Xxxx Xxxx, The Clarendon Courier, Winter 1999
New Hanover County was formed in 1729 out of Craven County. The first
county seat was Brunswick Town in what is now Brunswick County. Wilmington
became the county seat in 1739/40.
The first documented location
of the courthouse was at the intersection of Front and Market streets.
By 1786, the structure was in such bad condition that court was held
in various homes, churches or taverns. Another building of the same
design was rebuilt in 1797 on the same site and it burned in 1840. After
the fire, the courthouse was moved to the north side of Princess Street
between Second and Third streets. An addition was added in 1881. In
1892, construction of the Queen Anne red-brick courthouse on the southeast
corner of Third and Princess streets was completed. A. S. Eichberg of
Savannah, GA, was the architect with local resident, James F. Post,
the supervising architect. By 1925, county business outgrew the building
and a Neoclassical Revival annex was built on Princess Street, designed
by Leslie N. Boney. About sixty years later, space again became a huge
problem; therefore, in 1982, the Judicial Building was built on the
comer of Fourth and Princess streets. In the 1990s, the county population
began to grow at a tremendous rate and the courthouse complex became
very crowded. [A new Judicial Annex building, south of the Historic
Courthouse on Third Street opened in 2002.]
It is well to remember that records in the New Hanover Courthouse encompass
not only the present day county, which geographically is one of the
smallest in the state, but the early records of other southeastern North
Carolina counties. Onslow and Baden Counties (1734),Duplin County (1750),
Brunswick County (1764), part of Sampson County (1795) and Pender County
(1875) were all formed from New Hanover, There are deeds, wills etc.,
relating to these counties in New Hanover records.
Various offices in the courthouse complex house records that are
of interest to genealogists:
Register of Deeds: Everyone knows the wealth of information that
can be found in deeds and vital statistics. Today, there are two sections
to this office. Deeds, plats of lands and maps are on the first floor
of an office in the 1925 Annex on Princess Street. Prior to ca. 1900,
there are microfilms of deeds. Before then, deeds are in the original
deed books. Fire has destroyed some of the earliest deeds. Parts of
Deed Books A and B were destroyed and have been combined into Deed Book
AB, the originals of which are in the Department of Archives and History
in Raleigh. In the early deed books, wills are also recorded as well
as bills of sale and powers of attorney. Records relating to slaves
are often in these books. For the city of Wilmington, there is a block
book, that is kept in the Registrar's office, which helps trace the
deeds of lots in the city by block. It is helpful to know the block
number before beginning a search. Photo copies of these early deeds
are available in the office for a nominal fee.
Vital statistics: Vital statistics such as birth and death certificates
are in the ground floor offices of the Historic Courthouse. These
records begin in 1913, although there are a few before that date.
Marriage licenses go back earlier. All of these records are listed in
book indices by year and the actual records are on microfilm. There
is a charge of ten cents for a printed copy of the record. It should
be noted that the birth certificate index is in the office across the
hall from the microfilm machines. Also located in the vital statistics
section are military records. Veterans of various wars are supposed
to register their discharges, etc. in the county of their residence.
However, since registration is voluntary, there are some that are not
Hanover County Registrar of Deeds Website
Index: Birth & Death Certificates, Marriages, Military Records
County Clerk of Superior Court: Wills and estate records are
in this office in the Judicial Building. The original records are in
the Department of Archives and History in Raleigh. Court ordered divisions
of estates can be important, since they may list the relationships of
family members to the deceased. Other court records located in this
office are civil and felony litigations. Copies of these records can
be made for a small fee.
County Records: All of the county records are on microfilm, copies
of which are in the New Hanover County Public Library. Dating from 1739,
original court minutes often detail estates and other legal matters
and are located in the Department of North Carolina Archives and History
in Raleigh, NC. The court minutes contain not only land transactions,
but the business of the county, including the construction of public
buildings, which was under the direction of the justices of the peace.
The minutes list licenses for ferries, taverns and other businesses.
A number of these early minutes have been abstracted and published in
book form, many by the Old New Hanover Genealogical Society. The library
has copies of these books.
It would be well to check both the North Carolina Room at the New Hanover
County Library and the New Hanover County Courthouse when checking courthouse
Also see: Crockette W. Hewlett and Leora H. McEachern, Attorneys
of New Hanover County, 1724-1978, (Wilmington, NC, 1979), pages
178-181; and, Tony P. Wrenn, Wilmington North Carolina: An Architectural
and Historical Portrait, (Charlottesville: University of Virginia
Press, 1984), page 202.