian tribe. It is in the northeastern section of the State and is bounded by Albemarle Sound and Chowan, Gates, and Pasquotank counties. The present area is 261 square miles.... Hertford, established in 1758 on the land of Jonathan Phelps, is the county seat. There is no description of the precinct when it was established.

Gates was formed in 1779 from Chowan, Perquimans, and Hertford.

... that all that part of Hertford County that lies on the North East side of Chowan River, and all that part of Chowan and Perquimons Counties, that lies on the North Side of Katherine, and Warwick Creeks, and bounded as follows, (that is to say) Beginning at the Virginia line, on Chowan River, thence down the said River to the mouth of Katherine Creek; thence up the said Creek, to the mouth of Warwick Creek, thence up said Creek to the Head, thence a direct line to the Head of the Indian Branch in Perquimons County, thence down said Branch to the Great Dismal Swamp, thence a North east Course to the Virginia line thence Westerly along said line to the beginning, and all that part of Hertford, Chowan, and Perquimons Counties, included in said lines, shall be and is hereby established a County by the name of Gates.

The lines between Pasquotank and Perquimans, and Camden and Gates were ordered to be run in 1804; because of the difficulty of establishing and marking the lines in the Dismal Swamp, they had not been previously marked.

... beginning near the fork of Little River, and running northwardly to the south-west corner of a ridge, known by the Middle Ridge, then along the west side of said ridge, crossing Colonel John Hamilton's turnpike road, to the north-west corner thereof, thence a northwardly course to a ridge in the desart known by Colonel Jesse Eason's Ridge, then a north course to the line that divides this State from the State of Virginia.

The dividing line between the counties of Chowan, Perquimans, and Gates was authorized to be established in 1805.

... That the said commissioners ... shall begin the dividing line between the counties of Chowan and Perquimons, at such place on Yeopon river, above Elliot's mills, as they may think proper, due regard being had to the former reputed line, and shall run thence along the said reputed line to Sunday ridge road, and from the said road to the intersection of the line of Gates county, and thence along the said line, as far as it extends on the heads of Chowan and Perquimans counties, and shall make or cause to be made returns of their proceedings to each of the courts of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of the said counties to be deposited and kept among the records thereof; and the said lines when so extended and laid off, shall forever be established and confirmed as the dividing lines between the said counties.

In 1814 the act of 1805, establishing the boundary line between Perquimans, Chowan, and Gates, was amended by naming a new commissioner, which indicated that the line had not been established at that date.

In 1818 an act was passed which authorized the boundary line between Pasquotank and Perquimans to be run and marked. No description is given in the law.

The dividing line between Chowan and Perquimans was authorized to be run and marked in 1819.

... commissioners to complete running and marking the dividing lines between the counties of Chowan and Perquimons, ... shall commence running at the bridge in the lane called James Hataway's Senr. and run a direct course to Caleb Goodwin's bridge in Bear swamp, from thence a direct course to where the crane pond crosses the sandy ridge road, thence up the sandy ridge road to here the Gates county line crosses the said road ... the said commissioners shall cause to be made correct copies of their survey; one of which shall be filed in the Secretary's office and one in each of the Clerks offices of the court of pleas and quarter sessions in the counties of Chowan and Perquimons.

In 1819 the boundary line between Perquimans and Gates had not been established so as to be widely and definitely known. Therefore, an act was passed which authorized the establishment of said line. No description is given in the law.

(above from Formation of the North Carolina Counties, by David Leroy Corbitt, pp. 173-175, with corrections; published 1996 by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and History.)

Parent County
1670--Perquimans County was created as Berkeley precinct in Albemarle County. County seat: Hertford

Record Loss

 * Guide to Research in the NC Archives (list of original &amp; microfilmed records)

Neighboring Counties

 * Chowan
 * Gates
 * Pasquotank

Bibles

 * Perquimans Co., NC Bibles

Cemeteries

 * Perquimans Co., NC Cemeteries

Census &amp; Tax Records

 * Perquimans Co., NC Census &amp; Tax Records

Court

 * Perquimans Precinct Court Records

History

 * The History of Perquimans Co., NC

Land

 * Perquimans Co., NC Deeds

Maps

 * Perquimans Co., NC in Maps

Military

 * Perquimans Co., NC in the Military

Miscellaneous

 * Miscellaneous records pertaining to Perquimans Co., NC

Newspapers

 * Perquimans Co., NC in the News

Obituaries

 * Perquimans Co., NC Obituaries

Organizations &amp; Useful Links

 * Organizations &amp; addresses in Pasquotank Co., NC

Quakers

 * Quakers in Perquimans Co., NC

Surnames

 * Perquimans Co., NC Surnames

Vital Records

 * Archived Vital Records
 * Archived Marriages
 * 1866 Cohabitation Records for Perquimans Co., NC

Wills &amp; Estates

 * Archived Perquimans Co., NC Wills &amp; Estates

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Perquimans Co., NC on NCGenWeb