Pitt County, North Carolina Genealogy

United States   North Carolina    Pitt County

History
Pitt was formed in 1760 from Beaufort County. The act was to become effective January 1, 1761. It was named for William Pitt the Elder, who was then Secretary of State for the Southern Department and Leader of the House of Commons. William Pitt was an English statesman and orator, born in London, England. He studied at Oxford University and in 1731, Pitt joined the army. Pitt led the young "Patriot" Whigs and in 1756 became secretary of state, where he was a pro-freedom speaker in British Colonial government. Pitt County is in the eastern part of North Carolina and is surrounded by Beaufort, Craven, Edgecombe, Greene, Lenoir, Martin, and Wilson counties. Courts were first held at the home of John Hardy until a courthouse could be built. The courthouse was built on Hardy's land near Hardy's Chapel. In 1771 Martinsboro was established, and in 1774 the courthouse was moved there. In 1787 Martinsboro's name was changed to Greenville, which is still the county seat.

Parent County
1760--Pitt County was created from Beaufort County. County seat: Greenville

Record Loss
1857--Courthouse fire destroyed most of the court records.

Neighboring Counties

 * Beaufort
 * Craven
 * Edgecombe
 * Greene
 * Lenoir
 * Martin
 * Wilson

Court
Following are a listing of transcribed Court Records for Pitt County:


 * Pitt County Court Records
 * Pitt County Supreme Court Records

A listing of Pitt County Records available at the North Carolina State Archives

Land
Pitt County Register of Deeds 100 West Third Street PO Box 35 Greenville, NC 27858-1806 Telephone: (252) 902-1650

This office records land documents including deeds, deeds of trust, subdivision maps, leases, easements, assignments, agreements, deeds of trust cancellations, corporate documents, assumed names, and files Uniform Commercial Code financing statements on personal property. This office also serves as the custodian of certificates of births and deaths occurring in the County, issues marriage licenses, and certifies birth, death, and marriage certificates in the County. Veterans' military discharge records and notary public commissions are also kept here, and this office administers the oath to all notaries public. Recording fees and fees for certificates are charged.

A number of Deeds have been transcribed; click onto the Pitt County, NC Archives to view these records.

Local Histories

 * Emily Loftin Collection
 * Simpson-Bryan Collection
 * Historic Places in Pitt County- included in National Register of Historical Places
 * Pitt County Biographies

Maps

 * Pitt County Townships
 * 1895 Pitt County
 * 1770 John Collett Map
 * Formation of North Carolina Counties Map
 * Pitt County from NC Digital Maps Collection

Civil War
Civil War Confederate units - Brief history, counties where recruited, etc.

Probate
The Clerk of Superior Court is elected for four years and must be a resident of the county in which he or she is elected. Unlike clerks of court in other states, the Clerk of Superior Court in North Carolina has numerous judicial functions.

As judge of probate, the Clerk has exclusive original jurisdiction over matters relating to the probate of wills, and the administration of estates, including appointing personal representatives, auditing their accounting, and removing them from office if necessary. The Clerk also presides over many other legal matters including adoptions, incompetency proceedings, condemnation of private lands for public use, and foreclosures. The Clerk is responsible for all clerical and record-keeping functions of the district and superior court. In addition, the Clerk receives and disburses money collected each year from court fees and fines.

Pitt County Courthouse 100 W Third St Greenville, NC 27835

Mailing Address: PO Box 6067 Greenville, NC 27835

Clerk of the Superior Court (252) 695-7100

A number of Wills and Estate Records have been transcribed, they can be viewed at thePitt County, NC Archives

Yearbooks

 * East Carolina University: 1923-1979
 * Pitt County students from NC colleges - via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index

Web Sites

 * NCGenWeb: Pitt County - part of the USGenWeb Project
 * Pitt County at Our Family Tree