Guides & digital products

Free tools first—printable cheatsheets and partner databases that fund county research pages. Affiliate links are disclosed; free guides stay free.

Free

NC Genealogy Starter Checklist

Email delivery of our printable research path: jurisdiction → census → land/probate → vitals → places.

Direct download: PDF checklist · HTML

Free digital product

NC Research Cheatsheet Bundle

Multi-page desk reference: jurisdiction rule, free-vs-paid stack, burned-courthouse tactics, and a priority-county quick map. Print or save as PDF.

Open cheatsheet bundle

Pairs with Start here and the full guide library.

Free

African American research pack

Printable starter path for enslaved and free Black North Carolina research.

Open pack

Free

Burned-county tactics pack

Substitute sources when the courthouse trail goes cold.

Open pack

Paid · Stripe

Priority-county PDF pack

Printable field pack for Wake, Mecklenburg, Guilford, Forsyth, Durham, Buncombe, New Hanover, and more: formation traps, neighbor routes, session logs, and live hub links. Delivered by email + instant download after Stripe checkout ($9).

Preview: what’s included. Free starter tools above stay free forever.

Research desk essentials (Amazon)

A short shelf of method books and state research leads that pair with free archives first. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases (tag ncgen-20)—at no extra cost to you. Always re-check citations on free film before treating a published abstract as proof.

Evidence Explained (Elizabeth Shown Mills)
Citation discipline for Archives, DigitalNC, and courthouse film.
Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790–1920
County-line changes every census decade—critical across the Piedmont and coastal plain.
North Carolina Research: Genealogy and Local History (Helen F.M. Leary, ed.)
The classic NC methods volume—jurisdiction, series, and repository strategy.
Courthouse Research for Family Historians (Christine Rose)
Practical deed, probate, and courtcraft for NC county seats.
The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy
DNA after free stacks and correct parent/daughter county work.
North Carolina county histories & abstracts (browse)
Published abstracts and local histories as leads—re-check on Archives film.

Free stacks still come first for North Carolina: start with our start-here guide, statewide resources, and county hubs—not a shopping cart.

Research partners (affiliates)

We may earn a commission if you subscribe through these links—at no extra cost to you. Affiliate links (research databases and Amazon) are disclosed with rel=sponsored. Free state archives and FamilySearch paths always come first. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Ancestry
Census images, trees, and newspapers—use after you know the correct NC jurisdiction.
MyHeritage
International trees and DNA matching tools.
Findmypast
Useful for British Isles origins of many NC settlers.

Always pair paid databases with free portals: State Archives of NC, DigitalNC, FamilySearch, and our research guides. Societies and sponsors: see Advertising & partnerships. Libraries seeking free reciprocal links: For libraries & societies · HTML snippets: Link to us.

Email flywheel & network

Checklist signups enter the MailerLite welcome series (research tips → county-guide drip → product offers). Domain authentication remains a human ops check.

Sister network: South Carolina Genealogy is live; Tennessee and Virginia hubs ship on this template after NC depth targets. Read: Southern research network.