Bladen County Genealogy
- Formed 1734
- Parent county / earlier New Hanover
- County seat Elizabethtown
- Neighbors Columbus, Brunswick, Pender, Sampson, Cumberland, Robeson
Photos & maps
What’s new
- Flagship hub (deepened): Cape Fear parent district whose land series still unlock Robeson and beyond.
- Formation 1734 from New Hanover — for pre-formation events, use the parent jurisdiction’s paper (not later Anson-only catalogs).
- Seat: Elizabethtown · Neighbors: New Hanover, Columbus, Cumberland, Robeson, Sampson.
- Long-form topics below target SC-style essay depth (jurisdiction, FAN clubs, place-level work, full record stack).
- Methods: Start here · Master guide.
Bladen County was formed in 1734 from New Hanover. The county seat is Elizabethtown. Neighboring counties include Columbus, Brunswick, Pender, Sampson, Cumberland, Robeson.
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 1734 as Bladen Precinct of Bath County, from New Hanover Precinct. It was named for Martin Bladen, a member of the Board of Trade. With the abolition of Bath County in 1739, all of its constituent precincts became counties.
Originally, Bladen was a vast territory with indefinite northern and western boundaries. Reductions in its extent began in 1750, when its western part became Anson County. In 1752 the northern part of Bladen County was combined with parts of Granville County and Johnston County to form Orange County. In 1754 the northern part of what was left of Bladen County became Cumberland County. In 1764 the southern part of what remained of Bladen County was combined with part of New Hanover County to form Brunswick County. In 1787 the western part of the now much smaller county became Robeson County. Finally, in 1808 the southern part of Bladen County was combined with part of Brunswick County to form Columbus County. NCpedia / formation references (verify with Corbitt)
The county seat of Bladen County is Elizabethtown. Bladen county is comprised of the following townships: Abbotts, Bethel, Bladenboro, Brown Marsh, Carvers Creek, Central, Colly, Cypress Creek, Elizabethtown, East Arcadia, Frenches Creek, Hollow, Lake Creek, Turnbull, White Oak, and Whites Creek.
Bladen is considered the "mother of counties" because it's original extent was divided and used many times to create new counties in the state of North Carolina. There are state parks now at Jones Lake and Singletary Lake. Bay Tree Lake and White Lake have seen commercial and private develop respectively. At one time there were 1000 lakes within the borders of Bladen County, today there are just 7 due to the territorial cessions to other counties. The Cape Fear River runs through Bladen County.
Bladen County Historical Society
P.O. Box 849
Elizabethtown, NC 28337
Bladen County Courthouse
PO Box 1048
County Courthouse
Elizabethtown, NC 28337
In-depth topics
Towns & communities
History notes
Bladen County (formed 1734 from New Hanover; seat Elizabethtown) is a research problem defined by Cape Fear parent district whose land series still unlock Robeson and beyond. Highland Scots memory, river landings, and plantation corridors create layered trails. Do not start modern daughter-only searches for early decades.
Depth here is not about listing more sections—it is about choosing the right jurisdiction and record class for the decade. Wrong-courthouse searches create the most “missing” ancestors. Always record the jurisdiction as named in the original deed, estate, tax list, or church book, then map it onto modern hubs.
Neighbor FAN clubs frequently spill into New Hanover, Columbus, Cumberland, Robeson, Sampson. Heirs, bondsmen, burial neighbors, and mill co-workers often sit one county (or one state line) away. When a search goes cold, widen one decade and one jurisdiction at a time and write down negatives—they are data.
Elizabethtown and rural communities are different paper systems. Town decades after about 1880 often reward city directories, multi-denominational churches, and newspapers. Farm and mountain corridors still require land descriptions, small churches, and cemetery surveys that never appear in town books. Pin community first, then open the matching stack.
Use the record availability matrix on this hub as a planning tool—not a guarantee. Pair it with statewide methods: Start here, counties & formation, census, land, probate, church, and the Master NC research guide.
Session order that matches SC’s best county pages: (1) write person + event + year + place as written; (2) confirm formation/parent for that year; (3) rebuild every available census decade with neighbors; (4) abstract land and probate in the correct courthouse years; (5) church/cemetery substitutes for pre-vital generations; (6) newspapers/directories for later town moves; (7) military or specialized paths only when claimed; (8) parents/neighbors/border states with a written log. Statewide substitutes: State Archives of North Carolina · DigitalNC · NCGenWeb — Bladen.
Record availability matrix
| Record type | Coverage | Years (approx.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal census | good | 1790–1950 | Federal schedules with heavy parent/daughter boundary work. Pre-formation people are not “Bladen” on every schedule—use period geography. |
| Birth records | sparse | 1913– | Late civil; church and cemetery substitutes. |
| Marriage records | partial | 1741– | Early civil uneven; church/bond/newspaper first for colonial and early federal decades. |
| Death records | partial | 1913– | Late civil certificates; church, cemetery, and newspaper earlier. |
| Land & deeds | partial | 1734– | Record-loss / thin-series note: Cape Fear parent district: early land and probate series feed many daughter counties. Treat as a regional research problem—families later labeled under daughters often still sit in Bladen-era files. Cape Fear parent district—early land series feed many daughters; treat as regional land research. Confirm event-year jurisdiction. |
| Probate & estates | partial | 1734– | Record-loss / thin-series note: Cape Fear parent district: early land and probate series feed many daughter counties. Treat as a regional research problem—families later labeled under daughters often still sit in Bladen-era files. Parent estates may hold families later labeled under daughter counties. Search broadly before concluding “no probate.” |
| 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 | Regional Cape Fear titles; check DigitalNC holdings and larger Wilmington-area papers for notices. |
| Military | good | 1775– | Revolutionary through 20th-century service may generate pensions, CMSRs, militia notes, and wartime claims. Pair unit research with Bladen 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 | 1734– | Common pleas, sessions, and other court series often begin near formation (1734); equity may sit with or near probate. Pre-1734 under New Hanover. Known disruption: 1770, 1800, 1893 fires. |
| 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. |
Structured transcriptions
-
Bladen County Deed & Grant Abstracts (USGenWeb Archives)
Grantor Grantee Year Book:page State of North Carolina (grant) Ard (Aid), Thomas 1784 1:70 State of North Carolina (grant) Ard, Thomas 1784 23:71 State of North Carolina (grant) Ard (Aid), Thomas 1784 1:71 State of North Carolina (entry warrant) Beasley, Robert 1778 — (locate on film) Bedsole, Duncan Bedsole, Owen 1838 — (locate on film) Bedsole, Thomas Sr. Blackwell, George 1821 — (locate on film)
Cemeteries & burial research
- Elizabethtown churchyards & municipal cemeteries
- Bladen County cemeteries (Find a Grave / surveys)
Societies & repositories
Vital records
North Carolina statewide vital registration expanded in the early 20th century. For many Bladen 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 Elizabethtown. Confirm current Register of Deeds, Clerk of Superior Court, and library hours before visiting—offices move and digital portals change.
Public library: Bladen County Public Library
Record-loss / series note: Cape Fear parent district: early land and probate series feed many daughter counties. Treat as a regional research problem—families later labeled under daughters often still sit in Bladen-era files.
Record series note: Multiple fires (1770, 1800, 1893) in a Cape Fear parent district. Treat Bladen as regional land/probate research feeding many daughters.
If not found here, try…
- Formed 1734
- Parent / earlier jurisdiction New Hanover — check district-era records before this county existed (districts guide).
Neighboring counties (deeds, marriages, newspapers, and kin often cross the line):
Local history & events
- Pender County Museum to debut ‘Deep Blue Roots’ exhibit at NC Blueberry Festival - WWAYTV3
- Bladen at 250: Revolutionary War Hero Sallie Salter - Bladen Journal
- Clarkton recognized for 165th anniversary - Bladen Journal
- Bald Head Island celebrates America 250 with live reenactment and block party - WECT
Sources & further reading
- NCpedia — Bladen 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 — Bladen County
- Chronicling America (Library of Congress)
- FamilySearch Wiki · NCGenWeb