Burke County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Burke County is located in the Western portion of North Carolina and was named for Thomas Burke, delegate to the Continental Congress and governor of the state 1781-1782.

County Courthouse
Burke County, North Carolina 201 S Green Street P O Box 219 Morganton, NC 28680 Phone: 828-438-5450 Register of Deeds has birth and death records from 1913 marriage, land and military discharge records from 1865; Clerk Superior Court has divorce, probate and court records from 1865  Register of Deeds PO Box 219 Morganton, NC 28680-0219 Telephone: 828-438-5451 Fax: 828-438-5463  Clerk of Superior Court PO Box 796 Morganton, NC 28680 Telehone: (828) 433-3200

Parent County
1777--Burke County was created 8 April 1777 from Rowan County. County seat: Morganton

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
1865--Many court records and most land records burned by Federal troops.

Former Burke County Genealogical Society President Betsy Pittman's article can help you discover your Burke County ancestors despite record loss, see:


 * Pittman, Betsy Dodd. "Burke County 'Bypasses,'" The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, Vol. 15, No. 2 (May 1989):68-72..

Neighboring Counties

 * Avery
 * Caldwell
 * Catawba
 * Cleveland
 * Lincoln
 * Mcdowell
 * Rutherford

Census

 * Census records on the NCGenWeb Archives

Baptist

 * Catawbo River. Constituted 1785.

County Records

 * 1833-1970 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Court

 * Burke County court records at the NCGenWeb Archives

Education

 * Book: The North Carolina School for the Deaf at Morganton, 1894-1944 (1945) - free online
 * Burke County students at NC colleges - list via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index

Genealogy

 * Plumlee Plumlee, Robert D. The Plumlee Family. Clearwater, Fla.: Plumlee Systems, Inc., 1969, 1979. Digital version at - free.

Land

 * Deeds 1855-1985 -- Search on the Burke County Register of Deeds website
 * Deeds of Burke County -- NCGenWeb Archives

Local Histories

 * Book: Catawba Valley and highlands : Burke County, Western North Carolina (1896) - via the Internet Archive

Maps

 * Burke County Maps - via NC Maps Digital Collection

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


 * Old Cherokee Path pre-historic
 * Jonesboro Road 1769
 * Rutherford's War Trace 1776

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


 * -1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, usually known as the Bethel Regiment.
 * -6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * -11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company B
 * - 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company D
 * - 16th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company E
 * - 41st Regiment Volunteers - 3rd Cavalry, Company F
 * - 5th Battalion, North Carolina Cavalry, Company C
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company F
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company I
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company D
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company E
 * - 8th Battalion, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company C

World War I

 * 1917 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * 1940 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Burke county newspapers - a listing of newspapers published in the county &amp; libraries that hold them; via the Library of Congress.
 * Burke County residents in the newspaper - name listing of people from the county as located in misc. newspaper articles; time span varies. Articles indexed in the NC People in the Papers database.
 * North Carolina Newspaper Digitization Project - contains full-text papers from 1752-1890s. Search for your Burke 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.
 * 1793 - 1963 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
 * Images of Wills and Estates 1793-1869. North Carolina Pioneers ($)
 * Images of Wills & Estates, Book A (1764-1921); Book B, (1908-1924); Book C, (1924-1954) North Carolina Pioneers ($)

Births

 * Burke County Births - search on the website of the Burke County Register of Deeds
 * 1800 - 2000 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1866 - 1964 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1886 - 1964 - North Carolina Births and Christenings, 1866-1964 - search this name index to birth, baptism and christening records from the state; via FamilySearch

Marriages

 * 1741 - 2004 - North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1799 - 1893 - Burke 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.
 * 1774 - 1854 - Burke County Marriages 1774-1854 North Carolina Pioneers
 * 1867 - 1939 - Burke County Marriage Index 1867-1939. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * Burke County Marriages - search on the website of the Burke County Register of Deeds


 * To 1799 - North Carolina Marriages to 1799, a database, available to members North Carolina Pioneers
 * 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

Deaths

 * Burke County Deaths - search on the website of the Burke County Register of Deeds
 * Deaths of Burke County - list of county area deaths reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.
 * 1898 - 1994 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 1906 - 1930 - North Carolina Death Certificates, 1906-1930 - search a statewide collection of freely available death certificates - images are included; via FamilySearch
 * 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

 * 1926 - 1975 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1958 - 2004 - North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry.com — index $

Societies and Libraries
Burke County Genealogical Society PO Box 661 Morganton, NC 28680-0661 Website membership is required

Burke County Historical Society PO Box 151 Morganton, NC 28680-0151 website


 * Burke County Public Library

Family History Centers

 * Hickory North Carolina Family History Center
 * Morganton North Carolina Family History Center

Websites

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