Genealogy Help Page

• Name- Write down all possible names. Did the person ever go by a nickname, by initials, or by a middle name? Some people are listed by different names on each document! If female, what was her maiden name?  Note that some American Indians chose new names to reflect a life-changing experience.

• Cause of death- May indicate a family-linked disease or allude to a historical or life event such as war, logging accident, etc.

• Birthplace and death place- Indicates migration patterns.

• Burial place- People are usually buried near their kin and in places with special meanings, such as a church, religious cemetery, or the family land.

• Marriage dates- Make sure you locate all marriage dates.  Compare them to dates of any children’s births.  You may find another marriage or an illegitimate birth.

• Divorce dates- Many North Carolina divorce records are available at the North Carolina State Archives. They list reasons for divorce and include spouses’ testimony.

• Children- Record children’s names and birth dates.  Since people tend to name their children after family members, this may indicate ancestral names.  Some families use a special ancestor’s name repeatedly.

• Education- Some Lumbee children attended Freedmen’s Bureau schools; however, many refused to send their children to schools for freed slaves.  [Check this!] After the Lumbee became a state-recognized tribe (under the name Croatan Indians), funds were appropriated for a normal school for the Croatans.  In 1887, the normal school was founded; but for the first two decades, instruction was at the elementary school level. The school is now the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

• Religion- Which denomination's church an ancestor attended tells you a lot. This information may lead to possible sources for church and tombstone records as well as, potentially, the person's social status.  Church records usually contain baptism date and lists of elders.  Some denominations also record birth dates, parents’ names, marriage dates, death dates, etc.        

• Occupation- Many 19th century men were farmers, but some held a public position such as preacher, teacher, or merchant.  Women usually ‘kept house,’ but a few had occupations, such as farmer or spinster.

• Siblings- See “Children”

• Race- 1835 amendments to the North Carolina Constitution created the category "free persons of mixed blood," which governments began applying to the Lumbee and other assimilated American Indians.  Prior to 1850, the census allowed three racial options: white, free person of color, and slave.  After 1850, the Free Census choices for race were white, black, and mulatto.  Mulatto is defined as the child of a Caucasian and an African descendant; however, anyone of dark skin color, such as Indian-Caucasian mixes, assimilated American Indians, and Mediterranean descendants, might have been recorded as mulatto.   Indians were not considered U.S. citizens and, therefore, were often not listed on the U.S. Federal Census.  Instead, separate censuses were held for each Indian nation.  Although the Lumbees always identified themselves as Indian, for many decades there wasn't such a category for census-takers and others who created documentation.

• Parents’ names- This gets you to a new generation.  Now, start the process again for these ancestor

• Your Personal Knowledge

• Older Relatives and Other Family Members- many families have a family historian who loves to talk over lunch, paid by the researcher

• Books- Genealogy books are listed under surname in the “C” section of library’s using the Library of Congress Call Numbers.  Additional genealogies are found in the Heritage Books.  Many researchers have already transcribed some of those hard-to-read 18th and 19th century county court documents.  Books for Robeson County, NC can be located in the F262.R6 section of the Library of Congress Call Numbers.

• Newspapers- Historical newspapers often listed birth, death, and wedding announcements.  They also listed the social activities of the elite and the criminal activities of the not-so-elite. Click the link to find list of Robeson County newspapers. [Beginning and ending dates for newspapers may not be current.]

• Tombstones- Give birth and death dates.  Some also provide spouse and/or parents’ names.  Members of fraternal societies such as the Masons will have the society's symbol on the stone.  People buried nearby are often relatives and offer clues as to the person’s extended family, so examine surrounding stones too.

• Death Certificates- Found in Robeson County Register of Deeds Office.  Death certificates have been required since 1911 and give a bounty of information: birth and death dates, birth and death places, parents’ names, parents’ birthplaces, spouse’s name, whether or not the spouse is alive, Social Security Number, veteran status, occupation, cause of death, burial place, and informant’s name.  Address: Robeson County Register of Deeds | Courthouse Room 102 | 500 N. Elm Street | Lumberton, NC 28358 | (919) 671-3044

• Marriage Certificate- Found in Robeson County Register of Deeds Office (some are microfilmed). Post-1870 marriage certificates also are excellent sources.  Marriage certificates tell you maiden names, ages, birthplaces, parents’ names, place of wedding, and officiator of the marriage.  Pre-1870 North Carolina marriage certificates were not regulated and vary in information provided.                                                                                         

• Birth Certificate- Found in Robeson County Register of Deeds Office. Birth certificates were first required in 1913,  although many rural families ignored them until the 1950s.  Birth certificates include date of birth, how many children born [single, twins, etc.], name of parents, marital status of mother, occupation of parents, age of parents, address of parents, name of doctor or midwife, total number of children mother has delivered, and number of her living children.  If a mother is unmarried, the father’s name cannot legally be included on the birth certificate unless he is present at the birth to testify that he is the father. Husbands do not have to be present.

• Federal Census- Found on microfilm by county.  By Constitutional mandate, every ten years a census must be taken.  The first census was in 1787 and then taken every ten years beginning in 1790.  A fire destroyed the 1890 census. Only statistical census information is available for the first 72 years after each census is taken [to protect individuals’ privacy].  Therefore, the most recent census available is the 1930 census.  Fairly accurate print indexes are available for most years for most counties to make searching easier.  These indexes will give you the page number in the county’s census and sometimes the household number. 

• Wills- Found on microfilm by county.  NC index for 1700s-1900 [F253.M57 1987 vol. 1&2]. If a person owned land or property, s/he sometimes made wills which the county recorded after the individual’s death.  This usually provides spouse’ name, children’s names, slaves’ names and land holdings.  Sometimes wills will indicate family dynamics [some people explicitly exclude a relative; others will specify what a child will inherit if s/he takes care the widow/er], uses of land [‘my son Billy Bob gets the 25 acres partition with the corn mill on it], and treatment of slaves [many owners gave the slaves permission to choose their next owner; others specified that the slaves were to be auctioned].

• Estate Probate- Found on microfilm by county.  If a person owned land or property, he or she sometimes did not make wills which wrecked all sorts of havoc for the family members.  If he or she died owing money, the property, including personal items, were sometimes sold off so that proceeds were given to the debtors. The remaining money was distributed to the descendants.  Widows were not considered the owners of their property so their entire household could be sold away from them and these records exist. Sometimes, the descendants of people with wills sold the property so that it could evenly be distributed to heirs.

• Widow’s Allowances- At North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh; may be found on microfilm by county.  After the Civil War, widows were allotted money from their deceased husbands’ estates so that they could eke out a living. Estate probates and household evaluations [how many minor children lived at home, et al.] were made so the court knew how much the widow should be allotted annually.

• Court records- Found on microfilm by county.  This includes everything from land transactions to murder cases: bastardy bonds, law suits, adultery cases, divorce cases, emancipation suits, guardianship, road crew lists, jury lists, patroller lists, lunacy records, and criminal cases.

• School Board Records- Found on microfilm by county.  Information varies from county to county, year to year.  Some list students, district committee members, local issues of the day; others only list how much they paid the school board.

• School Records- Difficult to locate because most were destroyed.  These include students’ ages, their grades, their guardians’ names, their attendance and the teachers’ comments (usually on weather).

• Church Records- Usually located at church or the church district’s office.  Church records provide valuable information depending on denomination. In general, of the major denominations, Catholics, Episcopalians and Quakers have the most explicit records; Baptists the least.  Church records may include birth dates, attendance, baptism dates, reprimands for misbehavior, marriage dates, death dates, names of children.

• Deeds- Found on microfilm by county.  Tells you when who bought what from whom for how much.  This will indicate if your person is landed, what the land is being used for [usually will state ‘improved’ or ‘with such and such building’], land value, and where the buyer is from.  “Grantee”= person who received the land, “grantor”= person sold or gave away the land, and “mtg.”= mortgage.  The government gives ‘land grants’ to citizens, especially if a citizen performed a military or civil service. Can also include slave bills of sale. 

• Tax Records- Historical ones are difficult to locate because most were destroyed.  Current ones available at courthouse.  These provide a great deal of information about value of property.  Taxable property has previously included land, sailboats, dogs, etc.          

• Extensive on-line genealogy: a list of web sites
• Software and CDs owned by genealogy.com
• Software and CDs owned by A & E
• A query board by location, surname, ethnicity, interest
• Query boards and primary source transcriptions by location
• Church of Latter Day Saints genealogy web site

• Lumbee Genealogy Research Listserve
• Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina’s Office of Enrollment (includes enrollment application and related information)
• Malinda Maynor’s Lumbee Genealogy Advice (Sounds of Faith project. Click of “Research”)
• Robeson County Historical and Genealogical Society
• Robeson County Public Library Genealogy Collection
• From Virginia to Alabama and Beyond, Migrations of Related Families From 1610 to Today (includes information for John Hammon (1747-1811)

• Robeson Scribe
• Barnhill, Jane Blanks.  Sacred Grounds: "Gone but not forgotten." St. Pauls, NC: Jane Blanks Barnhill, 2007. 374 p. Key source
• Britt, Morris. Unfinished book.

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Compiled by Kathy Staley, Archivist, Appalachian Collection, Appalachian State University.

Copyright © 2002-2007, Glenn Ellen Starr Stilling. All rights reserved.