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Finding North Carolina Ancestors

Tryon County History

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

Vital Records

Land Records

Land Records

Tax Records

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)

Court Records

Search our Catalog by Subject for: Tryon County.

Court Records

Family Search

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

County Records on Microfilm

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

County Records Online

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

Journals

  • 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

Societies

Purchasing Books

Books relating to Tryon County genealogy may be purchased from:

For More Information

Online

Research Requests

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 Librarian
Gaston County Public Library
1555 E Garrison Blvd
Gastonia NC 28054
Phone: 704-868-2164 ext. 2
Fax: 704-853-0609

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

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