Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Genealogy

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



County Courthouse
Mecklenburg County Courthouse 720 E 4th Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2835 Phone: 704-336-2443 Register of Deeds has birth and death records from 1913 marriage records from 1850 and land from 1763 Clerk Superior Court has divorce, probate and court records from 1930   Register of Deeds 720 E. 4th Street, Room 103 Charlotte, NC 28202 Telephone: 704-336-2443 Fax: 704-336-2443 Website  Clerk of Superior Court PO Box 37971 Charlotte, NC 28237-7971 Telephone: (704) 686-0420 Alternate Telephone: (704) 686-0400

Parent County
1762--Mecklenburg County was created 3 November 1762 from Anson County. It was named for the German homeland of Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Streliz, the wife of King George III. "'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.”" County seat: Charlotte

Parent Jurisdictions:

Boundary Changes
According to John Brevard Alexander, much of the boundary of Mecklenburg was marked off in 1762, leaving room to the north for further expansion and growth. In the years following, settlement was primarily from Maryland and Pennsylvania with a few settlers arriving from Ireland and Germany.

In 1768 a bill was proposed and subsequently passed to divide Mecklenburg county into two counties; Mecklenberg County and St. Martin's Parish, and Tyron County and St. Thomas' Parish. In 1792 and 1842, respectively, Cabarrus county and Union county divided from Mecklenburg.

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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Populated Places

 * Charlotte
 * Cornelius
 * Davidson
 * Huntersville
 * Matthews
 * Mint Hill
 * Pineville

Neighboring Counties

 * Cabarrus
 * Gaston
 * Iredell
 * Lancaster County, South Carolina
 * Lincoln
 * Union
 * York County, South Carolina

African-Americans

 * Freedman Bank Records, 1865-1874 - search this freely available database for bank records of African-American individuals. This database includes records from all 29 branches of the bank. North Carolina bank locations included Wilmington, Raleigh &amp; New Bern.
 * 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.

Census

 * Census Transcriptions - via the Mecklenburg County NCGenWeb Archives

Presbyterian

 * 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.

Court

 * Court Transcriptions - via the Mecklenburg County NCGenWeb Archives
 * Mecklenburg County Courts

Directories

 * Charlotte Historical Directories - a handful of area directories from the 1800s; provided by the Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County
 * Several NC state business directories are available online. Visit this list of directories, open the directory, and navigate to Mecklenburg County. Directories include information on area businesses and citizens.

Family Histories
Bibliography


 * 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

 * See the real estate books in the Newspapers section below
 * Deeds - various years; transcribed by volunteers; via the Mecklenburg County NCGenWeb 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 and Google Books (full-view) and of Vol. 2 at ; and Google Books (full-view).
 * John Brevard Alexander, The History of Mecklenburg County from 1740 to 1900 [Charlotte, NC: Observer Printing House, 1902]; digital image, Google Books

Maps

 * Maps of Mecklenburg County - via the NC Maps Collection of the North Carolina State Library

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

 * Various military records - via the NCGenWeb Archives

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 — 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 — index and images

World War II

 * 1940 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Vietnam War

 * Vietnam War Casualties, via NCGenWeb, indexing by Ron Yates

Naturalization

 * 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.

County Newspapers

 * Charlotte Jewish Times - 240+ issues available online spanning 1979-2000; via DigitalNC.org
 * Mecklenburg county newspapers - a listing of newspapers published in the county &amp; libraries that hold them; via the Library of Congress.

Extractions/Transcriptions from the newspapers

 * Misc. Newspaper transcriptions - various years, user submitted to the NCGenWeb Archives
 * Real estate and legal notices from Charlotte, North Carolina, newspapers, 1835-1847, Vol. 1. 1835-1847] Digital version at
 * Real estate and legal notices from Charlotte, North Carolina, newspapers, 1835-1847, Vol. 2. 1848-1862; Digital version at
 * Death notices from the Mecklenburg Jeffersonian, Charlotte, N.C., 1841-1849 an index - compiled by Rose L. Grantham and Carol Haywood [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 [Family History Library| WorldCat]
 * Marriage notices from the Western Democrat, Charlotte, N.C., 1853-1870 an index - compiled by Carol Haywood and Rose L. Grantham [Family History Library| WorldCat]

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.
 * 1763 - 1965 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
 * Will &amp; Estate records - transcribed and submitted by volunteers to the NCGenWeb Archives
 * Mecklenburg County Wills - index list of names of wills held by the NC State Library. When you go to the page, scroll down to the list of wills from Mecklenburg County.
 * 1783 - 1844 - Images of Wills and Estates North Carolina Pioneers ($)
 * 1833 - 1970 - NC County Records 1833-1970: Mecklenburg - from FamilySearch, collection includes images of Estate Records and Guardianships

Research Guides

 * Family History Library Research Outline, North Carolina

Vital Records
Uncertified copies of vital records can be ordered for a small fee from the Register of Deeds. Please visit their website for more information.

Birth Records

 * Birth Certificate Search -- from the Register of Deeds
 * 1800 - 2000 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1866 - 1964 - at FamilySearch.org — index

Marriage Records

 * 1741 - 2004 - North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * Mecklenburg County marriages A-K - various years; submitted to the NCGenWeb Archives
 * Mecklenburg County marriages L-Z - various years; submitted to the NCGenWeb Archives
 * 1786 - 1863 - Mecklenburg County Marriages 1786-1863. North Carolina Pioneers ($)
 * 1850 - 1960 - Mecklenburg County Marriage Index 1850-1960 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1879 - 1957 - 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.
 * 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
 * 1786 - 1863 - Marriage Bonds North Carolina Pioneers ($)

Death Records

 * Death Certificate Search -- from the Register of Deeds
 * Obituaries, A-K - obits submitted to the NCGenWeb Archives
 * Obituaries, L-Z - obits submitted to the NCGenWeb Archives
 * Misc. county deaths - deaths extracted from newspapers with relevance to Mecklenburg county; link takes you to a name index. Provided via the NC Newspeople in the Papers database. Late 1800s/early 1900s.
 * 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 Records

 * 1846 - 1969 - Mecklenburg County Divorces, 1846-1969 - index includes the name of the plaintiff, the defendant and the year of the divorce; created by the Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County
 * 1958 - 2004 - North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry.com — index $

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 - via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index

Societies and Libraries
Olde Mecklenburg Genealogical Society PO Box 32453 Charlotte, NC 28232-2453 Website

The Steele Creek Genealogical and Historical Society' PO Box 411711 Charlotte, NC 28241 Website

Mecklenburg Historical Association PO Box 35032 Charlotte, NC 28235 Website


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

Family History Centers

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

Websites

 * Mecklenburg County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * NCGenWeb: Mecklenburg County - free genealogy resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project
 * North Carolina Pioneers ($)
 * North Carolina Pioneers ($)