For your convenience, here's a quick index in both order by surname and regular order (for SEO) with links to all of the Secretary of State Wills for Craven County that have been published by North Carolina Digital Collections. PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT a complete list...
Nearly five years ago I published a post for a will I had stumbled upon for a William S. MORRIS of New Bern in which he declares his wishes that his "negro woman Patty" and her "mulatto" children be freed and well-maintained after his death. The will was dated 1831...
(Note: This was originally published on March 15, 2016, but I have updated it with relationship information and a list of the actual spellings of the names in this transcription.) The spellings in the following transcription are true to what was there, but they are...
There is a story that's been told over the years, though I'm unsure of where it started, that what is today known as Vanceboro was originally founded as Durgantown and it was known by that name from the 1750s until it became known as Swift Creek in 1850. This is an...
I'm trying to figure out who's who for all of these Craven County Wiggins. I don't descend from them (that I know of), but I have them in many collateral lines. Specifically, I'd love to figure out how John, Edmund, George, and Samuel Wiggins fit together. (I know...
This new series will attempt to correct records, one family branch at a time, that have mushroomed across the online genealogical communities. Ok... I'm not going to claim that I don't have any mistakes in my enormous tree on Ancestry. I've been working on...
I do descend from the GRIFFIN family of Pitt County, though I'll admit I haven't spent much time researching them beyond my direct line (If you're curious: James GRIFFIN > Josiah GRIFFIN + Patsey WHITEHEAD > James GRIFFIN + Rebecca Ann SMITH > Harriet A.E....
I've been researching a bunch of different things lately and I'm trying to compartmentalize them into a handful of posts that might be helpful (and easily accessible) in the future. This will be the first in a series of random items for random families I've spent time...
Yes, there were, indeed, two Rocksolanah CARRUTHERS. I used to think there were two Rocksolanahs, but then because of some dates that were discussed in the old W'ton List (probably close to 15 years ago!), I began to think that there was only one. It was generally...
The following is a transcription of the estate papers for Joseph MORRIS (1791) of Craven County. It is believed by many researchers that Joseph MORRIS was the father of Katie Anna MORRIS (or Katie Ann MORRIS) who married Benjamin LANCASTER of Craven County. State of...
Below is a transcription of the last will and testament of Mary HOLMES of Craven County. Although I descend from the HOLMES family of Beaufort County, I had not seen this before. I suspect there is some connection between Mary and my ancestor, John HOLMES, as there...
The following is a transcription of a letter from David K. ROACH to his mother, Mary "Polly" (Sommers) ROACH. His father was Charles ROACH. It was written in July 1822 and it refers to other Swift Creek friends: Charles KINION (married Elizabeth DUBBERLY or Elizabeth...