Robeson County, North Carolina Genealogy

United States

North Carolina

Robeson County

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

North Carolina Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Lumberton Organized: 1787 Parent County(s): Bladen Neighboring Counties Bladen • Columbus • Cumberland • Dillon (SC) • Hoke • Horry (SC) • Marlboro (SC) • Scotland See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

Robeson County is located in the south-central portion of North Carolina and shares a border with South Carolina. It was named for Revolutionary War Colonel Thomas Robeson.

County Courthouse

Robeson County Courthouse
500 N Elm Street
PO Box 22
Lumberton, NC 28358
Phone: 919-671-3044
Robeson County Website

Register of Deeds has been recorded from 1913, marriage records from 1787, death records from 1915, brand land records from 1799.
Clerk Superior Court has divorce and court records from 1920 and probate records from 1868.

Robeson County, North Carolina Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1913	1787	1915	1920	1799	1868	1784
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1913. General compliance by 1920.

Record Loss

Many of the court records are missing. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle. When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog. Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. List of counties in the United States with Record Loss

Boundary Changes

1787 Robeson County was created from Bladen. County seat: Lumberton North Carolina Individual County Chronologies - Newberry Library list of all boundary changes by county North Carolina Historical Borders - Map at Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Also at: mapofus.org - animated maps illustrating North Carolina county boundary changes

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:

Cities
Lumberton
Towns
Fairmont Lumber Bridge Marietta Maxton McDonald	Orrum Parkton Pembroke Proctorville Raynham	Red Springs Rennert Rowland St. Pauls
Unincorporated communities
Barnesville Bloomingdale	Five Forks	Red Banks
Census-designated places
Barker Ten Mile Elrod Prospect	Raemon Rex	Shannon Wakulla
Townships
Alfordsville Back Swamp Barnesville Britts Burnt Swamp East Howellsville Gaddy	Parkton Philadelphus Raft Swamp Rennert Saddletree Shannon Smiths	Smyrna Sterlings Thompson Union West Howellsville Whitehouse Wishart

Resources

Bible Records

• Bible Records at North Carolina Digital Archives - index and image
• Robeson County Bible Records at NCGenWeb

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Robeson County, North Carolina online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com NCGenWeb NCGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project North Carolina Cemeteries BillionGraves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com BillionGraves FamilySearch Places
See North Carolina Cemeteries for more information

 

• North Carolina, Historical Records Survey, Cemetery Inscription Card Index at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images Also at: Ancestry ($)

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	5,343	—
1800	6,839	28.0%
1810	7,528	10.1%
1820	8,204	9.0%
1830	9,433	15.0%
1840	10,370	9.9%
1850	12,826	23.7%
1860	15,489	20.8%
1870	16,262	5.0%
1880	23,880	46.8%
1890	31,483	31.8%
1900	40,371	28.2%
1910	51,945	28.7%
1920	54,674	5.3%
1930	66,512	21.7%
1940	76,860	15.6%
1950	87,769	14.2%
1960	89,102	1.5%
1970	84,842	−4.8%
1980	101,610	19.8%
1990	105,179	3.5%
2000	123,339	17.3%
2010	134,168	8.8%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records

• 1700-1970 North Carolina, Church Records, 1700-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

Baptist

• Ash Pole. Organized 1796.
• First Baptist Church, Lumberton, N.C.
• Saddle Tree Creek. Constituted by 1788. Lemuel Burkitt and Jesse Read, A Concise History of the Kehukee Baptist Association: From Its Original Rise Down to 1808 (1808), Chapter 16. Available online at Internet Archives.

Presbyterian

• History of the First Presbyterian Church, Maxton, NC, 1878-1958. (Eastern NC Digital Library)
• Yearbook and Directory of the Rowland Presbyterian Church, Rowland, N.C (Eastern NC Digital Library)

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Court Records

• 1797-1868 County Court Minutes, 1797-1868(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1801-1921 North Carolina, Robeson County, Civil Action Court Papers, 1801-1921(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1857-1965 Coroner's Inquest, Robeson County, North Carolina, 1857-1965(*); Coroner at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1870-1917 Record of Accounts, 1870-1917(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Directories

• 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

African Americans Many free African American families moved to Robeson County from Virginia in the 1700s.

• 1862-1870 North Carolina, Freedmen's Bureau Assistant Commissioner Records, 1862-1870 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1863-1872 North Carolina, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only

Funeral Homes

• Boles-Biggs Funeral Home in Lumberton, Red Springs, Rowland and St. Pauls.
• Celebrations of Life by Leggett-Patterson Funeral Home Inc. in Lumberton.
• Colvin Funeral Homes and Crematory in Lumberton.
• Crumpler Funeral Home in Red Springs.
• Floyd Mortuary and Crematory, Inc. in Fairmont and Lumberton.
• Heritage Funeral Home in Red Springs.
• Hills Funeral Home in Fairmont and Rowland.
• L. E. Floyd Funeral Home in Red Springs.
• Locklear and Son Funeral Home in Pembroke.
• McKoy and Sons Mortuary in St. Pauls.
• McMillan Funeral Home in Lumberton.
• McNeill-Legacy Funeral Home in St. Pauls.
• Revels Funeral Home in Lumberton and Pembroke.
• S and L Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Maxton.
• Thompson's Funeral Home in Pembroke.
• Worley Mortuary and Cremation Service in Fairmont and Lumberton.

Genealogies

• [Lewis] Lewis, J.D. My Neck of the Woods: The Lewis Families of Southeastern North Carolina and Northeastern South Carolina. Little River, S.C.: J.D. Lewis, 2002.

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
• Misc County Deed Transcriptions (USGenWeb Archives)
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Robeson County (NC Maps collection)
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

Revolutionary War

• 1778-1833 Delamar Transcripts of Revolutionary War Petitions at North Carolina Genealogical Society - index ($)
• 1779-1782 North Carolina Revolutionary Pay Vouchers 1779-1782 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

Civil War

• 1861-1865 North Carolina, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1861-1865 North Carolina, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & 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 & images
• 1885-1953 North Carolina, Confederate Soldiers and Widows Pension Applications, 1885-1953 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

Regiments. Men in Robeson County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Robeson County:

- 3rd Regiment, North Carolina Artillery, Company E

- 7th Battalion, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company C

- 8th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Captain Nathaniel McLean's Company

- 8th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Captain Neill McNeill's Company

- 12th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, 1st Company D

- 51st Regiment, North Carolina Militia Company F

World War I

• 1914-1918 World War I Papers at North Carolina Digital Collections - index & images
• 1917-1919 North Carolina, World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

World War II

• 1939-1945 World Ward II Papers at North Carolina Digital Collections - index & images
  
  
• 1940-1948 North Carolina, Discharge and Statement of Service Records, 1940-1948 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

Newspapers

• 1799-1893 Robeson County marriages. May be included throughout Carrie Broughton's 6-volume index of the Raleigh Register & State Gazette newspaper (1799-1893). Marriages are listed by year and PDF files are searchable. Available on the North Carolina Digital Collections website.
• Newspapers published in Robeson County. Listing of newspapers published in the county libraries that hold them. (Library of Congress)
• Misc. newspaper articles (USGenWeb Archives)
• Robeson County residents in the newspaper. Name listing of people from the county as located in misc. newspaper articles; time span varies. Articles indexed in the NC People in the Papers database. (NCGenWeb)
• North Carolina Newspapers at DigitalNC
• 1800s-Current Nebraska, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Obituaries

• Misc. Robeson County Obituaries (USGenWeb Archives)

Other Records

Voter Registration

• 1868-1898 North Carolina, Voter Registration Records, 1868-1898 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

Probate Records

Online Probate Indexes and Records

• 1660-1790 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1660-1790 at Ancestry ($)
• 1663-1789 Secretary of State Wills at North Carolina Digital Collections - index & images
• 1663-1978 Wills, 1663-1978; Estate Papers, 1801-1935 (Robeson County)(*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1663-1979 North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1665-1998 North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998 at Ancestry ($)
• 1720-1960 Will Books A to F and 1 to 8 (1720-1960) at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
• 1735-1970 North Carolina Probate Records 1735-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only (by County)
• 1760-1800 North Carolina Will Abstracts 1760-1800 at Ancestry ($)
• 1783-1851 Wills, 1783-1851(*); Clerk of the Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1783-1966 Bonds and records (North Carolina), 1736-1957 at FamilySearch
• 1787-1865 Wills, 1787-1865(*); County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
• 1787-1869 North Caroline Pioneers Images of Wills ($)
• 1787-1966 Record of Wills, 1787-1966(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
• 1790 Pre-1790 Robeson County, North Carolina Genealogy Wills (North Carolina State Archives)
• 1869-1936 Record of Administrators, Executors, J.P!s and Notaries, 1869-1936(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1903-1912 Record of Administrators, Executors, and Guardians, 1903-1912(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1907-1921 Administrators' Records, 1907-1921(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
• 1962-1965 Qualifications of Trustees Under Wills, 1962-1965(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• Miscellaneous Robeson County Wills, transcriptions (USGenWeb Archives)
• Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

School Records

• Robeson County College Students. Name list of students at various NC colleges with identified hometowns in Robeson. Yearbook Index. (NCGenWeb)
• Flora McDonald College yearbooks from 1921-1961. (Internet Archive)
• Presbyterian Junior College yearbooks from the mid 1930s-1960s. (Internet Archive)
• UNC-Pembroke yearbooks from the 1940s to the 1980s. (Internet Archive)
• Flora Macdonald College, published by Ralph Walter Page, 1920.

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index 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 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Vital Records

• 1800-2000 North Carolina, Department of Archives and History, Index to Vital Records, 1800-2000 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• Uncertified copies of vital records can be ordered for a small fee from the Durham County Register of Deeds.

Birth

• 1800-2000 North Carolina Birth Index 1800-2000 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1866-1964 North Carolina Births and Christenings 1866-1964 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1913-1922 North Carolina, Center for Health Statistics, Vital Records Unit, County Birth Records, 1913-1922 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage

• 1700-Onward North Carolina Marriages at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
• 1741-2004 North Carolina, United States Marriages at Findmypast
• 1741-2004 North Carolina Marriage Index 1741-2004 at Ancestry $
• 1759-1979 North Carolina Marriages 1759-1979 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index
• 1762-1979 North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1763-1868 North Carolina, Civil Marriages, 1763-1868 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images  
• 1850-1944 Robeson County Marriage Index 1850-1944 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
• Robeson County Marriages (NCGenWeb)
• Misc. Robeson County Marriages (USGenWeb Archives)

Death

• 1898-1994 North Carolina Deaths and Burials, 1898-1994 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1906-1930 North Carolina Deaths 1906-1930 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & 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 North Carolina Deaths 1931-1994 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

Divorce

• 1926-1975 North Carolina, County Divorce Records, 1926-1975 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

• 1958-2004 North Carolina Divorce Index 1958-2004 at Ancestry $

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Robeson County. For state-wide archival repositories, see North Carolina Archives and Libraries.

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Charlotte North Carolina South FamilySearch Center
• Fayetteville North Carolina FamilySearch Center
• Pembroke North Carolina FamilySearch Center
• Pinehurst North Carolina FamilySearch Center
• Wilmington North Carolina FamilySearch Center
• York South Carolina FamilySearch Center

• New Hanover County Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Robeson County. For state-wide library facilities, see North Carolina Archives and Libraries.

Museums

Robeson County History Museum
101 S Elm St
PO Box 2503
Lumberton, NC 28359-2503
Phone: 910-738-7979
Email: robesonhistorymuseum@gmail.com
Facebook
Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Robeson County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see North Carolina Societies.

Robeson County Genealogical Society
PO Box 2292
Lumberton, NC 28359-2292
Facebook
Website

Southeastern North Carolina Genealogical Society
PO Box 468
Chadbourn, NC 28431-0468
Facebook

Websites

• Robeson County NCGenWeb
• FamilySearch Catalog – 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.