Wake County Genealogical Society, North Carolina
On-line resources are a wonderful source for genealogists - particularly remote researchers - to help find information and data about their ancestors.  There are many fee-based sites which have lots of information about Wake County and its people, but there are also some free resources, some easy to find and others buried deep within the sites.  This page is intended to provide direct links to free searchable sites pertaining to Wake County or to North Carolina sites which contain Wake County records. We hope you find something new here which helps you!
 
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Listings: 1 to 37 of 37
This link opens the Jean Dalzeil Wood 1935 book on the Hathitrust website. The book covers the period from 1894-1935 and names all the holders of the Society's leadership positions over that time period.
Last Updated: 29 October 2020   [Located in Category: Misc]
This link opens the HathiTrust record for the Latta University Catalogues for 1909 and 1920. Latta University was a Historical Black University formed after emancipation. It operated from 1892-1920 in the Oberlin area of Raleigh. Select "Full View" for the year of your choice and enter the surname in the "search in this text" box.
Last Updated: 8 September 2022   [Located in Category: African-American]
This link opens the book for School years 1914-15 through 1918-19 in the Hathitrust site. Book includes the principals' names for all NC schools, and the names of students who graduated from a four year high school. In Wake County those schools included Bay Leaf, Cary, Holly Springs, Raleigh, and Wakelon (in Zebulon). The 1914-15 section has group pictures of some of the farm-life classes in Cary and Wakelon, though the students names are not listed.
Last Updated: 28 October 2020   [Located in Category: Misc]
This site has links to minute and bound books for NC Baptist Churches, including records for churches in Wake County. Wake County Churches have varying coverage from 1822 to 1970. These are not indexed, but you can find membership rolls in some. All will have the new members admitted to the church along with deaths and baptisms which occurred during the year. These records are held at the ZS Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University.
Last Updated: 14 October 2020   [Located in Category: Church]
This link opens the book on the Hathitrust website. Use the "Search in this text" to search for your ancestor's regiment or surnames, although names in the book are primarily officers and not the soldiers.
Last Updated: 28 October 2020   [Located in Category: Military Records]
Did your ancestor attend or teach at Wake Forest College between 1879 and 1919? This link opens the Hathitrust record for these catalogues. Besides a description of the courses, these catalogues contain the names of the faculty and the names of the students, their degree studies, and their hometowns. Select the "Full View" button for the year of your choice and enter your surname in the "search in this text" box.
Last Updated: 30 October 2020   [Located in Category: Misc]
This link directs you to the searchable database in the Family Search website. Records are primarily death certificates.
Last Updated: 29 February 2020   [Located in Category: Death Records]
Opens to the advanced search page. Enter surname in Keyword area. Enter Wake County in "Available Titles" search box. When the titles appear, select the papers you want to search and choose "Add to Search" to move them to the box on the right side. When ready, hit the "Search Newspapers" button below the boxes.
Last Updated: 27 October 2020   [Located in Category: Misc]
Digital NC has been presorted for Wake County items: Images, City Directories, Memorabilia, Audiovisual, and Yearbooks. Open a city directory or yearbook and click on the magnifying glass icon to enter your surname and search the entire text.
Last Updated: 28 October 2020   [Located in Category: Misc]
Using the Enslaved Persons Search, you can search the enslaved person’s name, “grantor” (or seller), “grantee” (or buyer), date, deed book or page number.
Last Updated: 8 September 2022   [Located in Category: African-American]
FamilySearch has over 1,300 original miscellaneous records for Wake County. Many of these have not been indexed so they will not show as hits when doing a name search from the homepage! However, many of the original records have an index at the front, so you can find your name and know which page their record is on.
Last Updated: 14 October 2020   [Located in Category: Misc]
The NCGHL has several genealogy and history databases which can be searched on-line for free. There are additional databases which can be searched if you are an NC resident. Some are accessed with your local library card and some with your NCGHL library card. If you do not have a NCGHL card, there is a link on the RHS where you can apply for one on-line. You MUST be a NC resident to apply.
Last Updated: 28 October 2020   [Located in Category: Misc]
The NCGHL has several newspaper databases which can be searched on-line for free. There are additional databases which can be searched if you are an NC resident. Some are accessed with your local library card (i.e., many NC newspapers in the Newspapers.com site), and some with your NCGHL library card (i.e. most in the NewspaperArchives site.) If you do not have a NCGHL card, there is a link on the RHS where you can apply for one on-line. You MUST be a NC resident to apply.
Last Updated: 28 October 2020   [Located in Category: Misc]
Before Wake County was formed in 1770, much of it -including Raleigh- was part of Johnston County.
Last Updated: 27 October 2020   [Located in Category: Directory]
This link opens Hathitrust to its catalog record for Shaw's Medical School. Available are the catalogs for 1884-85, 1885-86, 1888-89, 1889-1900, and 1894-95. Within the catalogs are lists of instructors and students. Students came from all over the south and even from outside the United States.
Last Updated: 24 July 2023   [Located in Category: African-American]
This opens Hathitrust to the medical school catalog of Shaw University catalog for the years 1894-95, 1895-96, 1897-98, 1898-99, 1907-08, 1908-09, and 1912.
Last Updated: 24 July 2023   [Located in Category: African-American]
This link opens the 1919 book on the Hathtrust Website. The book is ordered by license number up to 112,000 (cars) and 11,500 (trucks), and includes the individual's or company's name, city (sometimes with address), and vehicle make. Also listed are motorcycle owners and car dealers.
Last Updated: 29 April 2023   [Located in Category: Directory]
Meredith College started in 1899 as the Baptist Female University. In 1904 it became the Baptist University for Women, and then in 1909 it was renamed Meredith College. The College has digitized its 205 item collection of catalogues, bulletins, and yearbooks published under these various incarnations, and made them available on Archive.org! If you have a female ancestor who was a student or taught there, this is a collection you should review!
Last Updated: 19 March 2024   [Located in Category: Misc]
Enter your surname in the "Search this Collection" box, to find court records for the period 1669-1775. These records are digitized from the North Carolina State Archives and the State Library.
Last Updated: 28 October 2020   [Located in Category: Misc]
This link goes to records which have been digitized from the North Carolina State Archives and the State Library collections. Several topics on interest for genealogists are: Alien Registration and Naturalization, Confederate Pension Applications, Family Records, Wills, Tax Lists and more!
Last Updated: 28 October 2020   [Located in Category: Misc]
Searchable data for 216,000 land grants including names, dates and locations for years 1663 through 1960, with images of all 205 existing Land Patent Books with complete metes and bounds for each patent. Included in the total are 10,000 grants issued by North Carolina in what is now Tennessee.
Last Updated: 28 October 2020   [Located in Category: Land]
Link to the 1881-82 City and Business Directory for Raleigh which is searchable on Hathitrust.
Last Updated: 19 July 2023   [Located in Category: Directory]
City Directory for 1883 searchable on Hathitrust.
Last Updated: 19 July 2023   [Located in Category: Directory]
City Directory for 1886 searchable on Hathitrust. Directory has separate white and "colored" sections.
Last Updated: 19 July 2023   [Located in Category: Directory]
City Directory for 1887 on Hathitrust.
Last Updated: 19 July 2023   [Located in Category: Directory]
City Directory for 1921-1922
Last Updated: 19 July 2023   [Located in Category: Directory]
This link opens the book on the Hathitrust website. Use the "Search in this text" box to search for your ancestor.
Last Updated: 28 October 2020   [Located in Category: Military Records]
This links opens the Catalogue for 1876-77 found on Hathitrust. The book lists the names of the students and instructors along with a description of the courses for the various departments. The end of the catalogue also includes students and instructors from the 1875-1876 school year since no catalogue was published that year. Students were primarily from North Carolina, along with a few students from South Carolina and Virginia.
Last Updated: 24 July 2023   [Located in Category: African-American]
This links opens to the Hathitrust catalog record for Shaw University's catalog for the years 1878/1879 and 1891/1892.
Last Updated: 24 July 2023   [Located in Category: African-American]
This link opens Hathitrust to its collection of Shaw University catalogues for the years 1895/1896, 1898/1899, and 1899/1900.
Last Updated: 24 July 2023   [Located in Category: African-American]
This link opens W. M. Haulsee's 1920 book on the Hathitrust website. Vol 2 covers the states of Massachusetts to Ohio. This is a compilation of soldiers who died during World War 1. Photos of some soldiers are shown when provided by the family. The list includes their names, rank, hometowns, and cause of death: killed in action, by disease, from wounds, or by accident.
Last Updated: 8 September 2022   [Located in Category: Military Records]
This goal of this project is to name and, as much as possible, tell the stories of the enslaved men who built and maintained the State Capitol between 1833 and 1865. This link provides the names and the stories found thus far. A video about the project is available at the State Archives of North Carolina Youtube channel.
Last Updated: 4 March 2024   [Located in Category: African-American]
This link directs you to the Wake County records of the Veterans Administration Master Index located on the Family Search website. Be sure to search again using city and state name (without county) in case the indexer did not include the county in the index field.
Last Updated: 29 February 2020   [Located in Category: Military Records]
Linkpendium is a resource directory which organizes web information about genealogical sources. This link will take you to their webpage containing the sources they have for Wake County information and records. Some of the sources on this page are free.
Last Updated: 27 October 2020   [Located in Category: Directory]
This site is full of information and links related to Wake County genealogical research. It includes transcriptions of many records, including Family Bibles,Biographies, Cemeteries, Census, County, Court, Deeds, History, Letters, Marriages, Military, Newspapers, Obituaries, Wills & Estates, and more.
Last Updated: 27 October 2020   [Located in Category: Directory]
Wake County is one of the few Register of Deed's office with all of it's deeds online.
Last Updated: 28 October 2020   [Located in Category: Land]
This link opens the 1916 book on the Hathitrust Website. The book contains 65 sketches of prominent Raleigh men of the time from the military, government, business, and judicial.
Last Updated: 29 October 2020   [Located in Category: Misc]