Valerie,
Birth and Death records for North Carolina are online, however, North Carolina didn't require either of those documents until 1913. There are a few people who filed Delayed Birth certificates for births prior to 1913 (Ancestry names their database "North Carolina Birth Index 1800-2000", but that's misleading, there may be an occasional record for those early timeframes, but I haven't seen one yet); and their "North Carolina Death Collection 1908-1996", title also is a little misleading, but it truly is a good source for Death Records after 1913. The only records of births or deaths that you may be able to find prior to 1913 are some records kept by family members such as in a family bible, or in a person's will or estate record if there was one.

Deloris