Lincoln County was formed in 1779 from Tryon County (see our guide Finding Tryon County Ancestors). Since then all or parts of Catawba, Cleveland, and Gaston Counties have been cut out of this area.
Go to: http://gastonlibrary.libguides.com/finding/tryon-county-ancestors
Did your family come from Lincoln County? Here's a list of some basic resources in our collection to get you started. For help finding more, stop by the Reference Desk at the Gastonia Main Library.
For more titles not in this guide, search our library Catalog by Subject for: Lincoln County or by the name of a place, such as Lincolnton.
Print Sources
Online Sources
FamilySearch.org, a free web site, has multiple databases of births, deaths, and marriages.
North Carolina, Birth Index, 1800-2000. Name index.
North Carolina, Births and Christenings, 1866-1964. Name index.
North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979. With record images.
Includes Lincoln County Cohabitation records, 1866; Lincoln County Marriage bonds, 1779-1868; Lincoln County Marriage licenses, 1912-1920; and Lincoln County Marriage registers, 1851-1869.
North Carolina, Marriages, 1759-1979. Name index.
North Carolina, County Records, 1833-1970. Browse images.
Includes Lincoln County Marriage records, 1892-1916.
Marriage licenses (Lincoln County, North Carolina), 1868-1961 includes Marriage licenses, 1868 - 1961 (Browse images)
Lincoln County, North Carolina divorce records, 1811-1899, 1914, 1916, 1920-1921.
North Carolina, Deaths and Burials, 1898-1994. Name index.
North Carolina, Deaths, 1906-1930. Images of death certificates are included.
North Carolina, Deaths, 1931-1994. Index, with some images of death certificates included.
(Select "View the Record Details" for possible death certificate image)
Visit Census LibGuide for more information about United States and North Carolina Census records.
Online Sources
Digital images of many Lincoln County records can be found at FamilySearch.org.
Tip: FamilySearch collections are images of the actual records as microfilmed. This means that they may include internal indexes that you can access by browsing to locate specific names even before the collection is indexed by Family Search.
Print Sources
State Archives of North Carolina
Trial Docket, Superior Court, 1843-1870 (CR.060.322) available at State Archives of North Carolina.
Volume CR.060.322.005 includes Clerk's Minute Docket (Special Proceedings), 1869-1889. Footprints In Time by The Gaston Lincoln Genealogical Society. Call Number: 929.1 F N.C.C (Mar 2017, p.19) article discusses these records.
You can search our Catalog by Keyword for: Lincoln County microform or simply ask the Reference Desk at the Gastonia Main Library for help finding records.
More in Our Guides
Online Sources
Digital images of many Lincoln County records can be found at FamilySearch.org.
Print Sources (Available at Gastonia Main Library):
Online Sources
At the Lincoln County Geographic Information System (GIS) website, you can locate an online county property record, searching by owner name, parcel, address, road name, and state road number. Also search by deed or plat reference.You can select optional map "Layers" on the left side. Select "Photography" in the upper right corner for aerial photographs from different years.
Go to: https://www.lincolncounty.org/289/GIS
Lincoln County Land Records are on the Register of Deeds web page. This site is easier to use if you start with the print indexes above and the Lincoln County GIS.
Go to: http://lincolnrod.com/
Index to Land Warrants, Plats of Survey, and Related Land Grant Records, 1679-1959. Tennessee and North Carolina counties arranged alphabetical by county. Click on the link for “Show advanced search options”. Type “Land Warrants, Plats of Survey” into the Title search field.
Includes 12.14.82 Lincoln County (4307 files).
Go to: https://archives.ncdcr.gov/search-catalog/search-doc
Digital images of many Lincoln County land records can be found at FamilySearch.org in the following collections:
Tax Records
Voter Registration Records
Jury Records
Reasons given by called jurors for inattendance in court 1797 - 1832 (IMAGES 374 - 462)
Lists of Jurors 1830-1859 (IMAGES 463 - 664)
Lists of Jurors 1860 - 1919 Broken Series (IMAGES 665 - 785)
The State Archives of North Carolina hold the following records:
Inebriates, Lunacy, and Judicial Hospitalizations Records, 1899-1968 (Lincoln County, North Carolina)
Record ID: CR.060.919
Date Expression: 1899-1968
From Date: 1899
Thru Date: 1968
Online Sources:
For any additional newspapers, please contact the Jonas Library, Lincolnton (see below).
Microfilm at the Jonas Library, Lincolnton:
Journals
Books relating to Lincoln County genealogy may be purchased from:
Lincoln County Library
The Charles R. Jonas Library in Lincolnton has a North Carolina Collection with an extensive collection of surname files, Lincoln County newspapers on microfilm, directories, and other resources.
Go to: https://www.lincolncounty.org/986/Library
Lincoln County Historical Association & Museum
The Lincoln County Historical Association collects and preserves historical information and materials relating to Lincoln County History. You can view these items at the Lincoln County Museum of History, located in the Lincoln Cultural Center.
403 E Main StPlease call for hours.
Online
The Gaston County Public Library staff welcomes requests for specific information from those who are unable to use the collection in person.
Please email:
Email: localhistory@gastonlibrary.org Local History & Genealogy LibrarianAuthor: Gaston County Public Library
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