Horry County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States  South Carolina  Horry County

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

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

Parent County
1801--Horry County was created 19 December 1801 from Georgetown District. County seat:  Conway 

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
Brunswick County, North Carolina | Columbus County, North Carolina | Dillon | Georgetown | Marion | Robeson County, North Carolina

Research Guides

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

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

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 Horry, South Carolina at World Connect, produces more than 45,000 results.

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


 * Andrea, Leonardo. Horry Co., S.C. Data. Typescript, microfilmed 1974. Item 13

Message Boards


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

Bibliography


 * [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
 * [Lewis] Stevenson, Mary Lewis. William Lewis of Horry County, South Carolina. n.p.: Charlotte Stevenson, 1960. ; digital version at World Vital Records ($).

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

 * 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 ($).

Newspapers
Horry County Obituary Index Search Engine

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