The Secretary of State Inventories and Sales of Estates digital collection provides information about the property of North Carolinians who died in the 18th century, with the majority of the records originating in Eastern North Carolina. The collection also includes records from Sullivan County and Davidson County, Tennessee, and Gloucester County, Virginia.

Documentation of enslaved labor

More than 50 percent of these records include the names and/or the number of people who were enslaved by a White colonist. While these records are challenging to read, they can shed light on the lives of people forced into labor and offer clues about their own families and, in some cases, provide information that can help descendants trace their heritage. In a few isolated instances, an inventory provided for future manumission of an enslaved individual.

Some records in this collection contain content that may be harmful, including language that reflects outdated and offensive views as well as references to violence. 

A closer look

Many of these inventories include lists of ordinary household goods such as furniture and dishes; farm equipment and tools; and livestock. Some include lists of debts – including money owed to the estate and/or owed by the estate. A few include land, listing acreage and occasionally a location based on proximity to a body of water and/or a neighbor’s property.

 

Historical maps, including Sauthier maps, can help researchers to better pinpoint these locations.

Cohabitation Records

In 1866, the General Assembly passed a law to legitimize the marriages of people who had been formerly enslaved. This digital collection contains the cohabitation bonds that were filed with local registers of deeds. These records included the names and ages of the man and woman, and sometimes included the name of an enslaver and/or the number of children the couple had.

Colonial Court Records

This digital collection includes three series that provide greater context on life in colonial North Carolina: Civil and Criminal Action Papers, Other Courts, 1669-1775 (CCR.193); Estate Papers (CCR.179-CCR.186); and Land Papers (CCR.187).

Secretary of State Wills

The information contained in these records provides some overlap with the records contained in the Secretary of State Inventories and Sales of Estates digital collection. Wills are especially helpful in clarifying or corroborating information, particularly if the handwriting is difficult to decipher.

Tax Lists and Records

This digital collection draws from records in the General Assembly, Treasurer’s and Comptrollers, and Secretary of State records at the State Archives. It largely covers the same time periods as the Inventories and Sales of Estates collection, but has greater geographic coverage.