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Lincoln County was formed in 1779 from Tryon County (see our Tryon County guide). Since then all or parts of Catawba, Cleveland, and Gaston Counties have been cut out of its area.

Did your family come from Lincoln County? To help you get started, here's a list of the BASIC sources in our collection. We have much more.
Search our library Catalog by Subject: Lincoln County or by the name of a place, such as Lincolnton.

• Annals of Lincoln County, North Carolina...1749 to 1937, by William L. Sherrill. Indexed. Pub. 1937. Call # 975.6 She NCC. Also G NCC. Also available online in the Heritage Quest and Ancestry databases -- ask your librarian.
• Heritage of Lincoln County, by the Lincoln County Heritage Book Committee. Surname index only. Pub. 1997. Call # 975.6782 Her NCC. Also G NCC and circulating copies.
• History of Lincoln County, by Alfred Nixon. Various editions/reprints of a 1910 article. Call # 975.678 N NCC. Also G NCC and circulating copies. Also online at http://www.ncgenweb.us/lincoln/ncl_nixon.htm.
• In Our Own Words: The Story of Lincoln County. Pub. 2006. Call # 975.678 In. Also G NCC and circulating copies.
• Lincoln County, North Carolina, pub. 2000, and Lincoln County Revisited, pub. 2003, by Jason Harpe. Call # 975.6 Har. Also G NCC and circulating copies.
• Lincoln County, North Carolina, 1779-1979: past, present, future. Pub. 1979. Call # 975.678 Lin NC. Also G NCC and circulating copies.
• Lincoln Times-News: 1966 Historical, by Paul Dellinger. Not indexed. Call # 975.678 Lin NCC. Also G NCC.
• Our Enduring Past: a Survey of 235 Years of Life and Architecture in Lincoln County, North Carolina. Only index of properties listed. Pub. 1986. Call # 720.9756 Bro NCC. Also G NCC.
• Our Own Story: an African-American History of Lincoln County, North Carolina, by Rudolph Young. Not indexed. Pub. 1991. Also 2nd ed. rec. 2001. Call # 929.1 You NCC. Also G NCC.
• Sketches of Western North Carolina: Historical and Biographical, Illustrating Principally the Revolutionary Period of Mecklenburg, Rowan, Lincoln, and Adjoining Counties..., by C. L. Hunter. Pub. 1877. Not indexed. 975.67 Hun NCC. Also G NCC and circulating copies. A typed copy is online at , http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12953; click "Read online". Also in Google Books; search by title.

Ancestry databases (available at the libraries) include indexes and some actual certificates for North Carolina marriages, births, and deaths. (Remember that statewide birth and death registration started in 1913 in North Carolina.)

Some books:
• Marriage Bonds of Tryon and Lincoln Counties, North Carolina. Call #929.3 Byn NCC Also G NCC.
• Lincoln County, North Carolina Marriage Records, 1783-1866. Call # 929.3 Ing Also G NCC.
• Lincoln County, North Carolina Marriage Records. [3 vols.] 1868-1936. Call # 929.3 Lin. Also G NCC.
• Lincoln County, N. C.: Index to Vital Statistics -- Deaths. [4 vols., Gastonia copy bound in 2 vols.] 1913-1992. Call # 929.3 Del NCC Also G NCC.
• "Marriage and Death Notices from Extant Lincolnton Newspapers, 1836-1853". Two part article in North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal. Marriages in v. 2, no. 2, (April 1976), p. 62-84 and Deaths in v. 2, no. 3, (July 1976), p. 136-146.

The library has microfilm of many Lincoln County newspapers. However, there are missing issues in the early years. There is NO indexing.

• Lincoln Republican Jan. 23, 1840-May 25, 1842.
• Lincoln Courier 1845-1851 and 1867.
• Carolina Republican Sept 5, 1848-Jan. 27, 1853.
• Lincoln Progress May 17, 1873-Mar. 11, 1882.
• Lincoln Courier Sept. 16, 1887-Sept. 20, 1895.
• Lincoln Democrat Sept. 27, 1895-Dec. 24, 1896.
• Lincoln County News Jan. 2, 1925-Dec. 29, 1939.
• Lincoln Times Jan. 3, 1938-Dec. 30, 1940.
• Lincoln County News Jan. 2, 1941-Sept. 30, 1965.
• Lincoln Times News Jan. 3, 1963-May 27, 1985; Jan. 1, 1986 to date.

There are also some issues of "Miscellaneous" papers including: Lincoln Transcript 1836; Western Whig Banner 1840; Hokeville Express 1855; The Trumpet 1887; Constitution 1880; The Plow, Forge & Grip 1891; and the Lincoln Journal 1898-1901.

The Lincoln Times-News has obituaries online since October 2001 at http://www.lincolntimesnews.com. Click the Archives tab.

See our list of county records on microfilm that are kept in the North Carolina Rooms at http://www.glrl.lib.nc.us/lrgs/lincrecordsfilm.htm.

Lincoln County Estate Files, 1779-1925, are available on microfilm at the Gastonia North Carolina Collection. The files are arranged by surname, not chronologically.

Census. For detailed information on our holdings of original and transcribed census records, see our Genealogy Research Guide, "The Census for Genealogists", http://www.glrl.lib.nc.us/lrgs/gencensus.htm, either online or pick up a paper copy in the North Carolina room.

Cemeteries. See our guide to Lincoln County Cemeteries, http://www.glrl.lib.nc.us/lrgs/lincemeterieslist.htm.

City Directories. See our list. http://www.glrl.lib.nc.us/lrgs/citydir.htm.

The North Carolina Collection in Lincolnton includes a large number of Surname Files. A list of the names is at http://www.glrl.lib.nc.us/lrgs/lincolnsurnames.htm.

In addition to more general genealogy magazines, we have files of three titles specifically for this area:

• Footprints in Time v.1, (1987) - to date, is published by the Gaston-Lincoln Genealogical Society, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncglgs/Index.htm.
• Eswau Huppeday, the journal of the Broad River Genealogical Society, in Cleveland County includes material from the surrounding counties including Lincoln. v. 1 (1981) - to date. See http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncbrgs/.
• Bulletin of the Genealogical Society of Old Tryon County, http://www.rutherfordcountync.gov/dept/genealogical_society/Main.php an area which includes Lincoln County, v.1 (1974) - to date.

The USGenWeb page for Lincoln County at http://www.ncgenweb.us/lincoln/index.htm includes a Query Forum, historical information, transcriptions of records and useful links.

The Lincoln County Historical Association at http://www.lincolncountyhistory.com/ also collects and posts historical and family information.

Queries. An online forum for Lincoln County can be found on the GenForum site, http://genforum.genealogy.com/nc/lincoln/.
Another one is the Ancestry Message Board at http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.northam.usa.states.northcarolina.counties.lincoln/mb.ashx. You don't need an Ancestry membership to use the boards.

Requests for SPECIFIC information are welcome. We will be glad to try to answer a particular question for those who are unable to use the collection in person. Please contact: Local Historian, Lincoln County Library, 306 W. Main St., Lincolnton, NC 28092. 704-735-8044 or email lhoyle@lincolncounty.org.

Purchasing books. The Library does not have any books for sale. Books relating to Lincoln County genealogy may be purchased from:

• the Gaston-Lincoln Genealogical Society, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncglgs/Index.htm, P. O. Box 584, Mount Holly, NC 28120;
• the Broad River Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 2261, Shelby, NC 28151-2261, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncbrgs/.
• from the gift shop at the Lincoln County Museum of History, 403 E. Main St., Lincolnton, NC 28092, 704-748-9090, http://www.lincolncountyhistory.com/.

Note: These sites are provided for informational purposes. The Library assumes no responsibility for the content of sites maintained by other organizations or persons.