In the beginning...there was Old Albemarle County (1664-1668), which from 1671-1684 contained three precincts: Shaftsbury, Carteret and Berkeley Precincts.
The land that is modern Edgecombe County was in Shaftsbury.
1668-1722 Chowan County/Precinct (the former Shaftsbury Precinct) encompassed the land that is Edgecombe.
1722 - the land west of the Chowan River was carved out of Chowan to make Bertie Precinct, Edgecombe's parent county
Edgecombe was formed in 1732 from Bertie County by proclamation of the Governor, and county government apparently was established not long afterwards since some of the county records date back to this period. The assembly, however, did not confirm its creation until 1741. Granville (1746), Halifax (1758), and Nash (1777) were formed from Edgecombe.
Northampton Co was formed 1741 from Bertie Co
