Gates County, North Carolina Genealogy

United States   North Carolina    Gates County

History
Gates County was formed in 1779 from Chowan, Hertford, and Perquimans counties. It was named in honor of General Horatio Gates, who commanded the American Army at the Battle of Saratoga. Gates County is in the northeastern section of the State and is bounded by Camden, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan and Hertford counties, and the state of Virginia. The present land area is 340.67 square miles. The act establishing the county provided that commissioners be appointed to select a site centrally located for the erection of a courthouse, etc., and to have the building erected. In 1781, an act was passed to levy an additional tax for the completion of the public buildings. The Legislature of 1830-1831 passed an act which said that the place now known as Gates Court House, in the county of Gates, shall in the future be known and described by the name of Gatesville. Gatesville is the county seat.

Gates County was a part of an area originally called "Albemarle", named for George, Duke of Albemarle. Later, what is now Gates County was split into three separate entities: Hertford, Chowan, and Perquimans counties. Most of the land within the present boundaries was considered to be Nansemond County, VA, until 1728, when William Byrd had surveyed the "dividing line" between Virginia and North Carolina.

Parent County
1778--Gates County was created 14 April 1778 from Chowan, Hertford, and Perquimans Counties. County seat: Gatesville

Neighboring Counties

 * Camden
 * Chowan
 * Hertford
 * Pasquotank
 * Perquimans
 * Southampton County, Virginia
 * Suffolk, Virginia

Family Histories

 * [Southall] Warner, Seth. "Descendants of the Reverend Daniel Southall of Eastern North Carolina," The Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Fall 2007):175-190; Vol. 22, No. 1 (Spring 2008):107-127; Vol. 22, No. 2 (Fall 2008):221-240.

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


 * Atlantic Ocean
 * King's Highway about 1704
 * Secondary Coast Road late 1730s

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

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb Project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Gates County NCGenWeb
 * Gates County USGenWeb Archives
 * Gates County USGenWeb Archives