Moving into Old Albemarle County, NC

The crazy convoluted history of Old Albemarle County, NC, one of the original counties. 

"In 1653, the Virginia Assembly granted one Roger Green and 100 residents of Nansemond County 10,000 acres on the Roanoke River  west of the Chowan River." (1)  Roger Green did not settle there, instead he went back to England.

When it was learned that the Albemarle settlements were not included in the Carolina proprietary grant  of 1663, there was a push for a new charter. In 1664, the Lord Proprietors of the Carolina colony proposed three counties for the entire colony: Albemarle, Clarendon, and Craven. A survey was never conducted to make firm boundaries for the counties.  The new  charter, including this area, was granted in 1665. Albemarle thrived, Craven county remained and became South Carolina. In 1667, due to lack of population, Claredon county was dissolved.

By 1668, Albemarle county was divided into four precincts: Carteret, Pasquotank, Berkeley and Shaftesbury. However, for whatever reason, in 1681 the precincts were divided again and renamed: Currituck, Chowan, Perquimans, and Pasquotank. By 1689, Albemarle county was abolished and the precincts became counties.

In 1696, a new county called Bath was created. In 1705, it was divided into three precincts: Archedale, Pamptecough, and Wickham. More name changes to come. In 1712, Archedale precinct became Craven,  Pamptecough precinct became Beaufort, and Wickham was renamed to Hyde precinct. That same year the Province of North Carolina was organized.

The line dividing North Carolina and Virginia was still murky during this period. In 1728, a survey was done by William Byrd II. He wrote a book detailing the events of this survey. Finally, settlers in the disputed area knew for sure if their land was in Virginia or North Carolina.

In 1739 the North Carolina's Provincial Government declared all existing precincts were counties, dissolving both Bath and (Old) Albermarle counties. 

On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state of the United States.

Who were the first settlers of this area?  By the mid 1700's, the first permanent English settlements were established in this area. The majority of the settlers were migrating South from Virginia. We need to follow the Nansemond Odoms, the Lower Norfolk Odeans, and the Northumberland Oldhams into this new land.

Next, we'll look at some of the above settlers of Old Albemarle.

Happy Hunting - until next time!

1. William S. Powell (9 November 2000). Dictionary of North Carolina Biography: Vol. 2, D-G. Univ of North Carolina Press. p. 360. ISBN 978-0-8078-6701-3.

2. Powell, William S. (2010). The North Carolina Gazetteer, A Dictionary of Tar Heel Places and their history. University of North Carolina Press. p. 6. ISBN 9780807898291. Retrieved 13 September 2017.