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This is the Genealogy Wiki associated with Creekside Farm.
Contained herein are the many things Jim has learned over the course of providing genealogy assistance through the Chatham Community Library and NCGS.
Go to this page to see a list of categories of information in this wiki:
First, one of the best ways to learn how to do genealogy, along with many sources and techniques, is the free site The Family History Guide. Its resources make learning fun! Also, get yourself a free account at the always-free grandaddy of all genealogy sites, Family Search. Their research wiki is a most valuable tool, along with all the information that the LDS church makes available.
Doing NC family history research is just like any other location. The information available is listed quite handily on the Family Search wiki.
Generally speaking, NC records of interest will be held in the county where the record was created, usually by the county Register of Deeds. County boundaries changed over time, so a location could have been in several counties over the decades. Wikipedia and the NCGenWeb provide good history on changing boundaries. Some records will be online, but older records are either not online, or may have been transferred to the NC State Archives. The degree to which records are online, or not, at any particular Register of Deeds site varies with the county.
Wills are also held by the county Register of Deeds, and you’ll have to contact the various offices to see how they index and find old wills. You can also send a query to the NC State Archives to ask if they have a will for a specific person. That page describes how their process works.
Further, there is a database of North Carolina Estate Files from 1663-1979 at Family Search. It contains an index and images of estate files from North Carolina counties. The originals were filmed at the North Carolina Department of Archives and History. The estate records contain loose papers relating to the settlement of estates including such matters as provision for heirs including minor children as well as distribution of funds, land and property, including slaves. This project was indexed in partnership with the North Carolina Genealogical Society and Library.
So far as court records go, start with the circuit court for the county of interest. Their records will probably not be online, so you’ll have to contact them to see whether they are at the county, have been transferred to the NC Administrative Office of the Courts, or to the State Archives. Easy to find each of these with a Google search.
Many county libraries have a non-circulating Local History and Genealogy section. I recommend you contact the Reference Librarian (that's usually who is responsible for LHG) and ask if there are family histories available. Also contact the local historical society; some have extensive holdings.
Newspaper records are online at many places. Some free, some subscription. See my Newspaper category page for more information.
Land in NC started being privately owned through land grants in the colonial era of the Lords Proprietor. All land grants are freely available at NC Land Grants. After the grants, when deeds were issued, one must pursue those records through the county Register of Deeds.
You should also contact the cemeteries to see what they have in the way of burial records. Often, they will have documents that informed who authorized the burial, frequently a relative, and those buried in close proximity are often relatives. I’ve found all sorts of connections by getting the original burial records.