Johnston County was formed from the western part of Craven County in 1746 and in 1758, Dobbs County was formed from the eastern portion of Johnston; however, the records of Johnston went with the newly formed Dobbs. In 1779 Wayne County was formed from the western portion of Dobbs and in 1791, most of the remainder of Dobbs was divided into Glasgow - now Greene - and Lenoir Counties, and Dobbs ceased to exist. The records of early Johnston (and other Counties formed from Johnston), Wayne, Greene, and Lenoir Counties were placed at the Courthouse in Lenoir County. In 1878, a Courthouse fire in Kinston destroyed almost all these records except the original Grantee Index. Greene County also suffered a destruction of its records in a similar fire. According to Charles Holloman, a Grantor Index was prepared from the Grantee Index and both those books were saved during another Courthouse fire in 1880. ⁽¹⁾

Charles Holloman was instrumental in locating the Grantee Book at the Courthouse in Kinston many years ago and then published Books 1-5 from the Grantee Index in various issues of "The North Carolina Journal". It was not until a new Courthouse was built in the early 1980's that the Grantor Index was found. While there is nothing to indicate the nature of the Instruments or the relationships between Grantor and Grantee, these Books provide us with a list of names in otherwise "burned or partially burned Counties". This transcription was taken from the Grantor Index, but double checked against the Grantee Index for differences in spelling and entries that appear in one but not the other. Approximate dates of each Book are listed at the front of the microfilm roll from which this is taken. This sentence is at the front of the roll - "Following Records have many carbon copies and light pencil or ink and will not be legible on film" so the reader should consult the original. 

Transcribed from the Grantor Index and checked against the Grantee Index by Martha Mewborn Marble, 1377 Independence Ave., S. E., Washington, D. C.
 

** Does not appear in Grantor Index 

() Difference of name or spelling as appears in Grantee Index 

1. 

¹ Letter from Charles R. Holloman to Ima E. Mewborn dated 8 December 1987 

Index of Archived Records 

To Book 2 To Book 3To Book 4 To Book 5 To Book 6 To Book 7 
To Book 8

Return to Wayne County Home Page Queries and surname researchers 
Message Board Wayne County Families  Cemeteries Wayne County resources 

 

Welcome to Wayne County, NC USGenWeb Project

The author is a member of  ... since 1996

Comments and suggestions to author: thefolks@betterthanmost.com 
All contents copyright © 1997 Diana Holland Faust 

All rights reserved 
Published 10 November 1996  This page added 20 May 1997  Last updated 21 October 2001  

URL: http://www.betterthanmoest.com/wayne/bk1.htm