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Warren County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat: Warrenton
Organized: 1779
Parent County(s): Bute[1]
Neighboring Counties
Brunswick (VA) • Franklin • Halifax • Mecklenburg (VA) • Nash • Northampton • Vance
See County Maps
Courthouse
NorthCarolinaWarrenCourthouse.jpg
Location Map
Nc-warren.png

County Information

Description

The county was named for Joseph Warren of Massachusetts, a physician and general in the American Revolutionary War who was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. It is located on the north central border of the state.

County Courthouse

Warren County Courthouse
109 S. Main Street
PO Box 709
Warrenton, NC 27589
Phone: 252-257-3261
Warren County Website

Register of deeds has birth and death records from 1913, marriage and land records from 1764.
Clerk Superior Court has divorce and probate records from 1764 and court records from 1968.[2]

Warren 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[3]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1913 1764 1913 1968 1764 1764 1784
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1913. General compliance by 1920.

Record Loss

1935 Fire burned courthouse, some record loss.
County Court Records from about 1814 -1823 are missing. Deed Books 15 and 16, 1799-1803, are missing from the court house and from the NC Archives.
For the status of records for all North Carolina Counties see:Status of Courthouse Records in North Carolina

For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

Boundary Changes

  • 1779 Warren County was created from Bute County, which was abolished in 1779.
  • 1800s Territory north of Roanoke River, in Roanoke Township, transferred from Northampton County to Warren County
  • 1881 Portion of Warren along western border, became part of Vance County
  • County seat: Warrenton[4]
  • 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:[5]

Towns
Unincorporated communities
  • Afton
  • Alert
  • Arcola
  • Axtell
  • Bucks Springs
  • Burchettte Chapel
  • Bute Bridge
  • Bute City
  • Church Hill
  • Cole Bridge
  • Coley Spring
  • Cool Springs
  • Countyline
  • Creek
  • Creekside
  • Crossroads Point
  • Crowder Pond
  • Drewry
  • Eaton Ferry
  • Elams
  • Elbron
  • Embro
  • Enterprise
  • Epworth
  • Essex
  • Fishing Creek
  • Fiveforks
  • Greenwood Village
  • Grove Hill
  • Hawtree
  • Hecksgrove
  • Hollister
  • Inez
  • Jones Springs
  • Judkins
  • Kimball Point
  • Kimballtown
  • Lake Gaston
  • Lake Gaston Esates
  • Largo Lake
  • Limertown
  • Lirbera
  • Littleton
  • Lizard Creek
  • Manson
  • Marmaduke
  • Nocava
  • Nutbush
  • Oakville
  • Odell
  • Oine
  • Old Bethlehem
  • Pancrea Springs
  • Parktown
  • Paschall
  • Perry Hill
  • Perrytown
  • Polar Mountain
  • Providence
  • Quick City
  • Red hill
  • Richardson
  • Ridgeway
  • River
  • Roanoke
  • Robertson Ferry
  • Rocky Hill
  • Rose Hill
  • Russell Union
  • Sandy Creek
  • Schoco
  • Seoul
  • Shocco Creek
  • Shocco Springs
  • Six Pound
  • Smith Creek
  • Snow Hill
  • Soul City
  • Timbuktu
  • Tradepost Crossroads
  • Vaughan
  • Vicksboro
  • Warren Hills
  • Warren Plains
  • Wildwood
  • Wise


History Timeline

Warren and Franklin Counties were formed in 1779 from Bute County which had been established in 1764. For several years the inhabitants of Bute had longed for a division of the county because of the hardships to fulfill civil duties from the remote parts of the very large county. On 26 April 1777 Mr. Benjamin Seawell introduced a petition in the North Carolina General Assembly from the several inhabitants of Bute for a division of the County. For some reason the division was not made. Two years later, in 1779, Mr. Edward Jones introduced another petition 'for the division. A bill was slated and enacted into law on 20 January 1779:

.... That from and after the passing of this Act the County of Bute shall be divided into two distinct Counties by a direct line from the Granville line to Halifax or Nash County line as the case may be, leaving in each part or division an equal quantity of Acres as near as can be ascertained ... and all that part or division which lies North of said line and adjacent to Virginia shall be a distinct County by the name of Warren, and all that part or division that lies South of said line shall be a distinct County by the name of Franklin;.. (SRNC, XXIV, 227)

On 29 January 1779 the General Assembly meeting at Halifax appointed the Commissioners for dividing Bute County. Julius Nichols, John Faulcon, William Duke, John Norwood, and Matthew Thomas were to be responsible for measuring the bounds of Bute County, running the dividing line, and choosing sites near the center of each county whore courthouses and public buildings were to be built. Later in 1779 two other acts of Assembly established Warrenton and Louisburg as County Seats of Warren and Franklin Counties respectively,

In 1786 Warren County annexed more territory, a part of Granville County:

.... Beginning at the point where the line of division between Warren and Granville Counties shall touch the line of division between this State and the State of Virginia, and running thence west along the said line to Nutbush Creek, thence up said creek as it meanders to the mouth of Anderson's Swamp, thence up the said swamp to the fork, thence up the south fork of the said swamp to Stark's mill, thence 'by a line to be run due south until it shall touch the aforesaid line of division between Warren and Granville, be, and the same is hereby annexed to and shall remain a part of the County of Warren .... (SRNC, XXIV, 866)

Warren County remains today the same except for a western part which was cut off to form a part of Vance County when it was formed in 1881.

Bute Co. was formed from Granville Co. in 1764 and abolished in 1779 when it was divided into Warren Co. and Franklin Co. The courthouse of Bute Co. was located at a place called "Buffalo Rice Path" on land owned by Jethro Sumner about 6 miles southeast of present Warrenton, North Carolina. Most of the records of Bute County are still located in Warren Co. though some may be found in Franklin Co.

Resources

Bible Records

Biographies

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Warren County, North Carolina online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See North Carolina Cemeteries for more information

 

Census Records

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1790 9,379 —
1800 11,284 20.3%
1810 11,004 −2.5%
1820 11,158 1.4%
1830 11,877 6.4%
1840 12,919 8.8%
1850 13,912 7.7%
1860 15,726 13.0%
1870 17,768 13.0%
1880 22,619 27.3%
1890 19,360 −14.4%
1900 19,151 −1.1%
1910 20,266 5.8%
1920 21,593 6.5%
1930 23,364 8.2%
1940 23,145 −0.9%
1950 23,539 1.7%
1960 19,652 −16.5%
1970 15,810 −19.6%
1980 16,232 2.7%
1990 17,265 6.4%
2000 19,972 15.7%
2010 20,972 5.0%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".


Church Records

Baptist


List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

African Americans

Warren County Marriage Bond, series II, Colored

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

Guardianship

Land and Property Records

Warren County Register of Deeds
109 S. Main Street
PO Box 506
Warrenton, NC 27589
Phone: 252-257-3265

The Registry cannot do research for you but the following records are available to the public:

-Real Estate since 1756
-Warren County Online Deeds Search, currently from abt 1974

A number of Deeds for Warren County have been transcribed; check the following sites:

Online Land Indexes and Records


Local Histories

Maps and Gazetteers

Mecklenburg CountyBrunswick CountyGreensville CountyNorthampton CountyHalifax CountyNash CountyFranklin CountyVance CountyNC WARREN.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration

Military Records

Revolutionary War

Civil War

Regiments. Men in Warren 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 Warren County:

- 8th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
- 12th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, 2nd Company C
- 12th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company F
- 12th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company K
- 14th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, formerly the 4th Volunteers, Company A
- 1st Brigade, North Carolina Reserves, Company A
- 1st Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, Company E
- 1st Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company A
- 3rd Battalion, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Captain D W William's Company
- 8th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Company F

World War I

World War II

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Obituaries

Other Records

Voter Registration

Periodicals

Probate Records

Online Probate Indexes and Records


Warren County has copies of wills and estate records available from the Office of the Clerk of the Superior Court. Please be specific about what you want when you contact the office.

Warren County Courthouse
109 S. Main Street
Warrenton, NC 27589
Clerk of Superior Court
Phone: 252-257-3261

It is generally more cost effective to order copies of records directly from the County; however, most originals of the early records have been sent to the State Archives and what remains in the County offices are hand-copied translations of those originals, so you may want to keep that in mind.

Records can be ordered from the North Carolina State Archives by contacting them giving them specific information on what you are looking for.Click onto this page for a detailed guide on Contacting the NC State Archives.

Most original wills, inventories, settlements and other materials associated with estate records have been sent to the State Archives. The Archives has the following available on microfilm:

-1763-1963 Index to Wills, 1763-1963 (1 reel)
-1764-1863 Records of Wills, Accounts, Inventories & Settlements, 1764-1863 (16 reels)
-1820-1821 Division of Estates, 1820-1821 (1 reel)
-1863-1964 Record of Wills, 1863-1964 (3 reels)
-1868-1964 Record of Accounts, 1868-1964 (5 reels)
-1878-1964 Record of Settlements, 1878-1964 (3 reels)
-1905-1906 Record of Administrators and Guardians, 1905-1906 (1 reel)
-1912-1964 Record of Administrators, 1912-1964; Cross Index to Administrators, 1866-1965 (3 reels)
-1919-1964 Record of Executors, 1919-1964; Cross Index to Administrators & Executors, 1927-1936 (1 reel)
-1923-1964 Inheritance Tax Records, 1923-1964 (1 reel)
-1926-1964 Record of Guardians, 1926-1964; Cross Index to Guardians, 1926-1936 (1 reel)

The North Carolina State Archives will give you pricing information when you contact them for ordering microfilm.

North Carolina State Archives
4614 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-4614

Physical address:
109 E. Jones St.
Raleigh, NC 27601
Phone: 919-807-7310

A number of Wills & Estates have been transcribed and are available as follows:

The early Warren County Court records have been transcribed and published:

-1780-1786 Warren County, NC Minutes to the Court of Pleas, 1780-1786
-1787-1792 Warren County, NC Minutes to the Court of Pleas, 1787-1792
-1793-1796 Warren County, NC Minutes to the Court of Pleas, 1793-1796
-1797-1800 Warren County, NC Minutes to the Court of Pleas, 1797-1800
-1801-1805 Warren County, NC Minutes to the Court of Pleas, 1801-1805
-1806-1809 Warren County, NC Minutes to the Court of Pleas, 1806-1809
-1810-1813 Warren County, NC Minutes to the Court of Pleas, 1810-1813

There is an index to the books on the website where you can check for your ancestor's name.

School Records

Social Security Records

Tax Records

Vital Records

Online Records

Birth

Marriage

Death

Divorce

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Warren 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

Libraries

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

Museums

Societies

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

Afro American Historical Genealogical Society, Piedmont-Triad NC
2812 E Bessemer Ave
PO Box 36254
Greensboro, NC 27416
Phone: 336-547-0178
Email: ncaahgsnc@gmail.com
Facebook
Website

Warren County Historical Association
210 Plummer St
Warrenton, NC 27589

Websites

Research Guides

References

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), North Carolina.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), North Carolina.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  3. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Warren County, North Carolina. Page 506-514 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 505-509.
  4. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), North Carolina.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  5. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Warren County, North Carolina," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_County%2C_North_Carolina, accessed 1 March 2020.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 George Washington Paschal, History of North Carolina Baptists, 2 vols. (1930; reprint, Gallatin, Tenn.: Church History Research and Archives, 1990), 1:233, 483, 491; 2:569. FS Library Book 975.6 K2p 1990.
  7. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/f/f5/Iginorthcarolinap.pdf.
  8. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/f/f5/Iginorthcarolinap.pdf.
  9. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/f/f5/Iginorthcarolinap.pdf.
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