Hertford County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Hertford County Courthouse King Street P O Box 36 Winton, NC 27986 Phone: 252-358-7850

Courthouse burned 1832 and 1862 Register of Deeds has birth and death records and burial records from 1913 marriage records from 1884 and land records from 1866 Clerk Superior Court has divorce and court records from 1883 and probate records rec from 1869

Register of Deeds 119 Justice Dr., Suite 9 Winton, NC 27986 Phone: 252-358-7850 Fax: 252-358-0222 Website

Clerk Superior Court P.O. Box 86 Winton, NC 27986 Phone: (252) 358-7100

History
1759 Hertford County named in honor of the Marquis of Hertford, Francis Seymour Conway, was officially formed from Bertie, Chowan and Northampton Counties by an act of legislature effective May 1, 1760.

The first official court proceedings in the area were held at Cotton's Ferry. In 1766 Assembly Representative Benjamin Wynn donated fifty acres for a town to be properly established and it was briefly called "Wynntown". Shortly following the 1766 incorporation of the town "Winton" became the county seat of government as it proudly remains today.

Parent County
1754--Hertford County was created 12 December 1754 from Chowan, Bertie, and Northampton Counties. County seat: Winton

Boundary Changes
In 1779 the northeastern part of Hertford County was combined with parts of Chowan County and Perquimans County to form Gates County.

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
1822, 1830--Courthouse fires destroyed the majority of the county's records.

Neighboring Counties

 * Bertie
 * Chowan
 * Gates
 * Northampton
 * Southampton County, Virginia

Baptist

 * Mr. Arthur Cotten's. Established by 1782.
 * Old Meherrin, Murfreesboro, N.C. Established 1735.
 * Buckhorn Baptist, Como, N.C. Established 1835.

Church of England

 * St. John's Chapel. Established by 1782.

Court
The first court was held at Cotton's Ferry.

Local Histories

 * The colonial and state political history of Hertford County, N.C (1906) - by Benjamin Brodie Winborne; freely available at OpenLibrary

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Hertford County for European settlers included:


 * Atlantic Ocean
 * King's Highway about 1704
 * Secondary Coast Road late 1730s

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 — images


 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company F
 * - 17th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry (1st Organization), Company D
 * - 1st Brigade, North Carolina Reserves, Company K
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company F
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company K
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company C
 * - 3rd Battalion, North Carolina Light Artillery, Company C
 * - 4th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry (59th North Carolina State Troops), Company D
 * - 4th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry (59th North Carolina State Troops), Company E

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
 * Pre - 1790 - Pre-1790 Wills stored at the North Carolina State Archives are online - free. Website tips.
 * 1830 - 1963 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

Birth

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

Death

 * 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

 * 1958 - 2004 - North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry.com — index $

Marriage

 * 1868 - 1872 - Hertford Marriages 1868-1872 at USGenWeb - free.
 * 1868 - 1963 - Hertford County Marriage Index 1868-1963. Batch 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

Yearbooks

 * 1911-2006 - 1911-2006 Chowan College
 * Hertford County students at NC colleges - via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index

Societies and Libraries
Hertford County Public library genealogy Room PO Box 68 Winton NC 27986 Website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Websites

 * Hertford County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * NCGenWeb: Hertford County - part of the USGenWeb Project
 * USGenWeb Archives - many additional records for Hertford
 * USGenWeb Archives - many additional records for Hertford