Nash County, North Carolina Genealogy

United States   North Carolina    Nash County

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

County Courthouse
Nash County Courthouse Rm 104 P O Box 104 Nashville, NC 27856 Phone:252-459-9836 Reg of Deeds has birth and death records from 1913 and marriage records from 1872 Clerk Superio Court has divorce and court records 1876 oldest will in Dept of Archives Raleigh NC

History
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.

Parent County
1777--Nash County was created from Edgecombe County. County seat: Nashville

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
For a list of record loss in North Carolina counties see: North Carolina Counties with Burned Courthouses

Neighboring Counties

 * Edgecombe
 * Franklin
 * Halifax
 * Johnston
 * Wake
 * Warren
 * Wilson

African-Americans

 * Nash County African-American resources - via NCGenWeb
 * Nash County Slavery Petitions

Cemeteries

 * Cemetery information at Nash County NCGenWeb
 * Cemetery information at Nash County NCGenWeb Archives
 * Find-A-Grave - Nash County cemeteries
 * BillionGraves.com listings - Forest Hill Cemetery, Nashville

Census

 * Nash County census information - via Nash County NCGenWeb

Baptist

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

Presbyterian

 * Historical sketch of the First Presbyterian Church of Rocky Mount, North Carolina - via the Eastern NC Digital Library

Directories

 * Several NC state business directories are available online. Visit this list of directories, open the directory, and navigate to Nash County.  Directories include information on area businesses and citizens.

Education

 * Wesleyan College Yearbooks: 1962-2009 - freely available via the NC Digitization Center
 * Rosenwald Schools in Nash County (African-American)
 * Nash County students at NC colleges – via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index

Family Histories
Bibliography


 * [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 Pridgen family of Sapony Creek, Nash County, North Carolina : some descendants of William Pridgen, d. ca. 1762, Vol. II - full-text freely available via Brigham Young University.

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


 * Nash County deeds -- via NCGenWeb Archives
 * Property records 1995 - present - searchable database via the Nash County Register of Deeds

Local Histories

 * Local histories of Nash county
 * Rocky Mount Mills : carded cotton yarns, Rocky Mount, N.C. - via the Eastern NC Digital Library
 * Rocky Mount Mills, a case history of industrial development, 1818-1943 - via the Eastern NC Digital Library

Maps

 * Nash County maps - via NC Maps collection of UNC-Chapel Hill

Military

 * WWI Rosters of Nash County men
 * Military information - via Nash County NCGenWeb

Civil War

 * Roster of Nash County Confederate soldiers - via the Eastern NC Digital Library

Civil War Confederate units - Brief history, counties where recruited, etc.


 * -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

Newspapers

 * Nash County newspapers - a listing of newspapers published in the county; via the Library of Congress
 * North Carolina Newspaper Digitization Project - contains full-text papers from 1752-1890s. Search for your Nash County ancestors.

Probate

 * Pre-1790 - Pre-1790 Wills stored at the North Carolina State Archives are online - free. Website tips.
 * 1776-1964 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
 * Nash County residents wills - via NCGenWeb
 * Nash County wills &amp; estates - via NCGenWeb Archives

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

 * North Carolina Births and Christenings, 1866-1964- search this name index to birth, baptism and christening records from the state ; via FamilySearch
 * Nash County Bastard Bonds 1787-1835 at USGenWeb - free.

Marriages

 * 1872-1944 - Nash County Marriage Index 1872-1944 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * North Carolina Marriages, 1762-1979 - via FamilySearch; images included
 * Nash County marriages - are 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 searcheable. Available on the North Carolina Digital Collections website.

Deaths

 * Nash County obituaries - via NCGenWeb Archives
 * Nash County deaths - - list of county area deaths reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.
 * North Carolina Death Certificates, 1906-1930 - via FamilySearch; images included
 * North Carolina Deaths &amp; Burials, 1898-1994 - via FamilySearch

Societies and Libraries

 * Edgecombe County Library
 * Braswell Memorial Library

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

 * Nash County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * Nash County, NCGenWeb Project
 * Nash County, USGenWeb Archives
 * Nash County Register of Deeds