North Carolina, Historical Records Survey, Cemetery Inscription Card Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
Index and images of Surname index cards listing county, name of cemetery, town, person, date of birth, death date, age, spouse or parents, location of grave, military information.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of person
 * The approximate date of death
 * The place where the death occurred

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
This section can be made up of either sentences or bullet points.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church, land, and census records
 * Use ages to determine approximate birth dates
 * Use the date when a will was filed or probated as an approximate death date
 * Search for records of people in the county who shared a surname. These may have been the couple’s parents, uncles, or other relatives. Your ancestor may have been an heir who sold inherited land that had belonged to parents or grandparents
 * To find later generations, search the land records a few years before and after a person’s death. Your ancestor may have sold or given land to his or her heirs before death, or the heirs may have sold the land after the individual died. For daughters, the names of their husbands are often provided. For sons, the given names of their wives may be included. Heirs may have sold their interest in the land to another heir, although the record may not indicate this. Continue this process for identifying each succeeding generation
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * Some counties were subdivided or the boundaries may have changed. Consider searching neighboring counties as well since that courthouse may have been more convenient for the person
 * Witnesses and neighbors, even those with a different surname, may have been relatives, in-laws, or even a widowed mother who has remarried. You may want to check the records of these witnesses and neighbors, especially if they are frequently found in your ancestor’s land records
 * The information in the records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1900
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames
 * Check for indexes. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume
 * Search the indexes for the “parent” county to find the original purchase of a parcel of land. You may also need to search a neighboring county since that courthouse may have been more convenient for the person to record the deed
 * Make a list of all residences mentioned in the records within a year or two of when your ancestors came to the county — regardless of surname. Then search the records of places that seem likely or that occur frequently
 * Create a database for other people with the same surname who lived in the county. Doing this may help you identify which individuals were related. If your ancestor’s records do not contain the information you need, a county database might give you a more complete picture

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of North Carolina.
 * Cemeteries
 * Sexton Records
 * North Carolina Guided Research
 * North Carolina Record Finder
 * North Carolina Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step North Carolina Research, 1880-Present

Related Family History Library

 * Historical Records Survey Service Division, Work Projects Administration.Pre-1914 cemetery inscription card index

Related FamilySearch Historical Record Collections

 * North Carolina, Wilmington, Cemetery Records, 1852-2005

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.