Pitt County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Pitt County Courthouse W 3rd St P O Box 35 Greenville, NC 27835 Phone: 252-830-4128 Courthouse burned in 1857 Register of Deeds has birth and death records from 1913 Marriage records from 1866 and land records from 1762 Clerk  Superior Court has divorce, probate and court records from 1885

Register of Deeds P.O. Box 35 Greenville, NC 27835 Phone: 252-902-1656 Fax: 252-830-4132 Website

Clerk Superior Court P.O. Box 6067 Greenville, NC 27835 Phone: (252) 695-7100

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

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

Neighboring Counties

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

Baptist

 * Flat Swamp. Constituted 1776.
 * Red Bank. Constituted 1758.
 * Whitfield's Meeting House. Established by 1789.

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.

Pitt County real estate deeds are digitized online at the Pitt County, North Carolina, Register of Deeds.

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

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 — images


 * - 8th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 17th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry (1st Organization), Company C
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company H
 * - 8th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company G

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battle was fought in Pitt County:


 * June 5, 1862 = Tranter's Creek


 * Map showing Civil War battles in North Carolina.

World War I

 * 1917 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * 1940 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Probate
Online Probate Records

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.
 * 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

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


 * Pre-1790  - Pre-1790  Wills stored at the North Carolina State Archives are online - free. Website tips.
 * 1858 - 1963 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

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

Birth Records

 * 1800 - 2000 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1866 - 1964 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1871 - 1956 - Pitt County Birth Index 1871-1956. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Death Records

 * 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 Records

 * 1958 - 2004 - North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry.com — index $

Marriage Records

 * 1851 - 1867 - Pitt County Marriage Register, 1851-1867 at East Carolina University - free.
 * 1866 - 1961 - Pitt County Marriage Index 1866-1961 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 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

Yearbooks

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

Societies and Libraries
Pitt County Historical Society, Inc. PO Box 1554 Greenville, NC 27835-1554 website

Pitt County Family Researchers PO Box 20339 Greenville 27858 website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

 * Pitt County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * NCGenWeb: Pitt County - part of the USGenWeb Project
 * Pitt County at Our Family Tree