Nash County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Nash County Courthouse Rm 104 P O Box 104 Nashville, NC 27856 Phone:252-459-9836 Reg of Deeds has birth and death records from 1913 and marriage records from 1872 Clerk Superio Court has divorce and court records 1876 oldest will in Dept of Archives Raleigh NC  Register of Deeds PO Box 974 Nashville, NC 27856 Telephone: 252-459-9836 Fax: 252-459-9889 Website  Clerk of Superior Court PO Box 759 Nashville, NC 27856 Telephone: (252) 220-3000

History
Nash County was formed in 1777 from the western part of Edgecombe County. It was named for American Revolutionary War Brigadier General Francis Nash (1742-1777) of Hillsborough, who had been mortally wounded at the Battle of Germantown that year while fighting under General George Washington. Nashville, the County seat, was settled in 1780 and chartered in 1815. After the Revolutionary War, the County settled down to a pace that made it one of the State's leading farm areas. Since the Civil War, it has been known primarily as a leading agricultural County, but it has experienced steady industrial growth since that time.

Parent County
1777--Nash County was created from Edgecombe County. County seat: Nashville

Boundary Changes
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.

Neighboring Counties

 * Edgecombe
 * Franklin
 * Halifax
 * Johnston
 * Wake
 * Warren
 * Wilson

African-Americans

 * Nash County African-American resources - via NCGenWeb
 * Nash County Slavery Petitions

Census

 * Nash County census information - via Nash County NCGenWeb

Baptist

 * Falls of Tar. Constituted 1757.
 * Poplar Spring. Constituted 1793.

Presbyterian

 * Historical sketch of the First Presbyterian Church of Rocky Mount, North Carolina - via the Eastern NC Digital Library

Directories

 * Several NC state business directories are available online. Visit this list of directories, open the directory, and navigate to Nash County.  Directories include information on area businesses and citizens.

Education

 * Wesleyan College Yearbooks: 1962-2009 - freely available via the NC Digitization Center
 * Rosenwald Schools in Nash County (African-American)
 * Nash County students at NC colleges – via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index

Family Histories
Bibliography


 * [Boddie] Leary, Helen F.M. "The Two William Boddies of North Carolina," The American Genealogist, Vol. 66, No. 1 (Jan. 1991):16-29; Vol. 62, No. 2 (Apr. 1991):106-110; Vol. 66, No. 3 (Jul. 1991):148-153. Available at.
 * [Pridgen] Digital version at Pridgen family of Sapony Creek, Nash County, North Carolina : some descendants of William Pridgen, d. ca. 1762, Vol. II - full-text freely available via Brigham Young University.

Land
The first land grants in the area date from 1743.


 * Nash County deeds -- via NCGenWeb Archives
 * Property records 1995 - present - searchable database via the Nash County Register of Deeds

Local Histories

 * Local histories of Nash county
 * Rocky Mount Mills : carded cotton yarns, Rocky Mount, N.C. - via the Eastern NC Digital Library
 * Rocky Mount Mills, a case history of industrial development, 1818-1943 - via the Eastern NC Digital Library

Maps

 * Nash County maps - via NC Maps collection of UNC-Chapel Hill

Military

 * WWI Rosters of Nash County men
 * Military information - via Nash County NCGenWeb

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 — images
 * Roster of Nash County Confederate soldiers - via the Eastern NC Digital Library


 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 7th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 12th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company H
 * - 13th Battalion, North Carolina Infantry, Company B
 * - 1st Brigade, North Carolina Reserves, Company A
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company A
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company E
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, 1st Company E
 * - 3rd Battalion, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Captain D W William's Company

World War I

 * 1917 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * 1940 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

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

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.
 * 1776 - 1964 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
 * Nash County residents wills - via NCGenWeb
 * Nash County wills &amp; estates - via NCGenWeb Archives

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

 * 1787 - 1835 - Nash County Bastard Bonds 1787-1835 at USGenWeb - free.
 * 1800 - 2000 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1866 - 1964 - at FamilySearch.org — index

Marriage Records

 * 1799 - 1893 - Nash County marriages - are included in 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 searcheable. 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

Death Records

 * Nash County obituaries - via NCGenWeb Archives
 * Nash County deaths - - list of county area deaths reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 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

Societies and Libraries
Tar River Connections Genealogical Society PO Box 8764 Rocky Mount, NC 27803-8764 website


 * Edgecombe County Library
 * Braswell Memorial Library

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Websites

 * Nash County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * Nash County, NCGenWeb Project
 * Nash County, USGenWeb Archives
 * Nash County Register of Deeds