Craven County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Craven County Courthouse 406 Craven Street New Bern, North Carolina 28560 Phone: 252-636-6617 Register of Deed 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



For wills and estate records contact:

Estates Division Craven County Clerk of Court 302 Broad Street New Bern, NC 28560 (252) 639-9004

For Vital Records (births, deaths, marriages) and Land Records contact:

Craven County Register of Deeds 226 Pollock Street New Bern, NC 28560 (252) 636-6617 Website Clerk of Superior Court PO Box 1187 New Bern, NC 28563 Telephone: (252) 639-3000

History
1.) 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. 2.) 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. 3.) Craven County included the Ashley River settlement known as Charles Town (Charleston, South Carolina).

Parent County
1705--Craven County was created 3 December 1705 from the Archdale Precinct of Bath County. Bath County was abolished in 1739. County seat: New Bern

Boundary Changes
1722--Carteret County was formed from Craven in 1722, with several boundary changes through the 1880s. 1729--New Hanover County was formed from Craven in 1729. 1746--Johnston County was formed from Craven in 1746. 1757--Part of Beaufort County was annexed to Craven in 1757 and 1801. 1764--Part of Craven was annexed to Dobbs County in 1764. 1778--Jones County was formed from Craven in 1778. 1787--Parts of Craven were annexed to Pitt County in 1787; Lenoir County in 1798, 1804 and 1819; and Greene County in 1801. 1872--Pamlico County was formed from parts of Craven and Beaufort Counties in 1872, and part of Craven was annexed to Pamlico in 1875.

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
1712 Records destroyed in Tuscarora War

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)

Neighboring Counties

 * Beaufort
 * Carteret
 * Jones
 * Lenoir
 * Pamlico
 * Pitt

African American
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 - via the Craven County Public Library

Cemeteries

 * Book: Craven County, North Carolina cemeteries by the Eastern NC Genealogical Society - view the index to Volume 2 to see if your persons of interest are listed

Census

 * Craven County census records - via Craven County NCGenWeb

Church Records

 * Craven County church records - via the NCGenWeb 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

 * Craven County court records - various transcriptions from the NCGenWeb Archives

Land

 * Deeds of Craven County - via the NCGenWeb Archives

Maps

 * Craven County maps - more than 40 maps from the North Carolina State Library's NC Maps website

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

 * Craven County military records - via the 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 — images


 * -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 Battle
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.

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 - a listing of newspapers published in the county; via the Library of Congress

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 $
 * Pre-1790 - Pre-1790 Wills stored at the North Carolina State Archives are online - free. Website tips.
 * 1736-1960 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
 * 1700-1949 - Craven County North Carolina list of will book testators SAMPUBCO -Browsable index of testators of wills. - free
 * Craven County Wills &amp; Estate records - via the NCGenWeb USGenweb Archives - free

Vital Records
Birth and death records from 1913 can be found at the Register of Deeds Office for Craven County at 226 Pollock Street, New Bern, NC 28560. An online index is available at http://deeds.cravencounty.com/default.aspx. Uncertified copies can be ordered for a small fee. Please see Register of Deeds website for more information.

Births

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

Marriages

 * 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
 * 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 website.
 * Craven County Marriage Bonds at USGenWeb - free.
 * 1858-Prsent - Marriage registers from 1858 to the present and marriage licenses from 1904 to the present are also available at the http://deeds.cravencounty.com/default.aspx Register of Deeds Office.
 * 1892-1930 - Craven County Marriage Index 1892-1930 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Deaths

 * 1751-Present - An index to 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. The site for the Obituaries.
 * Craven County deaths - list of county area deaths reported in various newspapers; dates range from late 1700s to 1900s.
 * Craven County obituaries - transcribed for 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

Divorce

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

Societies and Libraries
Craven County Genealogical Society PO Box 1344 New Bern, NC 28563-1344 Website


 * Craven County Genealogical Society of North Carolina, Inc.
 * New Bern Historical Society
 * New Bern-Craven County Public Library; Kellenberger Room website: http://newbern.cpclib.org/research
 * Godwin Memorial Library of Craven Community College
 * Family History Society of Eastern North Carolina

Family History Centers

 * New Bern North Carolina Family History Center

Web Sites

 * Craven County, NC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * Craven County NCGenWeb - free genealogy resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project.