USEFUL LINKS FOR
CHATHAM COUNTY RESEARCHERS
Chatham County Links
: The first Chatham County Colored Agricultural Fair was held in 1950, and the event has become has become treasured tradition for Chatham County. This site includes a brief history of the fair. http://www.chathamcountyncfair.com/
Chatham County Agricultural and Industrial Fair Association
: Allen Dew hosts the site http://cemeterycensus.com , and in collaboration with CCHA, posts all of the cemetery information and individual gravemarker information that CCHA and others make available to him. The site is updated regularly and can be searched by cemetery name, or by the name of the individual burial. Send questions, corrections, additions, comments, or photographs for Chatham County cemeteries or burials to CCHA’s cemetery coordinator. Chatham County Census: http://www.cemeterycensus.com/nc/chat/index.htm Chatham County Cemeteries and Gravemakers
: The ROD is the repository of all Chatham County deeds and a fantastic source of information on landowners in the county. The ROD’s online system allows remote access to all registered Chatham County deeds—all the way back to 1771. The system allows you to view a digitized copy of the deed and to search by grantor or grantee. The ROD also keeps vital records (birth, death, and marriage.) http://www.chathamnc.org/Index.aspx?page=905 The Chatham County Register of Deeds Office
: The county’s GIS system can be useful to researchers who want to locate family land or cemeteries. http://www.chathamgis.com/ Chatham County GIS
The official Chatham County, NC web site with links to various government, non-profit, and commercial sites in the county. http://www.chathamnc.org/ Chatham County Home Page:
The Chatham County Library website describes the resources of the local history and genealogy area of Chatham’s libraries. http://www.chathamnc.org/Index.aspx?page=299 The Chatham County Library:
Lots of good information, original documents and links on this site for genealogists. http://www.ncgenweb.us/chatham/chatsite.htm Chatham County NCGenweb site:
Death notices from 2009 published in the Chatham News/Chatham Record. http://www.thechathamnews.com/c_notices.htm Older notices can be found in the newspaper archive of Chatham County newspapers available at the Chatham Community Library on microfiche.
: This delightful site details the 140 known post offices that have existed in Chatham County, along with known post masters. When available, postmarks are shown. http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/statepostalhistory/Chatham%20County.pdf Chatham County Post Offices
: The Silk Hope Farm Heritage Park features an extensive display of old fashioned farming buildings, operating antique farm equipment and old-time technology that cannot be rivaled anywhere. http://www.silkhopenc.org/ Silk Hope Ruritan Farm Heritage Park
: Sheriff Webster and Deputy Mike Roberson read county documents that are more than a hundred years old, interviewed resident historians, spoke to past sheriffs and their immediate family members, spent hours on the internet, and even hiked through the woods of the county to find this information. The site provides a brief biography for each sheriff from 1771 through 2002 and highlights historical events during the sheriff’s tenure. http://www.chathamnc.org/Index.aspx?page=1048 History of Chatham County Sheriff’s Office
The place to look if you are planning a visit to Chatham County, NC. Includes accommodations, dining, shopping and events calendar. http://visitpittsboro.com/ Chatham County Travel & Tourism:
Links to Original Chatham County Documents and Histories
history of Chatham County, N. C. (1894). Author: London, Henry Armand Publisher: Sanford, N.C., Cole Print. Co. An address delivered in Pittsboro on 4 July 1876. Available from Internet Archive. http://archive.org/details/addressonrevolut00lond
An address on the revolutionary
: A website created by Paul Wilson linking to a wealth of information on this disaster. Includes links to many original sources. http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pfwilson/coal_glen.html The Coal Glen Mining Disaster
, Published in The Chatham News, January – April 1932 and December, 1931, Marks 161st Anniversary of Chatham County, Published in The Chatham News, November 1931, by Walter D. Siler: Transcribed by Steve Brooks. http://www.ncgenweb.us/chatham/siler.htm A History of Chatham County, North Carolina with Sketches of a Number of its Prominent Citizens
: This website contains information about the 26th Regiment NC Troops, which included many Chatham men. http://www.26nc.org/ 26th Regiment North Carolina Troops
: This site includes a brief history of the store, which is believed to be the oldest of its kind still in operation. http://thefarmersalliance.com/ Siler City Farmer’s Alliance Store
The New Hope Valley Railroad (NHV) was organized in 1904 by W. Roscoe Bonsal, Samuel O. Bauersfeld, and Henry A. London. http://www.nhvry.org/history.htm History of the New Hope Valley Railroad:
North Carolina Links
North Carolina Newspapers: Over 3 million pages of selected North Carolina newspapers have been microfilmed. Please check the site to see what is available. http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/reference/newspapers.html
- : A project of the NC State Archives. Only the oldest newspapers have been entered so far. You can search on any term that might appear in the text. Information on Chatham and Chatham people can be found in historic Fayetteville, Salisbury, and Hillsboro papers. http://www.archives.ncdcr.gov/newspaper/index.html
North Carolina Newspaper Digitization Project
North Carolina Family Records Collection: This project of the North Carolina State Archives and State Library have is a fantastic online collection of genealogical resources. It currently has over 1600 North Carolina Bible records, books, photographs, and manuscripts and is growing all of the
time. http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/dimp/digital/ncfamilyrecords/.
: The holdings of the NC State Archives consist of official records of state, county, and local governmental units, private collections, organization records, maps, pamphlets, sound recordings, photographs, motion picture film, and a small reference library. http://www.archives.ncdcr.gov North Carolina State Archives
: A site to help you sort out when and how counties were formed. http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~george/countyformations/northcarolinaformationmaps.html North Carolina County Formation Maps
: This site includes every available map of North Carolina that the participating agencies could obtain. A real treasure! http://www.lib.unc.edu/dc/ncmaps/about.html North Carolina Maps Project at UNC-CH
Did you know that thousands of primary source documents are available to anyone in North Carolina through NC LIVE, a gateway to selected subscription databases that can be accessed from any public library in the state, as well as from home? Call your library for a password. http://www.nclive.org/ NC LIVE:
Digital NC: - Digital versions of primary sources from cultural heritage institutions around North Carolina. Included in the collection is CCHA’s collection of African-American funeral programs. http://digitalnc.org
NC ECHO: (North Carolina Exploring Cultural Heritage Online) – A doorway to special collections in North Carolina’s libraries, archives, museums, historic sites, and other cultural institutions. www.ncecho.org
State Library of North Carolina: The Government & Heritage Library includes an extensive genealogy collection. http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/
Click on a general topic on the left side of the screen or put in a search word, such as 'Bynum.' Chatham County oral histories are included. http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/index.html Oral Histories of the American South:
: A digital publishing initiative sponsored by the University Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, provides access to digitized primary materials that offer Southern perspectives on American history and culture. http://docsouth.unc.edu/support/about/ Documenting the American South
: You can search this site by county to find all of the historical markers in Chatham County. http://www.ncmarkers.com/Home.aspx North Carolina Historical Markers
: State archives, government records, other historical services. Includes NC Map of Historic Sites. http://www.history.ncdcr.gov/ NC Office of Archives and History
: http://library.duke.edu/specialcollections/ Duke University Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Special Collections
The North Carolina Civil War Trails program provides maps and guides to the Civil War in NC. http://www.civilwartraveler.com/EAST/NC/index.html Civil War Traveler. Com:
Links to Historical Information for Adjacent Counties
: Alamance County is Chatham’s neighbor to the northwest. Part of southern Alamance was created from northern Chatham in 1897. http://www.alamancemuseum.org/portal/History.aspx
Alamance County Historical Museum
: Chatham County was formed from Orange County in 1770, so if you are researching early Chatham, you may want to check this web site. http://www.ncgenweb.us/dogsnc/ Durham-Orange Genealogical Society
The Local History Room at HCPL provides basic research materials historians and genealogists with an emphasis on Harnett County and the Cape Fear Valley. http://www.harnett.org/library/localhistory.htm Harnett County Library Local History Room:
Lee County was formed in 1907 from parts of Moore and Chatham Counties. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncleetp/lcghs.html Lee County North Carolina Genealogical and Historical Society:
Moore County was Chatham’s southern neighbor until the formation of Lee County in 1907. Moore still shares Chatham’s southwest border. http://www.moorehistory.com/ Moore County Historical Association:
: Collects and preserves historic artifacts and documents relevant to Hillsborough and Orange County history. http://www.orangenchistory.org/index.html Orange County Historical Museum
: Dedicated to preserving the heritage of Lee County through various community projects. http://www.leecountync.gov/History/RailroadHouseHistoricalAssociation.aspx Railroad House Historical Association, Lee County
: Many western Chatham families spanned the border between Chatham and Randolph Counties. http://randolphcountygenealogy.org/
Randolph County Genealogical Society
: Winner of the 2009 NC Society of Historians’ Paul Green Award. http://randolphhistory.wordpress.com/ Notes on the History of Randolph County
The Randolph Room is located on the first floor of the Asheboro Public Library and includes a collection of items fundamental to the study of genealogy and local history for Randolph County. http://www.randolphlibrary.org/randolphroom.htm Randolph Room, Asheboro Public Library:
Wake County shares a large portion of Chatham’s eastern border. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncwcgs/ Wake County Genealogical Society:
: Formed to help preserve the history of Wake County and to educate people on the important events that happened in Wake and surrounding counties. http://wakehistory.com/index.asp Wake County Historical Association