Pre95 Search Tips

As you search this website for indexing information, there are several factors you should keep in mind. Prior to January 1, 1995, the State of North Carolina had no indexing guidelines for Registers of Deeds.  Therefore, each office indexed documents independently.  In Scotland County, prior to this date and defined in the indices as Pre 95 Real Estate, there were several unusual ways of indexing documents including:

Surnames beginning with “Mc” were indexed with the “Mc” at the end of the surname instead of the beginning (e.g., “McNair” was indexed as “Nair Mc” or “McCormick” as “Cormick Mc”).

Banks, churches, colleges, lodges, schools and railroads typically had the type of entity set out first instead of last (e.g., “First Southern Savings Bank” would likely be indexed as “Bank First Southern Savings”; “Faith Presbyterian Church” as “Church Faith Presbyterian”).

Husbands and wives, as well as other names with the same surname were commonly listed together in the index.

Other common names and their potential indexing entries are:

State Highway Commission = Board of Transportation

Public Works Commission = Board of Transportation

City of Laurinburg = Laurinburg

Z.V. Pate Inc. = Pate

McNair Investment Company – Nair Mc Investment Company