Anson County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Anson County Courthouse N Green Street P O Box 352 Wadesboro, NC 28170 Phone: 704-994-3201

Death &amp; Register of Deeds has birth records from 1913 marriage records from 1869 and land records Clerk Superior Court has divorce from 1868 Probate records from 1750 &amp; court records from 1770 Anson County Register of Deeds 101 S. Greene Street, Suite 131 Wadesboro, NC 28170 Telephone: 704-994-3208 Fax: 704-694-5874 Website  Clerk of Superior Court PO Box 1064 Wadesboro, NC 28170 Telephone: (704) 994-3800

History
"The county was formed in 1750 from Bladen County. It was named for George Anson, Baron Anson, a British admiral, who circumnavigated the globe from 1740 to 1744, and later became First Lord of the Admiralty. Like its parent county, Anson County was originally a vast territory with indefinite northern and western boundaries. Reductions in its extent began in 1753, when the northern part of it became Rowan County. In 1762 the western part of Anson County became Mecklenburg County. In 1779 the northern part of what remained of Anson County became Montgomery County, and the part east of the Pee Dee River became Richmond County. Finally, in 1842 the western part of Anson County was combined with the southeastern part of Mecklenburg County to become Union County." Anson County was named in honor of British Admiral Lord George Anson, a First Lord of the Admiralty. He commanded the vessel which brought Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Germany, to her future husband King George III. Germans to the area around Anson County, as did many settlers from the British Isles, Africa, and Moravia. In 1750 Anson County was formed from Bladen County. At that time, it reached all the way to the Mississippi River. Although it has been cut in physical size five times since then, the people of that county have enabled its presence to reach beyond the Mississippi to the far corners of the world.

Parent County
1749--Anson County was created 17 March 1749 from Bladen County. County seat: Wadesboro

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
1868--A courthouse fire destroyed many records.

Retired North Carolina State Archivist Thornton Mitchell's article can help you discover your Anson County ancestors despite record loss:


 * Mitchell, Thornton W. "Problems of Anson County Records," The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, Vol. 15, No. 2 (May 1989):66-68..

Neighboring Counties

 * Chesterfield County, South Carolina
 * Marlboro County, South Carolina
 * Montgomery
 * Richmond
 * Stanly
 * Union

Church Records

 * Anson County Churches

Baptist

 * Beaverdam. Constituted 1790.
 * Cartledge Creek aka Dockery's Meeting House, near Rockingham, N.C. Organized about 1774. Currently located in Richmond County.
 * Fork of Little River. Church built 1758. Later located in Montgomery County.
 * Hitchcock. Constituted 1772. Edwards published a membership list dated 1772 in Materials Towards a History of the Baptists... (1772), 128. Later located in Richmond County.
 * Pee Dee River. Constituted 1785.
 * Rocky River, Burnsville, N.C. Began before 1772.

Church of England

 * St. George's Parish. Established 1749.

General

 * Anson County Heritage, North Carolina, 1995. Wadesboro, N.C.: Don Mills &amp; Anson County Heritage Book Committee, 1995..

Land
Anson County land and deed records may be obtained through the local Register of Deeds or through the North Carolina State Archives for older records. Contact the Registry's office at the below address, and also click onto the link to get further details about the office:

Anson County Register of Deeds 101 S. Greene Street, Suite 131 Wadesboro, NC 28170 704-994-3208

There are a number of transcribed Deed Records at the following:


 * Anson County Deeds

Military

 * Anson County Military Records

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


 * - 14th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, formerly the 4th Volunteers, Company C
 * - 1st Brigade, North Carolina Reserves, Company I
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company I
 * - 4th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry (59th North Carolina State Troops), Company A
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company G
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company I

World War I

 * 1917 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * 1940 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Anson Record - full-text digital issues in Google News Archive; covers 1955-1981
 * Anson Record &amp; Messenger Intelligencer - full-text digital issues in Google News Archive; covers 1981-1982
 * Anson County USGenWeb Newspapers
 * North Carolina Newspapers Project -info from the State Library about what kinds of newspaper records are available on microfilm

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
 * Images of Wills & Estates 1751-1779; Book A, 1801-1857; Book B, 1828-1838; Book C, 1837-1841; Book D, 1853-71; Book E, 1873-1903 North Carolina Pioneers ($)

Copies of Wills are available through the County Clerk of the Court or through the North Carolina State Archives.


 * Pre - 1790 - Pre-1790 Wills stored at the North Carolina State Archives are online - free. Website tips.


 * 1751 - 1962 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.


 * 1738 - 1741, 1759 - 1769 - Minutes of the Pleas and Quarter Session Court 1738-1741; 1759-1769 and General Index (information about wills, inventories, sales, orphans, administrators, etc.) North Carolina Pioneers ($)
 * Anson County NC Loose Estates Index, 1663-1979


 * Clerk of Court -  Telephone:  704-694-2314
 * North Carolina State Archives
 * Anson County Wills from the USGenWeb Archives

Taxation

 * 1750 - Quit Rent 1750 (transcript) only includes two names online at USGenWeb Archives
 * 1763 - Tax Lists, Anson County, 1763 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry ($)
 * 1763 - Tax Lists, Anson County, 1763 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1763 - Tax Lists, Anson County, 1763 (images) online at FamilySearch
 * 1815 - Tax Lists, Anson County, 1815 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1815 - Anson-Union County, NC - Tax List, 1815 Partial (transcript) online at USGenWeb Archives
 * 1842-1849 - 1842, 1843, 1845, 1847, 1849 partial tax lists (transcripts) online at USGenWeb Archives

Vital Records
Anson County was formed from Bladen County around 1749. The first courthouse was located on the north bank of the Pee Dee River in an area called Mount Pleasant. In 1782, it was decided that the location of the courthouse was unsatisfactory, and a commission was formed to select a more appropriate site. The commission established the county seat in New Town, the first chartered town in Anson County.

The name of the town was later changed from New Town to Wadesboro. We are currently in our sixth courthouse. Through all the years, the moves and the fires, we have managed to keep all our deed records. The first deed recorded in the first book is dated March 25, 1749. Our marriage records, sadly, are a different story. Except for a few marriage bonds and a list of marriages gleaned from other sources, our early marriage records did not survive the courthouse fire of 1868. Our current marriage records start after this date. North Carolina did not require counties to maintain copies of birth and death records until late 1913, so our records for births and deaths date from October 1913 forward. Wills are kept in the office of the Clerk of Court.

The Anson County Register of Deeds office is located at 101 S. Greene St., Suite 131, Wadesboro, NC. Our office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. We observe legal holidays at the direction of the Board of County Commissioners. Two hour parking is available on the street. We are a small but very busy office ,and our work space is limited. We often have attorneys, paralegals, real estate agents, appraisers, genealogists, etc. using the office at the same time. We ask that each person be considerate of others working and doing research in the office, and help us provide an atmosphere in which we can all work. If you have any questions, call us at 704-994-3208. We look foward to seeing you in Anson County.


 * Anson County Registry of Deeds

Birth

 * 1870 - 1962 - Anson County Birth Index 1870-1962. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1870 - 1903 - Anson County Bastardy Bonds - Betty Camin's online database covers 1870-1903
 * 1800 - 2000 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1866 - 1964 - at FamilySearch.org — index

Death

 * 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

Divorce

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

Marriage

 * 1741 - 2004 - North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1749 - 1979 - Anson County Marriage Index 1749-1979 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1825 - Anson County Marriages from the USGenWeb Archives
 * GenWed has marriages for Anson County as early as 1825. They are abstracts from various sources.
 * 1763 - 1868 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1762 - 1979 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1759 - 1979 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1741 - 2004 - North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry.com — index $

Yearbooks

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

Societies and Libraries
Anson County Historical Society 206 East Wade Street Wadesboro, NC 28170-2229 Website

Websites

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