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North Carolina Counties Page

North Carolina


North Carolina Counties Page


History

As early as 1650, colonists from the Virginia colony moved into the area of Albemarle Sound. By 1663, King Charles II of England granted a charter to start a new colony on the North American continent which generally established its borders. He named it Carolina in honor of his father Charles I.

The first permanent European settlers of North Carolina after the Spanish in the 16th century were English colonists who migrated south from Virginia, following a rapid growth of the colony and the subsequent shortage of available farmland. Nathaniel Batts was documented as one of the first of these Virginian migrants. He settled south of the Chowan River and east of the Great Dismal Swamp in 1655. By 1663, this northeastern area of the Province of Carolina, known as the Albemarle Settlements, was undergoing full-scale British settlement. During the same period, the English monarch Charles II gave the province to the Lords Proprietors, a group of noblemen who had helped restore Charles to the throne in 1660. The new province of "Carolina" was named in honor and memory of King Charles I (Latin: Carolus). In 1712, North Carolina became a separate colony. Except for the Earl Granville holdings, it became a royal colony seventeen years later.
Source: North Carolina at Wikipedia

The Virginia - North Carolina border was in dispute for a number of years, and was not resolved until the survey of William Byrd II in 1728. The effect of the disputed border was that both the Virginia colony and the Carolina colony claimed jurisdiction, and both issued grants in the same areas, leading to confusion then and today. For details and maps see: Border Dispute

Maps

Modern day North Carolina county map Map - County Selection Map
Library of Congress 1770 A compleat map of North-Carolina from an actual survey
The University of North Carolina also has an extensive collection of North Carolina maps available on their website: North Carolina Maps

Modern Day Adjacent States

The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north.

County Information

See Wikipedia for modern day county information Listing of North Carolina Counties

Availability of wills and probate documents listed by county at the North Carolina GENWEB Archives - NC Statewide Will Status

Resources

Original probate documents for North Carolina counties online at FamilySearch.org -North Carolina Probate Records


Gleanings From