Craven County Genealogy
- Formed 1712
- Parent county / earlier Bath (colonial)
- County seat New Bern
- Neighbors Carteret, Jones, Lenoir, Pitt, Beaufort, Pamlico
Photos & maps
What’s new
- Deepened hub: Colonial capital and port—New Bern occupation paper layered on Bath-era roots.
- Formation 1712 from Bath (colonial) — for pre-formation events, use the parent jurisdiction’s paper (not later Anson-only catalogs).
- Seat: New Bern · Neighbors: Carteret, Jones, Lenoir, Pitt, Beaufort, Pamlico.
- Long-form topics: research path, parents/formation, neighbors, places, record stack.
- Tools: checklist · this week in Craven history.
Craven County was formed in 1712 from Bath (colonial). The county seat is New Bern. Neighboring counties include Carteret, Jones, Lenoir, Pitt, Beaufort, Pamlico.
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.
Craven County was created in 1705 as the Archdale Precinct of Bath County. The name was changed in 1712 in honor of one of the Lords Proprietors of the Colony, William Lord Craven. New Bern is the County seat of Craven County. New Bern was the first capital of the state of North Carolina (until 1794) after serving as capital of the colony of North Carolina. Tryon Palace was completed in New Bern in 1770 and a reconstruction is open today as a tourist attraction and historic site.
The Battle of New Bern during the Civil War took place here leading to the capture and holding of the town by Union Troops. New Bern is also the home of Pepsi Cola. It was here in the late 1800s that Caleb Bradham (a pharmacist in New Bern) invented the soft drink we know as Pepsi Cola. New Bern is at the conjunction of the Trent and Neuse Rivers.
Craven County Genealogical Society
1207 Forest Drive (Street Address)
Craven County Genealogical Society of North Carolina, Inc.
P.O. Box 1344 (Mailing)
New Bern NC 28563-1344
Eastern NC Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 395
New Bern, NC 28563
New Bern Historical Society Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 119
New Bern, NC 28536
Craven County Courthouse
406 Craven Street
County Courthouse
New Bern, NC 28560
Craven County Register of Deeds
226 Pollock St
New Bern NC 28560
Phone: (252) 636-6617
Fax: (252) 636-1937
E-mail: regdeeds@cravencounty.com
Tax Records
In-depth topics
Towns & communities
History notes
Craven County (formed 1712 from Bath (colonial); seat New Bern) is a research problem defined by Colonial capital and port—New Bern occupation paper layered on Bath-era roots. The modern label helps late sources and misleads 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 1712, expect parent paper—not a Craven-only catalog search.
Place density differs. New Bern and market towns generate directories, newspapers, and church clusters that rural neighborhoods do not. Treat New Bern, Havelock, Bridgeton, Cove City, Vanceboro as separate paper systems sharing a courthouse label.
FAN clubs spill. Neighbor research regularly includes Carteret, Jones, Lenoir, Pitt, Beaufort, Pamlico. Abstract adjoining owners, witnesses, bondsmen, and three neighboring census households before you declare a negative search.
Special Craven trap: Bath precinct roots; New Bern 1862 occupation; Cherry Point era directories; sound-edge FAN clubs. 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 with coastal boundary and wartime disruption awareness. Parent notes apply to pre-formation research only. |
| Birth records | sparse | 1913– | Church and burial societies strong substitutes for early decades; civil late. |
| Marriage records | partial | 1741– | Early church/bond/newspaper; civil improves later. Confirm New Bern-area event geography. |
| Death records | partial | 1913– | Certificates denser after statewide registration; church and port-city newspapers earlier. |
| Land & deeds | good | 1712– | Record-loss / thin-series note: Colonial east with wartime occupation layers: additional federal paper appears in some decades, but local series still need run-by-run verification. Port/plantation research is multi-repository. Colonial east—early deed series important; wartime occupation can create additional federal paper trails. Confirm repository (county vs Archives). |
| Probate & estates | good | 1712– | Record-loss / thin-series note: Colonial east with wartime occupation layers: additional federal paper appears in some decades, but local series still need run-by-run verification. Port/plantation research is multi-repository. Port/plantation estates; pair with newspaper legal notices and equity. Abstract enslavers’ estates for free and enslaved FAN work. |
| Church & parish | good | varies | Church coverage can be unusually rich (colonial Albemarle, Moravian Wachovia, Quaker, older coastal congregations) when books survive—check local societies and denominational archives. |
| Newspapers | varies | varies | New Bern papers with occupation-era runs—verify holdings before citing a full continuous run. DigitalNC + Chronicling America first. |
| Military | good | 1775– | Revolutionary through 20th-century service may generate pensions, CMSRs, militia notes, and wartime claims. Pair unit research with Craven 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. |
| Court records | partial | 1712– | Common pleas, sessions, and other court series often begin near formation (1712); equity may sit with or near probate. Pre-1712 under Bath (colonial). Known disruption: 1712 early colonial record destruction. |
| Tax lists | sparse | 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. |
Newspapers
- New Bern Sun Journal lineage
- DigitalNC holdings — all Craven titles
- The North Carolina Gazette [1751-1759]
- The Newbern Gazette
- The North-Carolina Magazine; or, Universal Intelligencer
- The North-Carolina Gazette [1768-1786]
- The North-Carolina Gazette [1784-1798]
- The State Gazette of North-Carolina
- The North Carolina Circular, and Newbern Weekly Advertiser
- The True Republican, and Newbern Weekly Advertiser
- The Carolina Federal Republican
- The Carolinian
- Newbern Sentinel
- The Newbernian, and North Carolina Advocate
- The Biblical Recorder
- North Carolina Republican
- The Daily Delta
- Newbern Progress
- Newbern Weekly Progress
- New Berne Times
- The Newbern Journal of Commerce
- New Bern Republican
- New Berne Times, and Republic-Courier
- Our Living and Our Dead
- The Free Will Baptist
- The Newbernian [1876-18??]
- The Newbernian [18??-18??]
- The Semi-Weekly Sun-Journal
- The New Bernian
- The Chronicle
- The Atlantic Messenger
- The New Bern Mirror
- West Craven Highlights
Cemeteries & burial research
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
- Craven County cemeteries (Find a Grave / surveys)
Societies & repositories
Vital records
North Carolina statewide vital registration expanded in the early 20th century. For many Craven 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 New Bern. Confirm current Register of Deeds, Clerk of Superior Court, and library hours before visiting—offices move and digital portals change.
Public library: Craven-Pamlico Regional Library
Record-loss / series note: Colonial east with wartime occupation layers: additional federal paper appears in some decades, but local series still need run-by-run verification. Port/plantation research is multi-repository.
If not found here, try…
- Formed 1712
- Parent / earlier jurisdiction Bath (colonial) — 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 — Craven 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 — Craven County
- Chronicling America (Library of Congress)
- FamilySearch Wiki · NCGenWeb