North Carolina Genealogy

The county was formed in 1847 from parts of Caldwell County, Iredell County, and Wilkes County. It was named for William Julius Alexander of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Speaker of the North Carolina House of Commons. Taylorsville is the county seat of Alexander County. It’s unclear if Taylorsville was named for President Zachary Taylor or John Louis Taylor a North Carolina political philospher and agriculturist. The county is home to the Alexander Railroad Company.

Although Alexander County is in the Piedmont of North Carolina in the western part of the county the terrain is dominated by the Brushy Mountains, which are a spur of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hickory Knob and Barrett Mountain are two of the largest features in the county, Hickory Knob being the highest point in Alexander County, NC. The terrain over most of the county is gently rolling.

Alexander County is also home to the settlement of Hiddenite (unincorporated). This area is home to an emerald and Sapphire mine that also produces Hiddenite which is a form of spodumene. Hiddenite was said to be only found in this part of the world, but in recent years it has also been found in Madagscar and Brazil. It’s said that this is the only Emerald mine in the United States that is open to the public for prospecting. Source Wikipedia

Alexander County Genealogy Resources

Alexander County NCGenweb site

Alexander County NCGenWeb Archives

Alexander County Genealogical Society, Inc.
P.O. Box 545
Hiddenite, NC 28636

Alexander County Ancestry Association
P.O. Box 241
Hiddenite, NC 28636-0241

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Alexander County Government

Alexander County Courthouse
621 Liledoun Road
County Courthouse
Taylorsville, NC 28681

Alexander Library
77 First Avenue SW
Taylorsville, NC 28681

Census

1850 Census index (last name only)

John N Adams – Agricultural Census 1860,1870,1880 numbers

Cemeteries

USGS listing of cemeteries in Alexander County

Cemetery Transcriptions (Rootsweb)

Cemetery Transcriptions (NCGenweb)

Query Forums

Alexander County, NC Query Forum

Latest North Carolina Genealogy Query posts for Alexander County from the Forum:

Alexander County, NC at Genforum

Cities and towns of Alexander County:

All Healing Springs
Ellendale
Hiddenite
Kilby
Liledown
Little River
Millersville
Paynes Store
Stony Point
Taylorsville (County Seat)
Vashti

News related to Alexander County, NC