Madison County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Madison County is located in the southwestern portion of North Carolina and shares a border with Tennessee. It was named for President James Madison.

County Courthouse
Madison County Courthouse PO Box 66 Marshall, NC 28753 Phone: 828-649-3131 Madison County Website Register of Deeds has birth, marriage, death, burial and land records. Clerk Superior Court has divorce, probate and court records from 1851.

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:

Church Records

 * 1700-1970 - at FamilySearch — index

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans  Freedman Bank Records, 1865-1874. Database containing bank records of African-American individuals from all 29 branches of the bank. North Carolina bank locations included Wilmington, Raleigh and New Bern.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Madison County Maps

Military Records

 * Madison County Military records (NCGenWeb 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


 * - 2nd Battalion, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 2nd Battalion, North Carolina Infantry, Company H
 * - 5th Battalion, North Carolina Cavalry, Company A
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company G
 * - 7th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company D
 * - 16th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company B

World War I 
 * 1917-1919  at FamilySearch

World War II 
 * 1940-1948  at FamilySearch

Newspapers

 * 1799-1893 Madison County marriages (North Carolina Digital Collections).  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.
 * Madison county newspapers (Library of Congress). A listing of newspapers published in the county and libraries that hold them. If you find a paper of interest on microfilm, you may be able to request it via Interlibrary Loan with your local public library.
 * Madison County residents in the newspaper. Name listing of people from the county as located in misc. newspaper articles; time span varies. Articles indexed in the NC People in the Papers database.
 * Madison County deaths. Listing of county area deaths reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.

Obituaries

 * Obituaries, from The Record and The French Broad News (an ongoing project by Madison County Genealogical Society).

Probate Records

 * North Carolina Probate Records tips

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 $
 * 1851-1952  at FamilySearch
 * Wills and Estate records of Madison County (USGenWeb Archives)

School Records

 * Mars Hill College yearbooks, from 1917-2011. (NC Digital Heritage Center)
 * Madison County College Students. Name list of students at various NC colleges with identified hometowns in the county.

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

Death

 * 1898-1994  at FamilySearch
 * 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

Societies

 * Buncombe County Genealogical Society 128 Bingham Road, Suite 950 Asheville, NC 28806 Phone: 828-253-1894 Website
 * Madison County Genealogical Society PO Box 155 Mars Hill, NC 28754-0155 Website

Websites

 * [Madison 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.