Surry County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Surry County is located in the northwestern portion of North Carolina and shares a border with Virginia. It was named for either the English County of Surrey (birthplace of Royal Governor William Tryon) or the Saura (Cheraw) Indians who populated the area.

County Courthouse
Surry County Courthouse 114 W Atkins Street Dobson, NC 27017-0345 Phone: 336-401-8150 Surry County Website Register of Deeds has birth, marriage death, burial and land records. Clerk Superior Court has divorce court and probate records from 1771.

Populated Places

 * Dobson (county seat)
 * Elkin
 * Mount Airy
 * Pilot Mountain

History Timeline
Surry County was originally formed from Rowan County in 1771. Rowan had been formed from Anson in 1753, and Anson was formed from Bladen in 1750. The act to form Surry County was proposed to the assembly of North Carolina in December 1770, and was passed the following month, January 1771. This act became effective 1 Apr 1771.

Wilkes County was formed in 1777 from Surry County and, according to some sources, Washington District, also known as the District of Washington. Evidently, however, the District of Washington was created in the same legislative session. Washington District is, today, Washington County, Tennessee. Stokes County was formed ten years later, in 1789, from the eastern section of Surry County.

Surry County records dated from the 1770s and 1780s cover parts of present-day Ashe, Alleghany, Forsyth, Stokes, Wilkes, and Yadkin Counties.

In 1790, the county seat of Surry County became Rockford.

Yet another division took place in 1851, as Yadkin County was formed from the area south of Yadkin River. In 1853, the county seat was moved from Rockford to the new town of Dobson, and has remained there to this day. Dobson is named for William Polk Dobson, a prominent citizen. The Registrar of Deeds Office in Dobson welcomes visitors to its very user-friendly collection of vital records.

The 1860 census for Surry County shows about 1,200 slaves in the county.

Settlers from Virginia and Pennsylvania who were of the Quaker religion came from the New Garden and other meetings in Guilford County, North Carolina.Some of those families include Bond, Burcham, Hill, Hiatt, Horton, Love, Pinson, Jackson, Jessup, Simmons, Stanley and Taylor. Many of them moved on to Indiana but numerous descendants are still in the area.

Those of the German Moravian faith who came from other North Carolina settlements include the Brinkley, Hauser, Kiger, Moser and Shouse lines. Families of French descent include Hardin, Poindexter, Lambert, Laurence, and probably Laffoon.

The Riggs family, said to descend from Edward Riggs III who came to Massachusetts in the 1630s and founded Morristown, New Jersey, came to Surry County with the Henson, Jarvis and Wilmoth families.

Families that came from Albemarle County, North Carolina, were Burrus, Cave, Easley, Fleming, Franklin, Ollesby, Perkins, Snow, Taliaferro and Tucker. Those that came from neighboring Stokes County were East, Hill, King, Pratt, Simpson, Venable and Vernon.

Other prominent families were Marion, Creed, McKinney, Moore, Dudley and McCraw.

Present-day Surry County is southern living at its best. Because of being somewhat isolated at the base of the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia, it has been able to retain the long-held traditions of the families lines that have remained there for over 220 years. Some have clung to the old Elizabethan English and many have strong roots in their Primitive Baptist upbringing. Most of these second-generation Americans were born in Virginia and migrated to North Carolina looking for the fertile land that had been advertised and scouted.

Biographies

 * Coats, Charlotte, Joshua Richardson, Lazarus Tilley, William Mason: The American Revolution and Before, 2006.

Cemeteries

 * Fisher's Gap Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery (online list, New River Notes)
 * Liberty Union Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery (online list, New River Notes)
 * Stony Ridge, Wolff Family Cemetery (online list, New River Notes)
 * Surry County, North Carolina Cemetery Transcriptions (Access Genealogy)
 * USGS: List of cemeteries in Surry County (USGS)
 * Wolff Family Cemetery (online list, New River Notes)

Census Records

 * 1786 1786 State Census for Surry County; 15 districts were established, but the returns from six are missing.
 * 1790 1790 Census, Surry County, North Carolina, transcription, in alphabetical order. (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1790 1790 Census, Surry County, North Carolina, transcription, searchable by surname. (Don Chestnut)
 * 1810 1810 Census, Surry County, North Carolina, last name index. (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1850 1850 Census, Surry County, North Carolina, index. (USGenWeb Archives)

Church Records
Baptist
 * Deep Creek. Constituted 1781.
 * Hunting Creek. Constituted 1781.
 * Little Yadkin River. Constituted 1785.
 * Shallow Fords. Founded before 1773.

Dunker
 * Fraternity Church of the Brethren, near Clemmons, N.C. Established about 1775. Later located in Stokes and Forsyth counties.

Lutheran
 * Nazareth Church aka Old Dutch Meeting House. Organized about 1778 by German settlers. Later located in Stokes and presently situated in Forsyth.

Moravian
 * Friedberg Church. Begun 1759; organized 1773. Later located in Stokes and presently situated in Forsyth.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African-American
 * Heinegg, Paul, Free African Americans of North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2005.
 * Thompson, Evelyn Scales, Around Surry County (Black America Series), Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2005. Google Books

Genealogies

 * [Adamson] Dixon Ben F. and Alice L. Dwelle Dixon. The Adamson Source Book, a Genealogy of the Descendants of Rachel Williams Adamson, 1776-1850 of Surry County, N.C., Jefferson County, Tenn., and Lawrence County, Ind.: with an Addendum of Miscellaneous Historical Material on the Name Adamson. 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: B.F. Dixon, 1942-1961.
 * [Combs] Combs &amp; Families of Surry County, North Carolina
 * [Dunagin] Dunagin, Percy E., The Early Dunagins of Surry County, North Carolina, Family Heritage Publishers, 2007.
 * [Whitaker] Whitaker-Buck, Ruby M. Mark Whitaker, Baltimore County, Maryland (c1670-1729) and Allied Families. Sacramento, Calif.: privately published, 1992. Digital version at

Land and Property Records
Surry County, North Carolina deed records date from 1771, when the county was formed. In addition to more ordinary deeds, Surry County land records at the Register of Deeds' office also include records involving Lord Granville's agents, and state land grants. Bills of sale for slaves are also included.

According to the Register of Deeds' web pages in the county government site, the earliest deed index for the county covers 1771 to 1870. This was followed by a second index, which covers the period from 1870 to 1937.

The office of the Register of Deeds is located at 201 E. Kapp Street in Dobson. More information, including phone number and office hours, can be found in the Register of Deeds' web pages.

Local Histories

 * Absher, Mrs. W.O., and Mae R. Hayes, Surry County, North Carolina Deed Book C (1777-1788). Self-published.
 * Boyles, Carolyn, Wilma Hiatt, and Surry County Genealogical Association, Surry County (Images of America series), Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2000.
 * Columbine, Mary Felts, Surry County, North Carolina: Early Settlers and Road Builders, 1771-1850, 2005.
 * Holcomb, Brent, Marriages of Surry County, North Carolina, 1778-1868, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1982.
 * Hollingsworth, Jesse Gentry, History of Surry County, or Annals of Northwest North Carolina, W.H. Fisher Company, 1935. Google Books, without preview
 * Jackson, Hester B., Surry County Soldiers in the Civil War, Dobson, North Carolina: Surry County Historical Society, 1992.
 * Linn, Jo White, Surry County, North Carolina Wills, 1771-1827, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1992.
 * Snow, Carol Leonard, Surry County, North Carolina, Deed Abstracts, Toast, North Carolina: Self-published, 1995, 3 vols. (FHL)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * The Red Book. Map created by William Dollarhide that shows the counties in North Carolina.

Military Records
Revolutionary War 
 * 1779-1782  at FamilySearch

Civil War 


 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch
 * 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
 * 1885-1953  at FamilySearch
 * Pension Applications at North Carolina State Archives. Searchable Images in Mars Catalog.


 * - 2nd Battalion, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 37th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Dunn's Battalion, Partisan Rangers) (Confederate). Company D and Company F.
 * - 1st Battalion, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company E
 * - 2nd Battalion, North Carolina Infantry, Company B
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Detailed Men, Company C
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Detailed Men, Company D
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Detailed Men, Company E
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, 2nd Company A
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company C
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves

World War I 
 * 1917-1919  at FamilySearch
 * 1917-1919 Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918--Index and Images

World War II 
 * 1938-1946 Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946--Index
 * 1940-1948  at FamilySearch

Obituaries

 * Surry County, North Carolina Obituaries

Probate Records
Online Probate Records


 * 1660-1790 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry $
 * 1663-1979  at FamilySearch
 * 1665-1998 North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998 at Ancestry $
 * 1735-1970  at FamilySearch
 * 1760-1800 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry $
 * 1771-1792 Images of Wills and Estates: 1771-1783;- and 1783-1792. North Carolina Pioneers $
 * 1771-1963  at FamilySearch
 * 1771-1963 Surry County North Carolina list of will book testators SAMPUBCO
 * Pre-1790  Pre-1790 Surry County, North Carolina Genealogy Wills (North Carolina State Archives)

School Records
Yearbooks 
 * Surry Community College: various issues between 1969-1995

Tax Records
Tax lists, 1784-1789, are extant.


 * 1771 Tax Lists, Surry County, 1771 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry $
 * 1771 Tax Lists, Surry County, 1771 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1771 1771 Surry County, North Carolina Tax List (Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 199-). FHL Book 975.665 R4sn
 * 1771-1772 Lists of Taxables, 1771-1772 (images) online at FamilySearch
 * 1771-1777 Surry and Wilkes Counties, North Carolina Taxables, 1771-1800 [1771, 1772, 1774, 1775, 1777] (transcripts) online at FamilySearch
 * 1772 Tax Lists, Surry County, 1772 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry $
 * 1772 Tax Lists, Surry County, 1772 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1774 1774 List of Tithables for Surry County, North Carolina (transcript) online at New River Notes
 * 1782 Tax Lists, Surry County, 1782 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry $
 * 1782 Tax Lists, Surry County, 1782 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1782 Lists of Taxables, 1782 (images) online at FamilySearch
 * 1786 1786 Taxables, Surry County (online lists)
 * 1786 1786 Taxables, Atkins District, Surry County, North Carolina (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1786 1786 Taxables, Krous' District, Surry County, North Carolina (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1790 1790 Tax List, Surry County, North Carolina (transcript) online at New River Notes
 * 1790-1800 1790-1800 Tax Lists (images) online at FamilySearch
 * 1791-1792 List of Taxables, 1791-1792 (images) online at FamilySearch
 * 1815 Harvey, Iris M. Surry County, North Carolina Tax List 1816 (Raleigh, North Carolina: I.R. Harvey, 1990).
 * 1815-1835 Tax Lists, 1815-1835 (images) online at FamilySearch
 * 1835-1866 Tax Lists, 1835-1866 (images) online at FamilySearch

Vital Records

 * 1800-2000 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Register of Deeds can provide certified copies of birth, marriage and death records.

Birth

 * 1800-2000  at FamilySearch
 * 1866-1964  at FamilySearch
 * 1912-1963 Surry County Birth Index 1912-1963. Batch  at FamilySearch

Marriage
Brent Holcomb, in his book Marriages of Surry County, North Carolina 1779-1868, points out that no Surry County marriage bonds from prior to 1779 are extant. Most bonds are housed in Raleigh, North Carolina at the State Archives, but Holcomb points out that about 120 Surry County marriage bonds were found to remain in the Surry County Courthouse in Dobson.


 * 1741-2004 North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast
 * 1741-2004 North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1759-1979  at FamilySearch
 * 1762-1979  at FamilySearch
 * 1763-1868  at FamilySearch
 * 1853-1940 Surry County Marriage Index 1853-1940 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * Surry County Marriages (USGenWeb)

Death

 * 1898-1994  at FamilySearch
 * 1906-1930  at FamilySearch
 * 1908-2004 North Carolina Death Indexes 1908-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1909-1975 North Carolina Death Certificates 1909-1975 at Ancestry $
 * 1931-1994  at FamilySearch

Divorce

 * 1926-1975  at FamilySearch
 * 1958-2004 North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry $

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers
 * Mount Airy North Carolina Family History Center

Libraries

 * Elkin Public Library Member of Northwestern Regional Library System 111 North Front Street Elkin, NC 28621 Phone: 336-835-5586 Website
 * Northwestern Regional Library Website Area genealogy holdings at the Charles H. Stone Memorial Library, Danbury Public Library, and Yadkin County Public Library

Societies

 * Surry County Genealogical Association PO Box 997 Dobson, NC 2701 Website
 * Surry County Historical Society 832 East Country Club Road Mount Airy, NC 27030 Website
 * Bassett Historical Center 3964 Fairystone Park Highway Bassett, VA 24055 Phone: 276-629-9191 Email: [mailto:baslib@hotmail.com baslib@hotmail.com] Website Resource for family history research in Henry, Patrick, Floyd, Franklin and Pittsylvania counties in Virginia; the city of Martinsville, Virginia; and Rockingham, Stokes and Surry counties in North Carolina.

Websites

 * – 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.

Research Guides

 * Sweeney, Alice J. "Bassett Historical Center," The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 28, No. 4 (Aug. 2002):1-3. Available at ; digital version at Virginia Genealogical Society website.