Finding North Carolina Ancestors

Tryon County existed from 1768 to 1779. It was named after William Tryon, governor of North Carolina from 1765 to 1771, and was formed from the western portion of Mecklenburg. Many present day counties in both North and South Carolina were completely or partially included within the borders of Tryon County.

Approximate Boundaries of Tryon County, NC 1768-1772

Approximate Boundaries of Tryon Co. NC, 1772-1779

Tryon County was abolished in 1779 and Lincoln County and Rutherford County were created from it. Gaston County was formed from the southern portion of Lincoln County in 1846.

Search our Catalog by Subject for: Tryon County.

• 975.6 G NCC. History of Old Tryon and Rutherford Counties, North Carolina, 1730 - 1936 by Clarence W. Griffin.

Vital Records

• North Carolina, Probate Records, 1735-1970 (Not indexed, but you can browse images for Tryon County, North Carolina Wills, 1765-1779)
  Go to: https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1867501
• Wills and estate papers (Tryon County), 1663-1978 (Image 178) contains Original wills Lanham, John - Wilson, William
  Go to: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/457247
• 929.3 BYN NCC. Marriage Bonds of Tryon and Lincoln Counties, North Carolina by Curtis Bynum.
  Also available online: Marriage bonds of Tryon and Lincoln Counties, North Carolina by Curtis Bynum
  Go to: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/2570057
• Cross-Index of Bondspersons to Grooms for “Marriage Bonds of Tryon and Lincoln Counties, North Carolina” by Ray Yount.
  Go to: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncglgs/MarriageBonds.htm
• 929.3 W NCC. Wills of Tryon and Lincoln Counties, 1769 - 1824 by William Perry Johnson.

Land Records

• Tryon County deeds, 1769-1779. Includes "Deeds 1769-1778" and "Deeds 1771-1779"
  Go to: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/96509
• North Carolina, Tryon County (Lincoln County), land record Includes Record of deeds, 1769.
  Go to: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/2246862
• North Carolina warrants, surveys and related documents. Includes Tryon (Lincoln) County land grants. (Use the print index: Tryon County, North Carolina Index to Land Surveys, by Miles S. Philbeck)
  Go to: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1888591
• Land records, North Carolina and Tennessee; indexes, 1600-1959 contains Index cards to land records of the extinct counties of Bath, Bute, Dobbs, Glasgow & Tryon. 
  Go to: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/695114
• 929.3 D NCC. Deed Abstracts of Tryon, Lincoln, and Rutherford Counties, North Carolina, 1769 - 1786: Tryon County Wills and Estates, abstracted by Brent Holcomb.
• 929.3 NOR NCC. North Carolina Land Grants in South Carolina, Vol. 1, Tryon County 1768-1773, compiled by Brent Holcomb.
• 929.3 PHI NCC. Tryon County, North Carolina Land Warrants, 1768 - 1774, by Miles S. Philbeck.
• 929.3 PHI NCC. Tryon County, North Carolina Index to Land Surveys (rev. ed.) by Miles S. Philbeck.
• 929.3756 PRU NCC. Abstracts of Land Entries, Tryon and Lincoln Counties, NC: 1778 - 1780 by Albert Bruce Pruitt.
  • Contains 666 land entries for Tryon County and 96 for Lincoln County. Includes indexes.

Tax Records

• 929.1 NOR NCC. “Tryon (Rutherford) Co. - An Early Tax List.” North Carolina Genealogy. Summer 1968, Vol. XIV, No. 2.
  • This undated tax list (probably between 1776 and 1780) includes sixty names.
• 929.3756 N N.C.C. North Carolina Taxpayers, 1701-1786, vol. 1. Compiled by Clarence E. Ratcliff. (Includes Tryon County 1776 Tax List from North Carolina Genealogy. Summer 1968, Vol. XIV. Names from Tryon Co. are in alphabetical order with names from other counties)

Search our Catalog by Subject for: Tryon County.

Court Records

Family Search

• Court minutes of Tryon and Lincoln counties, North Carolina, 1769-1782 (Not indexed, but you can browse images)
  Go To: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/12833

Print

• 929.3 HOL NCC. Tryon County, North Carolina: Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, 1769-1779 by Brent H. Holcomb.
• 929.3 MIN NCC. Minutes of the Inferior Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions for Tryon County, North Carolina, 1768-1779. Virginia Greene DePriest.
• 929.3 SUL NCC. Tryon County Documents, 1769 - 1779: a North Carolina County by Kathy Gunter Sullivan. Includes some transcribed content from Tryon County "Miscellaneous records, 1765-1788" microfilm.
• 929.3756 TRY NCC. Tryon County, North Carolina Crown Docket July 1769 - April 1776; Tryon County, North Carolina State Docket October 1777 - January 1779; Lincoln County, North Carolina State Docket April 1779 - April 1780.
  • Reprinted from Bulletin of The Genealogical Society of Old Tryon County.

State Archives of North Carolina

• Consult the PDF file for Guide to Research Materials in the North Carolina State Archives: Tryon County.
  https://archives.ncdcr.gov/guide-research-materials-north-carolina-state-archives-tryon-county
• The State Archives of North Carolina has original county records. Contact Archives of North Carolina for availability of records.

Many of these records have been transcribed or abstracted in the print publications listed above.

• Tryon County Court Minutes, 1769 - 1782 (2 vols.; second vol. contains Lincoln County). 1 reel microfilm.
• Tryon County Record of Deeds, 1769 - 1778, 1770, 1771. 1 reel microfilm.
• Tryon County Record of Deeds, 1771 - 1772, 1774, 1778 - 1779. 1 reel microfilm.
• Miscellaneous Records 1765-1788
  • Miscellaneous parts of deed books 1765-1782
  • Miscellaneous civil papers 1771-1774
  • Land grant to John Kirkconell 1774
  • Appearance docket Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions partial 1778
  • Robert Blackburn to Thomas Welsh 1769
  • Miscellaneous unidentified index 1779
  • Potts, John will 1770
  • John Lanham 1765
  • Robertson, David 1771
  • Rutledge, George
  • Twitty, William 1778
  • Welsh, John 1769
  • Wilson, William 1778

The North Carolina Archives filed and filmed surviving Tryon County records with those of Lincoln County. See Lincoln County records marked with dates from 1768 to 1779 for Tryon material.

More in Our Guides

• Lincoln County Records on Microfilm

Digital images of Tryon County records can be found at FamilySearch.org in the following collections:

• North Carolina, Probate Records, 1735-1970 (Not indexed, but you can browse images for Tryon County, North Carolina Wills, 1765-1779)
  Go to: https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1867501
• Wills and estate papers (Tryon County), 1663-1978 (Image 178) contains Original wills Lanham, John - Wilson, William
  Go to: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/457247
•  Marriage bonds of Tryon and Lincoln Counties, North Carolina by Curtis Bynum
  Go to: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/2570057
• Court minutes of Tryon and Lincoln counties, North Carolina, 1769-1782 (Not indexed, but you can browse images)
  Go To: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/12833
• Tryon County deeds, 1769-1779. Includes "Deeds 1769-1778" and "Deeds 1771-1779"
  Go to: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/96509
• North Carolina warrants, surveys and related documents. Includes Tryon (Lincoln) County.
  Go to: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1888591
• Land records, North Carolina and Tennessee; indexes, 1600-1959 contains Index cards to land records of the extinct counties of Bath, Bute, Dobbs, Glasgow & Tryon. 
  Go to: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/695114

• 929.1 BUL NCC. Bulletin of the Genealogical Society of Old Tryon County, v.1 (1974) to date.
  [The Genealogical Society of Old Tryon County website includes searchable listing of the contents of Volume I (1973) through Volume XLVII (2019) of the Bulletin.]
  Go to: http://www.oldtryon.com/oldtryoncounty/OldTryonCountyBulletinContentsVolumes1-45.pdf

• The Genealogical Society of Old Tryon County, P. O. Box 938, Forest City, N. C. 28043
  Go to: http://www.oldtryon.com/
• The Broad River Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 2261, Shelby, NC 28151-2261
  Go to: http://broadrivergen.org
• Gaston-Lincoln Genealogical Society
  Go to: http://gastonlincoln.org/
• More local HISTORY and GENEALOGY organizations.
  Go to: https://gastonlibrary.libguides.com/local-organizations/history
  Go to: https://gastonlibrary.libguides.com/local-organizations/genealogy

Books relating to Tryon County genealogy may be purchased from:

• Gaston-Lincoln Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 584, Mount Holly, NC 28120.
  Go to: http://gastonlincoln.org/
• Broad River Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 2261, Shelby, NC 28151-2261.
  Go to: http://broadrivergen.org
• The gift shop at the Gaston County Museum of Art and History in Dallas, NC.
  Go to: http://www.gastoncountymuseum.org/

Online

• Old Tryon County Genealogy is a mailing list for genealogical discussions about families in the area of Old Tryon County, N.C.
  Go to: https://groups.io/g/OldTryonNC
• NCGenWeb page for Tryon County
  Go to: http://www.ncgenweb.us/tryon/
• Tryon County NC Genweb Archives
  Go to: http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/tryon.htm
• The archives of the mailing list for Tryon County
  Go to: https://lists.rootsweb.com/hyperkitty/list/nctryon.rootsweb.com/2019/9/
• On the FamilySearch Wiki, Tryon County, North Carolina Genealogy.
  Go to: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Tryon_County,_North_Carolina_Genealogy

Author: Gaston County Public Library
Title: Finding Tryon County Ancestors
URL: http://gastonlibrary.libguides.com/finding-tryon-county-ancestors
Revised: 3 August 2018