Articles & News

Historical notes, events, and genealogy columns imported from the original site — ready to expand with fresh research content.

• A Southern Genealogy Research Network (NC + SC, then TN & VA) featured
  July 13, 2026
  Why NC genealogy is built as a multi-state network—and how to use sister hubs for migration research.
• What to Do Next by North Carolina Region (Mountain, Piedmont, Coastal) featured
  July 13, 2026
  A practical next-action checklist that changes with region: mountain church books, Piedmont mill directories, coastal occupation paper—and the jurisdiction rule that never changes.
• How to Run a Free-First NC Research Week (Without Getting Lost) featured
  July 13, 2026
  A seven-day plan using only free and low-cost tools: jurisdiction, census FAN clubs, land/probate, churches, newspapers, Archives, and a written next action.
• Great Wagon Road Piedmont Corridor: Cross-County Research Map featured
  July 11, 2026
  How Scots-Irish and German settlement chains link Rowan, Guilford, Mecklenburg, and daughter counties.
• Albemarle Sound Parent Web: Chowan to the Northeast featured
  July 11, 2026
  Colonial precincts, waterway kinship, and why northeastern brick walls need multi-county logs.
• Cape Fear Corridor: Bladen, Cumberland, New Hanover & Daughters featured
  July 11, 2026
  Highland Scots, port commerce, and Sandhills parents for southeastern NC families.
• Carolina Border Research Log: NC–SC Sister-Site Workflow featured
  July 11, 2026
  A practical log template for families who straddle the North/South Carolina line.
• What's New on North Carolina Genealogy (2026 Rebuild) featured
  July 11, 2026
  100 county hubs, research guides, free checklists, queries, and how to navigate the modern site.
• North Carolina Migration Tips: Into, Across, and Out of the State featured
  July 11, 2026
  Wagon Road, ports, mountain gaps, mill corridors—and how jurisdiction mistakes create false “vanishing” ancestors.
• DNA for North Carolina Roots: Tests, Records, and Brick Walls featured
  July 11, 2026
  Which DNA tests answer which North Carolina questions, how to pair matches with State Archives, deed, will, Freedmen's Bureau, and Cherokee records, and what to do next.
• North Carolina Genealogy Relaunch featured
  July 11, 2026
  The Tar Heel research hub moves to a modern platform while preserving county guides, articles, and forum history.
• A Two-Month NC Research Sprint: 8 Sessions to a Solid Proof Summary
  September 9, 2026
  A paced plan from question to written conclusion using this site’s hubs and free tools.
• County Spotlight: Gaston Textile Trails & Lincoln Parents
  September 7, 2026
  Mill villages, SC border movement, and the hard parent rule for pre-1846 events.
• How to Ask a Better Genealogy Query (NC Edition)
  September 5, 2026
  What to include so moderators and readers can actually help.
• County Spotlight: Orange County as a Piedmont Parent
  September 3, 2026
  Hillsborough courts and why Durham/Alamance stories often begin in Orange.
• Plan a Research Session With the County Record Matrix
  September 1, 2026
  Turn coverage badges into a one-hour work plan.
• County Spotlight: Cumberland & the Cape Fear Corridor
  August 30, 2026
  Highland Scots, river commerce, military posts, and Fayetteville town sources.
• Border Families: Virginia, Tennessee, and South Carolina Paper Trails
  August 28, 2026
  Build a border research log when NC indexes go quiet.
• Citing Online Images: A Simple Standard for NC Researchers
  August 24, 2026
  What to record so you can re-find a deed, census page, or newspaper clip next year.
• County Spotlight: Wake County Without Archives-Only Tunnel Vision
  August 22, 2026
  County deeds first, State Archives second—how Raleigh researchers should sequence work.
• Mountain Genealogy: Gaps, Grants, and Parent Counties
  August 20, 2026
  Western NC tactics for land descriptions, Cherokee land-cession context, and tourism-era thin trails.
• County Spotlight: Forsyth & Moravian Wachovia Records
  August 18, 2026
  When congregational records outperform civil vitals—and when city directories take over.
• Probate Inventories: Kin, Neighbors, and Enslaved People in NC Estates
  August 16, 2026
  How estate papers reveal relationships that deeds alone hide.
• County Spotlight: Mecklenburg & the Carolina Border
  August 14, 2026
  Charlotte urban methods plus York County SC searches for border surnames.
• Delayed Births, Bibles, and Other NC Vital Substitutes
  August 12, 2026
  What to use when a birth certificate is too late or never filed.
• County Spotlight: Guilford From Courthouse Battlefield to Mill Towns
  August 10, 2026
  Revolutionary geography plus Greensboro/High Point industrial decades.
• When to Go to the State Archives (and When the County Hub Is Enough)
  August 8, 2026
  Use statewide series as a bonus—not a substitute for county land and probate.
• County Spotlight: Robeson County Multi-Community Methods
  August 6, 2026
  Respectful, multi-source strategies when a single courthouse narrative is not enough.
• FAN Club Research Across North Carolina County Lines
  August 4, 2026
  Friends, associates, and neighbors who complete trees that surnames alone cannot.
• County Spotlight: Craven County & New Bern Research
  August 2, 2026
  Port, plantation, and Free Black community trails in a foundational eastern jurisdiction.
• Church Records Before Vitals: Denomination-First NC Strategy
  July 31, 2026
  Baptisms, membership, and burial registers that pre-date civil certificates.
• County Spotlight: Buncombe & Western Parent Strategies
  July 29, 2026
  Asheville hub research and why western daughters still need Buncombe parents.
• Using DigitalNC With This Site’s County Hubs
  July 27, 2026
  How free digitized newspapers, yearbooks, and scrapbooks plug holes in courthouse series.
• County Spotlight: New Hanover & Wilmington Port Research
  July 25, 2026
  Directories, churches, and newspapers for Lower Cape Fear families.
• Mill Village Genealogy in the North Carolina Piedmont
  July 23, 2026
  Company housing, mill churches, and directories often outlast employment files.
• County Spotlight: Chowan & the Albemarle Gateway
  July 21, 2026
  Edenton-area colonial sources unlock northeastern families later found across the Sound.
• Newspapers Before Death Certificates: NC Obituary Strategy
  July 19, 2026
  How to use weeklies and regionals when statewide death registration is too late.
• County Spotlight: Rowan as a Colonial Parent Powerhouse
  July 17, 2026
  Salisbury courts and parent strategies unlock dozens of western Piedmont brick walls.
• The Parent-County Mistake: Why Your Ancestor “Isn’t” in That County
  July 15, 2026
  Late formations and large parents create false absences in modern county indexes.
• A Weekly Research Rhythm for North Carolina Genealogy
  July 13, 2026
  One question, one jurisdiction, one record class—how to make steady progress without database hopping.
• Mountain Parent Chain: Buncombe and the Western Counties
  July 11, 2026
  Why western NC brick walls usually start with the wrong modern county—and how to walk parents west.
• Textile Piedmont Mill Chain: Cross-County Factory Families
  July 11, 2026
  How mill villages move households across Gaston, Alamance, Cabarrus, Guilford, and Rockingham.
• How to Research a Burned or Thin Courthouse in North Carolina
  July 11, 2026
  When the courthouse is thin or gone: neighbors, churches, newspapers, and state substitutes.
• Using the County Record Matrix on This Site
  July 11, 2026
  How to read coverage badges and year ranges before you waste a search day.
• African American Research Paths in North Carolina
  July 11, 2026
  A practical order of sources from freedom documents to plantation context—and why jurisdiction still matters.
• Wake County Genealogy: Capital-Area Starting Points
  July 11, 2026
  How to research Raleigh and Wake without abandoning county deeds—or drowning only in State Archives catalogs.
• Mecklenburg County Genealogy: Charlotte & Border Strategies
  July 11, 2026
  Urban directories, Presbyterian backcountry roots, and why York County SC searches complete many Charlotte-area trees.
• Guilford & Forsyth: Piedmont Research Paths
  July 11, 2026
  Greensboro/High Point industry and Moravian Wachovia—two hubs that unlock a huge share of Piedmont brick walls.
• Free NC Genealogy Checklists & Digital Tools
  July 11, 2026
  Where to get the starter checklist, cheatsheet bundle, burned-county pack, and African American pack—and how to use them.
• Forum Cesspool Cleaned Out
  January 11, 2013
• Guilford County Genealogical Society Meeting Nov. 19th
  November 13, 2011
• What do I do?
  November 13, 2011
• Upcoming Genealogy and History Events in NC
  October 15, 2011
• Where is the 4th of July?
  July 4, 2011
• Lunch and Learn Series - one in Asheville, another in New Bern
  February 1, 2011
• New Alabama Genealogy Sister Site
  July 27, 2010
• Exciting News.... We're Growing!
  July 16, 2010
• Massive County Page Update!
  July 14, 2010
• Broken Links, Fixing them and a Request for Help
  July 5, 2010
• US Citizenship and Immigration Services
  April 23, 2010
• North Carolina Family Records Online
  February 27, 2010
• Madison County Genealogical Society Meetings
  July 31, 2009
• Castle McCulloch | Interesting North Carolina attraction
  July 24, 2009
• Happy Independence Day!
  July 4, 2009
• On the 65th Anniversary of D-Day
  June 6, 2009
• North Carolina Dialects
  April 22, 2009
• Popular Baby Names from 1880
  January 6, 2009
• Popular Baby Names from 1900
  December 30, 2008
• Popular baby names from 1920
  December 23, 2008
• Popular Baby Names from 1940
  December 16, 2008
• Popular Baby Names from 1960
  December 9, 2008
• Popular Baby Names from 1980
  December 2, 2008
• Gift Idea for Someone that Has Everything - A Painting from a Digital Image
  November 27, 2008
• Popular Baby Names in the Year 2000
  November 25, 2008
• Popular Name Series
  November 18, 2008
• Picasa 3 | Facial Recognition and the Family Genealogist
  November 11, 2008
• County Page Updates | Alamance, Catawba, Moore
  November 10, 2008
• United States - Election Tuesday 2008 - History of United States Presidential Elections
  November 4, 2008
• Strange Cache Problem - Technical Note
  October 31, 2008
• Zoom H2 Handy Recorder - GREAT for interviews
  October 28, 2008
• North Carolina African American Genealogy Research at the Olivia Raney Local History Library
  October 21, 2008
• Mecklenburg and Ashe Page update
  October 17, 2008
• North Carolina Genealogical Society web link hotlist
  October 14, 2008
• North Carolina Man Specializes in building Flintlock rifles
  October 11, 2008
• More County Page Updates and Query Forum Integration
  October 10, 2008
• WNC writer Robert Ballard releases new book.
  October 9, 2008
• Revolutionary Veteran James Baggett honored
  October 7, 2008
• County Page updates
  October 7, 2008
• Elon College providing O'Kelly Chapel Records Online
  September 30, 2008
• Gas situation in North Carolina
  September 25, 2008
• Back to (hopefully) regularly scheduled posts
  September 23, 2008
• County Page Expansion and Revision
  July 8, 2008
• Battle of Monroe's Cross Roads | Battle of Fayetteville Road | Kilpatrick's Shirttail Skedaddle
  July 1, 2008
• Somerset Place | Antebellum North Carolina Plantation
  June 24, 2008
• Map Page is out for the Time Being | Newsletter starting a bit later in the Summer
  June 17, 2008
• Western North Carolina Cicada (Locust) Invasion Update
  June 10, 2008
• Luther Bible donated to Mars Hill College
  June 3, 2008
• Genealogy Web Workshop in Charlotte area at Monroe Library June 2
  May 27, 2008
• Henderson County Library Genealogy Meeting Saturday May 24
  May 21, 2008
• North Carolina's Outer Banks - True Frontier
  May 20, 2008
• Tracing Your Family History through North Carolina
  May 13, 2008
• The Locusts are Coming! | The 17 year Cicadas are Coming
  May 9, 2008
• Getting Your Children Interested in the Family History
  May 6, 2008
• Taxes - Useful for Genealogy and Family History Research
  April 29, 2008
• How to Get Started on your Family History - Interviewing Family
  April 22, 2008
• Olivia Raney Local History Library
  April 15, 2008
• Thomas Wolfe Memorial - Old Kentucky Home Boarding House
  April 8, 2008
• North Carolina Tar Heels | Tarheels
  April 1, 2008
• Guidelines for Posting Good Genealogy Queries
  March 25, 2008
• New North Carolina Genealogy Forums
  March 18, 2008
• RSS Feed Strangeness with Google Reader
  March 12, 2008
• Online Newspaper Archives
  March 11, 2008
• Sharing Your Old Family Photos Online
  March 4, 2008
• Asheville Historic Photos Online
  February 26, 2008
• Cape Hatteras Lighthouse History
  February 19, 2008
• Best time of year for Genealogical Cemetery Expiditions (Cemunking)
  February 12, 2008
• The Struggle with Information Overload
  February 5, 2008
• The Dilemma of Online Privacy for the Genealogist
  January 29, 2008
• Dying Data
  January 22, 2008
• Upcoming New Article Series
  January 20, 2008
• Some Changes Coming Soon.
  January 20, 2008
• Comment Spam
  October 3, 2007
• River Cane and Canebrakes
  July 2, 2007
• The Tsalagi (Cherokee)
  June 15, 2007
• Lot's of good things going on...
  June 15, 2007
• Camp Douglas
  May 4, 2007
• Thomas "Tom" Elmore and Roxie (Peace) Russell
  February 27, 2007
• John Pleasant and Lillie Louetta (Calloway) White
  February 24, 2007
• David and Dicey E. (Moore) Blankenship
  February 21, 2007
• William Alexander and Nancy A. R. (Parker) Waggoner
  February 18, 2007
• Alson and Sarah (Russell) Gordon
  February 15, 2007
• Robert Patterson Bradley and Lydia Lavina (Blankenship) Bradley
  February 12, 2007
• Webrings and The Rail
  February 9, 2007
• Buncombe County Sheriff's Office History
  February 8, 2007
• 2007 WNC Calendar
  October 26, 2006
• Alexander Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery
  September 26, 2006
• Ashlawn Gardens Cemetery
  September 26, 2006
• West Memorial Park Cemetery
  September 26, 2006
• Hominy Baptist Church Cemetery
  September 26, 2006
• Lewis Memorial Park Cemetery
  September 26, 2006
• Google Base for Genealogy?
  September 11, 2006
• Migration patterns, South Carolina research workshop and finding your Revolutionary War ancestors
  September 5, 2006
• New Cemetery Maps - Google Map mashup
  September 5, 2006
• Pleasant Grove Union Church Cemetery (Buncombe County)
  September 5, 2006
• Brank Cemetery (Buncombe County)
  September 5, 2006
• Family pictures and facial recognition?
  August 4, 2006
• Domesday Book online
  August 4, 2006
• Genealogical Sight-seeing
  July 31, 2006
• Exciting Evening...
  June 2, 2006
• James Marion Parker (April 12, 1829 - March 19, 1915)
  May 27, 2006
• Old Maps of New England, New York and Pennsylvania
  May 24, 2006
• Genealogy tourism...
  May 19, 2006
• New Photos Section
  May 18, 2006
• Webring headaches....
  May 17, 2006
• Tar Heel Junior Historian Contest
  May 12, 2006
• Remains of reputed pirate to be relocated....
  May 9, 2006
• If this is not the page you expected
  January 16, 2006
• Old site archives
  January 16, 2006
• Durham Plantation traces family trees of slaves
  December 30, 2005
• Preserving your research
  December 10, 2005
• More thoughts on organizing your research
  December 10, 2005
• Mayflower descendants in North Carolina
  December 10, 2005
• Struggling to identify...
  November 23, 2005
• The history of Thanksgiving and the first Thanksgiving
  November 23, 2005
• Berry Bowen and Matilda Susannah Odum
  November 14, 2005
• Keeping your genealogy research and records organized
  November 13, 2005
• Coming soon - fake family history and genealogy info
  November 13, 2005
• Buncombe county Special Collections online
  November 8, 2005
• Buncombe County Library Card holders have access to online genealogy data
  November 8, 2005
• Publishing a book in small quantities or on demand
  November 4, 2005
• Articles of Confederation
  September 20, 2005
• Wachovia settlement
  September 20, 2005
• Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge
  September 15, 2005
• Province of North Carolina
  September 10, 2005
• Province of Carolina
  September 7, 2005
• Province of the Carolanas
  September 4, 2005
• Granville District
  September 1, 2005
• Old Bute County
  August 30, 2005
• American Revolution
  August 28, 2005
• Old Dobbs County
  August 27, 2005
• Old Tryon County
  August 26, 2005
• Tryon Resolves
  August 24, 2005
• Preserving Cherokee Culture
  August 22, 2005
• Gathering celebrates Indian (Native American) Heritage
  August 22, 2005
• Mecklenburg Declaration of Independance
  August 22, 2005
• The State of Franklin
  August 20, 2005
• Battle of Alamance
  August 18, 2005
• War of the Regulation
  August 16, 2005
• Article on Johnston County Genealogist
  August 14, 2005
• World War II memories recorded
  August 14, 2005
• Battle of Kings Mountain
  August 14, 2005
• Battle of Guilford Courthouse
  August 12, 2005
• List of Passengers on board the Mayflower
  August 10, 2005
• Plymouth Colony Settlement (1620)
  August 9, 2005
• Confederate Veteran get's a gravestone
  August 8, 2005
• "L" counties updated
  August 8, 2005
• Roanoke Colony Settlement (The Lost Colony) (1584)
  August 8, 2005
• Cemeteries being neglected
  August 7, 2005
• Norwegian Colonization of the Americas
  August 7, 2005
• 60th Anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima
  August 6, 2005