Diane L. Richard, ME, MBA
What if you only know born NC from a census, military record, or a child’s death record? Is it possible to figure out where in NC? With the 1850 census as the first census that provided the names of all individuals in a household as well as age and birthplace, this is often the first clue to where one’s ancestors were born! Given that most state records are organized and often retained on a county level in NC, it is often not feasible to search through the records of all the however many counties existed during the time period of interest to find someone when there are no specific clues as to what county to search. Does this mean that it’s hopeless to try to learn where in NC someone came from? No! It is possible; however, it often requires perseverance with a pinch of serendipity thrown in.
This webinar will present some rules of thumb and strategies for research into those born NC individuals to determine where in NC they came from. Also shared will be a select list of records that are key to this type of NC research with a discussion on what makes them so invaluable.
(Image source: “North Carolina. Rand McNally and Company, 1897“, David Rumsey Map Collection, Cartography Associates, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Available in the NCGS online store is North Carolina Research – Genealogy and Local History, the text for the NCGS Webinar Series.
NCGS Members may access the handout for this webinar using the link below, or from the main Webinars page (under Education & Events menu).
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