This is a continuation of our original, and highly successful, Genealogy Trails Illinois History and Genealogy Project and we are excited about this opportunity to expand into other states. We welcome your feedback and comments, and of course, your data contributions. If you have data that you would like to have posted on this website, please contact me.

We're looking for folks who share our dedication to putting data online and are interested in helping this project be as successful as our Illinois websites are.

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You are welcome to browse the information on these pages and at the many links provided to garner the data needed to continue your research into your family history. However, Please remember that this information, in many cases, represents years of painstaking research on the part of myself, or the many generous volunteers who have donated their information to this site. You can show your respect for these efforts by not taking things to use on other websites and/or to claim as your own. I thank you in advance for your consideration.

The county was formed in 1771 from Orange County. It was named for William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, who served as British Prime Minister from 1766 to 1768 and opposed harsh colonial policies.

In 1907 parts of Chatham County and Moore County were combined to form Lee County. The award winning PBS Documentary Family Name notes Chatham County as the place the relationship between the African-American and European-American branches of the Alston family originated. George Moses Horton, Historic Poet Laureate of Chatham County, North Carolina (1797 - 1883) lived most of his life in Chatham County and is among the few slaves to have published material while still a slave