Davidson County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Davidson County is located in the Central portion of North Carolina and was named for William Lee Davidson, a Revolutionary War general.

County Courthouse
Davidson County Courthouse P O Box 464 Lexington, NC 27293 Phone: 336-242-2150 Register of Deeds has birth, marriage, death and burial land records from 1823 Clerk Superio Court has divorce probate and court records from 1823

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cemeteries

 * at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images Also at: Ancestry ($)

Church Records

 * 1700-1970 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Baptist


 * Abbott's Creek Established 1753. Originally located in Rowan.
 * Jersey. Minute book (1784-1797) available online. Records (1784-1964) available on microfilm at the University of NC Davis Library (1-1414 reel1-4).
 * Lick Creek Established 1787.

German Reformed


 * Beck's Church, near Lexington, N.C. Established about 1765.
 * Beulah (Sauers) Reformed Church Established 1788.
 * Pilgrim Church, near Lexington, N.C. Also known as Leonhardt's (Leonard's) Church. Established about 1757. Originally located in Rowan. Baptisms from 1757-1845 are included in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch.

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Bethany Church of Christ Established during the 18th century as a Lutheran Church.
 * FamilySearch Places

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

 * 1862-1870   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1863-1872   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
Revolutionary War 
 * 1778-1833 Delamar Transcripts of Revolutionary War Petitions at North Carolina Genealogical Society - index ($)
 * 1779-1782 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Civil War 

Online Records


 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1885-1953 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1885 and 1901 1885 and 1901 Confederate Pension Applications at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images


 * - 10th Battalion, North Carolina Heavy Artillery, Company A
 * - 14th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, formerly the 4th Volunteers, Company B
 * - 14th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, formerly the 4th Volunteers, Company I
 * - 1st Brigade, North Carolina Reserves, Company C
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company C
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company C
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company G
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company I

World War I 
 * 1914-1918 World War I Papers at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
 * 1917-1919 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

World War II 
 * 1939-1945 World Ward II Papers at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
 * 1940-1948 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Newspapers

 * North Carolina Newspapers at DigitalNC

Obituaries
The Davidson County Public Library offers the following obituary indexes:


 * 1888-1948
 * 1951-1975
 * 1976-2000
 * 2001-2009

Other Records
Voter Registration
 * 1868-1898 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1660-1790 - North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry $
 * 1663-1979 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1663-1789 Secretary of State Wills at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
 * 1665-1998 - North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998 at Ancestry $
 * 1720-1960  at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1735-1970 - at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1760-1800 - North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry $
 * 1823-1963 -  at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Vital Records

 * 1800-2000 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1867-2006 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at: North Carolina Davidson County Vital Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Birth

 * 1800-2000 - at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1866-1964 - at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1913-1922 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Marriage

 * 1741-2004 - North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast
 * 1741-2004 - North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1759-1979 - at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1762-1979 -  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1763-1868 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1822-1893 - Davidson County Marriage Index 1822-1893 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch.

Death

 * 1898-1994 - at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1906-1930 - at FamilySearch.org  - How to Use this Collection;index and images  Also at:  MyHeritage ($)
 * 1908-2004 - North Carolina Death Indexes 1908-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1909-1975 - North Carolina Death Certificates 1909-1975 at Ancestry $
 * 1931-1994 - at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Divorce

 * 1926-1975 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1958-2004 - North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry $

Museums

 * Davidson County Historical Museum Old Courthouse on the Square 2 South Main Street Lexington NC 27292 Fax: 336-242-2871 Website

Societies

 * Davidson Historical Society Post Office Box 144 Davidson, NC 28036 704-892-6022 E-mail: [mailto:DavidsonHistoricalSociety@gmail.com DavidsonHistoricalSociety@gmail.com] Website


 * Genealogical Society of Davidson County PO Box 1665 Lexington, NC 27293 (336) 242-2935 Email: [mailto:gsdc1980@yahoo.com gsdc1980@yahoo.com] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Davidson County, NCGenWeb genealogy resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.
 * Piedmont Trails - This website has a personal collection of the area filled with surnames, historical events, maps and genealogical references.