McDowell County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
McDowell County is located in the Southwestern portion of North Carolina and was named for Revolutionary War Colonel Joseph McDowell.

County Courthouse
McDowell County Courthouse Courthouse Main St Marion, NC 28752-4041 Phone: 828-652-4727 Register of Deeds has birth, marriage, death and land records Clerk Superior Court has divorce, probate and court records 1842  Register of Deeds 21 S. Main Street, Ste A Marion, NC 28752 Telephone: 828-652-4727 Fax: 828-652-1537 Website  Clerk of Superior Court 21 South Main Street Marion, NC 28752 Telephone: (828) 655-4100

History
McDowell was formed in 1842 from Rutherford and Burke Counties. It was named in honor of Colonel Joseph McDowell, an officer of the Revolution. It is situated in the west central part of North Carolina, bounded by Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Henderson, Mitchell, Rutherford, and Yancey counties. The court was ordered to be held at the home of Jonathan L. Carson until the county seat could be established. The act also named commissioners to select a site as near the center of the county as possible, acquire land, lay out a town by the name of Marion, and erect a courthouse. Marion is the county seat.

Parent County
1842--McDowell County was created 19 December 1842 from Rutherford and Burke Counties. County seat: Marion

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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Neighboring Counties

 * Avery
 * Buncombe
 * Burke
 * Mitchell
 * Rutherford
 * Yancey

Church

 * McDowell County Churches

County Records

 * 1833-1970 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Court
McDowell County Courthouse 21 S Main Street Marion, NC 28752 (828) 652-7717

Land
McDowell County Courthouse 21 S. Main Street Marion, NC 28752 Register of Deeds 828-652-4727

As a service to McDowell County citizens, the Register of Deeds records and keeps copies of all documents pertaining to land and issues certified copies or photocopies of same, as required.

Deed images are available for download from January 1, 1971 to the present day at the Register of Deeds website.

Search for McDowell County Deeds

Local Histories

 * Elijah Benoni (Ben Oney) Allen
 * William Preston Bynum Jr.
 * Mary J. Mode &amp; Augustus C. Dover

Maps

 * McDowell County Maps- formation and various sources

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


 * Old Cherokee Path pre-historic
 * Jonesboro Road 1769
 * Rutherford's War Trace 1776

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


 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
 * - 1st Battalion, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company A
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company G
 * - 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company E

World War I

 * 1917 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * 1940 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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.

McDowell County Clerk of the Superior Court (828) 652-7717

Has probate records starting from 1841, if they haven't been transferred to State Archives. Contact the Clerk of the Court to confirm which records are available at their office.

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
 * 1843 - 1923 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

It is generally more cost effective to obtain records at the County level, however, the North Carolina State Archives has originals and/or copies of most older County records.

North Carolina State Archives 4614 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-4614 919-807-7310

Check their Guide to Research Materials for what kinds of records are available, and also download their forms to request information by mail.

Vital Records
The Register of Deeds is the custodian of various records which are filed for safe-keeping. Examples of documents housed are numerous types of deeds, deeds of trust, leases, assignments, powers of attorney, separation agreements, contracts, cancellations, assumed names, partnerships, corporations, notices of foreclosure, notices of bankruptcy, releases, restrictive covenants, military discharges, financing statements and terminations, birth and death records, maps and plats.

The Register also issues marriage licenses (see the link below for more information) and administers the oath of office to notaries public. As a service to McDowell County citizens, the Register of Deeds records and keeps copies of all documents pertaining to land and issues certified copies or photocopies of same, as required.

Deed images are available for download from January 1, 1971 to the present day at the Register of Deeds website.

Location: McDowell County Courthouse 21 S. Main Street Marion, NC 28752 Register of Deeds 828-652-4727

Birth Records

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

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

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

Marriage Records

 * 1741 - 2004 - North Carolina, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1851 - 1966 - McDowell County Marriage Index 1851-1966 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.
 * 1847 - 1877 - Marriages - Marriage Bonds. North Carolina Pioneers ($)

Societies and Libraries
Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society 128 Bingham Road Suite 950 Ashveille, North Carolina, NC 28806

McDowell County Public Library PO Box 2122 90 West Court St. Marion NC 28752 Website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers
 * Marion North Carolina Family History Center

Websites

 * McDowell County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * USGenWeb Project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * McDowell County NCGenWeb
 * USGenWeb Archives-McDowell County
 * North Carolina Genealogical Society
 * List of North Carolina Genealogical Societies
 * McDowell County Public Libraries
 * McDowell County Public Libraries