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| Record History |
Due to 3 structural fires during the history of Bladen, some of the records have been forever lost. The first fire recorded was in 1768 (some sources give 1765). The County Clerk and Registrar, Marturin Colville, kept the county records in his home which burned that year. This fire was devastating to the early Bladen deed records. The majority of the land records prior to this date were destroyed. Since many counties were later formed from Bladen, their early history perished in this fire as well. Deed records exist today that predate 1768 because many of the landowners brought their deeds back to be recorded again. There was another fire in the early 1800's that contributed to the loss. The final blow came on the 18th January, 1893 (some sources give 1892) when all of the marriage and estate records and the county court minutes were consumed. As noted in the parentheses there is some discrepancy when it comes to the exact dates of these fires. Contrary to popular belief, not all records prior to 1893 were destroyed. There still exist many deed records through which most families can be traced. Collected bible records give an abundance of marriage dates, birth dates, and death dates. |
Extracted from March 29, 1999 newsletter from the Bladen County Historical Society: "Indicated in the table are the date span of
records found in the 1st forty deed books in the Bladen County Registry. Due to
unorganized recopying of deeds and the registration of deeds after courthouse fires, the
deeds in the Bladen County Registry are not in chronological order as is evidenced by the
foregoing list." |
| Deed book | Date span |
| Book 1 | 1784 |
| Book 2 | 1877 - 1878 |
| Book 3 | 1881 - 1882 |
| Book 4 | 1884 - 1885 |
| Book 5 | 1881 - 1885 |
| Book 6 | 1876 - 1877; at back of book 1816 - 1892 |
| Book 7 | 1770s - 1815 |
| Book 8 | 1840s |
| Book 9 | 1864 - 1872; at back of book 1815 - 1817 |
| Book 10 | 1830s |
| Book 11 | 1815 - 1819 |
| Book 12 | 1800 - 1816 |
| Book 13 | 1878 - 1880 |
| Book 14 | 1872 - 1874; pages 435 - 600 contain records from deed book 8 |
| Book 15 | 1886 - 1890; at back 1782 - 1785 |
| Book 16 | 1888 - 1891 |
| Book 17 | 1884 - 1885 |
| Book 18 | 1865 - 1885 |
| Book 19 | 1880 - 1886; pages 393 - 600 contain 1780s deeds |
| Book 20 | 1880 - 1887 |
| Book 21 | 1803 - 1875 |
| Book 22 | 1837 - 1839; some earlier deeds |
| Book 23 | 1780s |
| Book 24 | 1877 - 1886 |
| Book 25 | 1782 - 1789 |
| Book 26 | 1781 - 1793; beginning at page 472 it is a repetition of
pages 1 - 156 in book 1; followed by 1816 land grants |
| Book 27 | 1803 - 1855 |
| Book 28 | 1845 - 1851 |
| Book 29 | 1809 - 1818 |
| Book 30 | 1828 |
| Book 31 | 1893 - 1894 |
| Book 32 | 1894 - 1897 |
| Book 33 | 1890 - 1892 |
| Book 34 | 1867 - 1869; 1806 - 1809; 1818 - 1819; 1868 - 1869 |
| Book 35 | 1774 - 1801; 1873 |
| Book 36 | 1896 - 1898; 1784 - 1791; 1898 |
| Book 37 | 1769 - 1779; 1821 |
| Book 38 | 1880 - 1888; 1864 - 1867 |
| Book 39 | 1897 - 1899 |
| Book 40 | 1888 - 1901 |
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This page was last modified 10 June, 2008.
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