Wake County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Wake County was named in honor of Margaret Wake, wife of colonial Governor William Tryon. The county is located in the north central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Wake County Courthouse St Garland James Bldg 300 S Salisbury PO Box 1897 Raleigh, NC 27602 Phone: 919-856-5460 Wake County Website Registrar of Deeds has marriage and land records. Clerk of Superior Court has probate records.

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
Raleigh, History and the Present, NCpedia, site from the North Carolina State Library

Biographies

 * [Stacy] Marvin Hendrix Stacy, 1877-1919. 1919. University of North Carolina. (Internet Archive)

Cemeteries

 * Raleigh City Cemetery
 * Cemetery Census - Wake County Cemeteries - over 300 cemeteries
 * FHL Microfilm - Pre-1914 Cemetery Inscriptions, Wake County. FHL Microfilm 882940 Item 9
 * Manuscript: Confederate deaths and burials in North Carolina. Find in a Library
 * Historic Oakwood Cemetery - in Raleigh, NC

Church Records

 * 1700-1970 - at FamilySearch — index
 * Wake County church information (NCGenWeb)

Baptist List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Cross Roads. Constituted 1792.
 * New Light Meeting House.
 * Swift Creek. Constituted 1757.
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * Wake County court records (USGenWeb Archives)

Genealogies

 * [Lane] Haywood, Marshall DeLancey. "Joel Lane, Pioneer and Patriot." Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * [Massey] Massey, William W. "Richard Massey of Bartons Creek, Wake County, North Carolina: With the Search for his Parentage," The Genealogist, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Fall 2004):196-227.

Land and Property Records

 * Wake County deeds (USGenWeb Archives)

Local Histories

 * Historical Raleigh from its foundation in 1792 descriptive, biographical, educational, industrial, religious; reminiscences reviewed and carefully compiled. 1902. (NC Digital Collections)
 * History of Wake County, North Carolina with sketches of those who have most influenced its development. 1922. (Internet Archive)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Wake County maps. 50+ maps of the area. (North Carolina State Library)
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Wake County military information (NCGenWeb)
 * Wake County military records (USGenWeb Archives)

Revolutionary War 
 * 1779-1782  at FamilySearch

Civil War 
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch
 * 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


 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 7th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 14th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, formerly the 4th Volunteers, Company E
 * - 14th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, formerly the 4th Volunteers, Company K
 * - 1st Brigade, North Carolina Reserves, Company D
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Artillery 10th Regiment Volunteers-1st Artillery, Company A
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company I
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company D
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company K
 * - 41st Regiment Volunteers - 3rd Cavalry, Company I
 * - 4th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry (59th North Carolina State Troops), Company I
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company I
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company K

World War I
 * 1917-1919  at FamilySearch

World War II
 * 1940-1948  at FamilySearch

Newspapers

 * 1799-1893 Raleigh marriage and death notices from five of the area's newspapers 1799-1893 are posted at the North Carolina Libraries and State Archives website. These papers include the Raleigh Register, the North Carolina State Gazette, Daily Sentinel, Raleigh Observer and News and Observer. The notices are originally found in book form in the SLNC's 6-volume Marriage and Death notices.
 * Wake County deaths, deceased individuals of the area as reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.
 * Wake county newspaper articles (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Newspapers published in Wake County (Library of Congress)
 * NC People in the Papers

Obituaries

 * Obituaries from the Cary News newspaper are included in GenealogyBank from Feb 2011 forward. $
 * Obituaries from the Eastern Wake News paper of Zebulon, NC, are included in GenealogyBank from Jan 2011 forward. $

Probate Records
Online Probate Records


 * 1660-1790 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry $
 * 1663-1979  at FamilySearch
 * 1665-1998 North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998 at Ancestry $
 * 1735-1970  at FamilySearch
 * 1760-1800 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry $
 * 1771-1782 Images of Wills, Estates and Guardianships, 1771-1782 North Carolina Pioneers $
 * 1771-1802 Wake County, North Carolina Abstracts of Wills, Inventories, and Settlements of Estates: 1771-1802. 1984. By Frances Holloway Wynne. Includes index.
 * 1771-1897  at FamilySearch
 * 1788-1794 Images of Wills, Estates and Guardianships, 1788-1794. North Carolina Pioneers $
 * Pre-1790 Pre-1790 Wake County, North Carolina Genealogy Wills (North Carolina State Archives)
 * Wake County Wills and Estates (USGenWeb Archives)

School Records

 * Education page at Wake County (NCGenWeb)
 * History of Meredith College (1972), by Mary Lynch Johnson
 * Vision Revisited: A History of Meredith College, 1971-1988, by Carolyn C. Robinson

Yearbooks 
 * Meredith College: 1904-2009
 * NC State University: 1903-2010
 * Peace College: 1902-2010
 * Wake 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

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

Vital Records

 * 1800-2000 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Uncertified copies of vital records can be ordered for a small fee from the Register of Deeds.

Birth

 * 1800-2000  at FamilySearch
 * 1866-1964  at FamilySearch
 * 1913-1922  at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

 * 1741-2004 North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast
 * 1741-2004 North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1759-1979  at FamilySearch
 * 1762-1979  at FamilySearch
 * 1763-1868  at FamilySearch
 * 1830-1958 Wake County Marriage Index 1830-1958 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * Wake County marriage records (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Wake county, North Carolina Marriage Bonds Part 2 (NCGenWeb)

Death

 * 1898-1994  at FamilySearch
 * 1900-1908 Wake County Early Death Certificates,1900-1908 - images in NC County Records 1833-1970
 * 1906-1930  at FamilySearch
 * 1908-2004 North Carolina Death Indexes 1908-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1909-1975 North Carolina Death Certificates 1909-1975 at Ancestry $
 * 1931-1994  at FamilySearch

Divorce

 * 1926-1975  at FamilySearch
 * 1958-2004 North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry $

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers
 * Apex North Carolina Family History Center
 * Raleigh North Carolina Family History Center

Libraries

 * Olivia Raney Local History Library 4016 Carya Drive Raleigh, NC 27610 Phone: 919-250-1196 Website

Societies

 * Wake County Genealogical Society PO Box 17713 Raleigh, NC 27619-7713 Website
 * Wake County Historical Society PO Box 2 Raleigh, NC 27602 Website
 * Apex Historical Society PO Box 506 Apex, NC 27502 Website

Websites

 * NCGenWeb: Wake County - part of the USGenWeb Project
 * Wake County Genealogy (North Carolina Genealogy)
 * – 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.