Clay County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Clay County is located in the Southwest portion of North Carolina and shares a border with Georgia. It was named for Henry Clay, a U.S. congressional leader and presidential candidate from Kentucky.

County Courthouse
Clay County Courthouse Hayesville, NC 28904-0118 Phone: 828-389-6301 Registrar of Deeds has birth, death and military records from 1913 marriage records from 1879 and land records from 1870  Register of Deeds PO Box 118 Hayesville, NC. 28904 Telephone: 828-389-0087 Fax: 828-389-9749 Website Clerk of Superior Court 261 Courthouse Dr Suite 1 Hayesville, NC 28904 Telephone: (828) 389-2300

History


The county is named after U.S. Speaker of the House Henry Clay (1777-1852).

Parent County
1861--Clay County was created 20 February 1861 from Cherokee County. County seat: Hayesville

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
1870--Fire (not courthouse) destroyed all records of the county.

Neighboring Counties

 * Cherokee
 * Macon
 * Rabun County, Georgia
 * Towns County, Georgia
 * Union County, Georgia

County Records

 * 1833-1970 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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


 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company G
 * - 7th Battalion, North Carolina Cavalry, Company B
 * - 7th Battalion, North Carolina Cavalry, Company C

World War I

 * 1917 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * 1940 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1660 - 1790 - North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry.com — index and images $]
 * 1663 - 1979 - at FamilySearch — 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

Birth

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

Death

 * 1898 - 1994 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 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

Divorce

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

Marriage

 * 1741 - 2004 - North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1870 - 1908 - Clay County, North Carolina Early Marriages at USGenWeb - free.
 * 1870 - 1970 - Clay County Marriage Books A-Z Index 1870-1970 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 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

Societies and Libraries
Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society PO Box 2122 Asheville, NC 28802-2122 website Website

Websites

 * Clay County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.