Dare County Genealogy
- Formed 1870
- Parent county / earlier Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde
- County seat Manteo
- Neighbors Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde
Photos & maps
What’s new
- Flagship hub: Outer Banks tourism overlay on maritime families.
- Formation 1870 from Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde — for pre-formation events, use the parent jurisdiction’s paper (not later Anson-only catalogs).
- Seat: Manteo · Neighbors: Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde.
- Methods: Start here · Formation · Master guide.
This week in Dare County history
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1861Hatteras Inlet forts fall
Dare County was formed in 1870 from Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde. The county seat is Manteo. Neighboring counties include Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde.
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.
Dare County was formed in 1870 from Currituck, Tyrrell and Hyde Counties.
Albemarle Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 87
Currituck, NC 27929
(covers Camden, Currituck, and Dare Counties)
Roanoke Island Historical Association
P.O. Box 40
Manteo, NC 27954
Dare County Courthouse
PO Drawer 1000
County Courthouse
Manteo, NC 27954
In-depth topics
Towns & communities
History notes
Dare County (formed 1870 from Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde; seat Manteo) is a distinctive research problem: Outer Banks tourism overlay on maritime families. Genealogists who treat every NC county the same will miss how manteo seat; lost colony commemorative caution shapes the paper trail here—and how federal/park lands and thin farm deeds changes which record class to open first.
Pin the decade before the courthouse. Record the jurisdiction as cited in the original deed, estate, or church book—then map it to modern hubs. Neighbor FAN clubs frequently spill into Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde.
This county rewards a fixed order: census clusters with neighbors → land and probate in the correct years → church and cemetery substitutes for pre-vital generations → newspapers and directories around Manteo for 19th–20th century moves. Use the record matrix on this hub as a planning tool, not a catalog.
Session order: write person + year + place as written → formation/parent check → census FAN club → land/probate → church/cemetery → newspapers/directories when town-era → neighbors listed above. Free path: Start here · formation guide · Master NC research guide. Statewide substitutes: State Archives of North Carolina · DigitalNC · NCGenWeb — Dare.
Record availability matrix
| Record type | Coverage | Years (approx.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal census | good | 1870–1950 | Federal schedules for NC; place each household in the correct county for that decade. Before 1870, people will not be labeled Dare—use Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde. Parent-jurisdiction notes apply only to pre-formation events—not to post-formation federal census rows. Township and city-ward labels change; re-pin every decade. |
| Birth records | sparse | 1913– | Statewide NC birth registration is late (roughly 1913–1915 for civil strength). Use delayed births, church registers, Bibles, and census for earlier Dare generations—not parent-county “civil vitals.” |
| Marriage records | partial | 1870– | County marriage records improve in the 19th–20th centuries after formation (1870); earlier events often appear in church books, bonds, newspapers, or Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde. Confirm event-year jurisdiction vs modern address. |
| Death records | partial | 1913– | Death certificates denser after statewide registration (~1913–1915+). Earlier Dare deaths via obituaries, church burial, probate, and cemeteries. |
| Land & deeds | good | 1870– | Record-loss / thin-series note: Formed 1870 from Currituck/Tyrrell/Hyde. Outer Banks paper survival is uneven—pre-1870 research is multi-parent; use coastal newspapers and Archives. Dare deed/Register of Deeds series typically begin near formation (1870); pre-1870 land lives under Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde. Colonial grants/plats may predate the county at State Archives of North Carolina. Always verify book/page gaps; abstract witnesses and neighbors. |
| Probate & estates | good | 1870– | Record-loss / thin-series note: Formed 1870 from Currituck/Tyrrell/Hyde. Outer Banks paper survival is uneven—pre-1870 research is multi-parent; use coastal newspapers and Archives. Wills, administrations, inventories, and equity are core after 1870; pre-formation estates under Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde. Abstract bondsmen, sales, and widows’ petitions for FAN clubs. Pair thin years with newspaper legal notices and Archives microfilm. |
| 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 | Manteo and local weeklies, plus larger regional papers for legal notices and obituaries. Verify actual title runs on DigitalNC and Chronicling America before citing continuous coverage—do not invent a “County Herald” without holdings. |
| Military | good | 1775– | Revolutionary through 20th-century service may generate pensions, CMSRs, militia notes, and wartime claims. Pair unit research with Dare 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 | 1870– | Record-loss / thin-series note: Formed 1870 from Currituck/Tyrrell/Hyde. Outer Banks paper survival is uneven—pre-1870 research is multi-parent; use coastal newspapers and Archives. Common pleas, sessions, and other court series often begin near formation (1870); equity may sit with or near probate. Pre-1870 under Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde. |
| 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. |
Cemeteries & burial research
- Manteo / Outer Banks churchyards
- Dare County cemeteries (Find a Grave / surveys)
Societies & repositories
Vital records
North Carolina statewide vital registration expanded in the early 20th century. For many Dare 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 Manteo. Confirm current Register of Deeds, Clerk of Superior Court, and library hours before visiting—offices move and digital portals change.
Public library: Dare County Library
Record-loss / series note: Formed 1870 from Currituck/Tyrrell/Hyde. Outer Banks paper survival is uneven—pre-1870 research is multi-parent; use coastal newspapers and Archives.
If not found here, try…
- Formed 1870
- Parent / earlier jurisdiction Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde — check district-era records before this county existed (districts guide).
Neighboring counties (deeds, marriages, newspapers, and kin often cross the line):
What to do next
Local history & events
Sources & further reading
- NCpedia — Dare 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 — Dare County
- Chronicling America (Library of Congress)
- FamilySearch Wiki · NCGenWeb