Albemarle County, North Carolina

Date: 1664 to 1739
Location: Carolina

Note: Taking the notion that the colony was considered to stretch westward indefinitely, Albemarle County included Appalachia from 1664 until 1739 when the county was officially abolished.^[1] However, it is doubtful that colonists settled that far west at the time, so the Appalachia Project does not consider Albemarle County to be a historic Appalachian county.^[2]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Precincts 2 Maps 3 Resources

History

Albemarle County was formed as an original county of the Province of Carolina in 1664. It was named for George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, one of the eight Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina. The county encompassed the northeastern portion of the present day state of North Carolina; approximately 1,600 square miles of territory, although it's boundaries were not precise.

From 1664 until it was abolished in 1667, Clarendon County lay to the south of Albemarle County. Bath County was formed closer to the south of Albemarle in 1696. Starting in 1722, Edenton was designated as the county seat, which in present-day Chowan County (and is also the county seat of Chowan).

Albemarle County ceased to function as a governmental unit by 1689. It was officially abolished in 1738 & all precincts were designated as counties.

Precincts

By 1671, Albemarle County had 3 original precincts: Carteret, Berkeley, and Shaftesbury. Berkeley Precinct was renamed in 1681 to Perquimans & Shaftesbury was renamed Chowan by 1685. Also around 1685, Carteret Precinct was divided into Currituck and Pasquotank Precincts & ceased to exist.

From these 4 precincts, Bertie Precinct was formed in 1722 from part of Chowan & consisted of all the territory west of the Chowan River. And in 1729, Tyrrell Precinct was formed from parts of Currituck, Pasquotank, Chowan, and Bertie.

• Bertie Precinct (later Bertie County after 1738): Named for Hon. James Bertie (1674-1735) and his brother, Henry Bertie (1675-1735); the latter of which was one of the Lords proprietors of the Province of Carolina. Precinct seat was Bertie Courthouse from 1724 to 1744.

• Chowan Precinct (later Chowan County after 1738): Named for the Chowanoc Indian tribe. Originally named Shaftesbury, possibly after Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, one of the eight Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina. Precinct seat was Edenton starting in 1722. (Edenton was formerly named Roanoke from 1710 to 1715 & Queen Anne's Creek from 1715 to 1722.) Seat from precinct's formation until 1710 is unknown.

• Currituck Precinct (later Currituck County after 1738): Name derived from the Algonquin term "Coratank" which means "wild geese" or "land of the wild goose." Precinct seat unknown prior to 1755. Later designated Currituck Courthouse around 1755, possibly earlier.

• Pasquotank Precinct (later Pasquotank County after 1738): "Pasquotank" is an Indian word meaning "where the current of the stream divides or forks." Precinct seat was unknown–possibly didn't have one–from formation until 1737. Was designated as Brook Field from 1737 to 1757.

• Perquimans Precinct (later Perquimans County after 1738): Yeopim word meaning "the land of beautiful women." Precinct seat was Perquimans Courthouse beginning in 1722; renamed Hertford in 1758.

• Tyrrell Precinct (later Tyrrell County after 1738): Named for Sir John Tyrrell (1685-1729), one of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina. No designated precinct seat from precinct formation to about 1751. Court was held in private homes but was generally held in the home of William Frayley.

Maps

• North Carolina County Formation Maps
• Maps of North Carolina
• Historical Atlases (North Carolina, Tennessee)

Resources

Links from Category:Albemarle County, North Carolina

• Wikipedia: Albemarle County, North Carolina
• North Carolina 1664 to 1800 – Each County with Known Towns/Villages

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Footnotes

1. ↑ North Carolina County Formation Maps (accessed 24 July 2022).
2. ↑ For project purposes, the most eastern North Carolina counties covering land in Appalachia were Anson (created in 1750) and Rowan (created from the northern half of Anson in 1753).