Guide To Research Materials In the North Carolina
State Archives: County Records

Copyright ©1979 by the North Carolina Division of Archives and History. Revised 1997. Posted on the Martin NCGenWeb website with permission. If you wish to copy this or any portion of the Guide to any book, website, or mail list, you must obtain permission from Jesse R. Lankford, Jr. at jlankford@ncsl.dcr.state.nc.us, Assistant State Archivist, phone: (919) 733-3952, fax: (919) 733-1354. [Address current as of Oct. 1, 1999]

North Carolina State Archives
Archival Services Branch
Mail Service Center 4614
Raleigh, N.C. 27699-4614

Visit the NC Archives and History website to access other county guides, as well as many other useful resources. Please do not ask them to conduct research for you.

MARTIN COUNTY

Established in 1774 from Halifax and Tyrrell counties.
Courthouse fire of 1884 destroyed many court records.

ORIGINAL RECORDS

COURT RECORDS

County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions

Minutes, 1847; 1 volume.
Execution Docket, 1844-1859; 1 volume.
Trial and Appearance Docket, 1852-1860; 1 volume.

Superior Court

Minutes, 1838-1912; 8 volumes.
Equity Minutes, 1809-1829; 1 volume.
Equity Trial Docket, 1834-1861; 1 volume.
Civil Action Papers, 1885-1903; 2 Fibredex boxes.
Civil Action Papers Concerning Land, 1882-1903; 4 Fibredex boxes.
Criminal Action Papers, 1884-1903; 1 Fibredex box.

Inferior Court

Minutes, 1877-1885; 1 volume.
Criminal Issues Docket, 1878-1884; 1 volume.

ELECTION RECORDS

Record of Elections, 1874-1922; 4 volumes.

ESTATES RECORDS

Record of Accounts, 1869-1904; 3 volumes.
Administrators' Bonds, 1867-1870, 1885-1913; 4 volumes.
Appointment of Administrators, Executors, Guardians and Masters, 1869-

1886; 1 volume.

Record of Widows' Year's Support, 1885-1901; 1 volume.
Estates Records, 1820-1906; 6 Fibredex boxes.
Guardians' Records, 1887-1904; 4 Fibredex boxes.
Guardians' Bonds, 1866-1870, 1885-1913; 3 volumes.
Record of Settlements, 1869-1916; 2 volumes.

LAND RECORDS

Record of Deeds, 1774-1787; 1 volume.
Record of Land Entries, 1866-1900; 1 volume.
Land Records, 1779-1917; 1 Fibredex box.

MARRIAGE, DIVORCE AND VITAL STATISTICS

Divorce Records, 1882-1903; 2 Fibredex boxes.

MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS

Alien Registration, 1940; 1 volume.
Miscellaneous Records, 1774-1906; 1 Fibredex box.

WILLS

Wills, 1885-1925; 10 Fibredex boxes.

MICROFILM RECORDS

CORPORATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS

Record of Incorporations, 1890-1963; 1 reel.
Record of Partnerships, 1913-1963; 1 reel.

COURT RECORDS

Superior Court Minutes, 1838-1939; 6 reels.

ELECTION RECORDS

Record of Elections, 1922-1962; 1 reel.

ESTATES RECORDS

Record of Accounts, 1869-1963; 4 reels.
Accounts of Sale and Inventories, 1905-1963; 1 reel.
Appointment of Administrators and Executors, 1887-1928; 1 reel.
Record of Administrators, 1914-1963; 4 reels.
Record of Guardians, 1914-1963; 2 reels.
Guardians of World War Veterans, 1930-1956; 1 reel.
Accounts of Indigent Orphans, 1907-1934; 1 reel.
Record of Widows' Year's Support, 1885-1963; 1 reel.
Record of Widows' Dowers, 1904-1924; 1 reel.
Inheritance Tax Records, 1923-1962; 1 reel.
Final Accounts, 1869-1963; 5 reels.

LAND RECORDS

Record of Deeds, 1774-1941; 61 reels.
Index to Real Estate Conveyances, Grantor, 1772-1963; 4 reels.
Index to Real Estate Conveyances, Grantee, 1772-1963; 3 reels.
Record of Land Entries, 1901-1933; 1 reel.
Record of Land Divisions, 1885-1963; 1 reel.
Record of Surveys, 1908-1923; 1 reel.
Registration of Land Titles (Torrens Act), 1933-1962; 1 reel.
Plat Books, 1890-1963; 1 reel.
Index to Plats, 1890-1963; 1 reel.
Federal Tax Lien Index, 1934-1963; 1 reel.
Record of Resale by Trustees and Mortgagees, 1924-1963; 2 reels.

MARRIAGE, DIVORCE AND VITAL STATISTICS

Marriage Licenses, 1882-1963; 10 reels.
Marriage Registers, 1872-1963; 2 reels.
Maiden Names of Divorced Women, 1937-1960; 1 reel.
Index to Vital Statistics, 1913-1962; 2 reels.
Index to Delayed Births, 1937-1985; 2 reels.

MILITARY AND PENSION RECORDS

Record of Armed Forces Discharges, 1919-1990; 5 reels.
Index to Armed Forces Discharges, 1918-1985; 2 reels.

MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS

Record of Homesteads, 1886-1958; 1 reel.
Orders and Decrees, 1868-1963; 8 reels.
Special Proceedings Dockets, 1868-1963; 2 reels.

OFFICIALS, COUNTY

Minutes, Board of County Commissioners, 1876-1922; 2 reels.
Minutes, County Board of Social Services, 1937-1963; 1 reel.

SCHOOL RECORDS

Minutes, County Board of Education, 1884-1963; 1 reel.

TAX AND FISCAL RECORDS

Tax Scrolls, 1885-1894, 1900-1904, 1914-1915; 4 reels.

WILLS

Record of Wills, 1774-1963; 4 reels.
Cross Index to Wills, 1774-1963; 1 reel.