History of
Watauga County, NC
With Sketches of Prominent Families
 
By John Preston Arthur 
Published 1905, 431 pages, illustrated, indexed, searchable 
 
Bonus #1 – Watauga Co. 1850 Census (first county census, and first to name all residents)
Bonus #2 – Watauga Co. 1900 Census Index
 
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In the decade preceding the Revolutionary War, frontier settlers migrated into the western parts of North Carolina, settling on lands along the 
Watauga River that belonged to the Cherokee Indian Nation. Many were Scotch-Irish who had traveled to the area through the Shenandoah Valley 
down the Great Wagon Road, while others were settlers who wandered westward over the mountains after the collapse of the Regulator movement 
in North Carolina. 
 
In May 1772 these settlers, led by John Sevier and James Robertson, established the Watauga Association, which boasted the country's first 
majority-rule system of government, and the first written constitution in America. The Watauga Association negotiated a ten-year lease with the 
Cherokees, and later purchased the land from the Indians. In 1776 the Watauga settlement was annexed to North Carolina, then was ceded to the 
federal government in 1784, briefly comprised the State of Franklin, and finally became part of Tennessee when it attained statehood in mid-1796.
Although Watauga County, North Carolina, was not established until 1849 from the existing counties of Ashe, Wilkes, Caldwell, and Yancey in 
northwestern North Carolina, "all of Watauga County on the waters of Watauga River was once a part...of the famous and immortal Old Watauga 
Settlement of Sevier . . . ." In his History of Watauga County, North Carolina, John Preston Arthur provides an invaluable study of the origins and early 
settlers of this area rich in genealogical history. 
 
Arthur's History not only covers the topics standard to such histories--the first settlements, Indian raids, churches, Revolutionary and Civil War 
activities, geological facts, legislative and other officers, population and agricultural statistics, place names, schools, etc.--but also peppers his 
narrative with innumerable names of early settlers, biographical sketches, and anecdotes about county residents. One chapter of the book deals 
with Daniel Boone, who according to local tradition, "hunted all through the mountains of what is now Watauga County during several years preceding 
1769, and knew the country thoroughly."
 
Of particular interest to genealogists are biographical sketches of the following prominent Watauga County families: Adams, Baird, Banner, Bingham, 
Blackburn, Blair, Brown, Bryan or Bryant, Cable, Coffey, Cottrell, Councill, Critcher, Davis, Dugger, Eggers, Elrod, Farthing, Franklin, Gragg, Greene, 
Greer, Grider, Grubb, Hagaman, Hardin, Harman, Hartley, Hayes, Hodges, Holtzclaw, Horton, Ingram, Isaacs, Lenoir, Lewis, Linney, Lovill, McBride, 
McGhee, Mast, Miller, Moretz, Morphew, Norris, Penley, Perkins, Presnell, Reese, Rivers, Sands, Shearer, Sherrill, Shull, Smith, Story, Swift, Tatum, 
Tester, Thomas, Todd, Trivett, Tugman, Van Dyke, Vannoy, Ward, Watson, Welch, Wilson, Winebarger, Winkler, Woodring, and Yountz.
 
The county was formed in 1849 from parts of Ashe County, Caldwell County, Wilkes County, and Yancey County. It was named for the Watauga River, whose 
name is said to be a Native American word meaning "beautiful water."
 
In 1861 parts of Watauga County, Burke County, Caldwell County, McDowell County, and Yancey County were combined to form Mitchell County. In 1911, 
parts of Watauga County, Caldwell County, and Mitchell County were combined to form Avery County.
 
The county is divided into fifteen townships: Bald Mountain, Beaverdam, Blowing Rock, Blue Ridge, Boone, Brushy Fork, Cove Creek, Elk, Laurel Creek, 
Meat Camp, New River, North Fork, Shawneehaw, Stony Fork, and Watauga
  

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