Jones County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Jones County Courthouse P O Box 189 Trenton NC 28585 Phone: 252-447-2551

Courthouse burned 1862 Register of Deeds has birth and death records from 1913 marriage records from 1850, land records from 1779 and military discharge records; Clerk Court has probate records from 1779, Court and divorce records

Jones County was created from Craven Count 14 Apr 1778

Register of Deeds P.O. Box 189 Trenton, NC 28585 Phone: 252-448-2551 Fax: 252-448-1357 Website

Clerk Superior Court P.O. Box 280 Trenton, NC 28585 Phone: (252) 448-6220

History
Jones County, North Carolina was established in 1778 or 1779 (sources differ). The county was named after Willie Jones, who was a planter, slave owner, and Revolutionary War figure.

The county seat is Trenton.

Parent County
1778--Jones County was created 14 April 1778 from Craven County. County seat: Trenton

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 was burned during Civil War battle, many court records destroyed. See Jones County list of extant records (NC GenWeb).

Populated Places

 * Chadwick, Combs Fort, Comfort, Debruhls Landing, Hargetts Crossroads, Jones Corner, Maysville, Oak Grove, Olivers, Olivers Crossroads, Perfection, Phillips Crossroads, Pleasant Hill, Pollocks, Pollocksville, Ravenswood, Sassers Mill, Shady Grove, Simmons Corner, Taylors Corner, Tenmile Fork, Trenton, Wise Forks
 * Jones County Post Offices (USPS)

Neighboring Counties

 * Carteret
 * Craven
 * Duplin
 * Lenoir
 * Onslow

General

 * Jones County (NC GenWeb; a list of both original and microfilmed records that are extant)

African American

 * Freedman Bank Records -- individuals from Jones County

Bibles

 * Jones County Bible records (Jones County GenWeb)
 * Jones County Bible records (US GenWeb)

Cemeteries

 * Book: Jones County Cemeteries: Jones County, North Carolina. Compiled by the Heritage Genealogical Society, 2005. – 3 volume set. View the Volume 1 index.

Census

 * 1790 U.S. Census, Jones County, North Carolina (transcription, US GenWeb)
 * 1810 U.S. Census, Jones County, North Carolina (images, US GenWeb Archives)
 * 1850 U.S. Census, Jones County, North Carolina (surname index only, US GenWeb Archives)
 * Census records - Jones County, NCGenWeb

Church

 * Jones County Church Records (US GenWeb Archives)

Baptist

 * Chinquepin Chapel. Established 1781.
 * Trent. Established by 1761.
 * Tuckahoe. Tuckahoe Baptist Church Records, 1865-1873 (Jones County GenWeb)
 * White Oak. Constituted 1795.

Christian

 * Pleasant Hill Christian Church Records, 1858-1896 (Jones County GenWeb)

Court

 * Jones County court records (Jones County, NCGenWeb)
 * Jones County court records (US GenWeb Archives)

Directories

 * North Carolina Business Directories -- directories provide information on area residents. Open the directory and navigate to the county of interest.

Education

 * Jones County students at NC colleges (NCGenWeb Yearbook Index)

Local Histories

 * Aiken, Nancy, Minutes of the Jones County, North Carolina Court of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions, 1826-1841, Heritage Books, 2002. (Google Books link without preview)
 * Gwynn, Zae Hargett, Abstracts of the Records of Jones County, North Carolina, 1779-1868, Vol. 1, self-published, 1963. (Google Books link without preview) (information in Genealogy.com)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 1895 map, Jones County (1895 U.S. Atlas)
 * Jones County (historical maps in North Carolina Maps)
 * Maps (Jones County, NCGenWeb)
 * Map of Jones and Adjacent Counties (Jones County Economic Development Commission)
 * USGS Gazetteer: Jones County

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


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

Military

 * 1890 Veteran's Schedule
 * Military Records (Jones County, NCGenWeb Archives)

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


 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company G
 * - 8th Battalion, North Carolina Cavalry (Partisan Rangers), 1st Company
 * - 8th Battalion, North Carolina Cavalry (Partisan Rangers), 3rd Comppany

World War I

 * 1917 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * 1940 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Native American

 * The Tuscarora Indians (scroll down to bottom of page)

Newspapers

 * Jones County newspapers (List from the Library of Congress of newspapers that have been published in the county. Provides details on libraries that hold back issues.)
 * Jones County, North Carolina Obituaries (Newspaper Obituaries)
 * Jones County Post (current paper, part of the Kinston Free Press)

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 $
 * 1760 - 1964 - Jones County North Carolina list of will book testators SAMPUBCO - Browsable index of testators of wills. - Free
 * 1760 - 1964 - at FamilySearch.org — images
 * 1760 - 1800 - North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Images of Wills & Deeds, Vol. A, 1779-1812; Vol. B, 1813-1868 North Carolina Pioneers ($)

Wills


 * Pre - 1790 - Pre-1790 Wills stored at the North Carolina State Archives are online - free. Website tips.
 * Jones County Index to Estate Records (Jones County GenWeb)
 * Jones County Individual Wills (Jones County GenWeb)
 * Jones County Wills and Estates (US GenWeb Archives)

Schools
See Education

Taxation

 * 1769 - Tax Lists, Jones County, 1769 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry ($)
 * 1779 - Tax Lists, Jones County, 1779 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry ($)
 * 1779 - Tax Lists, Jones County, 1779 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1779 - Tax List, Jones County, 1779 (images) 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
 * 1816 Tax Delinquents, Fourth Collection District of North Carolina (New Bern-Craven Public Library)
 * Jones County Tax Lists (NCGenWeb Archives)

Vital Records
Uncertified copies of birth, marriage and death certificates can be ordered for 25 cents each from the Jones County Register of Deeds. See their website for more information.

Births

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

Marriages

 * 1741 - 2004 - North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1851 - 1964 - Jones County Marriage Index 1851-1964 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * Jones County Marriage Records (GenWed)
 * 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

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

Divorce

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

Societies and Libraries
Heritage Genealogical Society PO Box 6204 Kinston, NC 28501 Website


 * Neuse Regional Library, Kinston, North Carolina ("serving Lenoir, Greene &amp; Jones Counties")

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Websites

 * Jones County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * County History (Jones County Gov't)
 * A History of Jones County
 * Jones County Genealogy (North Carolina Genealogy)
 * Jones County Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Jones County, NC (RootsWeb)
 * Jones County, NCGenWeb (free genealogy resources; part of the USGenWeb Project)
 * Jones County, North Carolina (ePodunk)
 * Jones County, North Carolina (Wikipedia)
 * Jones County, North Carolina Genealogy Trails
 * Jones County, North Carolina Register of Deeds | Genealogy Page
 * Jones County, North Carolina Register of Deeds | Genealogy Page