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Introduction to Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. United States Vital Records has additional research guidance on researching and using vital records. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the North Carolina Vital Records State Department of Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.

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North Carolina Birth, Marriage and Death Records Online

The following is a list of online resources useful for locating North Carolina Vital Records which consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths. Check North Carolina Vital Records Online for more information about the resources listed below. Most online resources for North Carolina Vital Records are indexes. After locating a person in an index always consult the original record to confirm the information in the index.

• North Carolina Links from fhlfavorites.info - Free
• North Carolina Databases listed on Rootsweb.com - Free
• USGenWeb.org North Carolina Site - Free
• Search for North Carolina Collections on FamilySearch Record Search under Canada, USA, and Mexico - Free
• The Vital Records Search and Information Directory for North Carolina - Free/$
• Wee Monster Links for North Carolina Carolina Birth & Marriage and Death Records - Free/$
• Linkpendium Links for North Carolina Genealogy and History, including individual Counties - Free/$ 
• Progenealogists Links for the United States. Press Ctrl + F on the keyboard to search for North Carolina or NC - Free/$
• Search the North Carolina Birth, Marriage & Death Records at Ancestry.com - $ 
• Order North Carolina Certificates online - $ 

• North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services: Vital Records  - $
• North Carolina Obituary Links

If you are aware of other online databases, please feel free to add them.

Birth Records

Birth records usually give the name and sex of the child; the names, birthplaces, and ages of the parents (with the mother's maiden name); the occupation of the father; and the number of children born to the mother. Birth records of adopted children may give the birth parents but have frequently been amended to show only the adoptive parents. A year-by-year search of birth records may reveal other children born to a couple.

Statewide registration of births and deaths began in 1913 and was generally complied with by 1920. In some cities record keeping began earlier. For example, Raleigh began recording births in 1890 and deaths in 1885. Counties where the births and deaths occurred kept a duplicate copy of the information they sent to the state office. Most of the county indexes to births and deaths through the 1960s have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library„¢.

For up-to-date information about vital records, see:

North Carolina Vital Records Information This site has links to the state vital records office's Internet site. It also shows their current address, telephone, fax, fees, and years for which records are available. It includes addresses of county vital records offices, and many county genealogical societies and links to related information such as local record searching volunteers.

To obtain a copy of the original records of births and deaths from 1913 to the present, you can write to the Register of Deeds in the county.

Copies of birth records from 1913 to the present and death records from 1930 to the present are also available at the state office:

Dept. of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources
225 North McDowell Street
Raleigh, NC 29537
Telephone: 919-733-3526

For Mail requests:
North Carolina Vital Records
1903 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1903

Internet: Dept. of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources

Birth indexes provide the person's name, name of father (or in some cases, the mother's name), and the place and date of birth.

Pre-1913 Birth Records Kept by Cities. The city of Raleigh kept birth records beginning with 1890 and the city of Wilmington from 1904. Raleigh death records begin in 1885 and Wilmington's begin in 1903.

Delayed Birth Certificates. Due to Social Security requirements and other federal acts, many people needed proof of birth. If no birth record was available, they could go to the county where they were born and file a delayed registration of birth. These may be found in county offices of the Register of Deeds. These records may list births from the 1870s to the 1960s. They usually give the exact date of birth, town or city of birth, and often the full names of both parents, as well as the volume and page. The library has microfilm copies of some of these important documents.

Vital Records Section. Death Certificates, 1906-1994; Still Births, 1914-1953; Fetal Deaths, 1960-1974; Index, 1906-1967 has the certificates are arranged by file number or volume number.

For the time period 1968-1994 there is an alphabetical death index on 56 microfiche in the Vital Records Section. Index to Death Certificates, 1968-1994

Bastardy Bonds

A book with birth information about children born out of wedlock is North Carolina Bastardy Bonds. Records for 30 counties are included in this book. These bonds are from the time the county was created until about 1880. The original records are at the North Carolina State Archives. The bondsman listed may be the father of the child, the mother or her father, or another party. About 22,000 names are listed.

Adoption Records

open / closed / state statues

Marriage Records

Marriage Records, Early to 1868

From 1669 to 1742, marriages were performed by clergy or civil authorities and were recorded in county records. Few of these records have survived, except for those of Pasquotank and Perquimans counties.

From 1741 to 1868, either a publication of banns or the posting of a bond was required before a marriage could take place. These practices are described below:

Banns. The publication of banns was a religious procedure. For three consecutive Sundays, the couple posted in church their written intention to marry. If no objection was voiced, permission to marry was granted by the church. Before 1851 marriages performed by banns were not recorded in public records, so they must be located in church or Bible records. Beginning in 1851 ministers were required to file marriage returns with a clerk in the county.

Bonds. Couples could also obtain a license to marry if the groom posted a bond of 50 pounds in the county where the bride resided. Marriages performed by bonds were recorded in county records. Some of these pre-1868 bonds have survived for about half the counties. Marriage by bonds was discontinued in 1868.

About 170,000 marriage bonds for 1741-1868 have been abstracted and indexed in An Index to Marriage Bonds Filed in the North Carolina State Archives. The index refers you to the county of marriage. It contains a brides index and a grooms index. It includes the entire state, except Granville County. Most of these pre-1868 marriage bonds are also listed in the International Genealogical Index available at the Family History Library and at each Family History Center and online at FamilySearch.org. Many county marriage records are on microfilm or have been published.

For a fee, the North Carolina State Archives will search the index for you and send you a copy. Instructions are found in Archives Information Circular 15 September 1977. Only the microfiche is circulated to Family History Centers.

Marriage Records after 1868

Marriage records from 1868 to 1962 are kept by the register of deeds in each county. Statewide registration of marriages began in 1962. You can write to the Division of Health Services (see address above) to obtain copies of records since January 1962. For records from 1868 to the 1950s and sometimes later, write to the North Carolina State Archives listed in the "Archives and Library" section.

County Marriage Records at the Family History Library

The Family History Library has microfilm copies of county marriage records for most counties through the 1950s. From Guilford County, for example, the library has six films of marriage abstracts (1770–1868) and 65 films of marriage licenses (1873–1961). Numerous published sources are also available, such as:

• North and South Carolina Marriage Records: From the Earliest Colonial Days to the Civil War.

• Marriage Records, Early-1850 This does not circulate to Family History Centers. This resource indexes Family History Library microfilms of selected marriage records from Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Almost all North Carolina counties are represented. This index shows each spouse's name, Soundex code, and marriage date. The state and county and marriage years covered are in the upper left of the screen.

• Marriage Records. Part 4, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. This does not circulate to Family History Centers. This resource, once titled Hunting for Bears, indexes original marriage records to about 1868 from 102 North Carolina counties. Family History Library microfilm copies were not used to compile this index. This index lists each spouse's name and marriage date. The state and county of the marriage are displayed on the upper left of the screen.

North Carolina birth, marriage, and death records can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:

NORTH CAROLINA- VITAL RECORDS

NORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY]- VITAL RECORDS

NORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- VITAL RECORDS

Many eloping couples went to Mt.Airy, Surry County, North Carolina to be married and avoid the waiting period between the time of issuing a license and the performance of the marriage.

Divorce Records

Divorce records may provide information about the date and place of marriage, names and ages of children, the cause of the divorce, and terms of settlement. After the American Revolution and through 1827, divorces could be granted by the general assembly, and these records are among the legislative papers at the state archives. The superior court for each county also had jurisdiction over divorce cases beginning in 1814. The Family History Library has very few of these documents. You can write to the superior court clerk at the county courthouse for copies or information. The North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources has divorce records from 1 January 1958 to the present.

Divorce records can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:

NORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY] - DIVORCE RECORDS

NORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY] - COURT RECORDS

Death Records

Death records usually give information about the deceased, such as name, age, birth date, state or country of birth (sometimes the city or town), names of the parents (frequently including the maiden name of the mother), and the informant (who may be a close relative). The date and place of death are given. Sometimes burial information, the cause of death, and the names of the physician and mortician are provided. The length of residence in the state or county may also be given.

Death indexes give the name of the person, the name of the father (or mother), and the place and date of death. Death records for 1913–1955 and indexes for 1913-1967 are available from:

North Carolina State Archives
109 East Jones Street
Raleigh, NC 27601-2807
Telephone: 919-733-3952
Fax: 919-807-7310
email: archives@ncmail.net

Requests by mail should be sent to:
North Carolina State Archives
4614 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-4614

Internet: http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/archives/

Death indexes and images from 1906-1930 are available online at Record Search.

Death indexes for 1906–1967 and death certificates for 1906–1994, are on microfilm at the Family History Library:

Burned, Lost, or Missing Records

Alexander 1865, Alleghany 1932, Anson 1868, Ashe 1865, Bladen 1800, 1893,Brunswick 1865, Buncombe 1830, 1865, Burke 1865, Cabarrus 1874, Cherokee 1865, 1895, 1926, Chowan 1848, Clay 1870, Currituck 1842, Davidson, Duplin, Gaston 1874, Greene 1876, Guilford 1872,  Harnett 1892, 1894, Hertford 1832, 1862, Iredell 1854, Jones 1862, Lenoir 1878, 1880, Martin 1884, Mitchell 1907, Montgomery 1835, Moore 1889,  New Hanover 1798, 1819, 1840, Onslow 1752, 1786, Orange 1789,  Pasquotank 1862, Pitt 1857, Rockingham 1906, Rowan 1865, Rutherford 1857, 1907, Sampson 1865,1921, Swain 1879, Washington 1862, 1869, 1881, Watauga 1873,

Substitute Records

North Carolina Church Records

North Carolina Cemetery Records

North Carolina Census

North Carolina Newspapers

North Carolina Military Records

North Carolina Periodicals

North Carolina History

Tips

• Information listed on vital records is given by an informant.  Learn the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) of the record.  The closer the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) and whether or not the informant was present at the time of the event can help determine the accuracy of the information found on the record.
• If you are unable to locate vital records recorded by governments, search for church records of christening, marriage, death or burial.  A family Bible may have been used to record births, marriages and deaths.
• Records for African American may be recorede in separate files with separate indexes.
• Privacy laws may restrict your access to some vital records.  Copies of some viatl records recorded in the last 100 years may be unavailable to anyone except a direct relative.
• Search for Vital Records in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search and then choosing Vital Records.  Search for North Carolina to loacte records filed by the State and then search the name of the county to locate records kept by the county.

Archives, Libraries and Societies

North Carolina Archives and Libraries

North Carolina Societies