Tryon County Records Available to Members
- Abernathy, Robert
- Miscellaneous List of Records at North Carolina State Archives 1864 to 1926
During colonial days, Governor William Tryon had an architect imported from London to design a Georgian-style structure for his family home. John Hawks completed the structure in 1770 and “Tryon Palace” served as the first permanent capitol of North Carolina. It was at this site that the First Session of the General Assembly was held after the Revolutionary War. It housed the State governors until 1794. Four year’s later, a fire destroyed the original building which took thirty years to rebuild. Over the years improvements were made to the palace and its grounds until finally in 1969 the palace was re-opened.
Names of Families in Tryon County Genealogy Records
Tryon County is a former county which was located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It was formed in 1768 from the part of Mecklenburg County west of the Catawba River, although the legislative act that created it did not become effective until April 10, 1769. Tryon County encompassed a large area of northwestern South Carolina and was named after William Tryon, governor of the North Carolina Colony from 1765 to 1771. The county seat was not designated until 1774 and was located eight miles southwest of the present-day community of Lincolnton.
Courts in Tryon County
The court records of Tryon County began during the April session of 1769. Ezekiel Polk was the first clerk and he resided near Kings Mountain, but later removed to the new county of Mecklenburg (taken from Tryon). His grandson, James K. Polk, later became President of the United States. Genealogists should research the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions. The reason is that this is where deeds were filed, estates settled, guardians appointed, and wills recorded. Also, of importance are the details of daily living, such as the construction of roads, appointments of overseers, grand and petit gurors, and so on. The Courts of Oyer and Terminer, known as district courts who
ruled over more than one county, compare to our Superior Courts. Tryon County was in the Salisbury District and each county appointed its quota of jurors to attend the Salisbury Court. In 1782, the Salisbury District was divided, and Lincoln and other western counties were declared a separate district by the name of Morgan, where the judges of the Superior Courts shall sit twice every year and hold a Superior Court of law. Lincoln County remained in the Morgan District, the courts being held at Morgantown, until 1806, when a Superior Court was established in each county of the state to be held twice every year. The Tryon Court was organized at the home of Charles McLean and this is where the Quarter Sessions for the years 1769, 1770 and 1771, were conducted. At the time he resided in what is now Gaston County on the headwaters of Crowder Creek.
