Washington County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Washington County Courthouse 120 Adams Street Plymouth, NC 27962 Phone: 252-793-2325 Courthouse burned 1862, 1869 - 1873 register of Deeds has birth and death records from 1913 marriage recrods  from 1851 and land records from 1799 Clerk Superopr Court has divoce recrods from 1871 probate and court records from 1873

Register of Deeds PO Box 1007 Plymouth, NC 27962 Phone: 252-793-2325 Fax: 252-793-6982 Website

Clerk Superior Court PO Box 901 Plymouth, NC 27962 Phone: (252) 791-4000

History
Washington County was formed in 1799 from the western third of Tyrrell County. It was named for George Washington.

Parent County
1799--Washington County was created from Tyrrell County. County seat: Plymouth

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
1862--Courthouse destroyed in Federal bombardment. 1869,1881--Fires have destroyed most of the court records and many of the land records.

Populated Places

 * Creswell
 * Plymouth
 * Roper

Neighboring Counties

 * Beaufort
 * Bertie
 * Chowan
 * Hyde
 * Martin
 * Tyrrell

Baptist

 * Morattuck. Established by 1785.

Church of England

 * Skinners Chapel aka Rehoboth Church. Established about 1735. Now a United Methodist Church.

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


 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 17th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry (1st Organization), Company H
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Artillery 10th Regiment Volunteers-1st Artillery, Company K
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company G
 * - 41st Regiment Volunteers - 3rd Cavalry, Company K

Civil War Battles
The following Civil War battles were fought in Washington County:


 * April 17-20, 1864 = Plymouth
 * May 5, 1864 = Albemarle Sound


 * Map showing Civil War battles in North Carolina.

World War I

 * 1917 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * 1940 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
The Roanoake Beacon is the primary newspaper for Washington County.


 * Abstracts from Roanoke Beacon Newspaper Plymouth, Washington County, N.C. – located at the Haas/Davenport Homepage. Covers the year 1889.
 * Roanoke Beacon Index - ongoing project to index back issues of the paper. Covers late 1880s to early 1900s.
 * More newspapers information - on the Washington County, NCGenWeb site

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
 * 1872 - 1967 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

Vital Records
Uncertified copies of vital records can be ordered from the Washington County Register of Deeds for a low fee. Visit their website for more information.

Births

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

Marriages

 * 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 - 1920 - Marriage Licenses of Washington County, North Carolina 1851-1920. According to the information on the site no marriage licenses exist for Washington County until the year 1880. The source of all marriage records prior to that year is marriage registers. There are two marriage registers, one of several volumes that contains marriages from 1851 to the present. There is also a marriage register that records acknowledgements of Freedmen's marriages from 1866 to 1868 and "a record of colored marriages" from 8 March, 1867 to 6 June 1872. The Freedmen's Register records slave marriages legalized after the Civil War between 1866 and 1868. Some of these marriages occurred 40 years before the Civil War. The record tells how long each couple has cohabited.  Can be searched by name of either male or female.
 * 1851 - 1967 - Washington County Marriage Index 1851-1967 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1880s - Marriages reported in the Roanoke Beacon Newspaper - late 1880s - list of names in news reports of marriages. NCGenWeb

Deaths

 * 1898 - 1994 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 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
 * NCGenWeb: Washington County - Deaths/Obits  - check the NCGenWeb page for resources on locating death &amp; obituary records for Washington County residents. There are numerous records available for a wide range of time periods.

Divorce

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

Yearbooks

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

Societies and Libraries
Washington County Genealogical Society PO Box 567 Plymouth 27619-0567
 * Pettigrew Regional Library System: Washington County - handles information &amp; library needs of several counties in the area, including Washington County.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Websites

 * Washington County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * NCGenWeb project - variety of information relevant to Washington County.