NORTH CAROLINA STATE FILE - WILLS - Availability of Wills By County
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WILLS....NORTH CAROLINA by COUNTIES
001--Alamance County: Formed 1849 from Orange County. There has been
no significant loss of either recorded or original wills of the county.
002--Albemarle County: Formed about 1664 and consisted,
generally, of the northeastern part of the present North Carolina,
north of Albemarle Sound and east of the Chowan River.
Albemarle County initially included four precincts: Currituck,
Pasquotank, Perquimans, and Chowan. There is no indication
that Albemarle functioned in the traditional manner of a
county, and it disappeared when its precincts were renamed as
counties in 1739.
003--Alexander County: Formed 1847 from Iredell, Caldwell, and
Wilkes counties. Recording of wills did not begin until 1865. and only
a few wills probated before that date have survived. Some records of
the county were destroyed by Federal troops in April, 1865.
004--Alleghany County: Formed 1859 from Ashe County. Recording
in Will Book A began in 1871, and a few wills for a period 1862-1867
were recorded in a record book for inventories, marriages, and wills
which is identified as Will Book 1 and which is now in the State Archives.
Only a few original wills for the period prior to 1871 have survived.
005--Anson County: Formed 1750 from Bladen County. Wills in the
county apparently were not recorded on a regular basis until about 1822,
although surviving original wills probated prior to 1822 were registered
much later in Will Books 1 and 2 in rough alphabetical order. In April,
1868, fire destroyed the Anson County courthouse, although will books
and original wills survived. In 1906, Will Books 1, A, and B were
recopied. Many wills probated after 1760 are recorded in the will books
and most of the original wills from which they were copied have survived.
006--Ashe County: Formed 1799 from Wilkes County. Recording of
wills on a regular basis apparently began about 1853, although wills proved
at earlier dates were later entered into what are now known as Will
Books A, B, and C. Some records are believed to have been destroyed
in 1865.
007--Avery County: Formed 1911 from Mitchell, Watauga, and Caldwell
counties. Not included in this index.
008--Bath County: Formed in 1696 from the territory south of Albemarle
Sound. It consisted initially of Archdale (Craven), Pamptecough (Beaufort),
and Wickham (Hyde) precincts. Discontinued in 1739 when precincts were
renamed counties. There is some indication that there was a county court for
Bath, but its records descended to Beaufort County, the court of which
continued to sit at Bath Town, the county seat of Bath County.
009--Beaufort County: Created about 1705 as Pamptecough Precinct of
Bath County; name changed to Beaufort about 1712. The county court sat
at Bath Town and represented both Beaufort and Hyde counties until about
1739 when the precinct system was superseded. The Beaufort County court
continued to sit at Bath Town until 1785 when Washington was made the
county seat; there are, therefore, some Bath and Hyde county wills and deeds
among Beaufort County records. In March. 1808, Beaufort County began a
series of court clerk's recording dockets popularly known as Orphan Books
(OB). There is some indication that wills probated in the county prior to 1808
were recorded in an "orphan book," but that record volume has not survived.
A few early wills were recorded in Deed Book 1; and wills proved prior to
1808 were at a much later date entered into a record book identified as Old
Will Book (OWB). Beaufort County discontinued the Orphan Book system
in 1868 and initiated Will Book 1 in that year. As of May 11 1986, all original
wills of Beaufort County were in the custody of the county clerk of superior
court. The orphan books are in the State Archives.
010--Bertie County: Formed 1722 from Chowan County. Recording of
wills apparently began in 1760, although surviving original wills contain
some indication that they were recorded at a later date. Will Book E
(1797-1805) has been copied, and the pagination of the copy does not
correspond with the original. Some original wills probated late in the
19th century are missing.
011--Bladen County: Formed 1734 from New Hanover County. Two fires,
the most recent in January, 1893, destroyed many court records. A few early
wills were recorded in deed books, but wills were not regularly recorded until
about 1834. Will Book 1 contains wills recorded from the early 1830s until
1862; Will Book 2 contains wills recorded from 1866 until 1892. Both will
books, however, contain wills for the period from 1760 until the early 1830s.
In 1958 photostatic copies of 47 wills from the records of the secretary of
state in the State-Archives were obtained and were recorded at the end of
Will Book 2; they have not been included in this index as records of Bladen
County because they are indexed with all of the secretary of state wills. The
existing Will Books 1 and 2 appear to be copies because they are all in the
same handwriting; there is, however, no indication of the date they were made.
As of June 1, 1986, the few surviving original wills of Bladen County remained
in the custody of the county clerk of superior court.
012-Brunswick County: Formed 1764 from New Hanover and Bladen
counties. Recording of wills on a regular basis apparently began about 1869,
although Will Book A contains some indication that wills were actually entered
at a later date. In 1908 the General Assembly (Ch. 106, Public Laws, 1908
Extra Session) directed that all unrecorded wills of Brunswick County dated
before January 1, 1875, that had been proved according to law, were to be
recorded and indexed. This was to include all wills that had been recorded in
county court minutes or other record books as well as all wills recorded in the
register of deeds office. The wills contained in several record books and some
original wills previously unrecorded were entered in the volume identified as
Will Book B. Some early wills (1764-1783) were recorded in Deed Books
A and B.
013-Buncombe County: Formed 1791 from Burke and Rutherford counties.
A courthouse fire in 1830 destroyed many court records and many of the
surviving records were carried off three years later. In 1848 the Buncombe
County courthouse burned again, and in 1865 many records were destroyed
when the courthouse burned for the third time. Will books for wills probated
after 1830 appear to be complete, but many original wills, particularly for
the period before 1865, are missing.
014--Burke County: Formed 1777 from Rowan County. In April, 1865,
a detachment of Union troops from General Stoneman’s command threw
records from the courthouse and burned them. Will books and the original
wills were included. Some original wills probated prior to 1865 survived and
are in the State Archives; included are copies of wills from other sources such
as North Carolina Supreme Court original case papers. As of June 1, 1986,
original wills proved after 1868 remained in the custody of the county clerk
of superior court.
015--Bute County: Formed I764 from Granville County; abolished 1779
when the county was divided between Franklin and Warren counties. Wills
were recorded in record books that contained inventories, accounts, and
other estate data. Bute County Record Book 1 is in the State Archives;
Records Books 2 and 3 became Warren County Will Books 1 and 2.
Surviving original wills are in the State Archives as records of Bute County.
Some original wills probated in Warren County after 1779 are in the Bute
County records in the Archives.
016--Cabarrus County: Formed 1792 from Mecklenburg County. Recording
of wills in Will Book 1 began in 1843, although wills had been copied into the
minutes of the county court of pleas and quarter sessions beginning in 1830.
In 1875, a courthouse fire destroyed some records, including most of the
original wills. The surviving original wills were principally for testators with
surnames beginning with the letters H. M, W, and Y. At a later date, these
surviving wills were copied into Will Book A. Many of the original wills are
missing.
017-Caldwell County: Formed 1841 from Burke and Wilkes counties.
Recording of wills began in 1841, and there appears to have been
no significant loss of records.
018--Camden County: Formed 1777 from Pasquotank County. Will
Books A and B. covering the period to 1822, are missing; the late
William Perry Johnson stated that they were burned during the Civil
War but did not indicate the source of his information. The earliest
probate date of surviving original wills is 1859. It is known that Union
troops moved across Camden County when returning to Currituck
Court House after occupying Elizabeth City in December, 1863; there is,
however, no indication that Camden County courthouse was burned or
that records of the county were destroyed.
019-Carteret County: Formed 1722 from Craven County. Beginning in
1765, wills were recorded in a "Record of Wills and Bonds" by Rob Read,
clerk of court. This record book is in the State Archives and is bound into
a miscellaneous volume, beginning at leaf 55; the volume has a shelf call
number 019.405.1. There is some indication that part of this volume,
which is identified as Record Book A, may have been lost. Some of the
original wills recorded in what is now identified as Will Book A indicate
that they were recorded in Will Book B. The existing Will Book A does
not begin until 1830. Wills probated prior to 1830 were recorded in Will
Book D and the first several pages of Will Book E in 1908. The court of
pleas and quarter sessions of Carteret County was "Suspended by U. S.
Martial Law" after February, 1862, and no wills were probated in the
county until November term, 1865.
020--Caswell County: Formed 1777 from Orange County. Recording
of wills began in 1777 in what are identified as record books (RB). These
books were lettered A through T (excluding J); beginning in 1868; the
county maintained will books that are identified by letters beginning with
A. As of June 1, 1986, original wills of the county for the period after
1867 are in the custody of the Caswell County clerk of superior court.
021--Catawba-County: Formed 1842 from Lincoln County. The first
wills were recorded in 1843. Except for some original wills for the period
1869-1878 which are in the State Archives, as of June 1, 1986, all other
surviving original wills are in the custody of the Catawba County clerk of
superior court.
022--Chatham County: Formed 1771 from Orange County. Recording
of wills in the record book identified as Will Book A began in 1798;
according to the originals of the first wills registered in the volume, it was
initially identified as "Book D." From February court, 1784, until February
court, 1794, wills were recorded in a record book identified as "Deeds,
Bills of Sale, Inventories of Estates, Wills," which is referred to in entries
for Chatham County wills as RB-1. This record volume is now in the State
Archives; the shelf call number is 022.801.23. This record book was
originally identified as "Book B." "Book C," which includes deeds, bills of
sale, inventories of estates, accounts of sale as well as wills for the period
1794-1798, is also in the State Archives and is referred to as RB-2. The
volume is identified as "Record of Wills. Book A, Part 1 (shelf number
022.801.18). "Book A." containing recorded copies of wills for the
period prior to 1784 has disappeared.
023--Cherokee County: Formed 1839 from Macon County. In 1865,
Union troops burned the courthouse, destroying most of the clerk's records.
Recording of wills did not resume until 1869.
024--Chowan County: Originally formed as a precinct of Albemarle
County, with Edenton serving as seat of the provincial government
at various times during the colonial period. Recording of wills on a
regular basis appears to have begun in the period 1803-1807 in what
was originally identified as Will Book A. At about the same time,
however, original wills that had been proved but not registered were
copied into two record volumes identified as Will Books A and B.
The first Will Book A was then renumbered as Will Book C. The
record book identified herein as Chowan County Will Book 1 is
actually the register in which wills proved before the Edenton District
Superior Court were recorded in the period 1760-1772. Some of the
original wills now filed with Chowan County records appear to be strays
from the records of the provincial secretary that are now identified as
secretary of state wills in the State Archives.
025--Clay County: Formed 1861 from Cherokee County. In May, 1870,
the county jail and courthouse burned, destroying all of the court records,
including will books and original wills.
26--Cleveland County: Formed 1841 from Rutherford and Lincoln counties.
There has been no significant loss of records of the county.
027--Columbus County: Formed 1808 from Brunswick and Bladen counties.
Recording of wills in the regular course of business appears to have started
about 1852. In 1846 the county court employed a person to transcribe all
of the unrecorded wills in the clerk's office; forty-five wills were copied. It is
not known if all of the wills offered for probate survived to be recorded at
that time.
028-Craven County: Formed 1705 as Archdale Precinct of Bath County;
name changed to Craven about 1712. Early records are believed to have
been destroyed during the Tuscarora Indian War of 1712. Most, but not
all, original wills were filed with the provincial secretary prior to 1760 and
thereafter some Craven County wills were filed in the secretary of state
records. From 1765 until December term, 1784, wills were not recorded
but the originals were filed in the clerk's office. Beginning with December
court, 1784, will books were maintained, although part of Will Book C
appears to have been lost. After March term, 1862, until September term,
1865, no wills were recorded in Craven County. There is some indication
that wills were proved in other counties during that period; at least one is
known to have been proved in Lenoir County, the records of which burned
in 1879 and 1880.
029--Cumberland County: Formed 1754 from Bladen County. A few wills
were recorded in Deed Book I about 1760, but regular recording of wills did
not begin until 1797 when Will Book A was initiated. Some of the original wills
are missing.
030--Currituck County: Originally formed as a precinct of Albemarle County.
Recording of wills in the county began in 1772 and will books have survived
although Will Book 2 has been severely damaged by water. Most of the surviving
original wills were proved after 1853, although there are a few wills probated
before that date. No wills were proved in the county between March court,
1862, and September court, 1865. during occupation by the Union army.
031--Dare County: Formed 1870 from Currituck, Tyrrell, and Hyde counties.
There has been no significant loss of either recorded or original wills of the
county.
032--Davidson County: Formed 1822 from Rowan County. Recording
of wills began in 1823. The first two will books were not numbered but they
were usually referred to as Will Books 1 and 2; they were so cited at the time
the wills were recorded. Although some original wills are missing, there has
been no significant loss of records.
033--Davie County: Formed 1836 from Rowan County. Recording of wills
began upon the creation of the county. As of June 1, 1986, original wills
probated after 1866 were in the custody of the Davie County clerk of superior
court. Original wills probated prior to that date were in the State Archives;
many of them are illegible because of water damage to the documents.
034--Dobbs County: Formed 1758 from the eastern portion of Johnston
County. It was abolished in 1791 when Glasgow (Greene) and Lenoir
counties were formed. Lenoir County succeeded to the records of Dobbs
County, and they were destroyed when the Lenoir County courthouse
burned in 1878 and 1880. The wills cited as from Dobbs County are from
the secretary of state wills or certified copies filed in another county.
035--Duplin County: Formed 1750 from New Hanover County. Recording
of wills in separate will books began in 1830. The record book containing wills
for the period 1835-1845 is missing, although approximately 50 original wills
for that period have survived. At a later date, surviving unrecorded wills
proved before 1830 and filed in the clerk's office were entered in a record
book identified as Will Book A. These generally include wills proved before
the county court between about 1760 and 1830, although a few wills probated
later than 1830 were included. Some very early wills (1750-1766) were
recorded in early registers which remained in Sampson County when it was
created from Duplin in 1784; these record books are now identified as
Sampson County Deed Books 1. 2, and 3 and are so noted in entries for
Duplin County.
036--Durham County: Formed 1881 from Orange and Wake Counties.
Recording of wills began immediately, and there has been no significant loss
of records. As of April 1, 1986, all original wills were in the custody of the
Durham County clerk of superior court.
037--Edgecombe County: Formed 1741 from Bertie County. Recording
of wills began in 1760. The original wills for 1884 and 1885 are missing;
with this exception, there has been no significant loss of records in the
county. Most of the wills that were not recorded (as indicated by "Orig.
Only" in the "Recorded Copy" column) were not accepted by the county
court and thus were never probated.
038--Forsyth County: Formed 1849 from Stokes County. There has been no
significant loss of either recorded or original wills of the county. Many of the wills
proved in Stokes County before 1849 were for testators who lived in that portion
of the county that became Forsyth.
039--Franklin County: Formed 1779 from Bute County. Although recording
of wills appeared to have started with the formation of the county, neither the
registered copy or the original will, in many instances, show the probate date.
Until 1868 wills were recorded with other estate documents such as inventories,
reports of sale, and division of real and personal property in registers that are
now identified as will books. Will Books O and P were relabeled “Record of
Accounts” after they were copied; the originals of these two volumes are in the
State Archives in the estates classification of records of the county. Will Book
P contains no wills; there is no Will Book T. Although there has been no
significant loss of records of the county, some of the original will are missing.
040--Gaston County: Formed 1846 from Lincoln County. A courthouse
fire in December, 1874, resulted in the destruction of some records. The
will books appear to be complete, but some of the early original wills
are missing.
041--Gates County: Formed 1779 from Chowan, Hertford, and
Perquimans Counties. Recording of wills began immediately, and
there has been no significant loss of either recorded or original wills
of the county.
042--Glasgow county: Formed 1791 from Dobbs County. Name
changed to Green County in 1799. No records of Glasgow County
are know to have survived.
043--Graham County: Formed 1872 from Cherokee County.
Recording of wills appears to have started about 1886, but virtually
none of the original wills survived.
044--Granville County: Formed 1746 from Edgecombe County.
Surviving will record books date from 1772, although original wills that
were probated at an earlier date indicate that they were recorded. After
1772 there has been no significant loss of either recorded or original
wills of the county. As of June 1, 1985, all original wills were in the
custody of the Granville County clerk of superior court.
045--Greene County: Originally formed as Glasgow County from
Dobbs County in 1791; name of the county was changed to Greene
in 1799. A courthouse fire in 1876 burned many of the clerk's records,
including pre-1868 will books and all original wills probated prior to
1876. Will Book 1, which begins with wills probated in 1868, was
originally identified in notations on surviving original wills as "Will Book K."
046--Guilford County Formed 1771 from Rowan and Orange counties.
Recording of wills began with August term, 1816, of the county court.
Will Book A, which was started in 1816, was subsequently renumbered
as Will Book B. and wills proved before 1816 were entered in a new
Will Book A. There are two boxes of Guilford County wills in the State
Archives that are identified as "unrecorded;" some of those probated
before 1868 were recorded in county court minute dockets rather
than in will books. In several instances, the authenticity of the so-
called unrecorded wills was rejected by decision of a jury. According
to testimony before the Salisbury District Court in 1789, the records
of the Guilford County court were destroyed by the British army at the
Battle of Guilford Court House in 1781; there does not, however,
appear to have been any significant loss of original wills probated
prior to that date.
047--Halifax County Formed 1758 from Edgecombe County. Recording
of wills in the county began about 1759. The will books for the county are
complete, but many of the original wills probated prior to 1850 are missing.
Will Books 1 and 2 in the county are later-day copies of the originals which
are in the State Archives.
048--Harnett County: Formed 1855 from Cumberland County. The county
courthouse burned in 1892 and again in 1894. Recorded and original wills
have survived only from 1892. As of May 1, 1986, all surviving original
wills were in the custody of the Harnett County clerk of superior court.
Original wills are filed in special proceedings files that are arranged
numerically by a number assigned as the transaction occurred. There is
an index for wills only that shows the number of the file that includes
the original will.
049--Haywood County: Formed 1808 from Buncombe County. Wills
appear to have been recorded irregularly until 1868, although a number
of wills were recorded at earlier dates. In 1885 the General Assembly
directed the clerk of superior court (Ch. 8, 1885 Public and Private Laws)
to record all wills the recording of which had been lost or destroyed but
the originals of which were on file in his office. Several wills which initially
had been probated earlier were subsequently recorded after 1885. There
is some indication on early surviving original wills that another will register
had been maintained. The second volume of recorded wills and
inventories (WI) is numbered "1/2"; because of computer limitations,
this is shown in the "Recorded Copy" 'column as "WI-1-2," followed
by a slant (/) and the page number.
050--Henderson County: Formed 1838 from Buncombe County.
Recording of wills did not begin until 1841. As of June 1, 1986, all
surviving original wills that were probated in Henderson County were
in the custody of the clerk of superior court. A few wills that were not
probated are in the State Archives, as are a number of out-of-state
wills that appear to have been filed as exhibits in a civil action in Henderson
County at a late date.
051--Hertford County: Formed 1759 from Chowan, Bertie, and
Northampton counties. In March, 1830, the courthouse burned,
destroying most of the clerk’s records, including will books and
original laws of the 1830-1831 General Assembly, filing of copies
of the wills recorded in Will Book 1, which started with the next term
of court, show a probate date prior to 1830. Chapter 96, laws of 1831
-1832 General Assembly, strengthened the authority of the county to
replace records destroyed in the fire. In February, 1862, the town of
Winton, the county seat, was captured by Union army and naval forces
during the course of which the courthouse again burned. Most of the
original wills proved between 1830 and 1862 were destroyed, but the
will books (of which there were two in 1862) survived.
052--Hoke County: Formed 1911 from Cumberland and Robeson
counties. Not included in this index.
053--Hyde County: Formed about 1705 as Wickham Precinct of
Bath County; name changed to Hyde about 1712. The county court
sat in Bath Town and represented both Hyde and Beaufort counties
until 1739 when the precinct system was superseded. The Beaufort
County court continued to sit at Bath Town and succeeded to the
records of the combined court. There are, therefore, some Hyde
County wills and deeds among Beaufort County records. About
1756 Hyde County court began keeping a record of wills and other
estate data which it identified as an orphan book. This record was
discontinued about 1764 and is now in the State Archives. In 1765
the county began a series containing wills, inventories, and accounts
which it identified as will books. In 1899 and 1900 only the wills from
Will Books 1, 2, and 3 were copied into a record that the county
identified as Will Book 1 2 3; because of the limitations of space,
this transcribed record is identified in, the listing of Hyde County
wills as "RW-1" (Record of Wills 1). The originals of Will Books
I and 2 are in the State Archives; as of May 1. 1986. The original of
Will Book 3 was in the custody of the Hyde County clerk of superior
court. After RW-1, the next wills are recorded in Will Book 4, pages
168-201 of which are blank. Entries in Will Book 9 and 10 indicate
that many were not recorded until 1868. The first part of Will Book
10 consists of a 1828 and 1829 trial docket of the Hyde County
court of pleas and quarter sessions. Many of the original wills for the
early period of the county are missing.
054--Iredell County: Formed 1854 from Rowan County. In 1854
fire destroyed most of Statesville. the county seat, but will books and
most of the original wills survived. Surviving original wills appear to
have been copied into the first 275 pages of Will Book 1 about 1810;
thereafter wills appear to have been recorded as they were proved. As
of June 1, 1986, surviving original wills proved to 1870 were in the State
Archives; original wills after that date were in the custody of the Iredell
County clerk of superior court.
055--Jackson County: Formed 1851 from Haywood and Macon counties.
The first will was proved in the county in 1853, and until 1868 wills were
recorded in a record identified as Inventory Docket (ID). Two wills were
copied into the minutes of the county court of pleas and quarter sessions
without being otherwise recorded. Beginning in 1869 wills were recorded
in will books. None of the original wills of the county have survived.
apparently having been lost when the county seat moved from Webster
to Sylva in 1913. There was an earlier disastrous fire in Webster,
but it is not known if the courthouse was burned.
056--Johnston County: Formed 1746 from Craven County. In 1758
Dobbs County was formed from the eastern portion of Johnston
County and the county court moved westward to Hinton's Quarter,
leaving its records in Dobbs. The volume was not great, but with the
exception of a grantee index to deeds all early records of Johnston
County were destroyed when the courthouse in Lenoir, which had
succeeded to the records of Dobbs, burned in 1878 and 1880.
Although existing Will Book 1 begins in 1787, Johnson began to
record wills as early as 1759; in the State Archives a fragment
of a record book containing wills has been mounted and bound
into Deed Book D. This fragment is in very poor condition and
is obviously not complete; it does, however, include four wills
not otherwise recorded. Reference to wills bound with Deed
Book D is to the leaf (L) on which four pages of the original
volume has been mounted. There is some evidence that Will
Books 1 and 2 were copied at a later date; an original will
recorded in Will Book 1 at page 430 contains a notation that
it was recorded in book 10, page 12. Johnston County also
maintained record books bearing varying titles but usually referred
to as "Record of Estates." These have been indexed by the staff
of the State Archives. At least eleven wills not otherwise recorded
were entered in these estate books which are cited as "Est"
followed by the volume and page number. Only one of the original
wills so recorded has survived. Will Book I begins with wills proved
in 1787; after recording wills proved in 1860, the same volume
included wills proved between 1760 and 1770. Will Book 2
includes wills proved from 1860 to 1868, then wills probated
in the period 1892-1896, followed by wills proved in the 1770s
and later. Except for the early record books of wills, there has
been no significant loss of records of the county.
057--Jones County: Formed 1779 from Craven County. The first
will was recorded in 1781. In 1862, in a battle between Union and
Confederate troops, the Jones County courthouse burned. The record
volume in which wills were recorded survived, as did virtually all of
the original wills. It should be noted, however, that no wills were
recorded in the period 1862-1863 or in 1867.
058--Lee County: Formed 1907 from Moore and Chatham
counties. Not included in this index.
059--Lenoir County: Formed 1791 from Dobbs County. In 1878
and again in 1880 the county courthouse burned, destroying most
records. A will book that began in 1869 survived, but original wills
probated prior to 1878 were destroyed. As of May 1. 1986, all
surviving original wills were in the custody of the Lenoir County
clerk of superior court.
060--Lincoln County: Formed 1779 from Tryon County, the
records of which were turned over to Lincoln. Lincoln County
began to record wills in 1824. In 1899, following ratification of
an act by the General Assembly requiring the indexing of all wills
filed in the clerk's office and an order on June 5, 1899, by the
Lincoln County board of commissioners, a cross index of all wills
was prepared. Included were all surviving original wills probated
prior to September term, 1824, as well as those proved at a later
date. A total of 1,201 wills were indexed, including 455 proved
through 1824. A few of the pre- 1824 wills that were indexed are
now missing. Several wills that have been out of public custody
have been included in the Lincoln County listing and are indicated
by the symbol AR/CRX. Some original wills probated by the
Tryon County court are included with the Lincoln County wills in
the State Archives.
061--Macon County: Formed 1828 from Haywood County.
Recording of wills began in 1830. There is no known loss of records
and the will books appear to be complete, but many of the original
wills are missing.
062--Madison County: Formed 1851 from Buncombe and Yancey
counties. Recording of wills began in 1851 and there has been no
significant loss of records.
063--Martin County: Formed 1774 from Halifax and Tyrrell
counties. The county courthouse burned in 1885, and although the
recorded will books from time of the formation of the county survived,
original wills probated before 1885 were destroyed.
064-McDowell County: Formed 1842 from Burke and Rutherford
counties. Recording of wills appears to have started upon creation of
the county and there has been no substantial loss of records.
065--Mecklenburg County: Form 1762 from Anson County. About
1850 the county began to record wills as they were proved. With the
exception of some pages in Will Book I, beginning in the 1840s. the
first nine will books appear to have been copied at a later date. Will
Books A-I are in the State Archives. There appears to have been no
significant loss of records.
066--Mitchell County: Formed 1861 from Yancey, Watauga,
Caldwell, Burke, and McDowell counties. Will record books that have
survived date from 1889, although surviving original wills that
probated at an earlier date indicate that wills were recorded in other
record volumes that have not survived.
067-Montgomery County: Formed 1779 from Anson County. The
courthouse burned in 1843, destroying almost all of the clerk's records
including will books and original wills. Beginning with the September,
1843, term of the county court, a new will book was started and identified
as Will Book 1. Later, certified copies of wills proved before 1843 were
reprobated and were recorded. Another fire in 1886 damaged some of
the records but reports of loss appear to have been exaggerated.
068--Moore County: Formed 1785 from Cumberland County.
Recording of wills did not begin until 1794. Will Book A also contains
court minutes, bonds, and other data; the page numbers in the record
volume were assigned at a later date. The book appears to consist of
several separate volumes that were combined and bound together. After
1868 original wills were placed in special proceedings files; in September
1889, the courthouse burned and virtually all loose records, including
original wills proved prior to 1868 as well as special proceedings files,
were destroyed. The will books survived, as did other records in bound
form. Surviving original wills after 1889 are in the special proceedings files
and may be located by means of a probate docket in the office of the
Moore County clerk of superior court. Many of the original wills are
missing. A few wills are in the State Archives and some are in the
custody of the county clerk of superior court, but virtually none of
the original wills probated in Moore County have survived.
069--Nash County: Formed 1777 from Edgecombe County.
Recording of wills began in 1778; until about 1873 wills were
registered in four volumes identified as "Record of Wills"
and numbered 1-4. Later, these four record books were copied
into Will Book 1; the wills were numbered as they were copied
and the original books were annotated with the will numbers.
The four "Record of Wills" volumes are in the State Archives;
entries for Nash County, however, are from the recopied Will
Book 1.
070-New Hanover County: Formed 1729 from Craven County.
Some wills were recorded in deed books as early as 1737, but that
practice was discontinued about 1763. Recording in will books
began about 1798. In September, 1845, the court of pleas and
quarter sessions found that there were in the office of the clerk "a
number of wills and partitions of real estate which have not been
duly registered." The court ordered that such documents be recorded
"forthwith." Those previously unrecorded wills were registered in the
first 472 pages of what is now identified as Will Book C. If an original
will contained any indication that it had previously been registered, it
was not copied at that time. The remainder of Will Book C contains
copies of wills probated beginning in 1848. Will Books A and B were
subsequently copied into a single record book which is now identified
as Will Book AB; the originals of Will Books A and B are now in the
State Archives. The New Hanover County courthouse burned in 1840,
following earlier fires in 1798 and 1819. Most of the records survived,
although some were damaged by fire and water.
071--Northampton County: Formed 1741 from Bertie County.
Recording of wills began in 1760; many of the original wills for the early
period are missing. Apparently the record book identified as Will Book
1 in the listing for Northampton County wills was copied from an earlier
book of records; one original will bears the notation that it was recorded
in Book A. page 411, but it is now recorded in Will Book 1, page 392.
Other than early original wills for the period 1760 to mid-1770s, there
has been no significant loss of records.
072--Onslow County: Formed 1734 from New Hanover County. In
1752 a hurricane destroyed the courthouse and most of the records of
the county court were lost. In 1755 the second day of the January term
of county court could not be held because a storm had destroyed the
place where the court was meeting. Again, in 1786 a tornado blew the
courthouse away and many records were lost. Early recorded wills are
in two record books, Record of Wills, 1757-1783 (RW) and Wills and
Inventories, 1774-1790 (WI). The latter volume does not contain any
inventories, but it does have a will index and listing of guardian bonds.
Both of the original volumes were dismantled and the pages were
individually mounted on sheets which were then bound. Each sheet is
numbered in each volume; these sheets are called "leafs (L)" and this
sheet number is cited instead of page numbers in these two record books.
The page numbers in the Record of Wills (RW) are illegible, and in the
Wills and Inventories (WI) several different record books appear to
have been mounted and bound within the same covers. It appears that
Will Book A was compiled about 1937 from old wills in the clerk's
office; additional unrecorded old wills that were in the State Archives
were not included in the compilation. The county began to record
wills in the regular course of business about 1827. Despite early losses
of records there appears to be no significant number of missing wills.
073--Orange County: Formed 1752 from Johnston, Bladen, and
Granville counties. Recording of wills began as early as 1757. According
to tradition, when the British army approached Hillsborough in 1781
records of the county were buried in the woods a few miles away. As a
result, some were reportedly destroyed. The books in which wills were
recorded appear to be complete, although many of the early original wills
are missing. As of May 1, 1986, Orange County wills probated through
1855 were in the State Archives; all others probated after 1855 were in the
custody of the county clerk of superior court. In a few instances, wills
bearing dates after 1855 that were not probated are also in the State
Archives.
074--Pamlico County: Formed 1872 from Craven and Beaufort
counties. Recording of wills began in 1872 and there has been no
significant loss of records.
075--Pasquotank County: Originally formed as a precinct of
Albemarle County. Recording of wills began about 1761, and it
appears that Will Book I was the first register for wills. In 1798
the county court found that there were a number of wills proved,
while Thomas MacKnight was clerk, that had not been recorded;
and the current clerk was ordered to record them. It appears that
they were recorded in Will Book H. In 1862, after a Union flotilla
won a decisive naval victory at the narrows of the Pasquotank River
near Elizabeth City, the county court ordered Officials to remove
Public records from the courthouse. The Courthouse burned a few
days later but there appears to have been no significant loss of records.
In December, 1863, Union army forces occupied Elizabeth City. again
with no significant loss of records. In 1875 the first three will books
were copied into a single volume which is identified as Will Book HIK;
it should be noted, however, that they were copied in the order of I H K.
The originals of Will Books H, I, and K are now in the State Archives,
and entries for Pasquotank County from these volumes were made from
the originals. The County also has two will books identified by the letter
"M." The first covers the period 1798-1824 and the second 1853- 1867,
with the latter overlapping, chronologically between the two volumes
identified as "M”, the first is identified as “M1” and the second as '”M2”
in entries for Pasquotank County
076--Pender County: Formed 1875 from the New Hanover County.
Recording of wills began immediately, and as of June 15, 1986, all surviving
original wills were in the custody of the county clerk of superior court.
077--Perquimans County: Originally formed as a precinct of Albemarle
County. The first recorded will was proved in 1762 and was registered in
a record volume identified as Will Book C. Will Book C was copied at a
later date and the copy remains in the county. Fragments of the
original Will BooK C. with many pages missing, are in the State Archives.
Part ot it is mounted and bound with pages the original Deed Book B and
identified as Deeds and Wills;" and parts are in the CRX material for
Perquimans County.
078--Person County: Formed 1792 from Caswell County. Recording
of wills began 1792 in record books identified as "Wills, Inventories, Sales
of Estates, and Taxables. Except for Book 7, these record books were
not numbered; the first fifteen of them are in the State Archives and for
internal control purposes they have been numbered. In wills for Person
County they are identified by the symbol "WI" and by the control number
assigned by the State Archives. as follows: 1792-1797 - WI-1 1797-1801
- WI-2 1801-1804 - WI-3 1805-1807 -WI-4 1807-1811 -WI-5 1811-
1815 -WI-6 1815-1817 -WI-7 1877-1820 -WI-8 1820-1823 -WI-9
1823-1827 -WI-10 1827-1830 -WI-11 1831-1835 -WI-12 1835-1837 -
WI-13 1837-1841 -WI-14 1841-1843 -WI-15 From December term,
1843, until December term, 1847, there is a gap in the recorded wills of
Person County and one record book apparently has been lost. Beginning
with December term, 1847, the record books in which wills were
recorded were identified as "Record of Wills" and are cited as will books
(WB) in the listing for Person County. The record book for the period
1847- 1851 is identified as Will Book 13; for 1852-1857, as Will Book
17; and 1857- 1867, as Will Book 18. There are no recorded wills from
September term, 1867, until December 1868, when Will Book 19 begins.
As of April 1, 1986, approximately 100 original wills of the county are
in the State Archives. Less than 200 original wills remain in the custody
of the Person County clerk of superior court; more than half of the wills
probated in the county prior to 1901 are missing.
079--Pitt County: Formed 1760 from Beaufort County. On January 8.
1858, the courthouse burned, destroying virtually all of the clerk's records,
including will books and original wills. By legislation ratified January 9, 1959
(Ch. 32, Public Laws of 1858-1859 Session), the General Assembly permitted
the filing of copies of documents when the court records had been burned
and the filing of oral or written statements of the contents of wills in such instances.
Although the legislation was occasioned by the burning of the Pitt County
courthouse, it had general applicability throughout the state. In Pitt County,
copies of a number of wills were refiled with the clerk and were probated
again. There is also some indication that families refiled copies of wills without
requesting that they be probated a second time; the will of Elizabeth Tison,
for example, bears a notation that it is a copy of "Grandma Tyson's will."
080--Polk County: Formed 1855 from Rutherford and Henderson counties.
In an act ratified January 18, 1847, the General Assembly created a Polk
County from Rutherford County and that portion of Henderson County that
had originally belonged to Rutherford. By action ratified January 16, 1849,
the act creating Polk County was repealed. All records of the Polk County
court of pleas and quarter sessions were required to be delivered to the clerk
of the Rutherford County court of pleas and quarter sessions; none of them
have survived, either as records of Polk or of Rutherford County. When Polk
County was re-established in 1855, wills for the period 1855-1867 were
recorded in a record identified as a Will Docket (WD). This record is now
in the State Archives. In August, 1892, the seventeen wills originally
recorded in the Will Docket were copied into Will Book I which started
in 1868. There has been no significant loss of records of the county after
1855.
081--Randolph County: Formed 1779 from Guilford County. Recording
of wills began in 1784. Some of the original wills are missing, and many of
those that have survived appear to have been damaged by water. Some of
the water damaged originals are virtually illegible.
082--Richmond County: Formed 1779 from Anson County. Apparently
wills began to be recorded on a regular basis about 1830. In 1835 all
surviving unrecorded wills were transcribed into a record book that is
now identified as Will Book 1. A fragment of an original record of wills
and inventories for the period 1789-1807 has survived and is now in
the State Archives. One of the wills recorded in this fragment has not
been otherwise recorded and is referred to in the wills for Richmond
County by Archives stack number 082.801.1. An additional record
book in the State Archives that is identified as "Wills Proved in
County Court (1848-1864)" also contains recorded copies of wills.
This appears to be another copy of Will Book 4.
083--Robeson County: Formed 1787 from Bladen County. Wills
were not recorded on a regular basis until about 1830, when the
county court ordered that all unrecorded wills were to be recorded.
All of the wills on the first 250 pages of Will Book 1 are in the same
handwriting and appear to have been entered at that time. In May term,
1838, the court found "that there still remains a number unrecorded,"
and James Storm was ordered to record the balance of the wills.
Although there has been no major loss of records, some of the
original wills are missing.
084--Rockingham County: Formed 1785 from Guilford County.
Recording of wills did not begin until 1804, and surviving originals
of recorded wills were in the custody of the clerk of superior court as
of June 1, 1986. About 1955 a group of unrecorded wills was
found in the courthouse; in 1957 photostatic copies of these wills
were placed in a record book identified by the title Old Wills
Discovered in Office Dated Prior to 1804 (OW). The originals of
these unrecorded wills are in the State Archives.
085--Rowan County: Formed 1753 from Anson County. Recording
of wills began in 1760, and there has been no significant loss of
records. From about 1780 to about 1800, the county appears to
have recorded wills in blocks arranged by first letter of the surname
but not in alphabetical order. Several of the Rowan County original
wills are in German and unless they were translated at the time of
probate, the contents were not recorded in the will books. Ute-Ingrid
Seidler translated and abstracted German language wills of Rowan
County in the State Archives in North Carolina Genealogical
Society Journal, Vol. 1, No-. 3 (July, 1975), pp. 136-140.
086--Rutherford County: Formed 1779 from Tryon County.
Surviving registers of recorded wills date from 1782, probably
because the site of the meetings of the county court was not fixed
in the early years of the county. Will Books A, B, and C are
recording dockets containing powers of attorney, bonds, and
estate data. It was not until Will Book D (1822) that only wills
were registered in the will books. Until the county court was
discontinued in 1868, the probate date of a will was indicated
in a caption at the top of each page identifying the term of
court at which the action was taken. Typewritten copies of
Will Books A-F and G-H were made at a later date; entries
for Rutherford County were made from microfilm copies of the
original record books which are in the custody of the clerk of
superior court. There was a Courthouse fire in 1907, but there
appears to have been no significant loss of either recorded or
original wills.
087--Sampson County: Formed 1784 from Duplin County.
Recording of wills on a regular basis beqan about 1820. At a
later date, wills that had been proved prior to 1820 as well as
wills that had not been probated were entered into a record
book identified as Will Book A. Although a few original wills
are missing, there has been no significant loss of records.
088--Scotland County: Formed 1899 from Richmond County.
The first will was probated in January, 1901; Scotland County,
therefore, is not included in this index.
089--Stanly County: Formed 1841 from Montgomery County.
The first will was recorded in 1841. Although there has been no
known loss of records, many of the original wills are missing.
090--Stokes County: Formed 1789 from Surry County. The
first will was recorded in 1790. In Will Books 1 and 2. only the
left-sided pages are numbered sequentially with the right side
pages numbered “1/2”. In the listing for Stokes County, only the
left side page numbers are used. The first twenty-five pages of
Will Book 5 consists of an index. There has been no significant
loss of records. It should be noted that many of the wills proved
in Stokes County prior to 1849 are from the part of the county
that subsequently became Forsyth County.
091--Swain County: Formed 1871 from Jackson and Macon
counties. Recording of wills began about 1876. As of June 1,
1986, the few surviving original wills of Swain County were in
the custody of the county clerk of superior court.
092--Surry County: Formed 1771 from Rowan County. Recording
of wills began in 1772, and the will books are complete. Many of the
original wills are missing.
093--Transylvania County: Formed 1861 from Henderson
and Jackson counties. Recording of wills began in 1862, and
there has been no significant loss of either recorded or original wills.
094--Tryon County: Formed 1767 from Mecklenburg County.
It was divided into Lincoln and Rutherford counties in 1779 and
its records were taken over by Lincoln County. A few wills in the
State Archives are filed in miscellaneous records of the county;
other surviving original wills probated in Tryon County are in the
records of Lincoln County. Tryon County did not record wills
other than to indicate probate in the minutes of the county court.
095--This number was not assigned in the State Archives county
identification system.
096--Tyrrell County: Formed 1729 from Chowan, Bertie, Currituck,
and Pasquotank counties. Although there has been no known disaster
that resulted in the destruction of records, some of the early original
wills are missing. Recording of wills began in 1750, but many wills
that were proved before about 1800 were not recorded, perhaps
because the courthouse and the meeting place of the county court
moved frequently. Some time before the Historical Records Survey
in the 1930s, typewritten copies of the original Will Books 1. 2, and
3 were made; entries for Tyrrell County were made from microfilm
copy of the relatively recent typed copy of the will books. The original
will books remain in the county.
097--Union County: Formed 1842 from Anson and Mecklenburg
counties. The first will was recorded in 1843. As of June 1. 1986,
all surviving original wills of the county were in the custody of the
county clerk of superior court.
098--Vance County: Formed 1881 from Granville, Warren, and
Franklin counties. Recording of wills began immediately and there
has been no significant loss of records. As of April 1. 1986, surviving
original wills were in the custody of the Vance County clerk of
superior court. The wills are filed in special proceedings files in
numerical order by a number assigned at the time the action was
initiated. Wills may be found by consulting an index to special
proceedings which gives the case number of the probate transaction.
099--Wake County: Formed 1771 from Johnston, Cumberland,
and Orange counties. Recording of wills began with the organization
of the county. Wills were entered into record books that were initially
identified by letters. By 1836 Book Y was filled and the county
then began using double letters to identify will books. By 1875
the identification of will books had reached the double letters of
KK. At some time later, the record books were copied and
renumbered with numbers 1-35. Record Books B and C were
combined into Record Book 2 at the time of copying. After
1875 wills were registered in will books that were identified by letters.
100--Warren County: Formed 1779 from Bute County. Warren
County Will Books 1 and 2 were actually created by the Bute County
clerk of county court, and wills recorded therein are cited as records
of Bute County. Warren County Will Books 45, 46, 47, and 48
contain only inventories, reports of sale, and accounts. About 1856
the county began to separate estate data from wills, and Will Books
49 and 50 contain only wills. There has been no significant loss of
records although some of the original wills are missing. A few of the
original wills probated in Warren County are in the records of Bute
County in the State Archives.
101--Washington County: Formed 1799 from Tyrrell County.
The county courthouse was burned in the naval bombardment of
Plymouth, the county seat, in 1862. In 1869 fire again destroyed
the courthouse, which was rebuilt and burned again in 1873.
Surviving recorded wills begin in 1873; original wills with surnames
beginning with the letters R through Z apparently have not survived.
102--Watauga County: Formed 1849 from Ashe, Caldwell, Wilkes
, and Yancey counties. In 1865 county records were burned when
the courthouse was destroyed by units of Union army cavalry. Another
devastating fire in 1873 again destroyed the courthouse and all of
the records of the county.
103--Wayne County: Formed 1779 from Dobbs County. Surviving
recorded wills date from 1782; earlier recorded and original wills were
reportedly destroyed by the British army as it marched from Wilmington
to Jamestown in 1781 (see will of Thomas Boykin). Recorded wills
from 1782 to 1800 are in two record books which also contain
inventories of estates, reports of sales of personal property, and other
estate data. These volumes are identified in the Wayne County listing as
Wills and Inventories (WI) A and B. These two volumes appear
originally to have consisted of several separate record books. Recorded
wills for 1792 and 1793 are missing. In 1807 the county began a series
of recording dockets (RD) that continued until 1868. Recorded wills for
the period 1800 to 1808 have not survived, although several of the
original wills for the period indicate that they were "recorded." The
fourteen volumes of recording dockets contain not only wills but
copies of all other documents (except deeds) filed with the county
court. The pagination in the first recording docket volume is confused,
with each page showing at least two page numbers. The page numbers
used were those that were assigned when the county indexed the
volume. In 1868 the county began a series of will books (WB); these
remain in the county. The volumes of wills and inventories (WI) and
ecording dockets (RD) are in the State Archives.
104--Wilkes County: Formed 1777 from Rowan County and the
District of Washington. Recording of wills began in 1778. Will Book
1, identified as "Wills, Bonds, Inventories, Bills of Sale," is in the
State Archives. Because of an error in numbering the pages in Will
Book 1, the pages after page 489 repeat numbers beginning with 450.
105--Wilson County: Formed 1855 from Edgecombe, Nash,
Johnston, and Wayne counties. Although some of the original
wills are missing, there has been no significant loss of records.
106-Yadkin County: Formed 1850 from Surry County. There has
been no significant loss of records, although some original wills are
missing. Neither the entries in Will Book 1 or the surviving original
wills indicate the date that each will was probated.
107--Yancy County: Formed from Burke and Buncombe Counties.
Recording of wills began in 1834, but virtually none of the original wills have survived.
