Hi All, I recently spent some time at the Register of Deeds on Churton Street surveying the marriage records for the county. I noticed that, while the indexes and volumes holding the oldest records are dated from 1752, I could not find a single entry in the 1752-1911 index (I searched about ½ of it) for a record earlier than 1781. However, there are numerous records for 1781 and subsequently. I know that Orange County was originally formed in 1752. Does anyone know if records were actually being kept from that date and all records earlier than 1781 somehow lost or destroyed? Or did laws change around the 1781 timeframe that resulted in new records being kept in that year that just weren’t collected before then? Similarly, while marriage bonds (and a rare license or return) did appear from 1781, the earliest marriage register (with copied returns) that I was able to find is dated from 1851. Does anyone know if there are registers extant for the time period 1781-1850? I can try to call the NC Archives in Raleigh to find out tomorrow, but thought someone in D-OGS who is doing local research might have some idea. The OC deputy registrar didn’t seem to know. Many thanks, Ava