I’m sure many of you Joyner researchers have already sorted this out, but I’m still trying to make sense of who’s who. I’m going to start posting information about the Joyner family of Pitt County, primarily focusing on items spanning the colonial era to the mid-to-late-1800s. All of the following items come from the Pitt […]
Craven County Genealogy
The Craven County Genealogy category contains posts and various records, including deeds, wills, land records, census records, tax lists, bastardy bonds, Bible records, apprenticeship bonds, estate records, and more.
For even more information on Craven County Genealogy, check out the East Carolina Roots Forum, where you'll find surname-specific forums, as well as a General Discussion forum.
Select items from the estate records of Amon Joyner of Pitt County
There were at least two Amon Joyner living contemporaneously in Craven and Pitt Counties. How they are related is a complete mystery to me. I do know they are not the same man nor is one the father of the other, or at least if he is, not legitimately so. The Amon Joyner in Craven County is […]
Is Rachel Ann Spear really the daughter of James Spear?
I really am enjoying the new and improved Ancestor Hints on AncestryDNA — especially now that they have the ability to color code matches into surname and other custom groups. One issue that keeps coming up, though, is suggested matches who may not have their data exactly right. One such case is Rachel Ann Spear […]
Spear, Speir, Spire, Spyers, Spears Deeds (Craven and Beaufort Counties)
The following are Craven County Spear deeds(and all related spellings). This is not a comprehensive list. The following are Beaufort County JOHN SPEIR deeds.
Craven County Anderson Deeds & Grants
I’m organizing my genealogy files for the ten millionth time. I thought since I’ve downloaded so many deeds from the Craven, Beaufort, and Pitt County Register of Deeds I might start posting them here, beginning with Craven County Anderson Deeds & Grants. No, I’m not transcribing all of these, and this is obviously not a […]
Formation of Pitt County, North Carolina
Pitt County was formed after Beaufort and Craven Counties, but the establishment of its border wasn’t a one-time thing. Below, you can read about the formation of Pitt County, North Carolina from David Leroy Corbitt’s book, The Formation of North Carolina Counties, 1663-1943. See if it helps some pieces start falling into place with some […]
Formation of Craven County, North Carolina
Read the descriptions below for Craven County’s shifting borders and see if it helps some pieces start falling into place with some of your ancestors who seem to appear and vanish from this and neighboring counties inexplicably in the mid-to-late 1700s and into the 1800s. Remember, The Formation of North Carolina Counties, 1663-1943 by David […]
Formation of Beaufort County, North Carolina
The Formation of North Carolina Counties, 1663-1943 by David Leroy Corbitt is available for free at Archive.org, but for convenience’s sake, over the next few days I’m going to post the sections on the formation of Beaufort County (including Bath County), Craven, and Pitt Counties here at East Carolina Roots, since the bulk of the […]
Secretary of State Wills – Craven County (Quick index with direct links to NCDCR)
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 of all Craven County Willls. There are plenty […]
Update on the William S. Morris family of New Bern
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 and as far as I […]
David Kite drowns in Swift Creek, reported by Sarah Averitt (Craven County) – 1828
(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 abysmal in comparison to the actual names. The individuals named […]
Is Harriet Morris a relative of Laban Morris?
More interesting things turning up in some of our family’s DNA matches over at Ancestry… a few matches to descendants of Harriet MORRIS (specifically through her daughter, Alvana MORRIS). There aren’t enough for me to say that Harriet is a daughter of Laban, although based on her age, she certainly could be. She might be […]
Anyone know about “Durgantown” as original name of Swift Creek / Vanceboro area?
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 excerpt from the Town […]
Will of John Wiggins of Craven County (1803)
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 there were multiple generations of these…. I’m […]
Family Tree Fact Check: Richard Furney Gaskins & Saphronia “Fanny” Venters
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 it for many years now and I have a number of “working theory” […]
Select Craven County Griffin Items (Court minutes, deeds, wills, etc.)
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. GRIFFIN + Allen MILLS > James Allen MILLS + Ann […]
Research Hodge Podge – Part 1
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 researching. Items below include abstracts from Dr. A.B. […]
There were TWO Rocksolanah Carruthers. Here are the records to prove it. (For both of them!)
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 accepted that it was the same woman who […]
Estate of Joseph Morris (1791) – Craven County
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 North-Carolina } County. } Know all men by these presents, […]
Will of Mary Holmes (Craven County) – 1824 and Apprentice Bond for Richard Holmes
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 are many occasions where John is conducting business […]
