Alexander County, North Carolina Genealogy


 * This article is about a western North Carolina county. For other uses, see Alexander.

United States   North Carolina    Alexander County

History
Alexander was formed in 1847 from Iredell, Caldwell and Wilkes counties. It was named in honor of William J. Alexander of Mecklenburg County, several times member of the Legislature and speaker of the House of Commons.

Alexander County is located in the foothills of the Brushy Mountains in western North Carolina. It is bordered on the south by the Catawba River and Catawba County, on the west by Caldwell County, on the north by Wilkes County, and on the east by Iredell County. Taylorsville, incorprated in 1851, is the county seat of Alexander County. Primary industry includes agriculture, furniture, and textiles. In 2003, the county celebrated its 156th birthday.

Parent County
1847--Alexander County was created 15 January 1847 from Caldwell, Iredell, and Wilkes Counties. County seat: Taylorsville

Record Loss
1865--Many court records were burned by Federal Troops.

Neighboring Counties
Caldwell | Catawba | Iredell | Wilkes

Resources
List of Records available for Alexander County at the North Carolina State Archives

Cemeteries

 * Bentley Cemetery
 * Jolly Cemetery
 * Lebanon Cemetery
 * Mount Carmel Cemetery
 * Pisgah Cemetery
 * List of Cemeteries with transcriptions

Church

 * List of Alexander County Churches

Court
North Carolina's court system, called the General Court of Justice, is a unified statewide and state-operated system consisting of three divisions: the Appellate Division, the Superior Court and the District Court Division. The Superior Court and District Court Divisions are commonly referred to as the North Carolina Trial Courts.

For some counties the trial Courts have been further subdivided into specialty areas such as Business Court, Family Court, Drug Court, Traffic Court, etc. More information on specialty courts for this county is provided on the left menu.

This web site for the Courts in Alexander County provides specific information on how North Carolina Trial Courts operate within Alexander County.

Land
Alexander County Register of Deeds maintains copies of deed and land records, some of which are available from their website for searching. One must register and then sign in following the instructions on the website.

Register of Deeds Online Search instructions

Their address is: Alexander County Register of Deeds 75 1st Street SW Suite 1 Taylorsville, NC 28681-2504

Phone: 828-632-3152 Fax: 828-632-1119

Local Histories
Alexander County was established in 1847, the year of the first sale of land in the county seat (Taylorsville). With the proceeds from the sale, the first courthouse was built on the present site. When the Civil War began, Alexander County was 14 years old. The 1860 population was 5,837; yet Alexander County ranked high per capita in the number of Confederate soldiers serving in the war.The county is named in honor of the Alexander family who were leaders in Colonial North Carolina. Taylorsville is the namesake of either John Louis Taylor, Carolina agriculturist and political philosopher, or General Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States.

Maps
http://maps.co.alexander.nc.us/gomaps/index.cfm

Military

 * List of Alexander County Confederate Soldiers
 * 1940 Draftees for Alexander County
 * 1902 Confederate Soldiers Reunion
 * CSA- Bentley Dedication
 * Friendship Dedication-Sons of the Confederate Veterans
 * Macedonia Dedication-Sons of the Confederate Veterans
 * World Wars I and II, Veterans Memorials

Newspapers

 * The Taylorsville Time

Probate
Wills Wills are maintained by the Alexander County Clerk of Court

Physical Address: 29 W. Main Ave. Taylorsville, NC 28681

Mailing Address: PO Box 100 Taylorsville, NC 28681 828.632.2215

The person who makes a will is called the "testator" or "devisee." The folks who get the goodies are “legatees" or "devisees." The fellow who makes sure that the final wishes are carried out is the "executor." If the executor happens to be female, she is an "executrix." "Probate" is the process by which the will becomes official and the written desires are validated. There are usually three copies of a will: the original, the one copied into the county clerk's records, and the one issued to the executor. The copy that is committed to the county clerk's book will often contain probate information: witnesses, executor, probate dates, etc

The Alexander County Estate Records have been indexed at the North Carolina State Archives; Click hereto view the list of available Estate Records.

Vital Records
Alexander County Register of Deeds Mailing Address: 75 1st Street SW, Suite 1, Taylorsville, NC 28681-2504 Phone: 828-632-3152

Records include Vital Statistics, Marriages, Births, and Deaths as well as Veterans Discharge Records (DD-214s). Following is a breakdown of what kinds of records are available:

Birth Certificates 1913-current

The state of North Carolina officially began keeping birth certificates in 1913. (In some outlying areas it began a bit later.) Birth certificates tell where a child was born, who the parents were and their age at the time of the birth. Other information is sometimes listed such as occupation of the father, number of children already in the household, etc.

Delayed Birth Certificates (delayed births) 1913-current

If someone, somehow, escaped the notice of a birth certificate registrar or happened to be born before births were listed, they could have applied for a delayed birth certificate. To obtain such a certificate, individuals had to supply documentation, often a family Bible record.

Death Certificates 1913-current

North Carolina began keeping Death Certificates in 1913. If an ancestor died before this time, one must turn to such records as wills, tombstones, and family Bibles to find the death date. Death certificates contain the date of death and birth as well as the parents' names and cause of death--and sometimes a good bit more.

One must remember that this information was not supplied by the subject under consideration. All information on a death certificate is supplied by an "informant." Informants are often family members but that does not mean that the information they supplied is 100 percent accurate.

Marriage Records 1859-current

During the majority of North Carolina's history, most of its citizens got married in any manner that suited them. Ministers and magistrates were nice, but often, one concludes, not necessary. This makes the existence of public marriage records chancy at best, but some do exist.

Officially, there were two ways to get married in the state up until 1868. One was through the publication of banns whereby a marriage would be announced on three consecutive Sundays in church. If no one spoke up against the merger, then the couple was free to wed. A certificate stating that this procedure had been followed was supposed to have been created, but, of course, did not have to be placed on file anywhere.

The second method which lasted from 1741-1868 (and overlapped the period of banns) involved the issuance of a marriage bond. The bridegroom obtained these through the Clerk of the County Court. They signified nothing more than that the couple listed intended to marry. It is possible that they changed their mind later and never tied the knot. Originals to all marriage bonds--except those from Granville County which retained its copies--are in the State Archives. Bonds were filed in the County where the intended bride resided. Information on Bonds include bride and groom's names, the bondsman's name and witness (often the clerk of court). Marriage licenses existed for most of North Carolina's history but were not required to be kept until 1851. In 1868, bonds were discontinued and the Register of deeds in each County issued the required marriage licenses.

Societies and Libraries

 * Alexander County Library
 * Hiddenite Center - folk &amp; cultural arts center
 * North Carolina Genealogical Society

Web Sites

 * NCGenWeb: Alexander County - free genealogy resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project
 * USGenWeb Archives: Alexander County, NC
 * USGenWeb Archives: Alexander County, NC