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The Randolph Room: Online Genealogy Resources

General History and Genealogy

  • Ancestry.com - For use within a library. 
  • HeritageQuest - Login from anywhere with your library card.
  • Digital Public Library of America - DPLA is an all-digital library that aggregates metadata from libraries, museums and institutions around the country, providing an easy to use search interface allowing you to search millions of records at once. Find materials from the NC Digital Heritage Center and The State Library linked at this site.
  • Randquest.org - Our collection of databases and special links, includes additional history and genealogy resources.
  • PERSI - The premier subject index for genealogy and local history periodicals, produced by the staff of The Genealogy Center of the Allen County (Fort Wayne, IN) Public Library. Using this valuable resource provides citations to many of the journals in the Randolph Room print collection.
  • NC LIVE Media Collection - Videos from PBS, the NC State Archives and more.
  • American Slavery - Slave narratives from the Library of Congress, part of the ABC CLIO eBook Collection.
  • Digital Library of American Slavery - The Digital Library on American Slavery is an expanding resource compiling various independent online collections focused upon race and slavery in America, made searchable through a single, simple interface. Although the current focus of DLAS is sources associated with North Carolina, there is considerable data relating to all 15 slave states and Washington, D.C., including detailed personal information about enslaved people, slaveholders and free people of color. The site is hosted by the UNC - Greensboro Library.
  • DigitalNC - The North Carolina Digital Heritage Center is a statewide digitization and digital publishing program that works with cultural heritage institutions of all sizes across North Carolina to digitize and publish historic materials online. College and high school yearbooks, city directories and other valuable resources can be accessed here. 
  • ABC CLIO eBook Collection - Authoritative publications on American History.
  • North American Women's Letters and Diaries - 150,000 pages from the diaries and letters of 1,335 women. 
  • Sanborn Maps of North Carolina - From 1867-1970, large scale plans of cities and towns.
  • Southern Historical Collection - The Southern Historical Collection is home to over 5,000 distinct archival collections at UNC-CH Library. These are each comprised of unique primary documents, such as diaries, correspondence, photographs, maps, and oral histories. The SHC offers robust documentation of all periods of Southern history since the late eighteenth century, particularly the Antebellum era through the Civil Rights Movement.
  • Colonial and State Records of North Carolina - twenty-six volumes of historical materials with a four-volume master index. The proprietary years, the period under royal stewardship, and the emergence of an independent state were documented here through individual, governmental, and organizational records. Previously a print resource,access here allows browsing the volumes, consulting the index, searching the full text, and conducting advanced searches.

Religion in North Carolina Project

The Religion in North Carolina Project was a collaborative digitization project of Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill and Wake Forest university. The project sought to bring together, preserve, and provide access to primary materials of religious bodies in North Carolina. The 8000 volumes include material from every county in NC and includes histories of local as well as state wide religious bodies. This project is now preserved as part of the Internet Archive. To access the project, click here.

Family Organizations

Allred Family Organization 
The purpose of the Allred Family Organization is to identify and unite the Allred family through gathering, storing and sharing information. 

Randolph County Resources

Early tax records, as well as other historical documents, can be invaluable in finding people in history. Many are available online through NC Archives and State Library (as well as other important historical collections). Specifically, Randolph County Tax Lists for 1779 and 1815 are available digitally, as is the 1755 Tax List for Orange County (which was prior to the formation of Randolph County but includes our geographical area).

Notes on the History of Randolph County
Blog researched and written by L. McKay Whatley, Jr., and Winner of the 2009 NC Society of Historians' Paul Green Multimedia Award.

Randolph County Historic Landmark Preservation Commission

The Commission serves as Randolph County's official body to identify, preserve, and protect Randolph County's historic landmarks, and to educate the public about those resources as well as historic preservation in general.

Ramseur Community Museum
The Ramseur Community Museum, as it is now known, was initiated as a project in recognition of our nation’s Bicentennial year. In a meeting in April of 1974, Town officials adopted a plan to renovate an old, one-room frame building that had served for years as the Ramseur Post Office and convert it into a public museum.

North Randolph Historical Society
Founded in 1966, the North Randolph Historical Society seeks to ensure the preservation of St. Paul Methodist Church and Randolph County's rich history by collecting, preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting archival materials and physical artifacts associated not only with the history of northern Randolph County, but also with the larger Randolph County community. The Society has graciously allowed their Journal to be made available digitally; see our tab titled Digital Randolph.

Courier-Tribune Obituaries - Current

Courier and Courier-Tribune Obituaries Index 1903 - 2021

Randolph County Genealogical Society
The Randolph County Genealogical Society Website is new as of 2023. This non-profit organization formally organized under the Randolph County Historical Society on October 19, 1976, publishes a Journal, currently 3 times a year. Membership is open to all interested in Randolph, Moore, Montgomery, Guilford and the surrounding area of North Carolina.

Randolph County Government Departments

Find links for the Clerk of Court, Register of Deeds, and other County offices.

 

Other Recommended Resources

  • USGenWeb Project - a group of volunteers working together to provide free genealogy websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. This Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free genealogy access for everyone.
  • NCGenWeb - part of the national USGenWeb Project, the home of a network of volunteers working to provide genealogical & historical content for each of North Carolina’s 100 counties.
  • North Carolina Genealogical Society - The NCGS works to facilitate the preservation and exchange of genealogical information in North Carolina. Additionally, the Society issues a quarterly publication, the North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, which contains well-researched articles of genealogical value and numerous abstracts of unpublished records relating to North Carolina. The Randolph Room houses a complete run of this Journal.
  • State Library of North Carolina Genealogy Research
  • North Carolina Vital Records - from the NC Department of Health and Human Services, official copies of the following records can be requested (see the website for restrictions and processes; some of these records are also available through the local Clerk of Court or the Register of Deeds):
    • Birth Certificates: 1913-Present
    • Death Certificates: 1930-Present
    • Marriage Certificates: 1962-Present
    • Divorce Certificates: 1958-Present
    • Fetal Death Reports: 2001-Present
  • North Carolina Family Records Online
  • North Carolina Maps - A service of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, a comprehensive, online collection of historic maps of the Tar Heel State. Featuring maps from three of the state's largest map collections -- the State Archives of North Carolina, the North Carolina Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill, and the Outer Banks History Center -- North Carolina Maps provides an unprecedented level of access to these materials.
  • North Carolina Post Cards - Part of the North Carolina Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill, images of more than 30 post cards related to Randolph County are available here, as well as more than 10,000 related to North Carolina.
  • Cyndi's List - A comprehensive, categorized & cross-referenced list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online. Includes Native-American resources and printable pedigree charts.
  • Misbach Genealogy Charts - Descendent and pedigree charts with some free downloads.
  • Rootsweb.com - An Ancestry.com community.
  • FamilySearch - A nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records, education and software. It is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
  • National Park Service Civil War Soldiers and Sailor Database 
  • National Archives African-American Heritage Resources
  • Find A Grave
  • Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)