Northampton County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Northampton County is located in the Northeastern portion of North Carolina and shares a border with Virginia. It was named for James Compton, Earl of Northampton.

County Courthouse
Northampton County Courthouse Jefferson St P O Box 120 Jackson, NC 27845 Phone: 252-534-2511 Reg of Deeds has birth, marriage and death and land records Clerk Superior Court has divorce records  from 1800 pro &amp; ct rec from 1761  Register of Deeds PO Box 128 Jackson, NC 27845-01280 Telephone: 252-534-2511 Fax: 252-534-1580 Website  Clerk of Superior Court PO Box 217 Jackson, NC 27845 Telephone: (252) 574-3100

History
Northampton County was formed in 1741 from Bertie County and was named in honor of James Crompton Earl of Northampton, an English nobleman. Located in the northeastern section of the state, it is bounded by the State of Virginia and neighboring North Carolina counties of Halifax, Bertie and Hertford. The Roanoke River determines the southwest boarder of Northampton following its flow from the Roanoke Rapids Lake in the northwestern corner of Northampton County. The Meherrin River marks the northeastern border. The present land area is 536 square miles and the 2003 estimated population was 21,782. Jackson is the seat of Northampton County and is an extremely fertile area along the Roanoke River with cotton, corn and peanuts being its principal crops. The first courthouse was built here in 1742 and was known as Northampton Courthouse; Jackson, NC was incorporated in 1823 and named after Andrew Jackson who was born near the NC/SC line, studied law in Salisbury, NC and later became the seventh President of the United States. During the Nat Turner slave insurrection of 1831 in the adjoining Southampton County, Virginia, NC militia were mobilized at Jackson, NC in readiness for the anticipated slave uprising that was quelled prior to the militia's intervention. The Northampton County Courthouse was built in 1859 and it is purported that Cornwallis visited a tavern that was located diagonally opposite the Courthouse. Lafayette, the first Frenchman to come to the aid of the American revolutionary cause and whom the United States Congress commissioned a major general of the Continental Army on July 31, 1777 dined in Jackson on his 1825 triumphal visit to North Carolina.

Parent County
1741--Northampton County was created from Bertie County. County seat: Jackson

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
Some records are missing.

Neighboring Counties

 * Bertie
 * Brunswick County, Virginia
 * Greensville County, Virginia
 * Halifax
 * Hertford
 * Southampton County, Virginia
 * Warren

== Resources =

Church Records

 * See a listing of Northampton County Churches at NCGenWeb

Baptist
There was a Baptist Church at Potecasi by 1778.

Church of England

 * Northwest Parish. Established by 1727.
 * St. George's Parish. Established by 1762. Vestry minutes begin 1773.

Family Histories
A great deal of information about several early Northampton County families is presented in:


 * Dozier, Rebecca Leach, Lou Woodard King and Penn Perry. Twelve Northhampton County, North Carolina Families, 1650-1850: Bridgers, Daughtry, Futrell, Jenkins, Joyner, Lassiter, Martin, Odom, Parker, Stephenson, Sumner, Woodard. Baltimore, Md.: Gateway Press, 2004.

Books and Articles


 * Binford - Bruner, Mary L. Binford Family Genealogy. Greenfield, Ind.: Wm. Mitchell Printing Co., [1925]. Digital version at - free;.
 * 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.

Land
The Northampton County Register of Deeds Office has real estate records extending back as far as 1741.

Northampton County Register of Deeds Thomas Bragg Street Jasper Eley Annex Building PO Box 128 Jackson, NC 27845 Phone: (252)534-2511

Maps
The Northampton County NCGenWeb site has an array of maps and mapping projects using the Google Earth application. For a complete listing of map records click onto Northampton County Places

Northampton County maps from the NC State Archives Digital Maps Collection

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


 * - Northampton County U.S. Colored Troops
 * - 12th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company N
 * - 12th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company O
 * - 15th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, formerly the 5th Volunteers, Company A
 * - 1st Brigade, North Carolina Reserves, Company K
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company B
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company K
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company H
 * - 3rd Battalion, North Carolina Light Artillery, Company A
 * - 3rd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company K
 * - 4th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry (59th North Carolina State Troops), Company K

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

Probate records, including wills &amp; estate records are handled by the Northampton County Clerk of the Superior Court, located at the County Courthouse. Contact their office for details of what is available and fees.

Northampton County Courthouse 104 West Jefferson St PO Box 217 Jackson, NC 27845 (252) 574-3100


 * Pre - 1790  - Pre-1790  Wills stored at the North Carolina State Archives are online - free. Website tips.
 * 1741 - 1961 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

A number of probate records have been transcribed or images and can be viewed on the following sites:
 * Index to Wills - NCGenWeb Northampton Co.
 * 1833 - 1970 - NC County Records 1833-1970: Estate Records - from FamilySearch; indexed images of Northampton Co. Estate Records are included in this Collection

Taxation

 * 1762 - Tax Lists, Northampton County, 1762 (index) in NC Taxpayers, online at Ancestry ($)
 * 1780 - Tax Lists, Northampton County, 1780 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry ($)
 * 1780 - Tax Lists, Northampton County, 1780 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections

Birth Records

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

Death Records

 * 1898 - 1994 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 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 Records

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

Marriage Records

 * 1741 - 2004 - North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1847 - 1867 - Northampton County Marriage Bonds 1847-1867 at USGenWeb - 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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Websites

 * Northampton 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.
 * NCGenWeb Northampton County
 * Northampton County, NCGenWeb Archives
 * Northampton County, NCGenWeb Archives