The following resources may be useful for you as you research your Washington County ancestors:
AFRICAN-AMERICAN
- NC Runaway Slave Advertisements – see ads with a Washington County connection
- Somerset Plantation Slaves arrive, 1786 – post from the “This Day in NC History” blog
- 1803 List of Lake Phelps Company (Somerset Plantation) Slaves
- Thomas Johnson petitsion (1816) – He emancipates slave Mace, and her two children Clara & William (he is their father).
ARCHIVES
BIBLES
BIOGRAPHIES
- Armistead, William Anthony – (1809-1856)
- Daly, Augustin – (1838-1899) – playwright
- Davenport, William S. – (1859-1924)
- Fagan, Wiliam Long – (1839-1914)
- Halsey, Benjamin Foster – (1863-1928)
- Riddick, Diamond Matthew – (1873 -?)
BIRTHS
- North Carolina Births and Christenings, 1866-1964
- Search for births in the Roanoke Beacon Newspaper Index – choose “birth” under the Content Type field
CEMETERIES
- Washington County, North Carolina Cemeteries, 1769-1997 – more than 10,000 burials included in this book series.
- Redford, Dorothy Spruill. As Long As You Call My Name, I Live: Somerset Place Slave Burial Register, 1785-1865. [Somerset Place, N.C.]: Somerset Place Foundation, Inc, 2001. – located at the NC State Library
- Washington County burials listed on FindAGrave.com
- Washington County burials recorded in the late 1930’s
- Individual cemetery listings – a few individual listings
CENSUS
- 1800 Washington Co. Census – transcribed by Charles Barnes, formatted by Gordon Basnight
- 1810 Washington Co. Census – transcribed by Charles Barnes, formatted by Gordon Basnight
- 1820 Washington Co. Census – transcribed by Charles Barnes, formatted by Gordon Basnight
- 1830 Washington Co. Census
- 1840 Washington Co. Census
- 1850 Washington Co. Census
- 1850 Census (Mortality Schedule) – search the index for free at FamilySearch.org
- 1850 Census (Slave Schedule) – search the index for free at FamilySearch.org
- 1860 Washington Co. Census
- 1870 Census – search the index for free at FamilySearch.org
- 1880 Washington Co. Census
- 1900 Census – search the index for free at FamilySearch.org
- 1910 Census – search the index for free at FamilySearch.org
- 1920 Census – search the index for free at FamilySearch.org
- 1930 Census – search the index for free at FamilySearch.org
- 1940 Census – search for free at FamilySearch.org
CHURCHES
- Concord Primitive Baptist Church – Concord Primitive Baptist Church Preservation Society, Inc. – Sherlyan Phelps is the contact person.
- Grace Church History
- Mt. Hebron A.M.E. Zion Church Photos
- Morrattock Primitive Baptist Church – Southern Historical Collection at UNC-CH
- New Chapel Missionary Baptist Church Photos
- Piney Grove Baptist Church
- Rehobeth Church Preservation Society
- Skewarkey Church Records (partial)
- St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Parish Register (Roper), 1822-1966
COURT PROCEEDINGS
- January 13, 1899 – Commissioner Proceedings
- March 10, 1899 – Commissioner Proceedings
- May 5, 1899 – Superior Court Proceedings
- May 12, 1899 – Commissioner Proceedings
- June 5, 1899 – Commissioner Proceedings
- August 25, 1899 – Commissioner Proceedings
DEATHS/OBITUARIES
- Obituaries & Death Notices – misc. listings from historical newspapers
- 1799-early 1900s – Washington County Deaths reported in various newspapers; an ongoing project
- 1906-1930 – NC Death Certificates:1906-1930– from Family Record Search. Microfilm images of death certificates
- 1913-1980 – Washington County Death Index –deaths recorded by the Register of Deeds
- 1898 -1994 – North Carolina Deaths and Burials, 1898-1994 –from Family Record Search
- US Social Security Death Index – free from FamilySearch
DEEDS
- Linda Haas Davenport has compiled a book of more than 950 deed transcriptions from Washington County covering 1799-1814. – Washington County, North Carolina Abstracts of Deed Books A-B-C (1799-1814): Including Some Dated Earlier. Broken Arrow, OK: L.H. Davenport, 2008. You can view the surname index on this archived version of her website. You can check for a library that may hold the book by going here.
- The Register of Deeds office has online searching of deeds from 1996 to present. Deeds from 1974- 1996 can be viewed if you have the Deed Book # and page. Read the blog entry for more details on how it works.
DIRECTORIES
- 1872 NC Business Directory
- 1902 –NC Yearbook
- 1903 NC Yearbook & Business Directory
- 1904 NC Yearbook & Business Directory
- 1905 NC Yearbook & Business Directory
- 1906 NC Yearbook & Business Directory
- 1910 NC Yearbook & Business Directory
- 1911 NC Yearbook & Business Directory
- 1912 NC Yearbook & Business Directory
- 1913 NC Yearbook & Business Directory
- 1914 NC Yearbook & Business Directory
- 1915 NC Yearbook & Business Directory
- 1916 NC Yearbook & Business Directory
- 1960 – Hill’s Plymouth Directory
- 1962 – Hill’s Plymouth Directory
EDUCATION
- NCGenWeb NC Yearbook Index – search for Washington County residents in yearbooks from across the state.
- Creswell Academy Notice of Incorporation (1889)
- Plymouth Colored High School –1944 Commencement Program – my grandmother, Alice McNair, is one of the graduating class members. (Link contributed by Taneya Koonce)
- Plymouth Academy
- 1899 commencement
- 1900 commencement
- Plymouth State Normal School (African-American school)
- Plymouth High School
- 1890- Final examination grades
FAMILIES
- FamilySearch Family Tree – profiles of Washington County individuals
- Pettigrew Papers vol. 1 (1685-1818)
- Pettigrew Papers vol. 2 (1819-1843)
FAMILY SITES
- Ambrose and Davenport Families –includes Ambrose and Davenport deed indexes and much more helpful information. Hosted by Linda Haas Davenport.
- Howcutt & Howcott Family History – website of Francis Howcutt who tracks Howcott families of Washington County.
- Owens Family & Friends – hosted by John Owens, this site has information on the descendants of John Owens I (d. 1700s) and wife Ann of Tyrrell County
- William Sexton Family of Roper, NC
GENEALOGY SOCIETY PUBLICATIONS
- Washington County Roots & Vines – February 1991, March 1991
- Washington County Genealogical Society Newsletters
- Washington County Genealogical Society Journal Issues
HISTORY
- Historic places of Washington County
- Drye, Willie. Plymouth and Washington County. Arcadia Pub, 2014.
- Josiah Collins Purchases Somerset Place
MAPS
MARRIAGES
- Marriage Notices – extracted from newspapers; view list by Bride or Groom surname
- Marriages, 1851-1890 – compilation of licenses of Washington County
- North Carolina Marriages 1759-1979 – from Family Record Search
- North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 – from FamilySearch and includes images
- 1799-1893 NC Marriage Records – full-text of Carrie Broughton’s Marriages from the NC Raleigh Register & Gazette series of books. Files are PDF files available for viewing online or for downloading. This work includes marriages from all over the state.
MILITARY
- NC Troops 1861-1865 Index – index from the multi-volume work of the NC Dept of Cultural Resources
- Civil War Pension Applications
- 1901 Civil War Pension Applications – digitized at the State Library
NEWSPAPERS
- Roanoke Beacon — full-text and digitized issues from 1889-1918 available online!
- Various news items from the newspapers
- Abstracts from Roanoke Beacon Newspaper Plymouth, Washington County, N.C. –located at the Haas/Davenport Homepage. Covers the year 1889.
- Past Washington County Newspapers – click on the links for information about libraries that may hold microfilmed issues. Also check with the NC Newspaper Project for details on ordering microfilm reproductions.
- The Old flag. (Plymouth, N.C.) 1865-186?
- The Plymouth banner. (Plymouth, N.C.) 1856-185?
- The Plymouth news. (Plymouth, N.C.) 1849-18??
- The Roanoke beacon and the Washington County news. (Plymouth, N.C.) 1929-1959
- The Roanoke beacon. (Plymouth, N.C.) 1889-1929
- The Roanoke beacon. (Plymouth, N.C.) 1959-current
- Roanoke cresset. (Plymouth, N.C.) 1858-18??
- The Washington County times. (Plymouth, N.C.) 1908-19??
QUERIES
- Have questions? Visit our NCGenWeb Facebook page
- Archived queries from Washington county researchers
SURNAMES
WILLS & ESTATES
- Index to estate records available at the NC Division of Archives & History
- List of Wills – Index to Washington County Guardian Records @ NC State Archives
- Allsbrook, Willia – August 25, 1856
- Armistead, Richard – March 1, 1815
- Beasley, Elizabeth F. – September 1873
- Davenport, Jestin – March 19, 1888
- Harrison, Asa H. – January 30, 1883
- Harrison, Edmond – December 30, 1870
- Harrison, Sabra E. – October 23, 1901
- Newberry I, John – October 11, 1818
- Padgett, Emma E. – January 9, 1905
- Snell, Asa – December 18, 1878
- Snell, Jordan – January 4, 1896
- Spruill, Frederick – May 5, 1859
- Spruill, Mary – May 31, 1873
- Spruill, William A. – dated January 14, 1888 proved June 11, 1890
- Spruill, William N. – dated March 15, 1848