Burke County, North Carolina Genealogy

United States North Carolina  Burke County

County Courthouse
Burke County, North Carolina 201 S Green Street P O Box 219 Morganton, NC 28680 Phone: 828-438-5450 Register of Deeds has birth and death records from 1913 marriage, land and military discharge records from 1865; Clerk Superior Court has divorce, probate and court records from 1865

Parent County
1777--Burke County was created 8 April 1777 from Rowan County. County seat: Morganton

Record Loss
1865--Many court records and most land records burned by Federal troops.

Neighboring Counties

 * Avery
 * Caldwell
 * Catawba
 * Cleveland
 * Lincoln
 * Mcdowell
 * Rutherford

Cemeteries

 * Burke County cemetery listings at FindAGrave -user-submitted burial records
 * Burke County cemeteries - compilation of resources on the Burke County, NCGenWeb site
 * NC Tombstone Transcription Project - Burke county cemeteries

Census

 * Census records on the NCGenWeb Archives

Baptist

 * Catawbo River. Constituted 1785.

Court

 * Burke County court records at the NCGenWeb Archives

Education

 * Book: The North Carolina School for the Deaf at Morganton, 1894-1944 (1945) - free online
 * Burke County students at NC colleges - list via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index

Land

 * Deeds 1855-1985 -- Search on the Burke County Register of Deeds website
 * Deeds of Burke County -- NCGenWeb Archives

Local Histories

 * Book: Catawba Valley and highlands : Burke County, Western North Carolina (1896) - via the Internet Archive

Maps

 * Burke County Maps - via NC Maps Digital Collection

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


 * Old Cherokee Path pre-historic
 * Jonesboro Road 1769
 * Rutherford's War Trace 1776

Civil War
Civil War Confederate units - Brief history, counties where recruited, etc.


 * -1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, usually known as the Bethel Regiment.
 * -6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * -11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry

Newspapers

 * Burke county newspapers - a listing of newspapers published in the county &amp; libraries that hold them; via the Library of Congress.
 * Burke 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.
 * North Carolina Newspaper Digitization Project - contains full-text papers from 1752-1890s. Search for your Burke County ancestors.

Probate

 * Pre-1790 - Pre-1790 Wills stored at the North Carolina State Archives are online - free. Website tips.


 * 1793-1963 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

Vital Records
Births


 * Burke County Births - search on the website of the Burke County Register of Deeds
 * North Carolina Births and Christenings, 1866-1964 - search this name index to birth, baptism and christening records from the state; via FamilySearch

Marriages


 * Burke County Marriages - search on the website of the Burke County Register of Deeds
 * North Carolina Marriages, 1762-1979 - search this database of marriages from across the state - images included; via FamilySearch
 * Burke 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.
 * Burke County Marriages 1774-1854 North Carolina Pioneers
 * North Carolina Marriages to 1799, a database, available to members North Carolina Pioneers

Deaths


 * Burke County Deaths - search on the website of the Burke County Register of Deeds
 * Deaths of Burke County - list of county area deaths reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.
 * North Carolina Death Certificates, 1906-1930 - search a statewide collection of freely available death certificates - images are included; via FamilySearch

Societies and Libraries

 * Burke County Public Library
 * Burke County Genealogical Society

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Hickory North Carolina Family History Center
 * Morganton North Carolina Family History Center

Web Sites

 * Burke County NCGenWeb - free genealogy resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project
 * Burke County NCGenWeb Archives
 * North Carolina Pioneers North Carolina Pioneers
 * North Carolina Pioneers North Carolina Pioneers