Orange County

Orange County, NC Research Guide and Links

Bookcase

  If you are new to family research or if you've run into a brick wall, this page is the place for you to check out ideas and links pertaining to Orange County research. I've assembled as much information and as many links to helpful websites as I could find and I'm always on the look-out for new sites and data.
  I wish I could help with individual research, but, unfortunately, I don't have the time or resources and I have no information on Orange County families, other than that which I have already placed on the site. The GenWeb sites were designed with the idea of researchers sharing information by submitting it to local county sites, thereby, hopefully, helping everyone who visits the site and helping to keep online genealogy information free. If you have any documents, photographs, info or links to share, it would be much appreciated by your fellow Orange County researchers! Please consider submitting it for inclusion on the site.
  My first suggestion is that you add your name as a researcher to the Orange County Surnames page and, if you've reached an impasse in your work, I would, also, advise that you place some information about the family you're researching on the Orange County Brick Walls page.
  And, then don't forget to check those pages frequently, as new names are added all the time.   I've included some info, tips and links specifically for Orange County research and some links for North Carolina research, as well. I've placed most of these links on appropriate pages throughout the site, but I thought it may be helpful to have them all in one place, as well. I hope that some information on this page will help you track down your elusive ancestor!
       Joyce Harrison, USGenWeb Orange County Coordinator

Info on Orange County Births, Deaths and Marriage Records

Only births and deaths from 1913 forward are registered at the NC state vital records office. Before 1913, the state of NC didn't issue birth or death certificates. For copies of certificates, you'll need to contact the Orange County Register's office. For copies of the Application for Orange County Certified Records. Address and phone number: OC Register of Deeds, 208 S. Cameron Street, Hillsborough, NC 27278, 919-245-2700.

Links for RequestingVital Records copies from North Carolina.

Prior to the mid-1850's, marriage bonds are the only public records of marriages, however, unfortunately, in Orange County, marriage bonds issued prior to 1779 are no longer extant.
You may find a marriage record for your ancestor at the Orange County courthouse, the North Carolina Office of Archives and History or the National Archives. Don't forget to check the marriage records in the Orange County GenWeb Archives.

Brent Holcomb has compiled the book, "Marriages of Orange County, NC, 1779-1868," you might check your library to see if it's available on inter-library loan.

Rootsweb Mailing Lists and Message Boards

  For those of you who may be new to online research, I would direct you to the archives of the Rootsweb Mailing Lists. As the Message Boards have increased in popularity, many of the mailing lists have very few posts these days, but that was not always the case. In the 1990's, especially, the Mailing Lists were extremely active. If you do a search of your surname's list or the locations where your ancestors lived, you may be surprised at how much information is available, just waiting for you to find it. Of course, a search of the message boards is, also, recommended. This is the link to Rootsweb's home page.
  This is the link to Rootsweb's Mailing Lists ~ and ~ the link to the Message Boards.
  This is the link to the webpage for the Orange County Mailing List.

On the GenWeb Orange County Site

Helpful Links: Orange County

USGenWeb Orange County Archives

Chapel Hill Historical Society

Orange County GenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project

Orange County Cemeteries

ePodunk: Orange County Cemeteries

The Political Graveyard: Orange County

Orange County USGenWeb Census Project

Index to the 1790 Orange County Census Replacement, USGenWeb Archives Part 1

Index to the 1790 Orange County Census Replacement, USGenWeb Archives Part 2

Index to the 1920 Orange County Census