Wake County Genealogy

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The county was formed in 1771 from parts of Cumberland County, Johnston County, and Orange County. It was named for Margaret Wake, wife of Governor William Tryon. The first courthouse was built at a place called Wake Courthouse, commonly known as Bloomsbury. In 1771, the first elections and court were held, and the first militia was formed.

Wake County lost some its land area during the subsequent formation of other new counties. Portions were taken by Franklin County in 1787 and by Durham County in 1881 and 1911.

The earliest inhabitants of present day Wake County were the Tuscarora Native Americans. After the Tuscarora War in 1711, they were defeated and moved to New York to join the Iroquois nation.

During the colonial period of North Carolina, the state capital was New Bern. For several years, during and after the Revolutionary War, there was no capital, and the General Assembly met in various locations. In 1792, a commission was appointed to select a site for a permanent state capital. The members of the commission were leaning toward land owned by Colonel John Hinton across the Neuse River, but on the night before the final vote, the committee adjourned to the home of Joel Lane for an evening of food and spirits. The next day, the vote was in Lane’s favor.

Raleigh was named after Sir Walter Raleigh, and established on 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) purchased from Lane. Sir Walter Raleigh never set foot in the United States, but two centuries earlier he had sponsored the establishment of the first English colony on the North Carolina shore at Roanoke Island. The city of Raleigh became both the state capital as well as the new county seat of Wake County. Raleigh is the only planned state capital in the United States.

Wake County is divided into 20 townships: Bartons Creek, Buckhorn, Cary, Cedar Fork, Holly Springs, House Creek, Leesville, Little River, Marks Creek, Meredith, Middle Creek, Neuse, New Light, Panther Branch, Raleigh, St. Mary’s, St. Matthew’s, Swift Creek, Wake Forest, and White Oak.

Source Wikipedia

Wake County NCGenweb site

Wake County Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 17713
Raleigh, NC 27619

Wake County Historical Society
P.O. Box 2
Raleigh, NC 27602

Apex Historical Society
P.O. Box 502
Apex, NC 27502

Cary Historical Society
P.O. Box 134
Cary, NC 27511

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News related to Wake County, NC

“wake county” nc - Google News

Wake County Community Foundation Announces Grant Recipients - Carolina Newswire (press release)

Wake County Community Foundation Announces Grant Recipients
Carolina Newswire (press release)
The Wake County Community Foundation is an affiliate of the North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF). Tax-deductible contributions can be made to the Wake …

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Rejuvenated Harrison Wins Wake Co. Am - American Chronicle

Rejuvenated Harrison Wins Wake Co. Am
American Chronicle
But with his win Sunday in the Wake County Amateur tournament, he looks to move past those struggles as he heads into his senior season with the Bulldogs. …

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Wake County SmartStart Receives Clean Audit Report - dBusinessNews Triangle (press release)

Wake County SmartStart Receives Clean Audit Report
dBusinessNews Triangle (press release)
Raleigh, NC (June 30, 2009) â Wake County SmartStart is proud to announce it has received, for the fifth consecutive year, a clean bill of financial health, …

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New Head Of The NC Highway Patrol Named - The Raleigh Telegram

The Raleigh Telegram

New Head Of The NC Highway Patrol Named
The Raleigh Telegram
Scott, a Washington , DC native, has served on the Patrol since 1985 when he was first assigned to Troop C in Wake County . Scott attended Shaw University …

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DMV to soon start mailing out Wake County driver licenses - News14.com