Finding Aids

• Acronym Finder
• Old Dictionary Link
• Law Dictionary by John Bouvier Revised Sixth Edition, 1856
• Placename Finder

Land Records

• Land Grants 1669-1729 Land transfers from the proprietary, colonial or state government to a private owner, from one of the eight proprietors of Carolina.


• 1729-1776 Land granted by the Crown Colony of NC and the agents of Lord Granville, a proprietor who refused to sell to the Crown.
  See Lord Granville Index, Land Grant Office, NC Secretary of State, New Legislative Bldg., Raleigh NC.
  
  In 1663 state land surveyed in indiscriminate metes and bounds, amended in 1665. Divided among eight proprietors all lands between 29 degrees and 36 degrees 30' with the latter being the NC-Va. line. George II bought seven of the eight shares in 1729 which resulted in the colony becoming a royal colony. This included North Carolina, South Carolina and later in 1732, Georgia. The Lord Cateret owned the eighth share. He later became the Earl of Granville. The northern boundary of the Granville District was laid off using the present Va. line, and the southern boundary was the present counties of Rowan-Davidson-Randolph east to the ocean. This area became known as the Granville District. Lord Granville could only grant lands and collect quitrent. He did not have rights to govern.
  
  1778-present Land granted by the state. Process involved the individual made an application or land entry to a land office for a property. The Land Office issued a warrant for the land, the warrant was the application for a surveyor to survey and describe the land. The surveyor survey and drew a plat or map of the land. Copies were sent to the land officer. Land Officers were: Secretary of State (1669-1776), Granville's agents for the Granville district (1729-1776), or the County Entry Taker (1778-present).
  
  After 1777, the new owner registered with the Register of Deeds in the county.
  
  Master Card File Index to NC Land Grants is found in the Land Grant Office, Secretary of State, New Legislative Bldg., Raleigh, NC, 27603. Some of the Granville Grants are also recorded here. Index arranged by first letter of the surname, then under that letter, alphabetically by county. Remember to check the No County Name Given Index. The file number on the index card will be to a folder containing the warrant and the surveyors's plat.


• Eastern Public Land State...Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan,Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin. Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office (GLO) Records Automation web site. Providing live database and image access to more than two million federal land title records for the Eastern Public Land States,dating back to 1820. You can find information on the initial transfer of land title from the federal government to individuals. In addition to verifying title transfer, this information will allow the researcher to place an individual (Patentee)at a specific location (legal land description) in time.

Local Genealogical Societies and Libraries

• North Carolina State Library
• SC State Library

Marriages from Lincoln Co., NC

• Short, short, history of NC's early marriages


• A few records can be found as far back as 1669-1741. In 1741, a law required that 1. banns to be posted...i.e. 3 notices at the church or 2. the groom had to post a bond with the Clerk of Court for a license (which the groom kept). Sadly for us, the law continued to be ignored.
  Another law came in effect in 1851, that all marriage licenses had to be returned to Clerk of Court by the person performing the ceremony as well as certificate that marriage was performed or solemnized. (At different times, different officials and ministers could perform marriages).
  In 1868 a new law made the Register of Deeds responsible for issuing marriage licenses and made the license the official record of the marriage. What does this mean?
  You can expect to find marriage records in these time spans:
  1669-1741 very few
  1741-1851 marriage bonds
  1851-68 bonds, licenses, and certificates
  1868-present marriage licenses
  Only if a couple posted bond, obtained a license, and or presented a certificate to the county official would their marriage be recorded. Most involved none of these, with some never being put in writing, with some being recorded in church records, and some only in a family bible. NC has an index of all existing marriage records for all counties from 1741-1868 and has indexed them in microfiche: Master Index of NC Marriage Bonds found in NCSA Raleigh NC with about 170,000 entries, in alphabetical order. Remember that bonds only meant the groom intended to marry. FHC's also have these bonds indexed in the International Genealogical Index available at every FHC.


• Lincoln County Marriage Records

Military Records
Lincoln County Military Project

Revolutionary War
The Battle of Ramsaur's Mill Account of the Revolutionary War Battle, by William A. Graham, Major on Staff of Adjutant General of North Carolina
Revolutionary War Map of Lincoln County

Civil War
Troops Of Lincoln County Names of those who served in the Civil War, War of 1812, Spanish American War, Pension Lists of 1813, 1835, 1840, 1850 SUSPENDED OR REJECTED


Newspapers
Misc Newspaper abstracts from 1890

Professional Researchers

• blurps.com
• Samuel Robert Shi III, Professional Genealogist
  Member: NGS, NCGS, PGN, Association of Professional Genealogists


• SK Publications can do genealogy research for a modest fee. You can submit your family files and genealogies to their archives, too. Visit and check them out.

State and Regional Resources

• North Carolina Division of Archives and History (NCSA)
109 E. Jones Street
Raleigh NC, 27611 Regional Federal Archives and Records Center
• Atlanta
  1557 St. Joseph Avenue
  East Point, Ga. 30344
  404-763-7477
  Serves Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee


• Local Vital Records...Birth...Deaths...Marriages...Courthouse address

Many of the early records can be found in the courthouse. There are birth and death records available from 1913 to present, marriage records available from 1868, real estate records from 1769, and wills are available from the early 1800s. These records are maintained by the Register of Deeds.

The Clerk of the Superior Court maintains the records of divorce and civil cases, probate records, and special proceedings. Records for divorce and civil cases begin in the 1800s. Special proceedings records include records of foreclosure, incompentency hearings, and petitions.

To reach the Register of Deeds Office or the Clerk of Superior Court Office....call area code 704-736-8530.

The Courthouse is located at 115 W. Main Street, Lincolnton, North Carolina, 28092


• Lincoln County Court Minutes Resource information for Court Minutes. Also court minutes submitted to Lincoln County NCGenWeb. If you have any to contribute, please send them to me with all source information.



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They may not be used, housed or copied by any for-profit enterprise. Fair Use Doctrine allows for exerpting limited portions.

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Robin M. Barger ©2008 to present
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