South Carolina Genealogy, Facts and Records Resources

South Carolina Counties  •  South Carolina Facts  •  South Carolina Search Tips

Welcome to the South Carolina family history research page. Here you'll find record collection links, history, and genealogy resources to help you trace your South Carolina ancestors.

Rich with history and diverse cultures, the State of South Carolina receives a lot of attention from genealogists. Whether someone seeks information about their Native American, African American, or historical heritage, there are going to be plenty of resources available.

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South Carolina Facts

South Carolina is one of the first states to join the Union. In fact, in 1788 it became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. It's governmental seat was originally Charleston, but Columbia became the new governmental seat in 1790.

The first attempts at colonization of what is now South Carolina started in 1526. At that time, Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon came to the area from Hispaniola with 500 colonists aboard his 6 ships. Of those colonists, only about 150 survived and later went back to Hispaniola. Later, in 1562, a group of Huguenots came to the area. They were led by Jean Ribault. They founded Charlesfort and also named Port Royal. Jean Ribault went back to France to get supplies and his men mutinied. They constructed their own ship and used it to sail back to France. After 1570, there were no major attempts at settling South Carolina for almost 100 years.

South Carolina entered the union as the 8th state on May 23, 1788. It has 46 Counties. The capital is Columbia and the official state website is www.sc.gov/.

South Carolina is is bordered by Georgia (southwest), North Carolina (north). It has a land area of 32,007 square miles making it the 40th largest state. The 2010 population was 4,679,230 and the largest cities (2010) are Columbia (Capital), 129,272; Charleston , 120,083; North Charleston, 97,471; Rock Hill, 66,154; ; Greenville, 58,409; Sumter, 40,524; Florence 37,056, Spartanburg, 37,013; Goose Creek, 35,938; Aiken, 29,524.

South Carolina was was named to honor King Charles I (Carolus is Latin for Charles) . The State nickname is " Palmetto State ". The State Motto is " Dum Spiro Spero " which means While I breathe, I hope .

The Best Way to Look for South Carolina Genealogy Research

Contemporary Approaches for South Carolina Genealogy - Public records that can be found in many locations are the most available resources on the Internet as well. You must understand how to search for them, however, and using the following categories is going to be very useful in your search for South Carolina genealogy information:

  • State Records – this group will include probate information, birth certificates, cemetery information, death records, deeds, estate information, genealogical folders, land records, maps, marriage details, military or veterans information, newspapers, private manuscripts, state census information, surname lists and more. These are available as online and offline resources for South Carolina genealogy.
  • Local Records – traditionally, state research requires a visit to a county clerk’s office or website. From there you will often find yourself visiting and researching in small local libraries, historical societies, local genealogical societies, and school or college libraries for South Carolina genealogy information. These are items that are usually offline and viewable by appointment or special arrangement.
  • Vital Records – these are the birth, marriage, divorce and death records from county, state, and national archives. They include newspaper items, military records, immigration and naturalization details, cemetery or obituary information, census records, and passenger lists and records as well. These tend to be available as online or offline resources for South Carolina genealogy.

Common Tactics for South Carolina Genealogy - When you are seeking details for a South Carolina genealogy project, you should know that it is possible to a large amount of your research from home. Though classic research meant heading to libraries and archives, many organizations and archives have been digitized and put on the Internet. Not all of them have done this, and this means that an effective first step in research for South Carolina genealogy is to find out which records are available online, which are not, and how to go about getting all of them.

Convenient Tools for South Carolina Genealogy - Once you begin using sources for South Carolina genealogy work, you learn which have the most information for your needs. We believe these are some of the best tools for South Carolina genealogy:

  • Office of Vital Records, SC DHEC, 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201; Website: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/south_carolina.htm . This is where anyone can order birth, death, marriage and divorce records via a written request or even online.

Additional state and local records can be found at the:

  • South Carolina State Archives, 8301 Parklane Road, Columbia, SC 29223; Website: http://archives.sc.gov/genealogy/ . The genealogy resources here are immense, and include census records, county probate records, county land records, county equity court records, and state death certificates, newspapers, place name research, military information, colonial records, and much more.

The websites identified below provide very targeted and state-specific details to those in search of facts for South Carolina genealogy research.

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