County Records

• Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before
  visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information. All other record types not listed here are located in the town in which the event occured. Check NH's Cities & Towns and City & Town Clerks
• Probate Court has Probate Records from 1769
  P.O. Box 799, County Farm Road, Dover, NH 03820; Phone : (603) 742-2550, Mon - Fri, 8:00am to 4:30pm
• Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1769
  259 County Farm Rd, P.O. Box 799, Dover, New Hampshire 03820; Tel. (603)742-1741 Fax (603)749-5130
• New Hampshire Vital Records Office [Order Online] [Search the Social Security Death Index] has Births, Death and marriage records after 1883 see also Vital Records Page
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Genealogical Addresses

• New Hampshire Society of Genealogist, P.O. Box 2316 , Concord, NH 3302-2316 (603) 225-3381
• New Hampshire Historical Society , The Tuck Library, 30 Park Street, Concord, NH 03301-6384
  Telephone: 603/228-6688 - Fax: 603/224-0463
• New Hampshire State Library, 20 Park Street , Concord, NH 03301; (603)271-2144 FAX: (603)271-6826

Military Resources

• Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900 from the State of New Hampshire (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Pension applications for service in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served.
• Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 from the State of New Hampshire (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
• Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War from the State of New Hampshire (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
• Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files from the State of New Hampshire (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, from NARA publication M804.

County History

Strafford County, named in honor of Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, was organized in 1773 as one of the five original counties. The county was originally called Hilton's Point, Cocheco, Dover Point and Dover Neck (depending on the locality). Strafford's river and ocean access made it an ideal location for sawmills and shipbuilding, two of the strong industries in the 1600s.

The Gonic Woolen Mill was formed in 1811 in Rochester and, in 1827, the Cocheco Manufacturing Company helped establish Dover as a leading producer of cotton goods. Brickmaking and shoemaking were also prominent industries in the latter 1800s. Rochester's combination opera house and city hall was built in 1908, one of only four such structures built in New England (another was in Dover). Only the Rochester building is still standing. The floor of the building can be raised in the back for viewing the stage or lowered flat for dances or other events.

Strafford is the smallest county in New Hampshire with a total land area of 370 square miles. It is bordered by Maine to the east, separated by the Salmon Falls and the Piscataqua Rivers. Strafford Counties two largest cities are Rochester, pop. 27,254, and Dover, pop. 25,718. The county's total population is 106,506. Prominent employment sectors are construction, printing and publishing, communication, retail trade, life insurance, computer networking and services.

Strafford County is comprised of three cities - Dover, Rochester and Somersworth; and 10 towns - Barrington, Durham, Farmington, Lee, Madbury, Middleton, Milton, New Durham, Rollinsford, and Strafford. See City & Town Clerks for more details

The University to New Hampshire is located in Durham. Also found in Strafford County are McIntosh College in Dover and the College for Lifelong Learning in Durham. The New Hampshire Farm Museum in Milton offers a glimpse at this important aspect of the state's history and economy, as does a drive along Dover Point Road which takes you by the Tuttle Farm, established in 1632, the country's oldest family farm. On Route 4 in Durham, another one of the country's oldest family farms, the Emery Farm was established in 1655.

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