Lexington County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States South Carolina  Lexington County

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.


 * Not to be confused with the Lexington County that existed 1785-1791.

Lexington County, South Carolina Record Dates
Lexington County's civil records start the following years:

County Courthouse
Lexington County Courthouse 205 E. Main St. Lexington, SC 29072

Clerk of Court 205 E. Main St. Lexington, SC 29072 Phone: 803-785-8212 Court records

Register of Deeds 212 South Lake Drive, Suite 301 Lexington, South Carolina Phone: 803-785-8168 Land records

Probate Court 205 E. Main St., Suite 134 Lexington, SC 29072 Phone: 803-785-8324 Probate and marriage records

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

History
The county is named after the Revolutionary War Battles of Lexington and Concord. Lexington County lies in the Dutch Fork region of the state.

Parent County
1804--Lexington County was created in 1804 from Orangeburg District. County seat: Lexington

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
In February 1865, advancing federal troops destroyed pre-1839 records of the clerk of court; the destruction included deeds and virtually all probate records.

Places/Localities
The preceding list of places includes incorporated cities and towns, unincorporated towns and communities, and place names that may have been used in family histories. Some have well-organized records and even have web sites. Some are simply social communities with no official records, but which may be referenced in small-town newspapers. The list is provided to help researchers identify localities within the county. As records or histories of these localities are identified, a page will be added for each of these place names.

Research Guides

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

African Americans
United States African Americans South Carolina African Americans

The 1860 slave schedule is abstracted in:


 * Trotter, Shirley F. Johnson. 1860 Census, Lexington County, South Carolina: With a Complete Index of Names Including the Mortality Schedule and the Slave Schedule. Lexington, S.C.: S.F.J. Trotter, 1991.

Known plantations South Carolina Plantations:


 * Burnt Mill
 * Chalk Hill
 * Fox - Lexington
 * Hayes
 * Little Hope
 * Lorick
 * Poor Hope
 * Red Tavern
 * Rising Hope
 * Seawright Beaver Creek
 * Silver Hill

Cemeteries
There are more than # burial grounds in the county. To view a list, see Lexington County, South Carolina Cemeteries.

Census
1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Lexington 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.

1820 Manufactures
The original manufactures schedules for South Carolina are kept at the NARA, Washington, D.C. FHL copies: 1024517 - 1024518.

Published abstract:


 * National Archives. Indexes to Manufactures Census of 1820. 1920; reprint, Knightstown, Ind.: Bookmark, 1977. 973 X2m 1820; digital version at Lineages. [Includes this county.]

1839 State Census

 * "The 1839 State Census of Lexington District," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Summer 1997):137-143.

1840 Revolutionary War Pensioners

 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. Washington, D.C.: Blair and Rives, 1841. 973 X2pc 1840;  2321; digital version at Google Book. [See South Carolina, Lexington District on page 142.]

1850
Census takers uncharacteristically recorded the birth town or county of residents on the first page of enumeration for this census year.

The returns have been published twice:


 * Harwell, Carolyn Lewis and Lexington Genealogical Association. Lexington County, South Carolina 1850 Census with Genealogical Data on Many Families. 1985. 975.773 X2h 1850
 * Buff, L.H., Margaret L. Hollis, Janice GartmanLee and Lexington Genealogical Association. Lexington County, South Carolina 1850 Census, Second Edition: With Genealogical Data on Most Families. 975.773 X2h 1850 1998

1860

 * Jones, Marvin D. 1860 Census, Lexington County, South Carolina. 2000. 975.773 X2j 1860
 * Trotter, Shirley F. Johnson. 1860 Census, Lexington County, South Carolina: With a Complete Index of Names Including the Mortality Schedule and the Slave Schedule. Lexington, S.C.: S.F.J. Trotter, 1991. 975.773 X2t 1860

1870

 * Trotter, Shirley F. Johnson and South Carolina Genealogical Society. Dutch Fork Chapter. 1870 Census, Lexington County, South Carolina with a Complete Name Index. Chapin, S.C.: Dutch Fork Chapter of the South Carolina Genealogical Society, 1989. 975.773 X2t 1870

Church
St. Stephen's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lexington, South Carolina: Church Records and Cemetery Inscriptions (Lexington, S.C.: Loyal Sunday School Class, 1989). LC 89-63490.

Court
Lexington County has court records from 1800 that are held in the office of the Clerk of Court. Lexington County was a part of the Orangeburg district from 1785-1800.

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

The Family History Library collection includes books and microfilm regarding court records for Lexington 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
It is anticipated that 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 Lexington, South Carolina at World Connect, produces more than 20,000 results.

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


 * Gregg, E. Stuart. Miller, Lewis, King, Smith, Shealy--Some Families of the Old Lexington District Certain Lines of Descent from South Carolina Settlers, George Peter Miller, Charles Clark, David King, John W. Lewis, Henry Smith, Johann Caspar Mantz, Hans Amacher, Thomas Minnick, Hans Adam Summer, Johann Shely, and Some of Their Scions. Hilton Head Island, S.C.: E.S. Gregg, 1988.
 * Hammond, Wanda Amick and Lexington Genealogical Association. Lexington Lineage Charts, Volume 1 [South Carolina]. Lexington, S.C.: Lexington Genealogical Association, 1987.

Message Boards

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

Land
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 Calhoun County:

* Some Orangeburg District deeds were recorded in Charleston District and were not destroyed ** Orangeburg District and Lexington District records destroyed by fire in 1865. Only Lexington County deeds after 1839 survive.

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.

Local Histories

 * Harman,Godfrey M. Uncle Josh : Remembrances of Old Lexington County, South Carolina. (Lexington, South Carolina : Lexington County Historical Society, c1990),85 pages. "In late 1870 Uncle Josh [Godfrey M. Harman] began publishing the Lexington Dispatch.... In 1922 at the age of 77 he undertook a series of articles describing his world as it was in the previous century. Book at  and Other Libraries.

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Lexington County for European settlers included:


 * Occaneechi Path pre-historic
 * Fall Line Road about 1735 (overlapped Occaneechi Path in Lexington County)
 * Great Valley Road (south fork) 1740s (overlapped Occaneechi Path in Lexington County)
 * Old South Carolina State Road 1747

General

 * "Lexington District militia petition, 1825," South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Winter 2003, Volume 31, Issue 1. Brent Holcomb: Columbia, SC.
 * "Militia list, 1847," Lexington Genealogical Exchange, Summer 1985, Volume 5, Issue 1. Lexington County Genealogical Association: Lexington, SC.

Revolutionary War

 * "Saxe Gotha and Dutch Fort revolutionary patriots," Lexington Genealogical Exchange, Spring 1985, Volume 4, Issue 4. Lexington County Genealogical Association: Lexington, SC.

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; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, South Carolina, Lexington County, p. 186. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]
 * "Pension records applications," Lexington Genealogical Exchange, Winter 1996, Volume 15, Issue 3 and Winter 1995, Volume 14, Issue 3. Lexington County Genealogical Association: Lexington, SC.

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

Regiments. Civil War service men from Lexington County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies and regiments that were formed with many men from Lexington County:


 * - 1st Battalion, South Carolina Sharpshooters, Company A (also known the Union Light Infantry and German Fusiliers), Company B (also known as the Sumter Guards), and Company C (also known as the Charleston Sharpshooters and Palmetto Guards)
 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry, Company A (also known as the Boykin Mounted Rangers and Hampton Scouts)
 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina Artillery, Company E
 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina State Troops Junior Reserves (State Militia), Company A, Company E, Company F, and Company G
 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina State Troops (6 months 1863-64), Company A, Company F, Company G
 * - 3rd Battalion, South Carolina Infantry (Lauren's) (James'), Company F (also known as the Harper Rifles)
 * - 3rd Battalion, South Carolina Light Artillery (Palmetto Battalion), Company F (also known as the Chestnut Light Artillery), Company G (also known as the DeSaussure Light Artillery and the DePass Light Battery), and Company K(also known as Richardson's Company)
 * - 3rd Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company C, Company E, and Company H
 * - 4th Regiment, South Carolina State Troop Junior Reserves, Company D
 * - 5th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry (Ferguson's), Company F
 * - 6th Battalion, South Carolina Reserves (Meriwether's), Company B and Company C
 * - 6th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry (Aiken's Partisan Rangers) (1st Partisan Rangers), Company B
 * - 6th Battalion, South Carolina Reserves (Meriwether's), Company B Roster and Company C Roster
 * - 7th Battalion, South Carolina Infantry (Nelson's) (Enfield Rifles), Company E
 * - 7th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry, Company D
 * - 9th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company K
 * - 12th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company D
 * - 13th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company H and Company K
 * - 14th Battalion, South Carolina Cavalry, Company C and Company D
 * - 15th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company C and Company I
 * -15th Regiment, South Carolina Militia, Company A and Company H
 * - 16th Battalion, South Carolina Cavalry, Company B
 * -20th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company B, Company C, Company I, Company H, Reorganized Company C, Reorganized Company H, Reorganized Company I, Reorganized Company K, and Reorganized Company L
 * - Aiken's Mounted Infantry, South Carolina

Other Resources
 * Lexington County, Clerk of Court. Confederate Pension and Veterans Records, 1861-1948. (Columbia, South Carolina: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1971). Most volumes are alphabetically arranged by surname. Four microfilms (1) Pension applications of Confederate veterans and their widows (some later) 1861-1919 Pension rolls (some years are missing) 1918-1948-FHL film 20685, (2) Confederate pension record 1888-FHL film 1027231, (3) Enrollment book of Confederate veterans 1903-1905, 1908-FHL film 1027232, (4) Confederate pension roll 1896, 1901-1919, 1923-FHL film 1027251 Microfilm copies at

Newspapers
Historic

The Library of Congress has identified the following historic newspapers for Lexington 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.


 * Batesburg-Leesville News (Leesville, S.C.) 1921-1924.
 * Leesville News (Leesville, S.C.) 1906-1911.
 * Leesville Sun (Leesville, S.C.) 1905-1906.
 * Leesville Twin-County News (Leesville, S.C.) 1913-1921.
 * Lexington County Chronicle (Lexington, S.C.) 1992-current.
 * Lexington Dispatch-News (Lexington, S.C.) 1917-1919.
 * Lexington Telegraph (Lexington C.H., S.C.) 1853-1856.
 * Our News Letter (Summit, S.C.) 1894-1906.
 * Semi-Monthly Tribune (Leesville, S.C.) 1889-1890.
 * South Carolina Temperance Advocate and Register of Agriculture and General Literature (Columbia, S.C.) 1841-1854.
 * South Carolina Temperance Standard (Lexington, S.C.) 1854-1855.
 * South Carolina Temperance Standard (Lexington, S.C.) 1877-1877.
 * Southlan (Brookland, S.C.) 1895-1896.
 * The Batesburg Advocate (Batesburg, S.C.) 1901-1911.
 * The Batesburg Herald and the Leesville News-Advocate (Batesburg, S.C.) 1913-1918.
 * The Batesburg Sentinel (Batesburg, S.C.) 1889-1889.
 * The Carolina News (Chapin, S.C.) 1896-1904.
 * The Cayce-West Columbia Journal (West Columbia-Cayce, S.C.) 1987-1988.
 * The Chapin Times (Chapin, S.C.) 1976-current.
 * The Congaree Chronicle (West Columbia, S.C.) 1941-1942.
 * The Dispatch-News (Lexington, S.C.) 1919-current.
 * The Enterprise (Batesburg, S.C.) 1910-1915.
 * The Independent News of Irmo (Irmo, S.C.) 1980-current.
 * The Irmese Independent (Irmo, S.C.) 1978-1980.
 * The Journal (West Columbia, S.C.) 1960-1987.
 * The Leesville Lancet (Leesville, S.C.) 1897-1898.
 * The Lexington County Journal (West Columbia, S.C.) 1987-1987.
 * The Lexington Dispatch (Lexington, S.C.) 1870-1917.
 * The Lexington Flag (Lexington, S.C.) 1857-1861.
 * The Lexington News (Lexington, S.C.) 1915-1917.
 * The News-Advocate (Leesville, S.C.) 1911-1913.
 * The Peoples Advocate (Batesburg, S.C.) 1895-1895.
 * The Southern Headlight (Batesburg, S.C.) 1924-1924.
 * The Summerland Headlight (Batesburg, S.C.) 1924-1925.
 * The Summit Courier (Summit, S.C.) 1876-1879.
 * The Twin-City News (Batesburg, S.C.) 1925-current.
 * The Weekly Advocate (Batesburg, S.C.) 1895-1896.
 * The Weekly News (Lewiedale, S.C.) 1885-1888.
 * This Way (Batesburg, S.C.) 1894-1897.

Current


 * Lexington County Chronicle and The Dispatch-News (Lexington, 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:


 * Lexington Genealogical Exchange (Family History Library book 975.773 D25l .)
 * South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research (Family History Library book 975.7 B2sc .)
 * Lutheran Visitor (Abstracts: 1866-1868, 1870-1904), including births, marriages, deaths. (Abstracted and contributed by Edith Greisser, South Carolina Genealogy Trails

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. This collection includes estate papers of the court of ordinary and probate courts from 1865-1900, with indexes from 1856-1940. Statewide Will Transcriptions for 1782 to 1855 is available online, with searchable index by name, and the image is available.

Early probate records for Lexington County may be found in now-extinct Orangeburgh District. Estate papers of Lexington County probate court are available on microfilm from 1863-1900. Other probate records available in the county probate court and court of equity. Other microfilm probate record collections:


 * Will books, 1865-1908; index to estate papers, 1865-1940, Probate Court, Lexington County, South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1971.


 * Administrators and guardians records, 1809-1902, Probate Court and Court of Equity, Lexington County, South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1971.

Lexington County Probate Court Online Indexes (Estate and Marriages)

Estate (1865-1994) Male Marriage (1911-1987) Female Marriage (1936-1987)

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 Lexington County.

Original sources
Tax duplicate books survive. Copies of years 1868-1876:.

Published abstracts

 * Tax Executions, 1803, Carolina Herald and Newsletter, Vol. 30 (Jan. 2002).

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.


 * Lutheran Visitor (Abstracts: 1866-1868, 1870-1904), including births, marriages, deaths. (Abstracted and contributed by Edith Greisser, South Carolina Genealogy Trails
 * Marriages &amp; Death Notice Abstracted from Newspapers in Camden, SC 1822-1842

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 Lexington 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.

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 Lexington 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


 * Marriages of Lexington, Newberry, and Orangeburgh [sic] Counties, South Carolina by Martha H. Spivey WorldCat - index
 * 1911-1987 - Probate Court Marriage Records Index - index
 * 1911-1958 - Lexington County, South Carolina Marriage Licenses, 1911-1950; Indexes, 1911-1958 - 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 Lexington 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 and Death Substitutes - Indexes and Records


 * 1890-1910 - Inquisition Books, 1890-1910
 * 1914-1960 - 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.

Societies - Genealogical, Historical, Lineage
Dutch Fork Chapter SCGS P. O. Box 481 Chapin SC 29036-0481 Lexington County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 1442 Lexington SC 29072 source: Society Hill

Family History Centers

 * Lexington South Carolina Family History Center

Web Sites

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