Chatham County, North Carolina Genealogy

United States   North Carolina    Chatham County

History
The bill for establishing Chatham County was introduced in the Colonial Assembly, held at New Berne, December 5, 1770. But the bill was not ratified until January 26, 1771 and became effective the first day of April in 1771. The county was named for the first Earl of Chatham - William Pitt, 1708-1778). According to history, the Earl of Chatham was a true believer in the right of America and defended these rights in the British Parliament. Perhaps that zeal of patriotism transmitted itself to the inhabitants of Chatham County, because the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions struck the customary extolling of the King and his titles, in 1773, long before the first shot rang out in New England. Even though Chatham was a Crown Province of North Carolina until statehood was established on July 4, 1776. The county seat of Pittsboro was named for William Pitt, the younger, who was the youngest prime minister of Great Britain. He was 24 years of age, at the time. Chatham was created from Orange County whose area was ten times what it is now. Because of political factions and difficulty in holding court and recording documents, the distance being so great, the counties of Guilford, Wake and Surry were created at the same time as Chatham. As a deterent to the meeting and assembly of these factions and to facilitate the governing of them. Chatham is in the center of the state, in the hilly, timber covered section of the state. The counties that are neighbors are: Almance, Durham, Harnett, Lee, Moore, Orange, Randolph and Wake.

Parent County
1770--Chatham County was created 5 December 1770 from Orange County. County seat: Pittsboro

Record Loss
Many court records missing.

Neighboring Counties

 * Alamance
 * Durham
 * Harnett
 * Lee
 * Moore
 * Orange
 * Randolph
 * Wake

Cemeteries

 * Buckhorn Methodist Church Cemetery
 * Asbury Methodist Church Cemetery
 * Center Grove Cemetery
 * Fall Creek Church Cemetery
 * Ebenezer Methodist Church Cemetery
 * Bell's Baptist Church Cemetery
 * Martha's Chapel Church Cemetery
 * Mt. Zion Methodist Church Cemetery
 * Tick Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
 * Rives Chapel Church Cemetery
 * Meronies Methodist Cemetery
 * Antioch Christian Church Cemetery
 * Bell-Clark Cemetery
 * Dowdy Family Cemetery
 * Mays Chapel Cemetery

Church

 * List of Chatham County Churches

Court
Chatham County Courthouse Clerk of Superior Court (Wills &amp; Estates) ADDRESS: P.O. Box, 369, (12 East St.) Pittsboro, NC 27312 Phone No. (919) 542-3240

Certified copies of documents are $2.00 for the first page, .25 for additional pages. Uncertified copies are $1.00 for the first page and .25 for additional pages.

Land
Courthouse Annex - Register of Deeds P.O. Box 756, Pittsboro, NC 27312 Ph. No. (919) 542-8235

Chatham County deed records are indexed and copies of the actual documents are available online starting from 1771.

Access to Chatham County Deeds Online Search

Probate
Copies of wills and estate records can be obtained from the Register of Deeds Office. Information on fees are available on their website:

Chatham County Courthouse Annex 12 East Street P.O. Box 756 Pittsboro, NC 27312 (919) 542-8235

The following links will take you to an Index to Chatham County Wills and Estate Records:


 * Estate Records-Vol. 1, 1821-1836
 * Wills &amp; Estates 1782-1794
 * Wills &amp; Estates 1795-1799
 * Wills &amp; Estates 1798-1819
 * Wills &amp; Estates 1818-1833
 * Wills &amp; Estates 1834-1857
 * Wills &amp; Estates 1856-1868
 * Index to Estates 1800-1812
 * Index to Estates 1812-1822
 * Index to Estates 1847-1850

The Following links will take you to a series of Wills that have been abstracted:


 * Surnames A-B
 * Surnames C-D
 * Surnames E- F- G
 * Surnames H- J- K
 * Surnames L- M- N
 * Surnames O- P- Q- R
 * Surnames S
 * Surnames T- V
 * Surnames W- Y- Z

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb Project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Chatham County NCGenWeb Project
 * Chatham County USGenWeb Archives