The first settlers to North Carolina came from Virginia. In 1653, Roger Green led a company across the wilderness from the Nansemond River in Virginia to the Chowan River and settled near Edenton. There, they prospered, and others, influenced by similar motives, followed.
In 1662, George Durant purchased of the Yeopim Indians the neck of land on the north side of Albemarle Sound, which still bears his name. It was settled by persons driven off from Virginia through religious persecution. In 1663, King Charles II granted to the Earl of Clarendon and seven other associates the whole of the region from the thirty-sixth degree of north latitude to the river San Matheo (now the St. John’s) in Florida and extending westwardly, like all of that monarch’s charters, to the Pacific Ocean.
Genealogy Tips: Search for your surnames in Virginia immigration records. Next, search Virginia’s will and estate indexes and take notes of your surname entries before researching probate records in North Carolina.
