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Alexander County, North Carolina Genealogy

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

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County Facts
County seat: Taylorsville
Organized: 15 January 1847
Parent County(s): Caldwell, Iredell, Wilkes[1]
Neighboring Counties
Caldwell  • Catawba  • Iredell  • Wilkes  • Alexander
See County Maps
Courthouse
NorthCarolinaAlexanderCourthouse.jpg
Location Map
Nc-alexander.png
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County Information[edit | edit source]

Description[edit | edit source]

Alexander County is located in the Western portion of North Carolina and was named in honor of the Alexander family who were leaders in Colonial North Carolina[2].

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Alexander County Courthouse
201 1ST SW Ste 1
Taylorsville, NC 28681-2592
Phone: 828-632-9332
Alexander County Website

Register of Deeds has birth, marriage, death, land records;
Clerk Superior Court has divorce, probate court records from 1865[3]

Alexander County, North Carolina Record Dates[edit | edit source]

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 Major County Records[4]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1913 1867 1913 1865 1833 1865 1784
Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1913. General compliance by 1920.

Record Loss[edit | edit source]

1865--Many court records were burned by Federal Troops.
1967--Fire burned courthouse

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

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

  • 1847--Alexander County was created 15 January 1847 from Caldwell, Iredell, and Wilkes Counties.
  • County seat: Taylorsville[5]

For animated maps illustrating North Carolina county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation North Carolina County Boundary Maps" (1664-1965) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

The following are locations in Alexander County, North Carolina:

History Timeline[edit | edit source]

Alexander was formed in 1847 from Iredell, Caldwell and Wilkes counties. It was named in honor of William J. Alexander of Mecklenburg County, several times member of the Legislature and speaker of the House of Commons.

Alexander County is located in the foothills of the Brushy Mountains in western North Carolina. It is bordered on the south by the Catawba River and Catawba County, on the west by Caldwell County, on the north by Wilkes County , and on the east by Iredell County. Taylorsville, incorprated in 1851, is the county seat of Alexander County. Primary industry includes agriculture, furniture, and textiles. In 2003, the county celebrated its 156th birthday.

Resources[edit | edit source]

List of Records available for Alexander County at the North Carolina State Archives

Bible Records[edit | edit source]

Biographies[edit | edit source]

Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries of Alexander 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[edit | edit source]

  • Census records are available from multiple sources for the state. Check the NC Census Records page for links to free & paid resources.

Church Records[edit | edit source]

Court Records[edit | edit source]

North Carolina's court system, called the General Court of Justice, is a unified statewide and state-operated system consisting of three divisions: the Appellate Division, the Superior Court and the District Court Division. The Superior Court and District Court Divisions are commonly referred to as the North Carolina Trial Courts.

For some counties the trial Courts have been further subdivided into specialty areas such as Business Court, Family Court, Drug Court, Traffic Court, etc. More information on specialty courts for this county is provided on the left menu.

This web site for the Courts in Alexander County provides specific information on how North Carolina Trial Courts operate within Alexander County.

Directories[edit | edit source]

  • Several NC state business directories are available online. Visit this list of directories, and under the "Statewide" category, open the directory and navigate to Alexander County. Directories include information on area businesses and citizens.

Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]

Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]

Genealogies[edit | edit source]

Guardianship[edit | edit source]

Land and Property Records[edit | edit source]

Alexander County Register of Deeds maintains copies of deed and land records, some of which are available from their website for searching.

Their address is:
Alexander County Register of Deeds
75 1st Street SW
Suite 1
Taylorsville, NC
28681-2504

Phone: 828-632-3152
Fax: 828-632-1119

Local Histories[edit | edit source]

Alexander County was established in 1847, the year of the first sale of land in the county seat (Taylorsville). With the proceeds from the sale, the first courthouse was built on the present site. When the Civil War began, Alexander County was 14 years old. The 1860 population was 5,837; yet Alexander County ranked high per capita in the number of Confederate soldiers serving in the war.The county is named in honor of the Alexander family who were leaders in Colonial North Carolina. Taylorsville is the namesake of either John Louis Taylor, Carolina agriculturist and political philosopher, or General Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States.

  • Historical Sketches of Alexander County, N.C., Book was published in 1905 and authored by Rev. A.L. Crouse, Subtitled Friendship Lutheran, Hopewell Reformed, and Charity Baptist Churches and the Bowman & Fry Families

Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

Ncalexander.png

Migration[edit | edit source]

Early migration routes to and from Alexander County for European settlers included:[6]

Military Records[edit | edit source]

Revolutionary War

Civil War

Regiments. Men in Alexander 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 Alexander County:

-7th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry
- 1st Battalion, North Carolina Junior Reserves, Company D
- 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company C
- 5th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, Company F

World War I

World War II

Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Online Sources

Published Extracts

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

  • Alexander County Obituaries - user-submitted entries to the NCGenWeb Archives
  • Newspaper obituary index Alexander county, North Carolina 1986-1992 taken from The Taylorsville Times, The Time Advatage ... Statesville Record and Landmark - compiled by Evelina Davis Miller Family History Library, and WorldCat

Other Records[edit | edit source]

County Records

Periodicals[edit | edit source]

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

Online Probate Records

Estates

Wills[edit | edit source]

Wills are maintained by the Alexander County Superior Court

Physical Address:
29 W. Main Ave.
Taylorsville, NC 28681

Mailing Address:
PO Box 100
Taylorsville, NC 28681
828.632.2215

The person who makes a will is called the "testator" or "devisee." The folks who get the goodies are “legatees" or "devisees." The fellow who makes sure that the final wishes are carried out is the "executor." If the executor happens to be female, she is an "executrix." "Probate" is the process by which the will becomes official and the written desires are validated. There are usually three copies of a will: the original, the one copied into the county clerk's records, and the one issued to the executor. The copy that is committed to the county clerk's book will often contain probate information: witnesses, executor, probate dates, etc


School Records[edit | edit source]

Tax Records[edit | edit source]

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

Overview

  • Alexander County Register of Deeds
    Mailing Address:
    75 1st Street SW, Suite 1, Taylorsville, NC 28681-2504
    Phone: 828-632-3152
  • Records include Vital Statistics, Marriages, Births, and Deaths as well as Veterans Discharge Records (DD-214s). Following is a breakdown of what kinds of records are available:
  • Birth Certificates - 1913-current: The state of North Carolina officially began keeping birth certificates in 1913. (In some outlying areas it began a bit later.) Birth certificates tell where a child was born, who the parents were and their age at the time of the birth. Other information is sometimes listed such as occupation of the father, number of children already in the household, etc.
  • Delayed Birth Certificates (delayed births) - 1913-current: If someone, somehow, escaped the notice of a birth certificate registrar or happened to be born before births were listed, they could have applied for a delayed birth certificate. To obtain such a certificate, individuals had to supply documentation, often a family Bible record.
  • Marriage Records - 1859-current: During the majority of North Carolina's history, most of its citizens got married in any manner that suited them. Ministers and magistrates were nice, but often, one concludes, not necessary. This makes the existence of public marriage records chancy at best, but some do exist. Officially, there were two ways to get married in the state up until 1868. One was through the publication of banns whereby a marriage would be announced on three consecutive Sundays in church. If no one spoke up against the merger, then the couple was free to wed. A certificate stating that this procedure had been followed was supposed to have been created, but, of course, did not have to be placed on file anywhere. The second method which lasted from 1741-1868 (and overlapped the period of banns) involved the issuance of a marriage bond. The bridegroom obtained these through the Clerk of the County Court. They signified nothing more than that the couple listed intended to marry. It is possible that they changed their mind later and never tied the knot. Originals to all marriage bonds--except those from Granville County which retained its copies--are in the State Archives. Bonds were filed in the County where the intended bride resided. Information on Bonds include bride and groom's names, the bondsman's name and witness (often the clerk of court). Marriage licenses existed for most of North Carolina's history but were not required to be kept until 1851. In 1868, bonds were discontinued and the Register of deeds in each County issued the required marriage licenses.
  • Death Certificates - 1913-current: North Carolina began keeping Death Certificates in 1913. If an ancestor died before this time, one must turn to such records as wills, tombstones, and family Bibles to find the death date. Death certificates contain the date of death and birth as well as the parents' names and cause of death--and sometimes a good bit more. One must remember that this information was not supplied by the subject under consideration. All information on a death certificate is supplied by an "informant." Informants are often family members but that does not mean that the information they supplied is 100 percent accurate.

Birth[edit | edit source]

Marriage[edit | edit source]

Death[edit | edit source]

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Research Facilities[edit | edit source]

Archives[edit | edit source]

Family History Centers[edit | edit source]

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

Libraries[edit | edit source]

Museums[edit | edit source]

Societies[edit | edit source]

  • Alexander County Ancestry Association
    PO Box 241
    Hiddenite 28636-0241
  • Alexander County Genealogical Society
    RR 2, Box 87-A
    Hiddenite 28636
  • Hiddenite Arts and Heritage Center
    316 Hiddenite Church Road
    Hiddenite, NC 28636
    Telephone Number: 828-632-6966
    E-mail:info@hiddenitecenter.com
    Website

Websites[edit | edit source]

Research Guides[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), North Carolina.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. ↑ https://alexandercountync.gov/history/
  3. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), North Carolina.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  4. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Alexander County, North Carolina. Page 506-514 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL 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.
  5. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), North Carolina.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  6. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), North Carolina.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  7. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/4/4d/Iginorthcarolinaa.pdf.




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