Horry County, South Carolina Genealogy

Guide to Horry County, South Carolina ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Description
Horry County was named initially by the county residents "The Independent Republic of Horry", as they wanted the county to become an independent populace. The county was named after, and in honor of, Revolutionary War hero Peter Horry who was born in South Carolina around 1743. The county is located in the east-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Horry County Courthouse 1301 Second Avenue Conway, SC 29526 P.O. Box 677 Conway, SC 29528 Phone: 843-915-5081 Horry County Website

County Pronunciation

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cemeteries

 * To view a cemetery list, see Horry County, South Carolina Cemeteries.
 * Horry County Historical Society - Cemetery listings
 * National Cemetery Administration

Census Records

 * 1829-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index & Images

1810
 * Teel, Dorothy Owens and Three Rivers Historical Society (Hemingway, S.C.). The 1810 Census of Georgetown District and the 1810 Census of Horry District, South Carolina. 199-?. 975.78 X2t 1810

1850
 * Woodard, Janet H. Population Schedules of the Seventh Census of the United States, 1850, Roll 854, Horry County, South Carolina Original Returns of the Assistant Marshals, White and Free Colored Population. 1980. 975.787 X29w 1850

1860
 * Lewis, Catherine Heniford and Ashley Patterson Cox. Index to the 1860 Census of Horry County, South Carolina. Macon, Ga.: Waccamaw Records, 1989. 975.787 X22L 1860
 * Lewis, Catherine Heniford, Ione Woodall and Ashley Patterson Cox. 1860 Census of Horry County, South Carolina Publication No. 4; Combining Original Copy Prepared by Ione Woodall and an Index Prepared by Catherine H. Lewis and Ashley P. Cox, Jr. Macon, Ga.: Waccamaw Records, 1996. 975.787 X2L 1860

1880
 * Horry County Historical Society. 1880 Census of Horry County, South Carolina. Conway, S.C.: Horry County Historical Society, 1970. 975.787 X2c

Church Records
Baptist Church Special Collections and Archives 206 James B. Duke Library Furman University 3300 Poinsett Highway Greenville, SC 29613 Phone: (864) 294-2194

Email: [mailto:specialcollections@furman.edu specialcollections@furman.edu]

South Carolina Baptist Historical Collection Records of over 500 individual South Carolina Baptist churches from published books, church histories, congregational records, associational minutes, biographical materials, newsletters, hymnals, and sermons. Microfilmed records can be borrowed through the InterLibrary Loan department of your local university or public library.

Episcopal Church Early residents of what is now Horry County were served by these colonial parishes.


 * Prince George Parish 1721
 * Prince Frederick Parish 1734
 * All Saints Parish 1767
 * St. David's Parish 1768

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records
 * Dates Vary Horry County, Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Public Index – index; courts include Circuit Court, Summary Court and Masters-in-Equity, records added periodically

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans United States African Americans South Carolina African Americans Known plantations South Carolina Plantations:
 * Ark - Surfside Beach
 * Buck's Upper Mill - also called Upper Mill
 * Cherry Grove - North Myrtle Beach
 * Jeremiah Vereen's - Myrtle Beach
 * Long Bay
 * Longwood - Murrells Inlet
 * Lucas Bay - Youhannah
 * Old Oliver Place - Waccamaw River
 * Oregon
 * Peachtree
 * Peter Vaught's - Myrtle Beach
 * Snow Hill - Conway
 * Thomas Randall's - Little River
 * Tilghman Point - also called Little River, Thomas Randall's
 * Upper Mill - also called Buck's Upper Mill
 * Withers - Myrtle Beach
 * Woodbourne

Genealogies
General Surname indexes to Leonardo Andrea's Files | Folders | Resources are available online, courtesy: The Andrea Files: South Carolina Genealogical Research. Learn more. Horry County families he studied include Bell (Folder no. 58 ), Gore (Folder no. 343 ), Livingston (Folder no. 520 ), Thomas (Folder no. 889 ).
 * Andrea, Leonardo. Horry Co., S.C. Data. Typescript, microfilmed 1974. Item 13

Bibliography
 * Cooper - Cooper, John P. Sketches of John Purley Cooper and Wife Ethel Mae Bethea: with Notes on Their Ancestry, Descendants, Some Kindred and Random Recollections. Ruxton, Md.: J.P. Cooper, 1989..
 * Davis The Jones, Skipper and Davis Family of England, Wales and America..
 * Durant- Andrea, Leonardo. Durant. Typescript, Polk County Historical Library, Bartow, Fla. Microfilmed 1975:.
 * Hankins Media Research Bureau (Washington, D.C.). The Hankins Family with Data on Descendants of Rev. Dennis Hankins of Horry District, South Carolina and Madison County, Florida. MSS., 1950. Item 15
 * Hughes Hughes, Virginia Hayden and Charles Evan Hughes. Hughes, Hardee, McCumbee, Milligan Connection of the Carolinas. n.p.: n.p., 1996..
 * Lewis Stevenson, Mary Lewis. William Lewis of Horry County, South Carolina. n.p.: Charlotte Stevenson, 1960. ; digital version at Archive.org; MyHeritage ($).
 * Lewis Long, Dorethea M. The Lewis Family: Portrait of a People. Conway, S.C.: D.M. Long, 2000..
 * Lewis Lewis, J.D. My Neck of the Woods: The Lewis Families of Southeastern North Carolina and Northeastern South Carolina. Little River, S.C.: J.D. Lewis, 2002.
 * Livingston - Andrea, Leonardo. "Livingston Family of Horry County, South Carolina," Miscellaneous Family Records. Typescript. Microfilmed 1977:.
 * McCracken - Ronemous, Hulda W. Rob &amp; Joe: McCracken &amp; Williamson Ancestors in Eighteenth Century South Carolina. Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1995..
 * Tindall - Tindall, Anne Gibson. The Family of John G. Tindall of Horry County, SC and Allied Families. Hemingway, S.C.: Three Rivers Historical Society (South Carolina), (199-?)..

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records 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.

The following chart shows where you may best expect to find land records. * Deed books E, G, and H are missing

Local Histories
The county is named after Revolutionary War General Peter Horry (1747-1815).


 * The Independent Republic of Horry, 1670-1970: Items from the Independent Republic Quarterly, Official Publication of the Horry County Historical Society. Conway, S.C.?: The Society?, 1970. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Lewis, Catherine Heniford. Horry County, South Carolina, 1730-1993. (Columbia, South Carolina University of South Carolina Press, c1998), 229 pages. Horry County's past does not fit neatly into South Carolina history, Lewis demonstrated its decided differences--political, social, and economic--from other regions of the state. Book found at and Other Libraries.
 * Epps, Florence Theodora, editor; Horry County Historical Society. The Independent Republic of Horry, 1670-1970 items from The Independent republic quarterly, official publication of the Horry County Historical Society  (South Carolina s.n., 1970?), 100 pages. Family letters, photographs, accounts, and documents are accurate through the pages of The Independent Republic Quarterly. Book found at FS Library  and Other Libraries.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Horry County for European settlers included:
 * Atlantic Ocean 1670
 * King's Highway about 1704
 * Secondary Coast Road late 1730s

Military Records
Revolutionary War
 * "General Francis Nash and the encampment on Little River Neck, 1776-1777," Independent Republic Quarterly, 2006, Volume 36, Issue 3. Horry County Historical Society Conway, SC. Book 975.787 H25i.

War of 1812
 * List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. 973 M2Lp v. 5.  Online at: Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Vol. 5, South Carolina, Horry County, p. 185. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Civil War
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index & Images
 * 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)
 * Military Records. Horry County Historical Society. Internet site. Has links to other Civil War information that is connected to Horry County.
 * "Horry County - South Carolina Troops Confederate Roll of the the Dead". Horry County Historical Society. Internet site. Gives a list of men who died, some ages, Company involved in and comments.
 * "Soldiers, 1775-1865," Independent Republic Quarterly, July 1975, Volume 9, Issue 3. Horry County Historical Society Conway, SC. Book 975.787 H25i.

Regiments. Civil War service men from Horry County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were formed in Horry County or from many of its men.
 * - 1st Regiment, South Carolina Infantry (McCreary's) (1st Provisional Army), Company F - (also known as Horry Rebels)
 * - 4th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry (Rutledge's), Company A, Company D, Company E, and Company I
 * - 7th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry, Company A, Company F, and Company K
 * - 7th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company L
 * - 7th Battalion, South Carolina Reserves (Ward's), Company B Roster
 * - 9th Battalion, South Carolina infantry (Smith's) (Pee Dee Legion), Company A, Company D, and Company G
 * - 10th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company A, Company B, Company C, Company G, and Company M
 * - 12th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company A
 * - South Carolina State Troop Regiments Seed Corn Units, Junior Reserves, 3rd Regiment, South Carolina State Troops Junior Reserves (State Militia)

Other Resources
 * Brunson, Joseph Woods. Pee Dee Light Artillery of Maxcy Gregg's (Later Samuel McGowan's) Brigade, First South Carolina Volunteers (infantry) C. S. A., a Historical Sketch and Roster (University, Alabama Confederate Pub., c1983), 60 pages. Includes rosters of the three Pee Dee infantry companies (from Darlington, Horry and Marion counties) which were supported by the Pee Dee artillery. The battery was officially Company D of the 1st South Carolina regiment. Book found at and Other Libraries.

Newspapers
Horry County Obituary Index Search Engine
 * 1800s-1999 Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry ($)

Historic The Library of Congress has identified the following historic newspapers for Horry 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.
 * Aynor Journal (Aynor, S.C.) 1988-current.
 * Grand Strand Journal (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 1972-1973.
 * Horry County News (Loris, S.C.) 1936-1952.
 * Horry News (Conwayboro, S.C.) 1869-1877.
 * Loris Times (Loris, S.C.) 1991-current.
 * Myrtle Beach Daily News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 1956-1956.
 * Myrtle Beach News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 1935-1956.
 * Myrtle Beach News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 1956-1961.
 * North Myrtle Beach Times (North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 1971-current.
 * Sun-News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 1961-current.
 * The Conway Field (Conway, S.C.) 1958-1964.
 * The Field (Conway, S.C.) 1903-1958.
 * The Field and Herald (Conway, S.C.) 1964-1989.
 * The Horry County News and the Loris Sentinel (Loris, S.C.) 1952-1954.
 * The Horry Dispatch (Conwayboro', S.C.) 1861-1863.
 * The Horry Herald (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1897.
 * The Horry Herald (Conway, S.C.) 1899-1964.
 * The Horry Independent (Conway, S.C.) 1980-current. Available online at Footnote.com ($)
 * The Horry Progress (Conway, S.C.) 1883-1888.
 * The Independent Republic (Conway, S.C.) 1897-1899.
 * The Loris Scene (Loris, S.C.) 1992-current. Available online at Footnote.com ($)
 * The Loris Sentinel (Loris, S.C.) 1954-1991.Available online at Footnote.com ($)
 * The Myrtle Beach Journal (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 1971-1972.
 * The Myrtle Beach Journal (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 1982-1992.
 * The Myrtle Beach Sun (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 1950-1955.
 * The Myrtle Beach Sun and the Ocean Beach News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 1956-1961.
 * The Telephone (Conwayboro, S.C.) 1878-1883.
 * The Tribune  (Tabor City, N.C.) 1989-1991.
 * The Tribune (Tabor City, N.C.) 1991-current.
 * The Weekly Journal (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 1975-1976.
 * The Weekly Observer (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 1974-1977.

University of South Carolina Library Catalog
 * Historical Newspapers of South Carolina at University of South Carolina Libraries - not complete

Current
 * The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) Online edition.

Periodicals

 * Independent Republic Quarterly - Issues have been scanned and are text searchable, see website.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records

The South Carolina Department of Archives and History hasmicrofilms 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 the image is available. Probate Records, 1803-1873. Probate Court Horry County, South Carolina. Microfilm of original records in the Horry County courthouse, at Conway, South Carolina.
 * Horry County Wills 1799-1818 (transcripts). See names of testators. South Carolina Pioneers
 * Horry County Administrator's Bonds 1803-1818 South Carolina Pioneers
 * Index to Horry County Will Book A (1799-1818); Will ook B (1819-1821); Will Book C (1841-1857) South Carolina Pioneers
 * 1670-1980 South Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1670-1980 at Ancestry.com — index & images ($)
 * 1782-1866 South Carolina, Will Transcripts 1782-1866 at Findmypast — index ($) — $, index

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records
 * South Carolina Department of Archives and History tax lists for Horry County.

Published abstracts 
 * 1827-1828 Horry County, South Carolina Tax Records, 1827-28, Independent Republic Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Oct. 1976).

Birth

 * 1766-1900 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index & Images
 * 1915-1917 South Carolina, U.S., Births, 1915-1917 at Ancestry - index & images ($)

Marriage
Online Marriage Records and Indexes
 * 1791-1861 Marriage, Death, and Estate Notices from Georgetown, South Carolina Newspapers, 1791-1861 by Brent H. Holcomb WorldCat - index
 * 1861-1912 Horry County Marriages Abstracted from Newspapers - Bride Listing - abstract
 * 1861-1912 Horry County Marriages Abstracted from Newspapers - Groom Listing abstract
 * Prior to 1911 - Horry County Marriage Records Prior to 1911 - re-created marriages, not complete
 * 1911-1916 Horry County Marriage Records, July 1, 1911 to Dec 16, 1916 - abstract
 * 1911-1951 Marriage Records (Horry County, South Carolina), 1911-1951 - records
 * There are several online marriage indexes containing miscellaneous marriage records found insome counties of South Carolina listed on the South Carolina Vital Records page.

Death
Online Death Records and Indexes
 * 1791-1861 Marriage, Death, and Estate Notices from Georgetown, South Carolina Newspapers, 1791-1861 by Brent H. Holcomb WorldCat - index
 * 1816-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1821-1969 South Carolina, U.S., Death Records, 1821-1969 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1915-1943 South Carolina, Deaths, 1915-1943 at MyHeritage - index & images ($)
 * 1915-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index & 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.

FamilySearch Centers

 * Florence South Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Myrtle Beach South Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Shallotte North Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Wilmington North Carolina FamilySearch Center


 * New Hanover County Library - an affiliate library

Societies

 * Horry County Historical Society 606 Main St. Conway, SC 29526-4340 Email: [mailto:horrycountyhistoricalsociety@gmail.com horrycountyhistoricalsociety@gmail.com] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Horry County, SCGenWeb
 * Horry County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * South Carolina Pioneers South Carolina Pioneers


 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

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