Catawba County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Catawba County Courthouse 100 A Southwest Blvd P O Box 389 Newton, NC 28658-0389 Phone: 828-465-1573

Clerk Superior Courtt has divorce, probate and court records from 1843 Register of Deeds has marriage and land records Register of Deeds PO Box 65 Newton, NC 28658 Telephone: 828-465-1573 Fax: 828-465-1911 Website  Clerk of Superior Court Catawba Co Justice Ctr PO Box 790 Newton, NC 28658 Telephone: (828) 695-6100t

Parent County
1842--Catawba County was formed 12 December 1842 from the northern section of Lincoln County. County seat: Newton

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
Many court records missing.

Populated Places
Newton was divided into 8 townships in 1868. Very few changes have been made in the township boundaries since that date. The townships are: Newton | Clines | Caldwell | Jacobs Fork | Mountain Creek | Bandys | Hickory Tavern (changed to Hickory) | Hamilton (changed to Catawba).

Neighboring Counties

 * Alexander
 * Burke
 * Caldwell
 * Cleveland
 * Iredell
 * Lincoln

Cemeteries
The Catawba County Genealogical Society has published several helpful volumes of cemetery records and marriage records. Researchers will find their webpage within the Catawba County NCGenWeb site helpful.

Lutheran

 * Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, near Startown, N.C. Organized before 1797. Originally located in Lincoln County.
 * St. John's Lutheran Church, near Conover, N.C. Organized before 1798. Previously located in Lincoln County.
 * St. Paul's Lutheran Church, near Conover, N.C. Organized before 1771. Previously located in Tryon and Lincoln counties.

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


 * Catawba and Northern Trail pre-historic

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


 * - 12th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company A
 * - 4th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company C
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company E
 * - 8th Battalion, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company B

World War I

 * 1917 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * 1940 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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
 * 1849 - 1939 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

Births

 * 1800 - 2000 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1866 - 1964 - at FamilySearch.org — index

Deaths

 * 1898 - 1994 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 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

 * 1958 - 2004 - North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry.com — index $

Marriages

 * 1842 - 1938 - Catawba County Marriage Books 1-14 Index 1842-1938 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 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

Societies and Library
Catawba County Genealogical Society PO Box 2406 Hickory, NC 28603-2406 Website Catawba County Historical Association PO Box 73 Newton, NC 28658 Website


 * Hickory Public Library has several local history and genealogy resources

Family History Centers

 * Hickory North Carolina Family History Center

Websites

 * Catawba County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Catawba County NCGenweb Project, a member of The NCGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Catawba County NCGenweb Project, a member of The NCGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.