To visit the museum, advanced timed tickets are required for all visitors. Popular dates and times may be sold out.
14 Wharfside StreetCharleston, SC 29401
Museum open 10am to 5pm (last entry 4:00 PM) Tuesday-Sunday. Closed Monday.
14 Wharfside Street — Charleston, SC 29401
Jan 02, 2020
Today’s featured collection is North Carolina, Wake County, Death Records, 1900-1909.
This collection includes death records from Wake County, North Carolina for the years 1900-1909.
To learn more about this collection, please see the collection’s Learn More page.
If you find an ancestor listed in this collection, use the information in the death certificate to look for other records that document that ancestor’s death. Then, use the information from the death and burial records you have found to search for other records made during the ancestor’s lifetime.
Let’s look at an example for Augustus Hill, who died in Wake County, North Carolina on 14 Jan 1901. Born in 1877, his life ended at the age of 24. From this death certificate, we learn that Augustus Hill, African American, died at 707 S. East Street in Ward 3 of the city of Raleigh. His birthplace and those of both parents are listed as North Carolina. He was listed as married and his occupation was clerk in a dry goods store. We also learn that he was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery. The undertaker was J.W. Brown. The informant who provided the information for the death certificate was J.H. Mullins.
Name: Augustus HillEvent Type: DeathEvent Date: 14 Jan 1901Event Place: North Carolina, United StatesGender: MaleAge: 24Race: BlackBirth Date: 1877Birthplace: North CarolinaFather’s Birthplace: North CarolinaMother’s Birthplace: North CarolinaCertificate Number: 416
Digital Folder Number: 004962533Image Number: 00820
“North Carolina, Wake County, Death Records, 1900-1909”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WCDM-2SMM : 22 January 2020), Augustus Hill, 1901.
We first searched for other records documenting Augustus Hill’s death. We searched the website FindAGrave. Our search for Augustus Hill did not produce any results, and we were unable to locate a Mt. Hope or Mount Hope Cemetery in this database. Your search for your ancestor on FindAGrave may produce results. If you find a memorial there for your ancestor, the headstone inscription may provide your ancestor’s exact birth date, which will help you locate more records for your ancestor.
We also searched the FamilySearch collection United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014 but did not find an obituary for Augustus Hill. Your search for your ancestor may return meaningful results.
Let’s search now for records for Augustus Hill that were made during his lifetime.
Our search for Augustus Hill in Wake County, North Carolina revealed a record for Augustus Hill and his household in the 1900 U.S. Census:
Augustus Hill in the 1900 United States Federal Census
“United States Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-XCM9-8JR?cc=1325221&wc=9B76-Y4C%3A1030551601%2C1034638301%2C1034693901 : 5 August 2014), North Carolina > Wake > ED 144 Raleigh city Ward 3 > image 19 of 42; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
Augustus Hill’s approximate birthdate in the death certificate is given as 1877. In this census record, his approximate birthdate is 1875. We will need to verify that this is a record for the Augustus Hill we are seeking.
Fortunately, the census image includes the house number and street for this household, and we see that the address is 707 East Street in Ward 3, Raleigh, North Carolina. This agrees precisely with the location of Augustus Hill’s death on the death certificate.
We also located Augustus Hill in the Raleigh city directory. Once again, having the street address gives us confidence that this is the Augustus Hill we are searching for.
We noted that in the 1900 U.S. Census record, the name of Augustus Hill’s wife was noted as Maggie. We searched the FamilySearch collection North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 and found a marriage record for Augustus Hill and Maggie Dunston. From this record, we learn the names of Augustus Hill’s parents, Thomas and Isabella Hill:
Name: Augustus HillEvent Type: MarriageEvent Date: 17 Sep 1894Event Place: Wake, North Carolina, United StatesGender: MaleAge: 20Birth Year (Estimated): 1874Father’s Name: Thomas HillMother’s Name: Isabella HillSpouse’s Name: Maggie DunstonSpouse’s Gender: FemaleSpouse’s Age: 19Spouse’s Birth Year (Estimated): 1875Spouse’s Father’s Name: C W DunstonSpouse’s Mother’s Name: Mary Dunston
GS Film Number: 002312703Digital Folder Number: 007251246Image Number: 00160
“North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKJQ-TKJ6 : 4 November 2017), Mary Dunston in entry for Augustus Hill and Maggie Dunston, 17 Sep 1894; citing Wake, North Carolina, United States, p. , North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History; FHL microfilm 2,312,703.
We searched for Augustus Hill’s parents Thomas and Isabella Hill, and found them in the 1870 U.S. Census:
“United States Census, 1870”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWDQ-VVH : 14 June 2019), Mariah Joiner in entry for Thomas Hill, 1870.
From the record above, we learn that Augustus Hill’s father Thomas Hill was born in Virginia, and he was a domestic servant. His wife Isabell or Isabella was born in North Carolina.
Working from a death certificate for Augustus Hill, age 24, who died in Wake County, North Carolina in 1901, we were able to find other records for Augustus Hill made during his life. We compared the address on the death certificate and the address on the 1900 U.S. Census, we were able to determine that this is a census record for the Augustus Hill we are seeking. Using information from the census record, we located a marriage record for Augustus Hill. From that record, we learned his parents’ names, then found his parents in the 1870 U.S. Census. In this example, it was the street address of the deceased that led us to other records for Augustus Hill and his parents.
The FamilySearch Wiki page African American Resources for North Carolina provides additional resources for African American genealogy research in North Carolina.
The FamilySearch Wiki page Wake County, North Carolina Genealogy provides an overview of genealogy resources for Wake County, North Carolina.
To learn more about researching African American genealogy in North Carolina, you can view BlackProGen LIVE Ep19: North and South Carolina Genealogy Research.
Researching African American Genealogy provides step-by-step guidance for beginning your ancestor search, as well as links to online resources.
Quick Guide to African American Records contains information on beginning research tips, links to suggested guides for beginning your search for African American ancestors, overviews of major record sets, tips for finding the slaveholder, links to tutorials for African American genealogy in the FamilySearch Learning Center, and links to other online and offline resources.
Southern States Slavery and Bondage Collections will help you locate digitized searchable collections as well as digitized microfilms in the FamilySearch catalog related to slavery and bondage. The page is arranged by state.
African American Genealogy provides links to Wiki pages for researching African Americans in each U.S. state.
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