Anson County, North Carolina Genealogy

United States   North Carolina    Anson County

History
"The county was formed in 1750 from Bladen County. It was named for George Anson, Baron Anson, a British admiral, who circumnavigated the globe from 1740 to 1744, and later became First Lord of the Admiralty. Like its parent county, Anson County was originally a vast territory with indefinite northern and western boundaries. Reductions in its extent began in 1753, when the northern part of it became Rowan County. In 1762 the western part of Anson County became Mecklenburg County. In 1779 the northern part of what remained of Anson County became Montgomery County, and the part east of the Pee Dee River became Richmond County. Finally, in 1842 the western part of Anson County was combined with the southeastern part of Mecklenburg County to become Union County." Anson County was named in honor of British Admiral Lord George Anson, a First Lord of the Admiralty. He commanded the vessel which brought Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Germany, to her future husband King George III. Germans to the area around Anson County, as did many settlers from the British Isles, Africa, and Moravia. In 1750 Anson County was formed from Bladen County. At that time, it reached all the way to the Mississippi River. Although it has been cut in physical size five times since then, the people of that county have enabled its presence to reach beyond the Mississippi to the far corners of the world.

Parent County
1749--Anson County was created 17 March 1749 from Bladen County. County seat: Wadesboro

Record Loss
1868--A courthouse fire destroyed many records.

Neighboring Counties

 * Chesterfield County, South Carolina
 * Marlboro County, South Carolina
 * Montgomery
 * Richmond
 * Stanly
 * Union

Cemeteries

 * Anson County Cemetery Records
 * Anson County Cemeteries-Cemetery Census
 * Find-A-Grave for Anson County

Church

 * Anson County Churches

Family Histories
Bibliography


 * [Jarman] German, John L. "Finding the Father of David German of North Carolina and Shelby County, Indiana," The American Genealogist, Vol. 68, No. 2 (Apr. 1993):87-94.

Land
Anson County land and deed records may be obtained through the local Register of Deeds or through the North Carolina State Archives for older records. Contact the Registry's office at the below address, and also click onto the link to get further details about the office:

Anson County Register of Deeds 101 S. Greene Street, Suite 131 Wadesboro, NC 28170 704-994-3208

There are a number of transcribed Deed Records at the following:


 * Anson County Deeds

Military

 * Anson County Military Records

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

Newspapers

 * Anson Record - full-text digital issues in Google News Archive; covers 1955-1981
 * Anson Record &amp; Messenger Intelligencer - full-text digital issues in Google News Archive; covers 1981-1982
 * Anson County USGenWeb Newspapers
 * North Carolina Newspapers Project -info from the State Library about what kinds of newspaper records are available on microfilm

Probate
Copies of Wills are available through the County Clerk of the Court or through the North Carolina State Archives.


 * Clerk of Court -  Telephone:  704-694-2314
 * North Carolina State Archives- a listing of the services available through the Archives
 * Anson County Wills from the USGenWeb Archives

Taxation

 * Anson County Tax Lists

Vital Records
Anson County was formed from Bladen County around 1749. The first courthouse was located on the north bank of the Pee Dee River in an area called Mount Pleasant. In 1782, it was decided that the location of the courthouse was unsatisfactory, and a commission was formed to select a more appropriate site. The commission established the county seat in New Town, the first chartered town in Anson County.

The name of the town was later changed from New Town to Wadesboro. We are currently in our sixth courthouse. Through all the years, the moves and the fires, we have managed to keep all our deed records. The first deed recorded in the first book is dated March 25, 1749. Our marriage records, sadly, are a different story. Except for a few marriage bonds and a list of marriages gleaned from other sources, our early marriage records did not survive the courthouse fire of 1868. Our current marriage records start after this date. North Carolina did not require counties to maintain copies of birth and death records until late 1913, so our records for births and deaths date from October 1913 foward. Wills are kept in the office of the Clerk of Court.

The Anson County Register of Deeds office is located at 101 S. Greene St., Suite 131, Wadesboro, NC. Our office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. We observe legal holidays at the direction of the Board of County Commissioners. Two hour parking is available on the street. We are a small but very busy office ,and our work space is limited. We often have attorneys, paralegals, real estate agents, appraisers, geneologist, etc. using the office at the same time. We ask that each person be considerate of others working and doing research in the office, and help us provide an atmosphere in which we can all work. If you have any questions, call us at 704-994-3208. We look foward to seeing you in Anson County.


 * Anson County Registery of Deeds
 * Anson County Marriages from the USGenWeb Archives


 * GenWed has marriages for Anson County as early as 1825. They are abstracts from various sources.
 * Anson County Bastardy Bonds - Betty Camin's online database covers 1870-1903

Yearbooks

 * Anson County students at NC colleges - a list via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

 * NCGenWeb: Anson County - free genealogy resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project
 * Anson County USGenWeb Archives
 * Anson County USGenWeb Archives