Shelby, NC Courthouse, April 2016
Cleveland County was created in 1841 from Rutherford and Lincoln counties. The courthouse is in Shelby, North Carolina. Deed books and some other interesting documents are located in the court house for public access. Estate files are in the archives.
The county is part of the Piedmont area of the state. Surnames that I research in Cleveland County include Turner, Hamrick, Hopper and Martin. Boiling Springs and Grover are two towns my ancestors lived in; most of my people were in the lower part of the county near the NC/SC border.
I, Ruhrfisch Wikimedia Commons
The Basics
- Cleveland County Gen Web
- FamilySearch Wiki: Cleveland County, North Carolina
- Ancestry Wiki: Cleveland Count, North Carolina
- Wikipedia: Cleveland County, North Carolina
- Cleveland County Gen Web Archives
- Broad River Genealogical Society
- Historic Shelby Foundation
- Cleveland County on Carolana
- Cleveland County Home Page
AncestryDNA Genetic Communties
I belong to two genetic communities that cover Cleveland County.
Settlers of the North Carolina Foothills & Northwest South Carolina (AncestryDNA Genetic Community)
Settlers of the Carolina Piedmont (AncestryDNA Genetic Community)
Maps
- Newberry Library : Boundary Changes for Cleveland County
- Kyzer’s complete map of Cleveland County, N.C. : 1886
- USGS: Boiling Springs North Quadrangle, 1960 (pdf topo map)
North Carolina Timelines
Cemeteries
People who lived in this county near the NC/SC border can often be found in SC cemeteries. Check York and Cherokee Counties. WPA survey records for SC are on microfilm at the SC State Archives.
- Cleveland County WPA Survey Cemetery Records
- Cemeteries from Cleveland County, NC on Find A Grave
- Cemeteries from Cherokee County, SC on Find A Grave
- Cemeteries from York County, SC on Find A Grave
- Photos from Grover Cemetery (coming eventually)
- Photos from Boiling Springs Cemetery (coming eventually)
Cleveland County in the Civil War
- List of North Carolina Troops raised in Cleveland & Rutherford Counties during the War Between the States
- Cleveland County, NC — Civil War
- The Civil War Experience in Gaston and Cleveland Counties
Cleveland County, North Carolina on Newspapers.com
Newspapers On Chronicling America
- 1. The Cleveland County journal. (Lawndale, N.C.) 198?-current
- 2. Shelby banner. (Shelby, N.C.) 187?-187?
- 3. Shelby aurora. (Shelby, N.C.) 1875-1911
- 4. The Shelby daily star. (Shelby, N.C.) 1936-1984
- 5. The Rural chronicle. (Waco, N.C.) 1884-18??
- 6. The Progressive reformer. (Kings Mountain, N.C.) 18??-1???
- 7. The Cleveland times. (Shelby, N.C.) 1941-current
- 8. The Cleveland compass. (Shelby, N.C.) 1976-19??
- 9. The Kings Mountain herald. (Kings Mountain, N.C.) 18??-1974
- 10. The Kings Mountain mirror. (Kings Mountain, N.C.) 1971-1974
- 11. Kings Mountain mirror-herald. (Kings Mountain, N.C.) 1974-1979
- 12. Kings Mountain herald. (Kings Mountain, N.C.) 1979-current
- 13. The aurora-highlander. (Shelby, N.C.) 191?-1917
- 14. The highlander and Shelby aurora. (Shelby, N.C.) 1917-191?
- 15. The highlander. (Shelby, N.C.) 191?-1920
- 16. Shelby news. (Shelby, N.C.) 1916-1920
- 17. The highlander and Shelby news. (Shelby, N.C.) 1920-19??
- 18. Shelby review. (Shelby, N.C.) 189?-189?
- 19. The highlander. (Shelby, N.C.) 1910-191?
- 20. Cleaveland banner. (Shelby, Cleaveland Co., N.C.) 18??-187?
City Directories
Ancestry has directories for Shelby for years 1937, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1951 and 1959. Search City Directories or browse on the Search page.
Message Boards and Mailing Lists
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