Lenoir County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Lenoir County Courthouse P O Box 3289 Kinston, NC 28502 Phone: 252-523-2390 Clerk Superior Court has divorce probate and court records from 1880 Register of Deeds has marriage and land records

Register of Deeds P.O. Box 3289 Kinston, NC 28502 Phone: 252-559-6420 Fax: 252-523-6139 Website

Clerk Superior Court P.O. Box 68 Kinston, NC 28501 Phone: (252) 520-5300

Parent County
1791--Lenoir County was created 4 December 1791 from Dobbs County. Dobbs County was abolished in 1791. County seat: Kinston

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
1878, 1880--Most court records were destroyed in fires.

Neighboring Counties

 * Craven
 * Duplin
 * Greene
 * Jones
 * Pitt
 * Wayne

Census

 * Lenoir County census records - via Lenoir County NCGenWeb

Church

 * Lenoir County church records - via the NCGenWeb Archives
 * Various Church records, 1830-1875 available on microfilm at the FHL.

Baptist

 * Bear Creek. Established by 1785.
 * Beaver Dam. Established by 1808.
 * Wheat Swamp, near Kinston, N.C. Organized about 1760. Has belonged to the Disciples of Christ since 1843.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Howard's Chapel Branch was the first congregation of LDS members residing in and around Kinston, Lenoir County in the early 1900s.
 * Record of members, 1939-1942 available on microfilm at the FHL.

Court

 * Lenoir County court records - transcribed for the NCGenWeb Archives

Directories

 * Statewide NC Business Directories - page provides direct link to Lenoir County pages

Education

 * Grainger High School - senior class listings from 1927-1970
 * Lenoir County students at NC colleges - via the NCGenWeb Yearbook Index

Land

 * Deeds of Lenoir county - via the NCGenWeb Archives

Local Histories

 * The Story of Kinston and Lenoir County, North Carolina by Talmage Johnson and Charles R. Holloman available at the FHL.
 * 200 years of progress : a report of the history and achievements of the people of Lenoir County, 1776-1976by Mike Kohler availbale at the FHL.

Maps

 * Maps of Lenoir County - about 40 various maps; via the North Carolina State Library

Military

 * Lenoir County military records - via 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


 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 13th Battalion, North Carolina Infantry, Company C
 * - 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company G
 * - 3rd Regiment, North Carolina Artillery, Company A
 * - 41st Regiment Volunteers - 3rd Cavalry, Company E
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry (63rd Regiment Volunteers), Company B
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company D
 * - 8th Battalion, North Carolina Cavalry (Partisan Rangers), 2nd Company

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


 * December 14, 1862 = Kinston
 * March 7-10, 1865 = Wilmington, also known as Wilcox’s Bridge, Wise’s Fork, Second Kinston, Second Southwest Creek, or Kelly's Mill Pond


 * 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

Newspapers

 * Kinston Free Press Index -- various transcriptions of articles from the paper
 * Newspaper articles of Lenoir County - via NCGenWeb Archives
 * Newspapers of Lenoir County - a listing of newspapers published in the county; via the Library of Congress
 * North Carolina Newspaper Digitization Project - search historical newspapers from the 18th &amp; 19th century. Includes papers from the New Bern area so there will be Lenoir county persons mentioned

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
 * 1869 - 1922 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
 * '''1861 - 1891 - Images of Wills and Estates.  North Carolina Pioneers ($)
 * Wills &amp; Estates - transcribed for the NCGenWeb Archives

Taxation

 * 1769 - Tax Lists, Dobbs County, 1769 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1779 - Tax Lists, New Bern District, 1779 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1780 - Tax Lists, Dobbs County, 1780 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * Lenoir County Tax Lists - via the NCGenWeb Archives
 * 1844 - Tax Lists, Lenoir County, 1844 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections

Vital Records
Uncertified copies of vital records can be ordered for a small fee from the Register of Deeds. Please visit 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 $
 * 1873 - 1952 - Lenoir County Marriage Index 1873-1952 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1799 - 1893 - Lenoir 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 searcheable. Available on the North Carolina Digital Collections website.
 * 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

Divorces

 * 1880 - 1914, 1922 - 1969 - Lenoir County Divorces 1880-1914, 1922-1969 at NC State Archives - free.
 * 1926 - 1975 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1958 - 2004 - North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry.com — index $

Deaths

 * Lenoir County NCGenWeb - various records for deaths and obituaries
 * Deaths of Lenoir County - list of county area deaths reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.
 * Lenoir County Obituaries - via the NCGenWeb Archives
 * 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

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

Historical Preservation Group Kinston, North Carolina 501 C ( 3 ) Non-Profit Organization Telephone Number: 252-522-0540 E-mail:[mailto:diamondgp@suddenlink.net diamondgp@suddenlink.net]


 * Heritage Place at Lenoir Community College

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Kinston North Carolina Family History Center

Websites

 * Lenoir County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * NCGenWeb: Lenoir County - part of the USGenWeb Project.