Spartanburg County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States  South Carolina  Spartanburg County

Quick Dates
Spartanburg County's civil records start the following years:

County Courthouse
Spartanburg County Courthouse 180 Magnolia St. Spartanburg, South Carolina 29306

Clerk of Court 180 Magnolia St., 2nd floor. Suite 500 Spartanburg, SC 29306 864-596-2591 Court and land records

Probate Court 180 Magnolia St., 1st Floor, Suite 302 Spartanburg, SC 29306 Phone: 864-596-2556 Probate and marriage records

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

History
The county is named after the Spartan Regiment.

Parent County
1795--Spartanburg County was created in 1795 from District 96. County seat: Spartanburg

Boundary Changes
"Rotating Formation South Carolina County Boundary Maps" (1682-1987) may be viewed for free at the My South Carolina Genealogy website. The maps rely on AniMap 3.0 software.

Variant Spellings

 * Spartanburgh

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890

Neighboring Counties
Cherokee | Greenville | Laurens | Polk County, North Carolina | Rutherford County, North Carolina | Union

Research Guides

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

African American

 * Eelman, Bruce W. "'An Educated and Intelligent People Cannot Be Enslaved': The Struggle for Common Schools in Antebellum Spartanburg, South Carolina," History of Education Quarterly, Vol. 44, No. 2 (Summer, 2004), pp. 250-270. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * Heinegg, Paul. "'Other Free' Heads of Household in the 1790 South Carolina Census, by County," Free African Americans.com. [Includes free blacks in Spartanburgh County.]

Biography

 * Boggs, John. The Southern Christian; Exemplified in the Memoirs of Anthony Jefferson Pearson, Who Died August 31st, 1834 in Spartanburgh, South Carolina. New York: Ezra Collier, 1835. Digital version at Internet Archive.

Census
1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Spartanburg 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.]

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 versions at U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. [See South Carolina, Spartanburgh [Spartanburg] District on page 143.]

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Spartanburg

Court

 * Racine, Philip N. "The Spartanburg District Magistrates and Freeholders Court, 1824-1865," The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 87, No. 4 (Oct., 1986), pp. 197-212. Digital version at JSTOR ($).

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.

Family Histories
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 Spartanburg, South Carolina at World Connect, produces more than 60,000 results.

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


 * Old Spartanburg District Genealogy. Spartanburg, S.C.: Gainey Research Services, 1986-1989.

Message Boards


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

Bibliography


 * [Bennett] Balis, Leila Smith. More About Our Bennett Family: of Granville Co./Bute Co./Warren Co., NC; Spartanburg Co., SC; Greene Co., IN; Twin Falls Co., ID. Murray, Utah: L.S. Balis, 2001.
 * [Brice] Lacey, Howard Elton and Deborah Ruth Carter Harry. Brice Roots in Spartanburg, South Carolina. 2000.
 * [Brown] Brown, Richard L. and Robert E. Brown. A Brown Family of Spartanburg and Greenville Counties, South Carolina. Maplewood, N.J.: R.L. &amp; R.E. Brown, 1963. Item 5
 * [Bryant] Pope, Jennings Bland. The Bryants of Spartanburg Beginning with William Briant (c.1741 VA - c.1834 SC). Austin, Texas: J.B. Pope, 1980.
 * [Cantrell] Gabbitas, Corinne Law. The Cantrell - Cantrill Genealogy, Peter and Sarah Descendents a Record of the Descendents of Richard Cantrill, Who was a Resident of Philadelphia Prior to 1689, and of Earlier Cantrills in England and America: A Record of the Descendents of Isaac Cantrell, Who was a Resident of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Orem, Utah: C.L. Gabbitas, 1982?. Item 16
 * [Foster] Foster, T.D. History of the Fosters of Spartanburg County, South Carolina and Amelia Court House, Virginia. MSS., microfilmed 1973. Item 2
 * [Gaston] Gee, Mary Gaston. The Ancestry and Descendants of Amzi Williford Gaston II (1841-1911) of Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Charlottesville, Va.: M.G. Gee, 1944.
 * [Grant] Grant, Bishop Franklin (Mrs.). Grant Family of South Carolina. Typescript. Item 4
 * [Jackson] Holcomb, Brent H. Jackson of North Pacolet: Descendants of Samuel Jackson, Sr. (Died 1796, Spartanburg County, South Carolina). Columbia, S.C.: B.H. Holcomb, 1991.
 * [Jones] Jones, Ransom Lanier. Descendants of John Jones Born about 1750 and Died in Early 1818 in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Fernandina Beach, Fla.: R.L. Jones, 2000.
 * [Lee] Jay, Margaret Beheler. John Watts Lee, Sr. Family, of Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Shelby, N.C.: Broad River Genealogical Society, 1999.
 * [McBee] McBee, Vardry. Portraiture of Vardry McBee of South Carolina Born in Spartanburg District, 19 June 1775; Died in Greenville, 23 January 1864. 1852.
 * [Newman] Newman, William Alton and James Wilson Newman. The Newman Family: Descendants of Davis and Nancy Newman, 1780, Spartanburg County District, South Carolina. Baltimore, Md.: Gateway Press, 1992.
 * [Page] Page, Donald W. The History and Genealogy of the Robert and Rachel Page Family from Goochland County, Virginia and Spartanburg County, South Carolina. 2 vols. Franklin, N.C.: Genealogy Pub. Service, 1992-2002.
 * [Sloan] Jones, Phillip Barron and Eva McCranie Jones. Sloan and Related Families: Descendants of George Thomas Sloan (1756-1836) of County Cork, Ireland, and Spartanburg and Laurens Counties, South Carolina. Baltimore, Md.: Gateway Press, 2007.
 * [Thomas] Bushnell, George Elmore. A Chart of the Descendants of Colonel John Thomas and Jane Black of Spartanburg, S.C. MSS., South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston. Microfilmed 1952. Item 12
 * [Thornton] Crowley, Ariel L. The Ancestry of Jane Thornton of Spartanburg, South Carolina, Wife of Arthur Hutchens of Albemarle Parish, Virginia, and Ancestress of Clarence Edmund Cowley. Idaho City, Idaho: A.L. Crowley, 1969.
 * [Williams] Williams, Johnny Lee and Wiley Edward Williams. Descendants of Edward Williams of Spartanburg Co., S.C., 1790-1964. Typescript.
 * [Williams] Williams, Johnny Lee. Descendants of Edward Williams, Sr. of Spartanburg County, South Carolina (now Cherokee County, South Carolina). Attalla, Ala.: J.L. Williams, 2000.
 * [Wood] Wood, Christine Knox and James Moses Wood. Wood Works Documented More Than 1100 Descendants of William Wood, Whose Will in Spartanburg District, S.C. was Dated 22 January 1787: As Many As Ten Generations To Date. 3 vols. Lubbock, Texas: J.M. Hood, 1971-1978.

Immigration

 * Howe, George. The Scotch-Irish and Their First Settlements on the Tyger River and Other Neighboring Precincts in South Carolina a Centennial Discourse, Delivered at Nazareth Church, Spartanburg District, S.C., September 14, 1861. 1861; reprint, Greenville, S.C.: A Press, 1981.

Land
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

 * History of Spartanburg County. Spartanburg, S.C.?: Band &amp; White, 1940. Digital version at Ancestry($).
 * Landrum, J.B.O. Colonial and Revolutionary History of Upper South Carolina, Embracing for the Most Part the Primitive and Colonial History of the Territory Comprising the Original County of Spartanburg with a General Review of the Entire Military Operations in the Upper Portion of South Carolina and Portions of North Carolina. Greenville, S.C.: Shannon &amp; Co., Printers and Binders, 1897. Digital version at Google Books.
 * Landrum, J.B.O. History of Spartanburg County: Embracing an Account of Many Important Events and Biographical Sketches of Statesmen, Divines and Other Public Men, and the Names of Many Others Worthy of Record in the History of Their County. Atlanta, Ga.: Franklin Printing, 1900. ; ; digital versions at Internet Archive; World Vital Records($); another World Vital Records($) version.
 * Spartanburg City and Spartanburg County, South Carolina, 1903. 1903. Digital version at Internet Archive.
 * Waldrep, G.C. Southern Workers and the Search for Community: Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2000.


 * Reviews:


 * 1) By John Hennen in The American Historical Review, Vol. 106, No. 4 (Oct. 2001):1397-1398. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * 2) By Annette C. Wright in The Journal of American History, Vol. 88, No. 4 (Mar. 2002):1580-1581. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * 3) By R. Phillip Stone II in The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 68, No. 3 (Aug. 2002):738-379. Digital version at JSTOR ($).

General

 * Landrum, J.B.O. History of Spartanburg County : embracing an account of many important events and biographical sketches of statesmen, divines and other public men and the names of many others worthy of record in the history of their county. Bowie, Maryland : Heritage Books, c1991. Book 975.729 H2L. Includes biographies of 97 prominent figures, 300 pages of history and 58 pages list Confederate soldiers.

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, Spartanburgh County [sic], p. 188. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]
 * "War of 1812 Pensioners," Piedmont Historical Society Quarterly, January 1983, Volume 1, Issue 1. Piedmont Historical Society : Spartansburg, SC.

Revolutionary War

 * "Josiah Culbertson defends magazine, 1779, brief," Upper South Carolina Genealogy and History, February 2007, Volume 21, Issue 1. Piedmont Historical Society : Spartansburg, SC.
 * "Soldiers spared from gallows due to Captain Pattern address, March 1781," Upper South Carolina Genealogy and History, February 2007, Volume 21, Issue 1. Piedmont Historical Society : Spartansburg, SC.
 * "Major Joseph McJunkin's Rev. War service, scout in Spartan Regt., 1781," Upper South Carolina Genealogy and History, May 2006, Volume 20, Issue 2. Piedmont Historical Society : Spartansburg, SC.


 * "General Daniel Morgan's success at the Battle of Cowpens renews thoughts of victory," SAR Magazine, Spring 2006, Volume 100, Issue 4. National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution : Louisville, Kentucky.
 * "Battle of Cedar Spring, n.d.," Upper South Carolina Genealogy and History, February 2006, Volume 20, Issue 1. Piedmont Historical Society : Spartansburg, SC.
 * "Battle of Cowpens," SAR Magazine, Winter 2006, Volume 100, Issue 3. National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
 * "Sullivan Independent Company of Volunteer Scouts, 1781," Upper South Carolina Genealogy and History, November 2005, Volume 19, Issue 4. Piedmont Historical Society : Spartansburg, SC.
 * "Revolutionary War pension applications (sel.)," Pinckney District Chapter Quarterly, December 2004, Volume 28, Issue 4. Pinckney District Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society : Spartanburg, SC.
 * "Old Bethel Graveyard, Rev. War soldiers memorial at Woodruff," Upper South Carolina Genealogy and History'', August 2004, Volume 18, Issue 3. Piedmont Historical Society : Spartansburg, SC.
 * "District pension applications," Pinckney District Chapter Quarterly, March 2004, Volume 28, Issue 1. Pinckney District Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society : Spartanburg, SC.
 * "Battle of Cowpens, 1781," Minuteman, January 2004. Central Florida SAR Chapter : Kissimmee, Florida.
 * "Fort Prince commissary records, 1776-1777," Upper South Carolina Genealogy and History, August 2003, Volume 17, Issue 3. Piedmont Historical Society : Spartansburg, SC.
 * "Cowpens, small significant event," Genie, 2001, Volume 35, Issue 4. Ark-La-Tex Genealogical Association : Shreveport, LA.
 * "Spartans in the Revolutionary War," Pinckney District Chapter Quarterly'', Fall 1993, Volume 17, Issue 3. Pinckney District Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society : Spartanburg, SC.
 * "Revolutionary grave markers," Pinckney District Chapter Quarterly, Spring 1993, Volume 17, Issue 1. Pinckney District Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society : Spartanburg, SC.
 * "Battle of Cowpens," Aiken County Historical Society Journal, April 1990, Volume 5, Issue 2. Aiken County Historical Society : Aiken, SC.
 * "Spartanburg in the Revolution," Old Spartanburg District Genealogy, March 1986, Volume 1, Issue 1. Gainey Research Services : Spartanburg, SC.
 * "Day to remember, October 7, 1780," Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, October 1980, Volume 114, Issue 8. Daughters of the American Revolution : Washington, D.C.
 * "Tories, 1783," Carolina Genealogist, Winter 1970, Issue 2. Heritage Papers:Danielsville, GA.
 * "Cowpens: prelude to Yorktown," North Carolina Historical Review, July 1954, Volume 31, Issue 3. Historical Publications Section : Raleigh, NC.
 * "Battle of Cowpens," American Monthly Magazine, August 1999, Volume 35, Issue 2 and September 1902, Volume 21, Issue 3. Daughters of the American Revolution : Washington, D.C.

Newspapers
Spartanburg Herald Spartanburg Journal Obituary Search Engine

Obituaries
Spartanbury County Public Libraryhas Indexes to various newspaper obituaries as well as a miscellaneous death index. The obituaries and index covers various years ranging from 1844 to 2009.

Probate
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 Transcriptionsfor 1782 to 1855 online. Index searchable by name and the image is available.

The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Spartanburg County wills. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Available indexes:


 * Spartanburg Wills Book A-D 1810-1858

Schools

 * First Annual Catalogue of the Instructors and Pupils in the Limestone Springs Female High School, Spartanburg, S.C., August, 1846. New York: Leavitt, Trow &amp; Company, 1846. Digital version at Internet Archive.
 * Catalogue of the Instructors and Pupils in the Limestone Springs Female High School, Spartanburg, S.C., 1855. Charleston, S.C.: James and Williams, 1855. Digital version at Internet Archive.
 * Catalogue of the Instructors and Pupils in the Limestone Springs Female High School, Spartanburg, S.C., 1856. Columbia, S.C.: Steam Power-Press of R.W. Gibbes, 1856. Digital version at Internet Archive.
 * Catalogue of the Instructors and Pupils in the Limestone Springs Female High School, Spartanburg, S.C., 1857. Columbia, S.C.: Steam-Power Press of R.W. Gibbes, 1857. Digital version at Internet Archive.

Death

 * [1895-1897, 1903-1914] South Carolina Death Records, 1821-1955, available online, courtesy: Ancestry.com ($). [Includes Spartanburg City death records, 1895-1897, 1903-1914.]

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Family History Library Catalog
 * Spartanburg County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)