Calhoun County, South Carolina Genealogy

Guide to Calhoun County, South Carolina ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Description
The county is named for John C. Calhoun, the former U.S. Vice-President, Senator, Representative and cabinet member from South Carolina. The County is located in the center area of the state.

County Courthouse
Calhoun County Courthouse 102 Courthouse Drive St Matthews, SC 29135-1452 Telephone: 803-874-2435 Calhoun County Website

County Pronunciation .

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline
The county is named after, who served as Vice President of the United States under both and  as well as secretary of state and of war and senator." Amelia Township, an original eighteenth-century settlement and part of the Royal Period of South Carolina, was situated in what is now Calhoun County. Learn more about the history of Calhoun County from the South Carolina State Library or from Carolana.com.

Cemeteries

 * To view a cemetery list, see Calhoun County, South Carolina Cemeteries.
 * National Cemetery Administration

Census Records

 * 1829-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index & Images

Federal


 * 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Calhoun 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.

Church Records
Calhoun County Churches identifies dozens of churches in the area, courtesy: South Carolina Genealogical Society.

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records
 * Dates Vary Calhoun County, Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Public Index – index; courts include Circuit Court, Summary Court and Masters-in-Equity, records added periodically

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans United States African Americans South Carolina African Americans Known plantations, South Carolina Plantations

Genealogies
General 

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

Bibliography
 * Caver - Caver, Larry Eugene. The Caver Family of North America. Birmingham, Ala.: Caver Press, 1990..
 * Felder - Felder, Rice A. and Feller Publishing Fund. Descendants of James Addison Felder and Flavilla Shuler of Orangeburg County, South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.: Felder Publishing Fund, 1980..
 * King - King, Kermitt Sifley. The Kings of Calhoun County, Amelia Township. Columbia, S.C.: K.S. King, 1992..
 * Snelgrove - Snelgrove, Price Charles. Freeman Snelgrove and Some of His Descendants. Alford, Fla.: P.C. Snelgrove, 1993..
 * Wise - Bauer, William Rudolph. Reconstruction of the Genealogy of the Wise Family of the Congarees. Columbia, S.C.: W.R. Bauer, 2001.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records The following chart shows where you may best expect to find land records.
 * Some Orangeburg District deeds were recorded in Charleston District and were not destroyed ** Orangeburg District, Lexington District, Orangeburg County, and Lewisburg County records destroyed by fire in 1865. Only Lexington County deeds after 1839 survive.


 * Plats For State Land Grants 1784-1868 For information about the State Land Grants, see State Land Grants

Local Histories

 * Linder, Suzanne Cameron. Historical Atlas of the Rice Plantations of the ACE River Basin, 1860 (Columbia, South Carolina: S.C. Dept. of Archives and History, c1995 ), 684 pages. The plantations were in Beaufort, Colleton &amp; Charleston counties. ,

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Calhoun County for European settlers included:
 * Camden-Charleston Path 1732
 * Old South Carolina State Road 1747

Military Records
Civil War Regiments Calhoun County did not exist during the Civil War. It was created in 1908 from Lexington and Orangeburg Counties. During the Civil War, men from the area of Calhoun County mostly would have served in various regiments recruited in those counties. Counties were called districts during the Civil War. The following regiment apparently had men from the area of present day Calhoun County:
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index & Images
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * - 1st Regiment, South Carolina Infantry (Butler's) (1st Regulars), Company A (also called Company B and Beauregard Artillery)
 * - 20th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry ($)

Historic The Library of Congress has identified the following historic newspapers for Calhoun 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.
 * Calhoun Advance (St. Matthews, S.C.) 1908-1920.
 * Historical Newspapers of South Carolina at University of South Carolina Libraries - not complete
 * St. Matthews Recorder (St. Matthews, S.C.) 1903-1906.
 * The Calhoun Times (Saint Matthews, S.C.) 1922-current.
 * The Carolinian (St. Matthews, S.C.) 1920-1922.
 * The Commercial Advance (St. Matthews, S.C.) 1906-1908.
 * The St. Matthews Herald (St. Matthews, S.C.) 1890-1897.
 * The St. Matthews Record  (St. Matthews, S.C.) 1914-1915.

Periodicals
See: Periodicals for description.
 * South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1670-1980 South Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1670-1980 at Ancestry.com — index & images ($)
 * 1671-1977 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images Only
 * 1732-1964 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images Only
 * 1782-1866 South Carolina, Will Transcripts 1782-1866 at Findmypast — index ($) — $, index
 * 1940s-Current South Carolina Probate Index, Calhoun County at SouthCarolinaProbate.net - index; records added periodically

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records
 * South Carolina Department of Archives and History tax lists for Calhoun County.

 Published abstracts 
 * 1818 St. Matthews Tax List, 1818, South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Summer 1973); Vol. 1, No. 4 (Fall 1973).

Birth

 * 1766-1900 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index & Images
 * 1915-1917 South Carolina, U.S., Births, 1915-1917 at Ancestry - index & images ($)

Marriage
The Calhoun 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 images
 * 1911-1972 Calhoun County, South Carolina Marriage Register, 1911-1972 - index
 * 1911-1950 - Calhoun County, South Carolina Marriage Licenses, ca. 1911-1950 - 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.
 * 1990s-Current South Carolina Marriage Index, Calhoun County at SouthCarolinaProbate.net - index; records added periodically

Death
Deaths - Indexes and Records
 * 1816-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1821-1969 South Carolina, U.S., Death Records, 1821-1969 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1915-1943 South Carolina, Deaths, 1915-1943 at MyHeritage - index & images ($)
 * 1915-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index & Images
 * 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.

FamilySearch Centers

 * Columbia South Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Lexington South Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Sumter South Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * West Columbia South Carolina FamilySearch Center


 * Richland County Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

 * Calhoun County Library 900 FR Huff Dr, St. Matthews, SC 29135 877-887-5588 - Toll Free; 803-874-3389 Website

Museums
This museum is county-run rather than by a society.
 * Calhoun County Museum  Address: 313 Butler Street St. Matthews, SC 29135 Telephone: (803) 874 - 3964 Hours of Operation: Tuesday to Friday - 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. The Archive: The genealogy materials are housed in the museum's archive. Among other materials, there are African American books; cemetery books; Church books, county books; court record books; Jewish history; marriage, death and will books, native American books, South Carolina Civil War, and more. Categories and titles of the Archive's holdings are available at "The Archive" link above. They will assist with any genealogical or historical research, but please call ahead to set up an appointmentWebsite

Websites

 * Calhoun County, SCGenWeb
 * Calhoun County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

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