Anson County Genealogy
- Formed 1750
- Parent county / earlier Bladen
- County seat Wadesboro
- Neighbors Union, Stanly, Richmond, Montgomery
Photos & maps
What’s new
- Deepened hub: Pee Dee border parent whose early records still feed multiple modern counties.
- Formation 1750 from Bladen — for pre-formation events, use the parent jurisdiction’s paper (not later Anson-only catalogs).
- Seat: Wadesboro · Neighbors: Union, Stanly, Richmond, Montgomery.
- Long-form topics: research path, parents/formation, neighbors, places, record stack.
- Tools: checklist · this week in Anson history.
Anson County was formed in 1750 from Bladen. The county seat is Wadesboro. Neighboring counties include Union, Stanly, Richmond, Montgomery.
This hub combines a modern research floor—record matrix, towns, repositories, news—with local history narrative. For events before the county’s formation year, open the parent jurisdiction that owned that year—not a later statewide vital series or Anson-only catalog.
The county was formed in 1750 from Bladen County. It was named for George Anson, Baron Anson, a British admiral, who circumnavigated the globe from 1740 to 1744, and later became First Lord of the Admiralty.
Like its parent county Bladen, Anson County was originally a vast territory with indefinite northern and western boundaries. Reductions in its extent began in 1753, when the northern part of it became Rowan County. In 1762 the western part of Anson County became Mecklenburg County. In 1779 the northern part of what remained of Anson County became Montgomery County, and the part east of the Pee Dee River became Richmond County. Finally, in 1842 the western part of Anson County was combined with the southeastern part of Mecklenburg County to become Union County. NCpedia / formation references (verify with Corbitt)
The county seat of Anson County is Wadesboro. Anson County is the home of the Ashe-Covington Medical Museum, and the Wadesboro Rotary Planetarium and Science Center. Also, the extinct town of Sneedsborough was in Anson County. (It existed from 1795-1835.)
Anson County Historical Society, Inc.
P.O. Box 732
Wadesboro, NC 28170
Anson County Courthouse
114 N. Greene Street, Room 30
County Courthouse
Wadesboro, NC 28170
In-depth topics
Towns & communities
History notes
Anson County (formed 1750 from Bladen; seat Wadesboro) is a research problem defined by Pee Dee border parent whose early records still feed multiple modern counties. Modern labels help late sources and mislead when the event year sat in a parent courthouse.
Jurisdiction first. Write person + event + year + place as written in a source, then open the jurisdiction that owned that year. Before 1750, expect parent paper—not an Anson-only catalog search.
Place density differs. Wadesboro and market towns generate directories, newspapers, and church clusters that rural neighborhoods do not. Treat Wadesboro, Polkton, Morven, Lilesville, Peachland as separate paper systems sharing a courthouse label.
FAN clubs spill. Neighbor research regularly includes Union, Stanly, Richmond, Montgomery. Abstract adjoining owners, witnesses, bondsmen, and three neighboring census households before you declare a negative search.
Special Anson trap: Bladen parent; SC border FAN clubs; colonial parent for many Piedmont families. Keep a one-page formation log (event year → jurisdiction tried → repository → result → next action).
Session order: (1) fix jurisdiction; (2) rebuild every federal census decade; (3) land + probate with full witness abstracting; (4) church/cemetery/newspaper; (5) military and institutional series; (6) paid databases last. Methods: Start here · Master guide · Counties & formation.
Record availability matrix
| Record type | Coverage | Years (approx.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal census | good | 1790–1950 | Federal schedules after formation with boundary awareness for a shrinking parent county. Losses in other series make census + tax + neighbors essential. |
| Birth records | sparse | 1913– | Sparse early civil; church and Bible records critical. |
| Marriage records | partial | 1750– | Early civil thin; bonds, church, and newspaper substitutes first. |
| Death records | partial | 1913– | Sparse early civil; obituaries, church burial, probate, and cemeteries. |
| Land & deeds | partial | 1750– | 1868 fire—do not assume continuous early deeds. Test SC border counties, daughter counties after splits, and State Archives grants/plats. Metes often cross the state line in FAN work. |
| Probate & estates | partial | 1750– | When thin, use equity, newspaper legal notices, neighboring estates (including SC), and later administrations. Abstract every name on surviving pages. |
| Church & parish | partial | varies | Church coverage varies by denomination and survival. Baptisms, membership, and burial registers often beat early civil vitals; check local societies and denominational archives. |
| Newspapers | varies | varies | Wadesboro and local weeklies; verify DigitalNC Anson titles. Charlotte and SC border papers sometimes carry notices when local runs gap. |
| Military | good | 1775– | Revolutionary through 20th-century service may generate pensions, CMSRs, militia notes, and wartime claims. Pair unit research with Anson place context and neighboring counties when companies recruited across lines. |
| Cemeteries | partial | varies | Published surveys, Find a Grave, churchyards, and family plots. Unmarked burials are common—use obituaries, church books, and land descriptions. In thin/burned courthouse decades, cemeteries and funeral notices become higher priority. |
| Court records | sparse | 1750– | Common pleas, sessions, and other court series often begin near formation (1750); equity may sit with or near probate. Pre-1750 under Bladen. Known disruption: 1868 fire. |
| Tax lists | partial | varies | Tax lists can substitute for missing census years and thin deed decades. Coverage is uneven by locality and year—check State Archives of North Carolina and published abstracts. Especially valuable where courthouse series burned or moved. |
Newspapers
Structured transcriptions
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Anson County Deed Abstracts (USGenWeb Archives)
Grantor Grantee Year Book:page Chambers, Nathaniel Cox, William 1758 — (locate on film) Downs, Henry Downs, Richard 1753 — (locate on film) Elliot, Peter Davis, James 1753 — (locate on film) Dobbs (Dabbs), George Mathews, James 1756 B:319 Crawford, John & Crawford, Anne Thomas, Philemon 1768 H:266-267 Bailey, John; Shepherd, Isaac; Stanfield, James Strickland, Lot (of Richmond) 1794 — (locate on film)
Cemeteries & burial research
- Eastview Cemetery
- Anson County cemeteries (Find a Grave / surveys)
Societies & repositories
Vital records
North Carolina statewide vital registration expanded in the early 20th century. For many Anson County families you will rely on marriage bonds, church registers, Bible records, newspapers, delayed births, and probate—not only a modern certificate.
Research starting points
Courthouse & contacts
The county seat is Wadesboro. Confirm current Register of Deeds, Clerk of Superior Court, and library hours before visiting—offices move and digital portals change.Public library: Anson County Library
Record series note: 1868 fire in a Pee Dee / SC-border parent county. Classic thin-series research: SC border FAN clubs, daughters, Archives, newspapers.
If not found here, try…
- Formed 1750
- Parent / earlier jurisdiction Bladen — check district-era records before this county existed (districts guide).
Neighboring counties (deeds, marriages, newspapers, and kin often cross the line):
Local history & events
Sources & further reading
- NCpedia — Anson County
- David Leroy Corbitt, The Formation of the North Carolina Counties, 1663–1943
- William S. Powell, The North Carolina Gazetteer
- State Archives of North Carolina
- DigitalNC — Anson County
- Chronicling America (Library of Congress)
- FamilySearch Wiki · NCGenWeb