Albemarle County

Established in 1664 (abolished in 1739), Albemarle County was an early center of colonial government and settlement in northeastern North Carolina. Named for George Monck, Duke of Albemarle, one of Carolina’s Lords Proprietors, it encompassed settlements around Albemarle Sound, particularly the area between the sound and the Virginia boundary. Its early boundaries were imprecise. Within Albemarle, local subdivisions known as precincts developed, including Chowan, Currituck, Pasquotank, and Perquimans.

As settlement expanded, additional precincts were formed, including Bertie in 1722 and Tyrrell in 1729. In 1739, the legislature changed the precincts into counties, ending the old Albemarle County designation. For genealogists, understanding this history helps explain why an ancestor’s records may refer to Albemarle County or one of its precincts. Those early place names must be considered alongside later county divisions when deciding where to search for records.