Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Genealogy

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



Description
Mecklenburg County is located in the southern portion of North Carolina and shares a border with South Carolina. It took its name from the German duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, home of the wife of King George III, Charlotte Sophia.

County Courthouse
Mecklenburg County Courthouse 720 E 4th Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2835 Phone: 704-336-2443 Mecklenburg County Website Register of Deeds has birth and death records from 1913, marriage records from 1850 and land records from 1763. Clerk Superior Court has divorce, probate and court records from 1930.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline
"'In North Germany are two little duchies that go by the name of Mecklenburg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. From Mecklenburg-Strelitz, in the year 1761, went a young princess to be the wife of George the Third and Queen of England, and her name was Charlotte. The marriage was a popular one and there was great rejoicing in England, and after a while the news of it reached the Piedmont section of North Carolina, where the people were just about to make two counties out of one. The name of the old county was Anson, named for Admiral Anson whose good ship carried the young princess, Charlotte, to England. The new county was named Mecklenburg in honor of the queen who had come from old Mecklenburg, in Germany, and to do her still more honor, they called their town Charlotte.”"

Cemeteries

 * at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Census Records

 * Mecklenburg County Census Transcriptions (USGenWeb Archives)

Church Records

 * 1700-1970 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Presbyterian List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Bethel Presbyterian Church. Family history &amp; genealogy of these church families. Church is located in Cornelius.
 * Philadelphia Presbyterian Church, Mint Hill, N.C. Organized 1770.
 * Steele Creek Church, Charlotte, N.C. Organized before 1760.
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * Mecklenburg County Court Transcriptions (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Mecklenburg County Courts

Directories

 * Charlotte Historical Directories. A handful of area directories from the 1800s. (Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County)
 * Business Directories. Directories include information on area businesses and citizens.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American
 * 1862-1870   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1863-1872   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * African American Community Photograph Collection. The North Carolina Room at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (Charlotte, NC) houses a collection of over 1500 photographs detailing the African American experience in Charlotte.
 * Freedman Bank Records, 1865-1874. Bank records from all 29 branches of the bank of African-American individuals. North Carolina bank locations included Wilmington, Raleigh and New Bern.

Genealogies

 * Morrison - Morrison, Janet and Marie Morrison. "Twelve Things We've Learned While Compiling the Rocky River Morrison Genealogies," Rowan County Register, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Aug. 1997):2819. Available at.
 * Morrison - Morrison, Janet and Marie Morrison. Descendants of John (1725?-1777) &amp; Mary (1732-1781) Morrison of Rocky River. Reviewed in Rowan County Register, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Aug. 1997):2830. Available at.
 * Morrison - Morrison, Janet and Marie Morrison. Descendants of James (1726-1804) and Jennet (1735-1810) Morrison of Rocky River. Reviewed in Rowan County Register, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Aug. 1997):2830. Available at.
 * Morrison - Morrison, Janet and Marie Morrison. Descendants of Robert (1728-1810) and Sarah (1739-1816) Morrison of Rocky River. Reviewed in Rowan County Register, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Aug. 1997):2830. Available at.

Land and Property Records

 * Mecklenburg County Deeds, various years. (USGenWeb Archives)

Local Histories

 * Tompkins, Daniel Augustus. History of Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte: From 1740 to 1903, 2 vols. Charlotte, North Carolina: Observer Printing House, 1903-1904. Available at . Vol. 1 at Google Books (full-view), Vol. 2 at FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books (full-view).
 * Alexander, John Brevard. The History of Mecklenburg County from 1740 to 1900 [Charlotte, NC: Observer Printing House, 1902]; digital image, Google Books

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Mecklenburg County. NC Maps Collection of the North Carolina State Library.
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

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


 * Occaneechi Path pre-historic
 * Lower Cherokee Traders' Path pre-historic
 * Catawba and Northern Trail pre-historic
 * Fall Line Road about 1735 (overlapped Occaneechi Path)
 * Great Valley Road (south fork) 1740s (overlapped Occaneechi Path)
 * Upper Road about 1783 (overlapped Lower Cherokee Traders' Path)

Military Records

 * Mecklenburg County Military records (USGenWeb Archives)

Revolutionary War 
 * 1779-1782  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Civil War 
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1885-1953  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images


 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry,usually known as the Bethel Regiment, Company B
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry,usually known as the Bethel Regiment, Company C
 * - 6th Regiment7th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 7th Regiment11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company A
 * - 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company E
 * - 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company H
 * - 13th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry formerly the 3rd Volunteers., Company B
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Artillery 10th Regiment Volunteers-1st Artillery, Company C
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company C
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Detailed Men, Company E
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Detailed Men, Company F
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Detailed Men, Company D
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company B
 * - 4th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company G
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry (63rd Regiment Volunteers), Company F
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company E
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company A

World War I 
 * 1917-1919  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

World War II 
 * 1940-1948  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Vietnam War 
 * Vietnam War Casualties (NCGenWeb)

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * Ferguson, Herman W. "Six Applications for Citizenship, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina," [1823-1824] Rowan County Register, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Aug. 1997):2795-2796. Available at.

Newspapers

 * Charlotte Jewish Times. More than 240 issues available online spanning 1979-2000. (DigitalNC.org)
 * Mecklenburg county newspapers. Listing of newspapers published in the county and libraries that hold them. (Library of Congress)
 * Misc. Newspaper transcriptions (NCGenWeb Archives)
 * Real estate and legal notices from Charlotte, North Carolina, newspapers, 1835-1847, Vol. 1. 1835-1847.
 * Real estate and legal notices from Charlotte, North Carolina, newspapers, 1835-1847, Vol. 2. 1848-1862.
 * Marriage notices from the Western Democrat, Charlotte, N.C., 1853-1870, an index compiled by Carol Haywood and Rose L. Grantham available online at Family History Library; WorldCat.
 * Mecklenburg County marriages, may be included throughout 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 searchable. Available on the North Carolina Digital Collections website.
 * Death notices from the Mecklenburg Jeffersonian, Charlotte, N.C., 1841-1849, an index compiled by Rose L. Grantham and Carol Haywood available online at Family History Library; WorldCat.
 * Death notices from the Western Democrat, Charlotte, N.C., 1853-1870, an index compiled by Carol Haywood and Rose L. Grantham available online at Family History Library; WorldCat.
 * Misc. Mecklenburg County deaths. Deaths extracted from newspapers, late 1800s/early 1900s. (NCGenWeb)
 * North Carolina Newspapers at DigitalNC

Obituaries

 * Obituaries, A-K (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Obituaries, L-Z (USGenWeb Archives)

Other Records
Voter Registration
 * 1868-1898 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1660-1790 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry $
 * 1663-1979  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1663-1789 Secretary of State Wills at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
 * 1665-1998 North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998 at Ancestry $
 * 1720-1960 - at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1735-1970  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1760-1800 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry $
 * 1763-1965  at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1783-1844 Images of Wills and Estates North Carolina Pioneers $
 * Pre-1790 Pre-1790 Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Genealogy Wills. (North Carolina State Archives)
 * 1833-1970 NC County Records 1833-1970: Mecklenburg at FamilySearch. Collection includes images of Estate Records and Guardianships.
 * Will &amp; Estate records (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Mecklenburg County Wills. Index list of names of wills held by the NC State Library.

School Records
Yearbooks 
 * Belmont Abbey College: 1934-2009 (not entirely inclusive, but more than 50 yearbooks)
 * Davidson College: 1895-2009
 * Johnson C. Smith University: 1929-2008
 * Mecklenburg County students at NC colleges, yearbook index. (NCGenWeb)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

 * 1811 Tax Lists, Mecklenburg County, 1811, 1815 (images) at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1815 Tax Lists, Mecklenburg County, 1811, 1815 (images) at North Carolina Digital Collections

Vital Records

 * 1800-2000 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Uncertified copies of vital records can be ordered for a small fee from the Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds.

Birth

 * 1800-2000  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1866-1964  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1913-1922  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1913-2019 North Carolina, Mecklenburg County Birth Index, 1913-2019 at MyHeritage ($)
 * Birth Certificate Search (Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds)

Marriage

 * 1741-2004 North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast
 * 1741-2004 North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1759-1979  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1762-1979  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1763-1868  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1786-1863 Marriage Bonds North Carolina Pioneers $
 * 1786-1863 Mecklenburg County Marriages 1786-1863. North Carolina Pioneers
 * 1850-1960 Mecklenburg County Marriage Index 1850-1960 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * 1884-2019 at MyHeritage ($)
 * Mecklenburg County marriages A-K (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Mecklenburg County marriages L-Z (USGenWeb Archives)

Death

 * 1898-1994  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1906-1930  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1908-2004 North Carolina Death Indexes 1908-2004 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1909-1975 North Carolina Death Certificates 1909-1975 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1916-2019 North Carolina, Mecklenburg County Death Index, 1916-2019 at MyHeritage ($)
 * 1931-1994  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Death Certificate Search (Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds)

Divorce

 * 1846-1969 Mecklenburg County Divorces, 1846-1969. Index includes the name of the plaintiff, the defendant and the year of the divorce. (Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County)
 * 1926-1975  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1958-2004 North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry $

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers
 * Charlotte North Carolina Central Family History Center
 * Charlotte North Carolina South Family History Center

Libraries

 * Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Website
 * J. Murray Atkins Library UNC-Charlotte Website

Societies

 * Mecklenburg Historical Association PO Box 35032 Charlotte, NC 28235 Email: [mailto:contact@meckdec.org contact@meckdec.org] Website


 * Olde Mecklenburg Genealogical Society PO Box 32453 Charlotte, NC 28232-2453 (704) 568-1774 Email: [mailto:info@oldemeck.org info@oldemeck.org] Website Facebook


 * The Steele Creek Genealogical and Historical Society C/O Walter Neely 13601 Erwin Road Charlotte, NC 28273 Website

Websites

 * Mecklenburg County NCGenWeb
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.
 * North Carolina Pioneers $

Research Guides

 * Family History Library Research Outline, North Carolina