Where to search for bastardized records if courthouse burned in Bladen County, North Carolina?

Question

My father and his three siblings are the bastard children of Robert Preston Tatum and Ella Jane Harris.  Bladen County, North Carolina’s courthouse burned, and any bastardy  bonds were burned.

Answer 1

The Bladen County Courthouse burned in 1893.  Records after that date are either maintained by the county clerk or are in the North Carolina Archives. Many Bladen County records are digitized at FamilySearch.  North Carolina didn’t require birth certificates until 1913.

Comments

Thank you. I will check into these. I appreciate your help.