Records in Foreign Collections

The North Carolina State Archives has finding aids to records relating to North Carolina history in foreign collections. The program responsible for creating these finding aids began in 1969 as part of the Colonial Records Project. At that time, efforts were concentrated on North Carolina records in British collections. In general they span the time from 1585 to 1783, although a few records, such as loyalist claims, go beyond the latter date. The British Records finding aids include descriptions of records in the Office of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the War Offce, the Admiralty Court, the British Museum, and many others.

In 1984, the program was expanded to include records held in Scotland. The Scottish Records Program ran off and on until 1993. The finding aids include descriptions of documents from the Scottish Record Office, the Church of Scotland, and the Dalhousie Muniments, to name just a few. Also included are citations to Scottish newspapers, detailing happenings of note in North Carolina. Those may be found under the Scottish Newspapers tab.

On April 18, 1924, the North Carolina Historical Commission authorized Dr. W. W. Pierson of the Department of History at the University of North Carolina to examine the public documents in Madrid to determine whether there was any material pertaining to North Carolina that ought to be in the records of the Historical Commission. Material were found in the Archivo Historico Nacional (AH) at Madrid, in the Archivo General de Indias (AI) at Seville, in the Archivo General de Simancas (AS). Copying continued until July 1927, but on August 27, 1927, the King of Spain prohibited the further copying of Spanish documents in series. No more copies were made for North Carolina until 1982, when additional documents were copied.

Tab/Accordion Items

British Records can be found within the Legacy Finding Aids collection of the North Carolina Digital Collections. The document list includes these titles: 

  • Introduction to the British Records
  • Admiralty
  • Belle Vue Library
    • The North Carolina items in this collection date from the 1740s and mainly comprise correspondence among the Lister family in New Bern and Halifax, England. (microfilm)
  • Board of Trade
    • The Board of Trade was the department of the British government dealing mainly with matters relating to trade. The series is comprised of  correspondence; and accounts of various kinds, especially of imports and exports.
  • British Library
  • Calendar of English Records
  • Chancery
  • City of Liverpool Public Libraries
  • Colonial Office
  • Corporation of London Record Office
    • Certificates verifying the landing of named criminal transportees at the port of Charleston.
  • Custom House
    • Liverpool Plantation Registers - These records concern the registration of vessels trading to the port of Liverpool, 1744-1773, 1779-1784. (microfilm)
  • Customs and Excise
  • English Records
    • Main sources for the items photocopied include the Public Record Office, London (the main governmental archives of Great Britain); the British Library (formerly the library of the British Museum); the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich; the archives of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, Oxford; Lambeth Palace Library, London; Friends House Library, London; and the Scottish Record Office, Edinburgh. Other items are from county record offices and minor repositories in London and elsewhere.
  • Exchequer
    • The King's Remembrancer had various responsibilities related to the king's revenue, including customs collection. These records indicate the place from which a vessel has arrived or to which it is going, including colonies. Information includes name of the vessel, captain, merchant exporting or importing, and the vessel's cargo. King's Remembrancer. Port Books (microfilm)
  • Exchequer and Audit Office
  • Foreign Office
  • Friends House Library
  • General Post Office Archives
  • Greater London Record Office
    • Transportation Bonds -These records contain an item relating to transportation of convicts to "Carolina."
    • Indentures - These records contain several indentures for servitude in "Carolina."
  • Guildhall Library
    • Subscription Books - These records record the subscriptions of Anglican priests to serve in  North Carolina.
    • Diocese Book - This record lists Anglican priests in North Carolina.
    • Bishop of London's Overseas Jurisdiction - These records include items relating to the appointment of Anglican  priests, including their performance bonds.
  • High Court of Admiralty
  • High Court of Delegates
    • The High Court of Delegates was a British court hearing appeals from various inferior courts.
  • Home Office
  • Kent County Archives
    • Polhill-Drabble Papers - The single North Carolina-related item relates to the Heath Patent to "Carolana."
    • Amherst Papers - This collection consists of various papers of Sir Jeffery Amherst, commander-in-chief in North America during the latter years of the French and Indian War. Items for North Carolina include correspondence, troops returns, etc.
  • Lambeth Palace Library
  • Lincolnshire Record Office
    • Miscellaneous Deposits - The single item relating to North Carolina in this series concerns an immigrant to Warren County in the 1870s.
    • Monson Family Papers - Items relating to North Carolina in this series mainly concern the Cartagena Expedition of 1741, land grants, and quitrents.
  • Lord Chamberlain
    • Miscellanea - The Lord Chamberlain's Department dealt mainly with matters relating to the Royal household. Topics relating to North Carolina in the series LC 5 concern the provision to governors of royal portraits and items of chapel furnishings.
  • Maps and Plans
    • Items relating to North Carolina in the series MP 1 concern a tract of  land in North Carolina and a proposed fort at Cape Lookout.
  • Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
    • Miscellanea, Custom House Accounts and Statistics, Original Reports - Items relating to North Carolina in the series MAF 7 concern the importation of naval stores into Britain.
  • Mint
    • Record Books, Vol. II - Items relating to North Carolina in the series MINT 1 concern a proposal to mint copper coins in the colony.
  • National Army Museum
    • The few items relating to North Carolina in this repository concern the colonies in the 1750s, and a Loyalist officer.
  • National Maritime Museum
  • Paymaster General's Office
    • The Paymaster General's department dealt with payments concerning operations of the British Army. In the series PMG 14, North Carolina topics include a few payments relating to the French and Indian War and numerous ones to the Revolutionary War.
  • Privy Council
  • Public Record Office
  • Royal Artillery Institution
    • Papers of James Pattison - Major General James Pattison was for part of the Revolutionary War commander of Royal Artillery in North America and superintendent general of police for the City of New York. North Carolina items in this collection concern various aspects of the American Revolution. (microfilm)
  • Royal Society of Arts
    • American Correspondence and Transactions of the Royal Society of Arts - One project of the Royal Society of Arts was to encourage the raising  of various commodities in the colonies. The North Carolina items in these records concern silk, hemp, "brown cotton," and sawmills. (microfilm)
  • Saint Bartholomew's Hospital Archives
    • The few North Carolina items in this repository concern a lease and release of part of the duke of Albemarle's lands in Albemarle to his son.
  • Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
  • Signet Office
    • Docquets Books - The Signet Office prepared documents for the royal seal. Only one item was copied for the British Records Program.
  • State Papers
  • Surrey County Record Office
    • The items relating to North Carolina in this repository concern the attempts to find places of settlement for the Palatine refugees in England in 1708-09; includes plans to settle 600 of them in North Carolina.
  • Treasury
  • War Office

Scottish Records can be found within the Legacy Finding Aids collection of the North Carolina Digital Collections. The document list includes these titles: 

  • Admiralty Court
    • Decreets (microfilm)
    • Decrees in Absence (microfilm)
    • Processes in Foro (microfilm)
    • Criminal Records (microfilm)
  • Church of Scotland
    • General Assembly, Minutes and Acts (microfilm)
    • General Assembly, Papers (microfilm)
    • Registers of Acts of the Commission of the Church of Scotland (microfilm)
    • Presbytery of Inverary, Minutes (microfilm)
    • Presbytery of Kintyre, Minutes (microfilm)
  • Court of Session
    • Extracted Processes (microfilm)
    • Pre-1839 Productions (microfilm)
    • Bill Chamber Processes (microfilm)
  • Customs and Excise
    • Ledgers of Imports and Exports (microfilm)
  • Dalhousie Muniments
  • Gifts and Deposits, Muniments
    • Leven and Melville Muniments
    • Dalhousie Muniments
    • Hamilton-Dalrymple of North Berwick Muniments
  • Sheriff Court
    • Sheriffdom of Renfrew and Argyll at Inveraray (microfilm)
  • Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge

Scottish Newspapers can be found within the Legacy Finding Aids collection of the North Carolina Digital Collections. The document list includes these titles: 

  • Caledonian Mercury
  • Clyde Commercial Advertisers
  • Edinburgh Advertiser
  • Edinburgh Evening Courant
  • Glasgow Chronicle
  • Glasgow Courant
  • Glasgow Courier
  • Glasgow Journal
  • Glasgow Mercury
  • Greenock Advertiser
  • Scots Magazine

  • The Spanish Records finding aid can be found within the Legacy Finding Aids Collection of the North Carolina Digital Collections. 
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