Genealogy Help from CCHA

Looking for your roots? CCHA’s genealogy volunteers will conduct limited research for CCHA members. Research will be restricted to locally-available and on-line resources. Non-members will be charged for research. Contact Genealogy@chathamhistory.org for more information or to make requests.

Genealogy Help at Chatham Community Library

Library reference staff can also help you locate and use library resources during normal library hours.  Please refer to the library's genealogy research policy for more information. Library materials include published family histories, newspaper articles on microfilm, census records, CCHA's family history and subject files, and more. The volunteers and reference staff can also help patrons navigate the library's genealogy databases, which include Ancestry Library Edition; Newspapers.com; Heritage Quest; and African American Heritage. See the Local History/Genealogy section of the library's website. 

Other Resources

Chatham County Resources

Many family and local history research resources are available at the Chatham Community Library. Also see CCHA's Family and Local History Research Collection.

Chatham County Deeds contain much information of value to researchers. Chatham County researchers are fortunate that all registered Chatham County deeds are available online on the Chatham County Register of Deeds website, and are searchable by grantee and grantor. Deeds related to the division of estates are especially useful because many list all the heirs and describe their relationship to the deceased. If you need assistance searching the ROD website, visit the ROD office or call 919-542-8235.

State Library of NC Genealogy Research
Extensive genealogy information including family histories.
http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ghl/resources/genealogy.html

NC State Archives Manuscript and Archives Reference System (MARS)
Estate files and other archived documents
http://mars.archives.ncdcr.gov/BasicSearch.aspx 

NC Land Grants

Searchable data for 216,000 land grants including names, dates and locations for years 1663 through 1960.

http://nclandgrants.com/

North Carolina Digital Collections

The North Carolina Digital Collections contain over 90,000 historic and recent photographs, state government publications, manuscripts, and other resources on topics related to North Carolina. The Collections are free and full-text searchable, and bring together content from the State Archives of North Carolina and the State Library of North Carolina.
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/

Southern Historical Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill 
Includes collections in the Southern Historical Collection, Southern Folklife Collection, Rare Book Literary & Historical Papers, University Archives, and North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives.

http://library.unc.edu/wilson/shc/

North Carolina Genealogical Society
Includes helpful research guides.
https://www.ncgenealogy.org/researchguides/