Williamsburg County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States  South Carolina  Williamsburg County

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

County Courthouse
Williamsburg County Courthouse 125 West Main St. Kingstree, South Carolina 29556

Clerk of Court 125 West Main St. Kingstree, SC 29556 Phone: 843-355-9321 ext. 552 Court and land records

Probate Court 125 West Main St. Kingstree, SC 29556 Phone: 843-355-9321 ext. 558 Probate and marriage records

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

History
The county is named after Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721-1765).

Parent County
1802--Williamsburg County was created in 1802 from Georgetown District. County seat:  Kingstree 

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

 * Williamsburgh

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890

Neighboring Counties
Berkeley | Clarendon | Florence | Georgetown | Marion

Research Guides

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

African American

 * Loyd, Kathy Dodge. A List of Slave Owners of the 1850 Williamsburg County, South Carolina Slave Schedule. Kingstree, S.C.: K.D. Loyd, 2003.

Census
1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Williamsburg 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, Williamsburg District on page 142.]

Church

 * Wallace, James A.. History of Williamsburg Church: A Discourse Delivered on Occasion of the 120th Anniversary of the Organization of the Williamsburg Church, July 4th, 1856, Kingstree, S.C.: With Notes and an Appendix. Salisbury, N.C.: Bell &amp; James, Printers, 1856. Digital versions at Ancestry ($) and Google Books.

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 Williamsburg, South Carolina at World Connect, produces more than 7,000 results.

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


 * Jenkinson, Gordon Bubber. A History of the Homes and People of Williamsburgh District. Charleston, S.C.: The History Press, 2007.

Message Boards


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

Bibliography


 * [Cox] Thornton, Caroline E. Facts on the Life of George Edmond Gee Cox [and] Information on Rev. Samuel C. James, Williamsburg County, S.C. Typescript, 1990. Item 13
 * [Gaskins] Hanna, Muriel K. and Gale Stanley Grainger. Gaskins / Gaskin Family Williamsburg and Kershaw County South Carolina. n.p.: M.K. Hanna &amp; G.S. Grainger, 2002. ; digital version at Family History Archives.
 * [James] Thornton, Caroline E. Facts on the Life of George Edmond Gee Cox [and] Information on Rev. Samuel C. James, Williamsburg County, S.C. Typescript, 1990. Item 13
 * [Lee] Brown, Gerald D. A Genealogy of a Lee Family: Ancestry and Descendants of David Lee, Sr.: Mainly of Old Williamsburg District - Present Day Florence County, South Carolina. Hemingway, S.C.: Three Rivers Historical Society, 1995.
 * [McKenzie] Brown, Gerald D. Descendants of Daniel and Rebecca McKenzie Old Williamsburg/Sumter Districts of South Carolina. Hemingway, S.C.: Three Rivers Historical Society, 1995.
 * [Parker] Smith, Betty Mae James. A Parker Family History: Descendants of Willoughby Parker, Williamsburg County, S.C. Hemingway, S.C.: Three Rivers Historical Society, [1996].
 * [Plowden] Plowden, Robert W. Record of Edward Plowden 1st Who Came to Williamsburg County, South Carolina in 1732 and His Descendants. Florence, Ala.: Plowden Clan of America, 1964. Item 13
 * [Stubbs] Boswell, Jimmie John Stubbs. John Stubbs (1718-1788) of Williamsburg, South Carolina, and His Descendants. Bryan, Texas: J.R. Boswell, 1990.

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

 * Boddie, William Willis. History of Williamsburg: Something about the People of Williamsburg County, South Carolina, from the First Settlement by Europeans about 1705 until 1923. Columbia, S.C.: State Co., 1923. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Boddie, William Willis. History of Williamsburg. Columbia, SC, USA: The State Company, 1923. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

War of 1812

 * "Captain Samuel Bigham's Co., 1812," Three Rivers Chronicle, Spring 1981, Volume 1, Issue 1. Three Rivers Historical Society : Hemingway, SC.
 * 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, Williamsburgh County [sic], p. 189. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

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 Transcriptions for 1782 to 1855 online. Index searchable by name and the image is available.

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
 * Williamsburg County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)