Rutherford County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Rutherford County is located in the southwestern portion of North Carolina and shares a border with South Carolina. It was named for Revolutionary War General Griffith Rutherford, a member of the North Carolina Provincial Congress.

County Courthouse
Rutherford County Court 229 N Main Street PO Box 551 Rutherforton, NC 28139-0630 Phone: 828-287-6155 Rutherford County Website Clerk Superior Court has birth records from 1917, death records from 1913, marriage, divorce, probate court and land records from 1779, tax lists and voter registration.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Bible Records

 * Bible Records at North Carolina Digital Archives - index and image

Cemeteries

 * at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images Also at: Ancestry ($)

Church Records

 * 1700-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Baptist
 * Bill's Creek. Constituted 1782.
 * Buffalow Creek. Constituted 1777.
 * Green River. Constituted 1778.
 * Mountain Creek. Constituted 1789.
 * Sandy Run. Constituted 1788.

Presbyterian List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Brittain Church, Rutherfordton, N.C. Organized 1768. Originally located in Tryon.
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1779-1868 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1783-1940 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1869-1964 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1880-1948 (*); Board of Education, Clerk of the Superior Court and Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

 * 1862-1870   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1863-1872   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only

Funeral Homes

 * Harrelson Funeral and Cremation Services in Forest City.
 * McMahan’s Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Rutherfordton.
 * Padgett and King Mortuary and Crematory in Forest City.
 * Pruitt Funeral Home and Cremations in Forest City.
 * Thompson Mortuary and Chapel in Forest City.
 * Ulysses D. Miller Funeral Service, Inc. in Rutherfordton.
 * Washburn and Dorsey Funeral and Cremation Service in Bostic.

Genealogies

 * "Notes on a Proctor Family of Northeastern Rutherford Co., N.C.," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 38, No. 3 (August 2010):102-110.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * North Carolina Land Grants at NC Historical Records Online - index, requires free account to view images
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

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


 * Old Cherokee Path pre-historic

Military Records
Revolutionary War 
 * 1778-1833 Delamar Transcripts of Revolutionary War Petitions at North Carolina Genealogical Society - index ($)
 * 1779-1782  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Civil War 
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1885 and 1901 1885 and 1901 Confederate Pension Applications at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
 * 1885-1953  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images


 * - 1st Battalion, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company B
 * - 1st Battalion, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company C
 * - 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company G
 * - 16th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company D
 * - 16th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company G
 * - 16th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company N

World War I 
 * 1914-1918 World War I Papers at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
 * 1917-1919  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

World War II 
 * 1939-1945 World Ward II Papers at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
 * 1940-1948  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Newspapers

 * North Carolina Newspapers at DigitalNC

Other Records
Voter Registration
 * 1868-1898 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1663-1789 Secretary of State Wills at North Carolina Digital Collections - index and images
 * 1663-1978 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1663-1979  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1665-1998 North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1720-1960 at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1735-1970  at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1750-1970 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1760-1800 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1779-1868 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1780-1784 Images of the Minutes of the Pleas and Quarter Sessions Court 1780-1784 North Carolina Pioneers ($)
 * 1780-1784 Minutes of the Pleas and Quarter Sessions 1780 to 1784. (Mentions wills filed, inventory lists, sales, administrators, orphans, deeds proved, etc. If you cannot find a will in the will book, this is where to search.)
 * 1782-1964 Rutherford County North Carolina list of will book testators SAMPUBCO, browsable index of testators of wills.
 * 1782-1964  at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
 * 1782-1964 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1784-1850 (*); County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1790  Pre-1790 Rutherford County, North Carolina Genealogy Wills (North Carolina State Archives)
 * 1799-1802 Images of the Minutes of the Pleas and Quarter Sessions Court 1799-1802 North Carolina Pioneers ($)
 * 1804-1817 Images of the Minutes of the Pleas and Quarter Sessions Court 1804-1817 North Carolina Pioneers ($)
 * 1823-1833 Images of Wills and Estates 1823-1833. North Carolina Pioneers ($)
 * 1831-1868 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1835-1964 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1868-1959 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1868-1964 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1884-1964 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1896-1963 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1911-1964 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1921-1934 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1922-1964 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

 * 1776 Tax Lists, Tryon County, 1776 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry $
 * 1782 Tax Lists, Rutherford County, 1782 (index) in NC Taxpayers vol. 2, online at Ancestry $
 * 1782 Tax Lists, Rutherford County, 1782 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections
 * 1829 Tax Lists, Rutherford County, 1829 (images) online at North Carolina Digital Collections

Vital Records

 * 1800-2000 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Birth

 * 1800-2000  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1866-1964  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1880-1932 Rutherford County Birth Index 1880-1932. Batch  at FamilySearch
 * 1913-1922  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Marriage

 * 1741-2004 North Carolina, United States Marriages at Findmypast
 * 1741-2004 North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1759-1979  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1762-1979  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1763-1868 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1851-1965 Rutherford County Marriage Index 1851-1965 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

Death

 * 1898-1994  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1906-1930  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images  Also at:  MyHeritage ($)
 * 1908-2004 North Carolina Death Indexes 1908-2004 at Ancestry $
 * 1909-1975 North Carolina Death Certificates 1909-1975 at Ancestry $
 * 1931-1994  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Divorce

 * 1926-1975  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1958-2004 North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry $

FamilySearch Centers

 * Asheville North Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Brevard North Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Forest City North Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Lincolnton North Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Marion North Carolina FamilySearch Center


 * Buncombe County Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Henderson County North Carolina Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Rutherford County Library System 255 Callahan Koon Rd Spindale, NC 28169 Phone: 828-287-6115 Email: [mailto:library@rutherfordcountync.gov library@rutherfordcountync.gov] Facebook Website

Societies
Genealogical Society of Old Tryon County 319 Doggett Rd PO Box 938 Forest City, NC 28043-0938 Phone: 828-247-8700 Email: [mailto:abrad959@aol.com abrad959@aol.com] Facebook Website

Websites

 * USGenWeb project May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * North Carolina Pioneers $
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.