Buncombe County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Buncombe County is located in the Western portion of North Carolina and was named for Edward Buncombe, a Revolutionary War colonel.

County Courthouse
Buncombe County Courthouse 69 Court Plaza Run 110 Asheville, NC 28801-3519 Court house burned 1830-1835 Reg of Deeds has b, m, d. bur &amp; land records Clk Sup Ct has div &amp; pro rec from 1832 &amp; Ct Rec  Register of Deeds 35 Woodfin Street Asheville, NC 28801 Telephone: 828-250-4315 Fax: 828.250.4338 Website  Clerk of Superior Court 60 Court Plaza Asheville, NC 28801-3519 Telephone: (828) 259-3400

Parent County
1791--Buncombe County was created 5 December 1791 from Burke and Rutherford Counties. County seat: Asheville

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
1830, 1865--The courthouse fires destroyed many court records.

Neighboring Counties

 * Haywood
 * Henderson
 * Madison
 * McDowell
 * Rutherford
 * Transylvania
 * Yancey

Cemeteries

 * Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery, Black Mountain

Baptist

 * French Broad River, near Mills River, N.C. Organized before 1792. Later located in Henderson County.

County Records

 * 1833-1970 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Court
Civil action papers, 1808-1889. (Free) Browse online at FamilySearch Historical Collections.

Education

 * Black Mountain College collection - repository of publications and records of the college. Available via the North Carolina Digital Collections website.
 * Montreat College Yearbooks: 1925-1959 -- free at the Internet Archive


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

Family Histories

 * Gash Rising, Marsha Hoffman. "The Gash Family of Buncombe County, North Carolina: Who Was Ebenezer Gash of St. Clair County, Missouri?," The American Genealogist, Vol. 73, No. 2 (Apr. 1998):105-116 Digital Version

Land Records
Land records in Buncombe County are searchable and the deeds are available online at the Register of Deeds Website

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.
 * -11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company K
 * - 14th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, formerly the 4th Volunteers, Company F :- 16th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company F
 * - 1st Battalion, North Carolina Junior Reserves. Company A
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company G
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company G
 * - 7th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company B
 * - 7th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company C
 * - 7th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company F
 * - 7th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company I :- 7th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company K

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
 * 1831 - 1961 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
 * Images of Wills & Estates, Book A 1831-1866; Book B, 1869-1899; Book C, 1867-1897. North Carolina Pioneers ($)
 * Images of Wills & Estates, Book A 1764-1921; Book B, 1908-1924; Book C, 1924-1954. North Carolina Pioneers ($)

Births

 * 1800 - 2000 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1866 - 1964 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1892 - 1909 - Asheville, Buncombe County Birth Index 1892-1909. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriages

 * 1741 - 2004 - North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 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
 * 1851 - 1961 - Buncombe County Marriage Index 1851-1961 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Deaths

 * 1898 - 1909 - Asheville, Buncombe County Death Index 1898-1909. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 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

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

Societies and Libraries
Buncombe County, North Carolina Genealogical Society 128 Bingham Road, Suite 950 Asheville, North Carolina 28836 Telephone Number: 828-253-1894 website

Family History Centers

 * Asheville North Carolina Family History Center

Websites

 * Buncombe County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * Asheville and Buncombe County Weblog
 * Buncombe County NC GenWeb
 * Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society