Craven County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Craven County is located in the eastern portion of North Carolina and was named in honor of the Earl of Craven to whom King Charles II granted tracts of land in the New World called "Carolina".

County Courthouse
Craven County Courthouse 406 Craven Street New Bern, NC 28560 Phone: 252-636-6617 Craven County Website Register of Deeds has birth and death from 1914, marriage and land records from 1700. Clerk Superior Court has divorce records from 1915. City Clerk has burial records.

Populated Places

 * Bridgeton (2001 population: 201)
 * Cove City (2001 population: 425)
 * Dover (2001 population: 443)
 * Havelock (2001 population: 22,463)
 * New Bern (2001 population: 23,415)
 * River Bend (2001 population: 2,918)
 * Trent Woods (2001 population: 4,186)
 * Vanceboro (2001 population: 892)

History Timeline
Craven County one of three counties (Albemarle and Clarendon being the others) set up in 1664 by the Lords Proprietors of Carolina. Its territory embraced what later became South Carolina. Craven County was established in 1705 as Archdale Precinct of Bath County, although there is evidence that an Archdale County existed as early as 1696. The name was changed to Craven County about 1712. Craven County included the Ashley River settlement known as Charles Town (Charleston, South Carolina).

Cemeteries

 * at FamilySearch
 * Craven County, North Carolina Cemeteries, by the Eastern NC Genealogical Society. Index to Volume 2

Census Records

 * Craven County census records (NCGenWeb)

Church Records

 * Craven County church records (USGenWeb Archives)

Baptist
 * Coor Creek Constituted 1792.
 * Goose Creek Established 1784.
 * Neuse River Established by 1784.
 * Swift Creek Established 1756. Edwards published a membership list dated 1756 in Materials Towards a History of the Baptists.. (1772), 148-149.

Church of England
 * Craven Parish, New Bern, N.C. Later called Christ Church Parish Established 1715. Official Website.

Court Records

 * Craven County court records (USGenWeb Archives)

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans 
 * Mobley, Joe A. James City, A Black Community in North Carolina, 1863-1900. Raleigh: North Carolina Dept. of Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and History, 1981. FHL 975.6192/J1 H2m 


 * Craven County African American resources (Craven County Public Library)

Land and Property Records

 * Deeds of Craven County (USGenWeb Archives)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Craven County maps. 40+ maps (North Carolina State Library)

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Craven County for European settlers included:


 * Atlantic Ocean
 * King's Highway about 1704
 * Secondary Coast Road late 1730s
 * Jonesboro Road after 1769

Military Records

 * Craven County military records (USGenWeb Archives)

Revolutionary War 
 * 1779-1782  at FamilySearch

Civil War 
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch
 * 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


 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Artillery 10th Regiment Volunteers-1st Artillery, Company B
 * - 1st Regiment, North Carolina Artillery 10th Regiment Volunteers-1st Artillery, Company I
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company F
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company I
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company K
 * - 3rd Regiment, North Carolina Artillery, 1st Company H
 * - 3rd Regiment, North Carolina Artillery, 1st Company K
 * - 41st Regiment Volunteers - 3rd Cavalry, Company E
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company D
 * - 3rd Regiment, North Carolina Artillery, Company F

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


 * March 13-15, 1863 Fort Anderson, also known as Deep Gully
 * March 14, 1865 New Berne
 * Map showing Civil War battles in North Carolina.

World War I 
 * 1917-1919  at FamilySearch

Newspapers
The first newspaper in North Carolina was published in New Bern, N.C., by James Davis in 1751. The North Carolina State Archives has microfilmed copies of many New Bern newspapers. A list of North Carolina Newspapers, including Craven County can be found at the North Carolina Newspaper Index page of the North Carolina Newspaper Project. Craven County newspapers begin on page 37 of the index.


 * The New Bern-Craven County Public Library also has a list of many New Bern newspapers based on the above list from the North Carolina Newspaper Project. That list is available at http://newbern.cpclib.org/research/newspapers.html.
 * North Carolina Newspaper Digitization Project, North Carolina State Archives.Search full text historical newspapers published in New Bern.
 * Craven County newspapers. Listing of newspapers published in the county. (Library of Congress)


 * 1799-1893 Craven County marriages are included in Carrie Broughton's 6-volume index of the Raleigh Register &amp; State Gazette newspaper (1799-1893). Marriages are listed by year and PDF files are searchable. Available on the North Carolina Digital Collections
 * Craven County deaths. County area deaths reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.

Obituaries

 * 1751-Present An Obituaries index for obituaries listed in New Bern newspapers from 1751 to the present (not complete) is available at the Kellenberger Room of the New Bern-Craven County Public Library.
 * Craven County transcribed obituaries (USGenWeb Archives)

Other Records
County Records
 * 1833-1970  at FamilySearch

Probate Records
Online Probate Records
 * 1660-1790 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry $
 * 1663-1979  at FamilySearch
 * 1665-1998 North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998 at Ancestry $
 * 1700-1949 Craven County North Carolina list of will book testators SAMPUBCO
 * 1735-1970  at FamilySearch
 * 1736-1960  at FamilySearch
 * 1760-1800 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry $
 * Pre-1790 Pre-1790 Craven County, North Carolina Genealogy Wills (North Carolina State Archives)
 * Craven County Wills &amp; Estate records (USGenweb Archives)
 * North Carolina Probate Records tips.

Tax Records

 * 1719 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1719 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry $
 * 1719 Tax Lists, Craven Precinct, 1719 (transcript) online at New Bern-Craven County Public Library
 * 1720 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1720 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry $
 * 1720 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1720 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1720 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1720 (images) online at FamilySearch
 * 1741 Inhabitants of New Bern, 1741 (transcript) online at New Bern-Craven County Public Library
 * 1769 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1769 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry $
 * 1769 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1769 (transcript) online at New Bern-Craven County Public Library
 * 1769 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1769 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1769 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1769 (images) online at FamilySearch
 * 1779 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1779 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry $
 * 1779 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1779 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1779 1779 Craven County Tax List, Two Districts (transcript) online at FamilySearch
 * 1779 Tax Lists, New Bern District, 1779 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry $
 * 1779 Tax Lists, New Bern District, 1779 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1779 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1779, Four Districts (transcript) online at USGenWeb Archives (Wayback Machine)
 * 1785 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1785 partial (transcript) online at New Bern-Craven County Public Library
 * 1815 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1815 (transcript) online at New Bern-Craven County Public Library
 * 1815 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1815 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1816 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1816 Federal Direct Tax Delinquents (transcript) online at New Bern-Craven County Public Library
 * 1816 Tax Lists, Craven County, 1816 Federal Direct Tax Delinquents (transcript) online at USGenWeb Archives (Wayback Machine)
 * 1816-1819 New Bern, North Carolina, Taxable Property, 1816-1819 (images) online at FamilySearch

Vital Records
An online index for birth and death records from 1913 is available at Register of Deeds. Uncertified copies can be ordered for a small fee. Please see Register of Deeds website for more information.

Birth

 * 1800-2000  at FamilySearch
 * 1866-1964  at FamilySearch

Marriage

 * 1741-2004 North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast
 * 1741-2004 North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1759-1979  at FamilySearch
 * 1762-1979   at FamilySearch
 * 1763-1868  at FamilySearch
 * 1858-Present Marriage registers from 1858 to the present and marriage licenses from 1904 to the present are available at the  Register of Deeds Office.
 * 1892-1930 Craven County Marriage Index 1892-1930 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch.
 * Craven County Marriage Bonds (NCGenWeb)

Death

 * 1898-1994  at FamilySearch
 * 1906-1930  at FamilySearch
 * 1908-2004 North Carolina Death Indexes 1908-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1909-1975 North Carolina Death Certificates 1909-1975 at Ancestry $
 * 1931-1994  at FamilySearch

Divorce

 * 1926-1975  at FamilySearch
 * 1958-2004 North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry $

Family History Centers

 * New Bern North Carolina Family History Center

Libraries

 * New Bern-Craven County Public Library Website Kellenberger Room
 * Godwin Memorial Library Craven Community College Website

Societies

 * Craven County Genealogical Society PO Box 1344 New Bern, NC 28563-1344 Website
 * New Bern Historical Society Website
 * Family History Society of Eastern North Carolina Website

Websites

 * Craven 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.