Greene County Obituary and Death Records
Greene County obituary records are held at the Register of Deeds in Snow Hill, where birth, death, marriage, and land records have been preserved since 1876. The county courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1876, so all records predating that year were lost. That single event shapes every Greene County death record search: for any research reaching before 1876, researchers must turn to alternative sources such as church records, Bible records, and regional newspaper obituaries. Understanding this history helps set the right expectations before beginning a Greene County search.
Greene County Quick Facts
Greene County Register of Deeds - Obituary and Death Records
The Greene County Register of Deeds is located in Snow Hill and can be reached by mail at PO Box 86, Snow Hill, NC 28580, or by phone at 252-747-3620. The office maintains birth, death, marriage, and land records from 1876 onward, reflecting the post-fire restart of the county's official record-keeping. Under North Carolina General Statute 130A-93, death certificates filed in Greene County are kept by the Register of Deeds and forwarded to the state as part of the statewide vital records system.
Researchers can visit the Snow Hill office in person or submit requests by mail. Staff are available to help identify what records exist for a particular individual and explain the process for obtaining certified copies. Under NCGS 130A-93.1, access to certain information in recent death records is restricted, and the office can clarify what is available based on the age of the record being requested.
| Office |
Greene County Register of Deeds PO Box 86 Snow Hill, NC 28580 Phone: 252-747-3620 |
|---|---|
| Records Available | Birth, death, marriage, land records from 1876 |
| Website | greenecountync.gov/register-of-deeds |
The office at greenecountync.gov/register-of-deeds provides contact information and details about available records for Greene County death and obituary research.
The Register of Deeds portal at greenecountync.gov is the starting point for official Greene County death certificate requests, with records available from 1876 following the courthouse fire of that year.
Note: Because the 1876 courthouse fire destroyed earlier records, researchers seeking Greene County obituary or death information from before 1876 must rely on non-official sources including church records, cemetery inscriptions, and historical newspaper archives.
About Greene County, North Carolina
Greene County was formed in 1799 from Glasgow County. It was named for Nathanael Greene, the Major General who commanded Continental forces in the Southern theater during the Revolutionary War and is credited with the strategic campaign that ultimately drove British forces out of the Carolinas. Snow Hill has served as the county seat since the county's early years.
The county's history includes the devastating 1876 courthouse fire, which destroyed the official records accumulated since the county's founding. This gap in the documentary record is a defining challenge for any Greene County genealogy project. Researchers must be creative in finding documentation for the period before the fire, relying heavily on church records, family Bibles, cemetery inscriptions, and regional newspaper archives.
Greene County sits in the coastal plain region of eastern North Carolina, bordered by Lenoir, Pitt, Wayne, and Wilson counties. Family lines in this part of the state often moved across multiple counties in the nineteenth century, meaning useful records for Greene County ancestors may be found in neighboring county archives as well.
ECU Digital Library - Greene County Obituary and Family Records
East Carolina University's Digital Library holds a collection of special relevance to Greene County obituary and death research. The Captain Frederick Lee Edwards Collection contains family papers for Greene, Dobbs, and Lenoir counties. These private family papers often include correspondence, genealogical notes, and historical documentation that spans the periods before and after the 1876 courthouse fire in Greene County.
The ECU Digital Library at digital.lib.ecu.edu provides online access to digitized collections from across eastern North Carolina. Researchers can search the library's holdings from any location without needing to travel to the Greenville campus. The Edwards Collection and related materials represent a significant supplement to the official death and obituary records held by the Greene County Register of Deeds.
The ECU Digital Library at digital.lib.ecu.edu provides online access to the Captain Frederick Lee Edwards Collection and other family papers relevant to Greene County death and obituary research.
Researching Greene County Deaths Before the 1876 Courthouse Fire
The loss of all Greene County official records in the 1876 courthouse fire requires researchers to use alternative documentation for any deaths occurring before that year. Several types of records can help fill this gap.
Church records are among the most useful. The Baptist, Methodist, and other Protestant congregations that have served Greene County communities since the early nineteenth century often kept membership rolls, burial registers, and death notices. These manuscript records are held variously by individual churches, their regional archives, and the State Archives of North Carolina in Raleigh.
Cemetery inscriptions provide another line of evidence. Transcribed cemetery data for Greene County is available through the NCGenWeb project and various genealogy databases. These transcriptions capture gravestone inscriptions that would otherwise require a physical visit to rural Greene County burial grounds.
Federal census mortality schedules recorded deaths in the months preceding each census from 1850 through 1880. These schedules list individuals who died in a given county during the preceding year, providing name, age, sex, occupation, and cause of death. For Greene County deaths in the 1850-1880 period, these schedules are a valuable source that survived the 1876 fire because they were federal rather than county documents.
How to Search Greene County Obituary Records
Searching for Greene County obituary records requires a different approach depending on the time period involved.
- Greene County Register of Deeds for official death certificates from 1876 onward
- ECU Digital Library for the Edwards Collection and related family papers
- NCGenWeb for transcribed cemetery records and community-gathered genealogy data
- North Carolina State Archives for church records and other pre-fire materials
- Federal census mortality schedules for the 1850-1880 period
- Regional newspaper archives at Wayne County and Pitt County libraries
For deaths since 1913, the statewide vital records system provides the most reliable documentation. The Greene County Register of Deeds holds certified copies of these death certificates. For deaths between 1876 and 1913, the county holds records but the statewide system had not yet begun, so county-level death registers from that period are the primary source. For deaths before 1876, no official Greene County records survive the courthouse fire.
North Carolina State Vital Records for Greene County Deaths
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services maintains statewide copies of Greene County death records as part of the system established under NCGS 130A-93. Certified copies can be requested from the state Vital Records office in Raleigh by mail, in person, or through authorized online vendors.
For researchers outside the Snow Hill area, the state office is a practical alternative to visiting Greene County in person. Both offices draw from the same death records filed in Greene County since the statewide system began, so either source can supply a certified copy. Processing times and fees may differ between the county and state offices.
Nearby Counties
These counties border Greene County in eastern North Carolina. Family lines that crossed county lines may have death records registered in a neighboring county.