Beaufort County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States  South Carolina  Beaufort County

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

County Courthouse
Beaufort County Courthouse 1501 Bay Street Beaufort, SC 29902 Phone: 843-521-2088

Beaufort County Probate Judge P.O. Box 1083 Beaufort, SC 29901-1083 Phone: 843-255-5850 Hours: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Marriage and Probate records.

Register of Deeds 100 Ribaut Rd. Rm. 205 Beaufort, SC 29901 Phone: 843-255-2555 Hours: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Land records

Clerk of Court 102 Ribaut Rd. Rm. 208 Beaufort, SC 29902-4453 Phone: 843-255-5057 Court records

History
The county was named after the Duke of Beaufort.

Parent County
1769--Beaufort County was created in 1769 as an original district. County seat: Beaufort

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

Neighboring Counties

 * Colleton
 * Hampton
 * Jasper

Research Guides

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

African American

 * Davis, John Martin. "Bankless in Beaufort: A Reexamination of the 1873 Failure of the Freedmans Savings Branch at Beaufort, South Carolina," The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 104, No. 1 (Jan., 2003), 25-55. 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 Beaufort District.]

For a local white minister's perspective of slaves 15 years before the Civil War broke out, see:


 * Domestic Slavery Considered as a Scriptural Institution: In a Correspondence Between the Rev. Richard Fuller of Beaufort, S.C., and the Rev. Francis Wayland of Providence, R.I. New York: Lewis Colby, 1845. Digital version at Google Books.
 * Beaufort, S.C. Slave Manifests (Outbound) (National Archives at Atlanta)

Cemeteries
Beaufort County in S.C. Cemetery Project, courtesy: South Carolina Genealogical Society. List of cemeteries in the county.


 * Carson, Louise and Mabel Runnette. "Orange Grove Plantation, Lady's Island, Beaufort County, S.C.," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 42, No. 1 (Jan. 1941):28. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * "Epitaphs from Beaufort County," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 51, No. 3 (Jul. 1950):171-174. 975.7 B2s v. 51 (1950); digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * Heyward, Marie H. and Alice R. Huger Smith. "Inscriptions from the Baptist Church Yard, Beaufort, S. C.," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 35, No. 3 (Jul. 1934):118-121; Vol. 36, No. 1 (Jan., 1935):25-27; Vol. 36, No. 3 (Jul. 1935):99-101; Vol. 37, No. 2 (Apr. 1936):71-76. 975.7 B2s v. 35 (1934) etc.; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * "Inscriptions from St. Helena Churchyard, Beaufort, South Carolina," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Apr., 1931):131-147; Vol. 32, No. 3 (Jul. 1931):205-237. 975.7 B2s v. 32 (1931); digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * Runnette, Mabel. "Grave Stone Inscriptions from a Private Burial Ground at Roseland Plantation, near Grahamville, Beaufort County, S.C.," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr. 1937):72-73. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * Runnette, Mabel. "Inscriptions from the Grave-Stones at Stoney Creek Cemetery near Yemassee, Beaufort County, S.C.," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Jul. 1936):100-110. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * Runnette, Mabel. "Inscriptions from Grave Yards in Beaufort County," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Jan., 1937), pp. 16-20. 975.7 B2s v. 38 (1937); digital version at JSTOR ($).

Census
1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Beaufort 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.

See Beaufort County, SC census assignments, including links to transcribed files [The USGenWeb Census Project®]

1790

 * Jarrell, Lawrence E. Early Beaufort South Carolina Census. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 1998. 975.79 X2jL

1800

 * Jarrell, Lawrence E. Early Beaufort South Carolina Census. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 1998. 975.79 X2jL

1810

 * Jarrell, Lawrence E. Early Beaufort South Carolina Census. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 1998. 975.79 X2jL

1820

 * Jarrell, Lawrence E. 1820 Beaufort District, South Carolina Census. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 1998. 975.799 X2j 1820

1850

 * Caldwell, Betsy McIntosh, Ann Kirkland Laffitte, and Lucy Keating Cobb. The 1850 Census of St. Luke's Parish, Beaufort County, South Carolina. Bluffton, S.C.: Bluffton Historical Preservation Society, 1984. 975.799 X2c 1850
 * Jarrell, Lawrence E. 1850 Beaufort District, South Carolina Census Complete Transcription of the Free Schedule, U.S. Federal Census; Current Counties of Beaufort, Hampton, Jasper and Parts of Allendale, South Carolina. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 2000. 975.799 X2j 1850

Church
The following Beaufort County church records have been indexed on the International Genealogical Index:

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
More than 25 genealogies have been published about Beaufort County families. To view a list, visit Beaufort County, South Carolina Genealogy.

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.


 * Sherrard, Thomas H. A Working Plan for Forest Lands in Hampton and Beaufort Counties, South Carolina. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1903. Digital version at Google Books.

Local Histories

 * Smith, Henry A.M. "Beaufort: The Original Plan and the Earliest Settlers," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Jul. 1908):141-160. 975.7 B2s v. 9 (1908); digital version at JSTOR ($).

General

 * "Court-martial at Black Mingo for neglect of military duty, 1809," Three Rivers Chronicle, Summer 2004, Volume 25, Issue 2. Three Rivers Historical Society : Hemingway, SC.
 * "Charlesfort revisited," Huguenot Society of South Carolina Transactions, 1985, Volume 26, Issue 90. Huguenot Society of North Carolina : Charleston, SC. Book 975.7 C4h
 * "Port Royal Sound, French and Spanish forts," Huguenot Society of South Carolina Transactions, 1936, Volume 7, Issue 41. Huguenot Society of South Carolina : Charleston, SC. Book 975.7 C4h
 * "Charles fort, Parris Island, dedication," Huguenot Society of South Carolina Transactions, 1926, Volume 5, Issue 31. Huguenot Society of South Carolina : Charleston, SC. Book 975.7 C4h
 * "Charles fort, Parris Island, 1562," Huguenot Society of South Carolina Transactions, 1924, Volume 5, Issue 29. Huguenot Society of South Carolina : Charleston, SC. Book 975.7 C4h
 * "Ribaults Fort," Huguenot Society of South Carolina Transactions, 1907, Volume 2, Issue 14. Huguenot Society of South Carolina : Charleston, SC. Book 975.7 C4h

Revolutionary War

 * Barnwell, Robert. An Oration, Delivered before the Philomathean Society and Inhabitants of Beaufort, South Carolina, on Monday, July 4, 1803, In Commemoration of American Independence. Charleston, S.C.: John J. Evans &amp; Co., 1803. Digital version at Google Books.
 * "Battle of Port Royal note, 1779," Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, February 2001, Volume 135, Issue 2. Daughters of the America Revolution : Washington, D.C. 973 B2dar Films 1294343-48, 1697390 and 2055446.

Civil War

 * Staudenraus, P.J. "Occupied Beaufort, 1863: A War Correspondent's View," The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 64, No. 3 (Jul. 1963):136-144. Digital version at JSTOR ($).

Newspapers
Eighteenth-century South Carolina newspapers contain a wealth of information about residents. The Early South Carolina Newspapers Database (ESCN Database) has created an every-name index to the three largest newspapers for the years 1732 to 1780. Using their free online Surname Database, researchers may order a list of specific newspaper references from the organization for a very reasonable rate.

Beaufort County Obituary Indexes

The Beaufort County Library has created a Newspaper Obituary Index. The Index is drawn from the library's microfilmed collection. Also included are some local newspapers that were started in 2006--Beaufort Today, Bluffton Today, and Hilton Head Island Today--these are not in the microfilm archives, they are just published in an online version as the source.

Currently, the obituary index contains 18,794 records from 18 Beaufort County newspapers from 1862 and May 15, 1984 and October, 2007 to the present. This is an ongoing project and records are being added on a regular bases. This link is a Beta version at the moment. The site includes instructions on how to secure copies if you locate your ancestor. This index has been compiled independently by volunteers and the staff at the Beaufort County Library! The link will lead you to the index and you can click the "Obituary Index Beta Version" link located in the middle of the page. What a great asset to those doing research in Beaufort County.

Taxation
An interesting article about the intersection of free blacks and tax collecting in the county was published in 2006:


 * Free Negroes Prohibition on Collecting Taxes, 1821-1841, Carolina Herald and Newsletter, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Jul. 2006).

Published abstracts

 * [1816] Aggregate of Poor Tax for St. Peters in 1816, South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Spring 2007).

Web Sites

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