Jasper County, South Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
Jasper County is located in the south central location of the state.

County Courthouse
Jasper County Courthouse 265 Russell Street Ridgeland, SC 29936 Phone: 843-726-7710 Jasper 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:

Cemeteries

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

Census Records

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

Church Records
Church of England See also St. Luke's Parish

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 * Ridgeland

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records
 * Dates Vary Jasper County, Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Public Index – index; courts include Circuit Court, Summary Court and Masters-in-Equity, records added periodically
 * Jasper County has court records from 1912 that are held in the office of the Clerk of Court. Jasper County was formed from Beaufort and Hampton Counties in 1912 so these are counties which may also be searched.
 * The South Carolina Archives and History Center has court records available on microfilm for Jasper County.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans Jasper County, South Carolina African Americans

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

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 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.

The following chart show where you may best expect to find land records.

Local Histories
The county is named after Sergeant William Jasper (c1750-1779).


 * Perry, Grace Fox. Moving Finger of Jasper. unknown: unknown, 1952. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Todd, John Reynard and Francis M. Huston. Prince William's Parish and Plantations. ( Richmond, Virginia: Garrett &amp; Massie, c1935), 265 pages. Written with the idea of tracing, as briefly and accurately as possible, the physical development and transition of the Prince William's Parish secion of South Carolina from the earliest days of settlement to the present. Book found at and Other Libraries.

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 Jasper County for European settlers included:
 * Charleston-Savannah Trail (an extension of the King's Highway) late 1730s

Military Records
Revolutionary War
 * "Head Quarters muster roll, 1779," Carolinas Genealogical Society Bulletin, Fall 1970, Volume 7, Issue 2. Carolinas Genealogical Society Monroe, NC. Book 975 B2c.

Civil War
 * 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)

Regiments. Jasper County did not exist during the Civil War. During the Civil War, men from the area of Jasper County mostly would have served in various regiments recruited in Beaufort and Hampton Counties. Counties were called districts during the Civil War.

Civil War Battle The following Civil War Battle was fought in Jasper County.
 * November 30, 1864 - Honey Hill (in what is now Jasper County).
 * Battles of the American Civil War maps - filter by state or by battle name.

Newspapers

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

Historic The Library of Congress has identified the following historic newspapers for Jasper 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.
 * Jasper County Record (Ridgeland, S.C.) 1924-1951.
 * The Beaufort-Jasper News (Beaufort, S.C.) 1939-1939.
 * The Jasper Herald (Ridgeland, Jasper County, S.C.) 1911-1919.

University of South Carolina Library Catalog
 * Historical Newspapers of South Carolina at University of South Carolina Libraries - not complete

Periodicals

 * Carolinas Genealogical Society Bulletin

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
 * 1980s-Current South Carolina Probate Index, Jasper 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 Jasper County.

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
Marriages - Indexes and Records
 * 1912-1950 Jasper County, South Carolina Marriage Licenses, ca. 1912-1950 - records
 * 1912-1952 Marriage Registers (Jasper County, South Carolina), 1912-1952 - index and records
 * 1970s-Current South Carolina Marriage Index, Jasper County at SouthCarolinaProbate.net - index; records added periodically
 * There are several online marriage indexes containing miscellaneous marriage records found insome counties of South Carolina listed on the South Carolina Vital Records page.

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

 * Beaufort South Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Ridgeland South Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Savannah Georgia FamilySearch Center
 * Statesboro Georgia FamilySearch Center


 * Heritage Library Foundation - an affiliate library
 * Live Oak Public Libraries - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Jasper County, SCGenWeb
 * Jasper 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: Jasper County, available online, courtesy: South Carolina Department of Archives and History.