Saluda County, South Carolina Genealogy

Guide to  ancestry, family history and genealogy court records, deeds, maps, immigration, maps, military records, newspapers, obituaries, plantations, probate records, slaves, local archives, libraries, museums, churches, cemeteries, and Civil War records.

County Courthouse
Saluda County Courthouse 100 E. Church St. Saluda, South Carolina 29138

Probate Judge 100 E. Church St., Suite 4 Saluda, SC 29138 Phone: 864-445-4500 Probate and marriage records

of Court''' 100 E. Church St., Suite 6 Saluda, SC 29138 Phone: 864-445-4500 Court and land records

Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday

Quick Facts
The county is named after the, which flows through Western South Carolina.

Parent County
1896--Saluda County was created 25 February 1896 from Edgefield County. County seat: Saluda

County Pronunciation

 * 1) Hear it spoken

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating South Carolina county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation South Carolina County Boundary Maps" (1682-1987) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places/Localities
For further information (and links) on these populated places, please go to Populated Places, Saluda County, South Carolina

Research Guides

 * South Carolina Archives Summary Guide: Saluda County, available online, courtesy: South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

African Americans
United States African Americans South Carolina African Americans

Known plantations South Carolina Plantations:


 * Crouch
 * Wheaten Pynes

Cemeteries

 * To view a cemetery list, see Saluda County, South Carolina Cemeteries.
 * National Cemetery Administration

Census
1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Saluda County are available online. For tips on accessing census records online, see South Carolina Census. If you're having trouble finding your ancestors in online indexes, try checking printed indexes. Created by local experts familiar with the area's families, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than online nationwide indexes.

See South Carolina Population Schedule Indexes: Fiche, Film, or Book for more information about statewide printed indexes.

Church History and Records
The Inventory of (SC) Church Archives 1937-1939 is available for free online, courtesy: South Caroliniana Library. Saluda County's W.P.A. reports are included.

Court Records
Saluda County has court records from 1896 that are held in the office of the Clerk of Court. In 1896 Saluda County was created from Edgefield County which was a part of the Ninety-Six District from 1785 - 1800. The records of the Ninety-Six District courts are housed in Abbeville County with the Clerk of Court, and the records for Edgefield County are held with that county's Clerk of Court.

The South Carolina Archives and History Center has court records available on microfilm for Saluda County.

DNA
DNA has been collected from men claiming descent from the following Charleston County residents. FamilySearch has not independently verified the lineages of those tested.

Genealogy
This bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:


 * Locate publications about direct ancestors
 * Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
 * Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors)

General

As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Saluda, South Carolina at World Connect, produces more than 6,500 results.

Surname indexes to Leonardo Andrea's Files | Folders | Resources are available online, courtesy: The Andrea Files: South Carolina Genealogical Research. Learn more.


 * The Family History of Saluda County 1895-1980, Saluda, South Carolina. n.p.: Inter Collegiate Press, (1980?).

Message Boards


 * Saluda County, SC Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Saluda County, SC Genealogy Forum (GenForum)

Bibliography


 * Buff - Buff, L.H. and Janice Gartman Lee. Buffs and Millers Along the Saluda: Some Descendants of Andrew Buff of Central SC. n.p.: L.H. Buff &amp; J.G. Lee, 2001..
 * Etheredge - Etheredge, Hamlin Walpole. Our Etheredge Family Circles from 1753 to 1953. Johnston, S.C.: Ridge Citizen Publishers, 1953. Reprint:.
 * Gault - Gault, Charles B. Portrait Album of the Family of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Beers Gault of Lake Waccamaw and Wilmington, North Carolina. Typescript. Microfilmed 1971:.
 * Hendricks - Frontier Hendricks Association. Hendricks/etc. in South Carolina Backcountry Elsewhere than in Forks of Broad and Saluda--After the Revolution [Unauthorized].
 * Jones - Phelps, Dallas LeRoy. Descendants of William A. Jones of Edgefield and Saluda County, S.C. 2003. Item 109
 * Langford - Langford, George Shealy. Langfords in America Sketches on Early Arrivals and Migrations: Genealogical Recording on Descendants from Early Saluda River, South Carolina Families (Lexington, Newberry, Saluda and Old Edgefield Counties), 1773-1975: Some Related Families [of] Holley, Waters, Shealy, Timms, Robertson. College Park, Md.: Langford, 1977.
 * Langford - Langford, George Shealy. Sketches About Langfords, 1632-1980. Book 2. College Park, Md.: G.S. Langford, 1981..
 * Long - Evans, Eytive Long. A Documented History of the Long Family, Switzerland to South Carolina, 1578-1956, Including Allied Families a Documentary Record of the Long (Lang) Family of Newberry, Edgefield, and Saluda Counties, South Carolina, Including Many Allied Families. 1956.
 * Merchant - Phelps, Dallas LeRoy. The Merchant-Padgett Family of Edgefield and Saluda County, South Carolina. Camden, S.C.: D.L. Phelps, 2008.
 * Padgett - Paget, James Suddath and Dallas LeRoy Phelps. Watson-Smith-Padgett Families of Edgefield and Saluda Counties, South Carolina. 1995. Item 19
 * Padgett - Phelps, Dallas LeRoy. Descendants of Mark Manuel Padget, Edgefield County, South Carolina. Camden, S.C.: D.L. Phelps, 1998..
 * Padgett - Phelps, Dallas LeRoy. The Merchant-Padgett Family of Edgefield and Saluda County, South Carolina. Camden, S.C.: D.L. Phelps, 2008.
 * Rucker - Holcomb, Brent H. and Katherine L. Hester. The Rucker Family of South Carolina, 1752-1983. Greenville, S.C.: A Press, 1983..
 * Smith - Paget, James Suddath and Dallas LeRoy Phelps. Watson-Smith-Padgett Families of Edgefield and Saluda Counties, South Carolina. 1995. Item 19
 * Watson - Paget, James Suddath and Dallas LeRoy Phelps.Watson-Smith-Padgett Families of Edgefield and Saluda Counties, South Carolina. 1995. Item 19

Land and Property
Because of South Carolina’s history as an agricultural state many residents owned land. For more information abou types of land records see South Carolina Land and Property.

Tracing records through South Carolina county and district changes can be difficult. In general, for earliest records begin by searching the Charleston District, then your ancestor’s residential district, then neighboring districts, then the residential county, then neighboring counties. Not all districts and counties kept records. The following chart shows where you may best expect to find land records for Saluda County:

* First deed book is missing

Plats For State Land Grants 1784-1868

This series consists of recorded copies of plats for state land grants for the Charleston and the Columbia Series with their certificates of admeasurement or certification. All personal names and geographic features on these plats are included in the repository's On-line Index to Plats for State Land Grants

The South Carolina Constitution of 1790 required the surveyor general to maintain offices in both the new capital at Columbia and in Charleston. The surveyor general began to use separate volumes for recording plats in his Columbia office in 1796. Before that, all plats were recorded in the set of volumes begun in Charleston in 1784. After 1796, most plats for land grants in the Upper Division of the state were recorded and filed in Columbia. The surveyor general chose to make the Columbia volumes a continuation of the state plat volumes begun in Charleston and gave the initial Columbia volume the number thirty-six to correspond with the number of the volume that had then been reached in the Charleston series. As a result, there are volumes numbered thirty-six through forty-three from each office, but the records in them are not duplicative.

Also included are the Plan Books containing Plats and Plans.

Revolutionary War

 * "Veterans list, (sel.)," Genealogical Roots and Branches, Winter 2001, Volume 22, Issue 4. Old Ninety-Six Chapter: Greenwood, SC.

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1861 - 1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)

Regiments. Saluda County did not exist during the Civil War. Present day Saluda County was created 25 February 1896 from Edgefield County. During the Civil War, men from the area of Saluda County mostly would have served in various regiments recruited in Edgefield County. Counties were called districts during the Civil War.

Newspapers
Historic

The Library of Congress has identified the following historic newspapers for Saluda County, South Carolina on their Chronicling America website. For publication details, including dates of publication, frequency, preceding and succeeding titles, and to find out which libraries have holdings, click on the newspaper title.


 * Saluda Standard-Sentinel (Saluda, S.C.) 1973-current.
 * The Saluda Advocate (Mt. Willing, S.C.) 1895-1900.
 * The Saluda County Sentinel (Saluda, S.C.) 1946-1973.
 * The Saluda Sentinel (Dennys, S.C. and Newberry, S.C.) 1895-1903.
 * The Saluda Standard (Saluda, S.C.) 1902-1973.
 * The Ticket (Mt. Willing, S.C.) 1895-1895.

Current


 * Saluda Standard-Sentinel (Saluda, S.C.) Online edition.

Periodicals
Tap into the minds of local experts. Editors of genealogical periodicals publish unique sources that researchers new to their area may not encounter. Periodicals at various levels (county, region, and state) may carry articles useful to research in this area. For this county, see:

Probate
Probate is the “court procedure by which a will is proved to be valid or invalid” and encompasses “all matters and proceedings pertaining to the administration of estates, guardianships, etc.” Various types of records are created throughout the probate process. These may include, wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. For further information see probate records in South Carolina.

The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has microfilms or typescripts of wills, inventories, bills of sale, power of attorneys, bonds, notes, administrations, judgments, and sales records. They have placed Will Transcriptions for 1782 to 1855 online. Index searchable by name, and images are available. Some estate records for Saluda County available on microfilm.

Probate records for Saluda County may be found in the court of ordinary or probate court, and the court of equity.

Online Probate Records
 * 1670 – 1980 South Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1670-1980 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1671 – 1977 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1732 – 1964 at FamilySearch — images

Taxation
Tax-related records are kept by the offices of the county Assessor, Auditor, Sheriff, and Treasurer. Taxes were levied on real and personal property and can help establish ages, residences, relationships, and the year an individual died or left the area. They can be used as substitutes for missing or destroyed land and census records.


 * South Carolina Department of Archives and History tax lists for Saluda County.

Vital Records
Birth, marriage, and death records were not recorded by South Carolina until the 1900s, thus leaving a lack of vital records. Substitute records, when available, are used to obtain this information. These substitute records including newspapers, court records have been added to this section, when applicable.

Birth
State-wide birth registration began in 1915. For a copy of a birth from 1915 or later, contact the South Carolina Department of Health. The Saluda County Health Department also has copies but they provide only an abbreviated form with limited information. For more information, see the South Carolina Vital Records page.


 * 1766-1900 - at FamilySearch — images

Marriage
In South Carolina, marriage licenses were not required by local governments until 1 July 1911. However, in the 1700s, the Church of England parish churches were required to record all marriages - even if the couple were not members of the denomination. Not all churches recorded these marriages and some have not survived. See South Carolina Vital Records for more information.

The Saluda County probate court holds marriage licenses issued from 1 July 1911 to the present. Statewide registration of marriages began in July 1950 and the South Carolina Division of Vital Records has copies of licenses issued after 1 July 1950 through November 2009.

Newspapers are used as a substitute to locate marriage information. See South Carolina Newspapers.

Marriages - Indexes and Records


 * 1911-1950 - Saluda County, South Carolina Marriage Licenses, 1911-1950 - records
 * 1911-2000 - Saluda County, South Carolina Marriage Registers, 1911-ca. 2000 - index and records
 * There are several online marriage indexes containing miscellaneous marriage records found in some counties of South Carolina listed on the South Carolina Vital Records page.

Death
State-wide death registration began in 1915. For a copy of the death certificates from 1915 or later, contact the South Carolina Department of Health. The Saluda County Health Department only has copies for deaths occurring in the last 5 years. For more information, see the South Carolina Vital Records page.

Deaths - Indexes and Records
 * 1915-1965 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * State-wide South Carolina Death Indexes. There are several online death indexes covering all of South Carolina listed on the South Carolina Vital Records page.

Libraries
Saluda Library 101 South Main Street Saluda, SC 29138 Phone: Number: (864) 445-4500 Fax:(864) 445-2725 Email: k.rushton@saludacounty.sc.gov Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 8:30-5:00, Tuesday, Thursday 8:30-6:00, Saturday, Sunday Closed Online Catalog

The Saluda County Library has genealogy and local history offerings.

Ridge Spring Libraryand Welcome Center 636 Main Street Ridge Spring, SC 29129 Phone Number: 803-685-BOOK (2665) Email: rslibrary@pbtcomm.net Hours: Monday 9:30-1:00, Tuesday 9:30-1:00, Thursday 8:30-12:30, Friday 12:30-5:00, Saturday 9:00-12:00

Museums
Saluda County Historical Museum &amp; Theatre 105 Law Range Saluda, SC 29138 Telephone: (864) 445-8550 This museum houses historical artifacts and ancestral information pertaining to Saluda County

Societies - Genealogical, Historical, Lineage
Saluda County Historical Society P.O. Box 22 Saluda SC 29138 source: Society Hill

Family History Centers

 * Family History Centers in South Carolina

Websites

 * Saluda County, SC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * Saluda County, SCGenWeb
 * Saluda County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)