Forsyth County Genealogy
- Formed 1849
- Parent county / earlier Stokes
- County seat Winston-Salem
- Neighbors Stokes, Rockingham, Guilford, Davidson, Davie, Yadkin, Surry
Photos & maps
What’s new
- Flagship hub (priority depth): Moravian Wachovia roots under a late county label—pre-1849 research lives in Stokes and church books.
- Formation 1849 from Stokes — for pre-formation events, use the parent jurisdiction’s paper (not later Anson-only catalogs).
- Seat: Winston-Salem · Neighbors: Stokes, Guilford, Davidson, Davie, Yadkin, Surry.
- Long-form topics below: research path, parents/jurisdiction, neighbors/borders, place communities, record stack.
- Free tools: starter checklist · cheatsheet bundle · this week in Forsyth history.
Forsyth County was formed in 1849 from Stokes. The county seat is Winston-Salem. Neighboring counties include Stokes, Rockingham, Guilford, Davidson, Davie, Yadkin, Surry.
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 1849 from Stokes County. It was named for Colonel Benjamin Forsyth, who was killed in the War of 1812 during the battle of Odelltown, Canada. The county seat is Winston-Salem. Portions of Forsyth County are in the Yadkin Valley Wine Region (Yadkin County AVA).
Forsyth County was originally settled in 1753 by Moravians. Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg had acquired a 100,000 acre tract from Lord Granville. The settlement was called Wachovia. This name came from the Austrian estate of Austrian estate of Count Nicholas Lewis von Zinzendorf. He had been an early defender of the Moravians. Settlements were established at Bethabara and Bethania and then Salem (1766) which was the principal settlement in Wachovia.
When the county was formed, the town of Winston was named as the county seat just 1 mile north of the Salem.
One of the great attractions of modern day Forsyth County is Old Salem Museums and Gardens. From their website: "Old Salem Museums & Gardens is America's most comprehensive history attraction. Our four museums - the Historic Town of Salem, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), the Old Salem Children's Museum, and the Old Salem Toy Museum - engage visitors in an educational and memorable historical experience about those who lived and worked in the early South."
Also from their website: "Old Salem Museums & Gardens is a unique community of original museum buildings, authentic craftsmen practicing their trade, fascinating collections of rare antiques, and one-of-a-kind retail shopping opportunities.
The stories and activities experienced by visitors in the museums convey a much larger aspect of early America than just the Moravians who settled in Salem, NC. The experiences are a reflection on evolving economy and diversity of lifestyles that made up the early South. Early Southerners struggled with common principles such as freedom, faith, tradition, government, segregation, and war – many of the same issues that remain relevant in today’s world."
- NCpedia / formation references (verify with Corbitt)
- Forsyth County NCGenweb site
- Rootsweb Forsyth Co., NC Resource page
Forsyth County Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 5715
Winston-Salem, NC 27113-5715
Forsyth County Courthouse
201 N. Chestnut 5th floor
Winston Salem, NC 27101
In-depth topics
Towns & communities
History notes
Forsyth County (formed 1849 from Stokes; seat Winston-Salem) is a research problem defined by Moravian Wachovia roots under a late county label—pre-1849 research lives in Stokes and church books. The modern label is useful for late sources—and dangerous when it erases the courthouse that actually held authority in the event year.
Jurisdiction first. Write person + event + year + place as written in a source, then open the parent or neighbor that owned that year. Forsyth's formation year 1849 is a hard wall: earlier deeds, estates, tax lists, and court orders usually live in parent paper, not in a Forsyth-only catalog search.
Place density differs. Winston-Salem and market towns generate directories, newspapers, and church clusters that rural farm neighborhoods do not. Treat Winston-Salem, Kernersville, Clemmons, Lewisville, Rural Hall (and unincorporated settlements) as separate paper systems sharing a courthouse label.
FAN clubs spill. Neighbor research regularly includes Stokes, Guilford, Davidson, Davie, Yadkin, Surry. Abstract adjoining owners, witnesses, bondsmen, and three neighboring census households before you declare a negative search.
Special Forsyth trap: Moravian records; dual-city Winston-Salem merger memory; tobacco industrial paper; Stokes parent trap. Build a one-page formation log (event year → jurisdiction tried → repository → result → next action) every session—the habit that separates Charleston-class research from index shopping.
Session order: (1) fix jurisdiction; (2) rebuild households in every federal census decade available; (3) land + probate with full witness abstracting; (4) church/cemetery/newspaper substitutes; (5) military and institutional series; (6) only then paid database deep dives. Use the record matrix on this hub as a plan, not a guarantee. Methods: Start here · Master guide · Counties & formation.
Record availability matrix
| Record type | Coverage | Years (approx.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal census | good | 1849–1950 | Federal schedules; pre-1850 households will not be labeled Forsyth. Use Stokes/parent geography for earlier decades only. |
| Birth records | sparse | 1913– | Moravian books and later city directories for Winston-Salem decades; civil birth late statewide. |
| Marriage records | partial | 1849– | Post-1849 county series; earlier Stokes/church/Moravian. City directories help late 19th–20th c. |
| Death records | partial | 1913– | Civil denser after statewide registration; Moravian and city cemetery sources earlier. |
| Land & deeds | good | 1849– | Record-loss / thin-series note: Formed 1849 from Stokes: pre-1849 research is almost always Stokes plus Moravian Wachovia congregational systems—not a Forsyth civil series. Post-1849 county deed series; pre-1849 almost always Stokes (plus Moravian congregational land context where relevant). |
| Probate & estates | good | 1849– | Record-loss / thin-series note: Formed 1849 from Stokes: pre-1849 research is almost always Stokes plus Moravian Wachovia congregational systems—not a Forsyth civil series. County estates after formation; earlier in Stokes/Wachovia systems. Abstract thoroughly in market decades. |
| 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 | Winston-Salem Journal lineage and local titles—confirm runs on DigitalNC before relying on a single portal. |
| Military | good | 1775– | Revolutionary through 20th-century service may generate pensions, CMSRs, militia notes, and wartime claims. Pair unit research with Forsyth 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 | 1849– | Common pleas, sessions, and other court series often begin near formation (1849); equity may sit with or near probate. Pre-1849 under Stokes. Known disruption: No major fire on standard lists; Stokes parent (1849); Moravian Wachovia richness. |
| 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
- Winston-Salem Journal lineage
- DigitalNC holdings — all Forsyth titles
- The Weekly Gleaner
- Weekly Chronicle and Farmers’ Register
- The Western Sentinel
- The Union Republican
- The Daily Pilot
- The Enterprise
- The Kernersville News
- The Little Typo
- The Broad Street Worker
- The High Point Daily Citizen
- The Winston Weekly Journal
- Winston-Salem Journal
- The Business Guide
- Salem College Student Newspaper
- Columbian Heights High School Student Newspaper
- Piedmont Aviation Employee Newsletter
- The Lewisville Citizen
- Winston-Salem State University Student Newspaper
- N.C. Essay
- Forsyth Technical Community College Student Newspaper
- Winston-Salem Chronicle
- The AC Phoenix News
Structured transcriptions
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Forsyth County Deed Abstracts (USGenWeb Archives)
Grantor Grantee Year Book:page Wall, James H. Grabs, Lewis E. 1857 — (locate on film) Reynolds, H. H. Tudor, John 1892 — (locate on film) Tudor, W. P. & Tudor, Ann Tudor, Geo. C. 1917 43:372
Cemeteries & burial research
- God's Acre (Moravian)
- God's Acre (Moravian) and related burial grounds
- Salem Cemetery
- Forsyth County cemeteries (Find a Grave / surveys)
Societies & repositories
Vital records
North Carolina statewide vital registration expanded in the early 20th century. For many Forsyth 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
What to do next in Forsyth County
- Fix the year and jurisdiction — if the event is before 1849, open parent paper first (Stokes).
- Rebuild the household in every census decade; abstract three neighboring households each time.
- Pull land + probate with full witness/bondsman abstracts in the courthouse that actually held authority.
- Work the place — Winston-Salem directories/newspapers vs rural church/cemetery clusters.
- Widen one neighbor at a time — Stokes, Guilford, Davidson, Davie.
- Log negatives and only then use paid databases for images you cannot get free.
Courthouse & contacts
The county seat is Winston-Salem. Confirm current Register of Deeds, Clerk of Superior Court, and library hours before visiting—offices move and digital portals change.
Public library: Forsyth County Public Library
Record-loss / series note: Formed 1849 from Stokes: pre-1849 research is almost always Stokes plus Moravian Wachovia congregational systems—not a Forsyth civil series.
If not found here, try…
- Formed 1849
- Parent / earlier jurisdiction Stokes — 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 — Forsyth 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 — Forsyth County
- Chronicling America (Library of Congress)
- FamilySearch Wiki · NCGenWeb