Halifax County was formed in 1758 from Edgecombe County. It was named for George Montague-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, President of the Board of Trade from 1748 to 1761. In 1774 the southeastern part of Halifax County was combined with part of Tyrrell County to form Martin County.The first existing will book (1758 to 1774) for Halifax County was microfilmed by the North Carolina State Archives, however, even though they were microfilmed, about one-third of those wills are too faded to read. The second will book (1775 to 1779), even though not a single will is discernable. In other words, all of the characters on every page seemed to be missing. One will was typed, that of Thomas Gardner.
