Beaufort County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States South Carolina  Beaufort County

County in South Carolina.

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 for Henry Somerset, second Duke of Beaufort (1684-1714), one of the Lord Proprietors of South Carolina. Beaufort was once home to a both a French Fort (built 1562) and a Spanish fort (built 1566), neither of which survived. Learn more about the history of Beaufort County from the South Carolina State Library or from Carolana.com.

Parent County/Boundary Changes

 * 1768 - Beaufort District was established from Prince William, St. Lukes, St. Helenas, and St. Peters Parishes.
 * 1785 - Beaufort divided into Granville, Hilton, Lincoln, and Shrewsbury Counties, which never became functional.
 * 1800 - Non-functional counties of Granville, Hilton, Lincoln, and Shrewsbury were abolished. Beaufort District re-established.
 * 1868 - Beaufort and all other districts became counties.
 * 1878 - Hampton created from Beaufort County.
 * 1912 - Jasper created from Hampton and Beaufort counties.

For more information as well as maps of Beaufort County through time, see the South Carolina State Archives or South Carolina County Maps and Atlases.

County Seat
The county seat of Beaufort County is Beaufort, which was founded in 1710.

County Pronunciation
.

Record Loss
Beaufort suffered a major loss in February 1865 after records had been removed to Columbia for safety and subsequent losses during Reconstruction.

Places/Localities
The preceding list of places includes incorporated cities and towns, unincorporated towns and communities, and place names that may have been used in family histories. Some have well-organized records and even have web sites. Some are simply social communities with no official records, but which may be referenced in small-town newspapers. The list is provided to help researchers identify localities within the county. As records or histories of these localities are identified, a page will be added for each of these place names.

Research Guides

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

African Americans
United States African Americans South Carolina African Americans


 * Beaufort, S.C. Slave Manifests (Outbound) (National Archives at Atlanta)
 * 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.

Cemeteries
There are more than # burial grounds in the county. To view a list, see Beaufort County, South Carolina Cemeteries.

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

1839

 * "The 1839 State Census of Beaufort District," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Summer 2008):139-143; Vol. 36, No. 4 (Fall 2008):193-195; Vol. 37, No. 1 (Winter 2009):29-31; Vol. 37, No. 2 (Spring 2009):89-91; Vol. 38, No. 2 (Spring 2009):89-91. [Abstract of SCDAH microfilm CN 656B.]

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
See also Prince William Parish See also St. Helena's Parish  See also St. Lukes Parish  See also St. Peter's Parish

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
Because of South Carolina’s history as an agricultural state many residents owned land. For more information about types of land records see South Carolina Land and Property.

Tracing records through South Carolina county and district changes can be difficult. In general, for earliest records begin by searching the Charleston District, then your ancestor’s residential district, then neighboring districts, then the residential county, then neighboring counties. Not all districts and counties kept records. The following chart show where you may best expect to find land records for Beaufort County:

* Beaufort District records destroyed by fire

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

 * Dabbs, Edith M. Sea Island Diary : a History of St. Helena Island   (Spartanburg, South Carolina : Reprint, 1983, c1983), 285 pages. History of Penn School and St. Helena Island, showing the inseparably interwoven heritage of blacks and whites together. Book at  and Other Libraries
 * Johnson, Guion Griffis. A Social History of the Sea Islands With Special Reference to St. Helena Island, South Carolina   (New York, New York : Negro Universities Press, 1969), 245 pages. Sea Islands during the Federal Occupation throughout the Civil War and Negro culture on St. Helena Island. Book at  and Other Libraries
 * Marscher, Fran Heyward. Remembering the Way it was : at Hilton Head, Bluffton, and Daufuskie  (Charleston, South Carolina : The History Press, c2005-c2007), 190 pages. A collection of oral histories. Book at  and Other Libraries.
 * Marscher, Fran Heyward. Remembering the Way it was : at Beaufort, Sheldon and the Sea Islands (Charleston, South Carolina : The History Press, c2006), 126 pages. A collection of oral histories. Book at  and Other Libaries
 * Pearson, Elizabeth Ware. Letters from Port Royal, 1862-1868   (New York, New York : Arno Press, Inc., 1969), 345 pages. Letters from Port Royal written at the time of the Civil War. Experiment in freedom for 10,000 slaves. Book at , Other Libraries
 * Rowland, Lawrence S.  The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina (Columbia, South Carolina : University of S.C., c1996), 521 pages. Three historians of the Palmetto State recount more that three centuries of Spanish and French exploration, English &amp; Huguenot agriculture and African slave labor. Book (Vol.1) at and Other Libraries.
 * 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 ($).
 * Todd, John Reynard and Francis Marion Huston. Prince William's Parish and Plantations (Richmond [Virginia] : Garrett &amp; Massie, c1935), 265 pages. This book portrays the physical development &amp; transition of the Prince William's Parish section of South Carolina from the earliest days to the present and to preserve the old records. Book at  Other Libraries

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Beaufort County for European settlers included:


 * Atlantic Ocean about 1670
 * Charleston-Savannah Trail (an extension of the King's Highway) late 1730s

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
Civil War service men from Beaufort County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies and regiments that were specifically formed of men from Beaufort County.


 * - 1st Regiment, South Carolina Mounted Militia
 * - Barnwell's Company (also known as Palmetto Hussars)
 * - Blakewood's Company (also known as Hardeeville Guerrillas)
 * - Bostick's Company (also known as Allendale Guards)
 * - Fripp's Company (also known as St. Helena Mounted Riflemen)
 * - Kirk's Company (also known as May River Troop or Bluffton Troop)
 * - Martin's Company (also known as Calhoun Minute Men or Red Oak Rangers
 * - Screven's Company (also known as Beaufort District or Coosawhatchie Guerrillas)
 * - 2nd Battalion, South Carolina Cavalry Reserves
 * - Ashley Dragoons or Ashley Rangers (also known as Captain Colcock's Company, South Carolina Cavalry)
 * - Beaufort District Troop (also known as Captain J. H. Howard's Company)
 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina State Troops (6 months 1863-64) - Companies E and K
 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry
 * - Company E (also known as Beaufort Detachment, Hampton Legion, Beaufort District Troop, Beaufort Dragoons)
 * - 3rd Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry
 * - Company C (also known as the Beaufort District Troop and Captain John H. Howard's Company, South Carolina Cavalry)
 * - Company H (also known as the Ashley Dragoons or Rangers)
 * - Company I (also known as the Rebel Troops)- 9th Regiment, South Carolina Reserves, Company K


 * 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 ($).


 * Pearson, Elizabeth Ware, Letters from Port Royal, 1862-1868 (New York, New York : Arno Press, Inc., 1969), 345 pages. Letters from Port Royal written at the time of the Civil War. Experiment in freedom for 10,000 slaves. Book at, Other Libraries


 * Johnson, Guion Griffis. A Social History of the Sea Islands With Special Reference to St. Helena Island, South Carolina (New York, New York;: Negro Universities Press, 1969), 245 pages. Civil War pages start on 154. Sea Islands during the Federal Occupation throughout the Civil War and Negro culture on St. Helena Island. Book at and Other Libraries

Newspapers
Historic

The Library of Congress has identified the following historic newspapers for Beaufort 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.


 * Beaufort County News (Beaufort, S.C.) 1939-1939.
 * Beaufort County Times (Beaufort, S.C.) 1871-1872.
 * Beaufort Republican (Beaufort, S.C.) 1871-1873.
 * Beaufort Times (Beaufort, S.C.) 1940-1940.
 * Hilton Head Report (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) 1983-1988.
 * Hospital Sentinel (Hilton Head, S.C.) 186?-186?.
 * Hilton Head Sun (Hilton Head, S.C.) 1988-????.
 * Port Royal Commercial and Beaufort County Republican (Port Royal, S.C.) 1873-1874.
 * Port Royal Standard and Commercial (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876.
 * The Beaufort Enterprise (Grahamville, Beaufort District, S.C.) 1860-1860.
 * The Beaufort Gazette ([Beaufort, S.C.]) 1828-18??.
 * The Beaufort Gazette (Beaufort, S.C.) 1897-current.
 * The Beaufort-Jasper News (Beaufort, S.C.) 1939-1939.
 * The Beaufort Republican and Sea Island Chronicle (Beaufort, S.C.) 1869-1871.
 * The Beaufort Times (Beaufort, S.C.) 1944-1946.
 * The Beaufort Tribune and Port Royal Commercial (Beaufort, S.C.) 1877-1879.
 * The Camp Kettle ([Camp Kalorama, Washington, D.C.]) 1861-186?.
 * The Camp Kettle (Beaufort, S.C.) 1861-186?.
 * The County Democrat (Beaufort, S.C.) 1910-1912.
 * The Crescent (Beaufort, S.C.) 1879-1881.
 * The Free South (Beaufort, S.C.) 1863-1864.
 * The Hospital Transcript (Hilton Head, S.C.) 1865-1865.
 * The Hospital Transcript (Hilton Head, S.C.) 1865-186?.
 * The Island Packet (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) 1970-current.
 * The Lowcountry Ledger (Beaufort, SC) 1988-1992.
 * The New South (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1866.
 * The New South (Beaufort, S.C.) 188?-189?.
 * The Palmetto Herald (Port Royal, S.C.) 1864-1864.
 * The Palmetto Post (Port Royal, S.C.) 1882-1906.
 * The Sea Island News (Beaufort, S.C.) 1879-1888.
 * The Southern Standard (Beaufort, S.C.) 1872-1873.
 * The Tribune (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876.

Current

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.

Periodicals
Tap into the minds of local experts. Editors of genealogical periodicals publish unique sources that researchers new to their area may not encounter. Periodicals at various levels (county, region, and state) may carry articles useful to research in this area. For this county, see:


 * Carolina Herald and Newsletter

Probate
Probate is the “court procedure by which a will is proved to be valid or invalid” and encompasses “all matters and proceedings pertaining to the administration of estates, guardianships, etc.” Various types of records are created throughout the probate process. These may include, wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. For further information see probate records in South Carolina.

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).

Vital Records
Birth, marriage, and death records were not recorded by South Carolina until the 1900s, thus leaving a lack of vital records. Substitute records, when available, are used to obtain this information. These substitute records including newspapers, court records have been added to this section, when applicable.

Birth
State-wide birth registration began in 1915. For a copy of a birth from 1915 or later, contact the South Carolina Department of Health. The Beaufort County Health Department also has copies but they provide only an abbreviated form with limited information. For more information, see the South Carolina Vital Records page.

Marriage
In South Carolina, marriage licenses were not required by local governments until 1 July 1911. However, in the 1700s, the Church of England parish churches were required to record all marriages - even if the couple were not members of the denomination. Not all churches recorded these marriages and some have not survived. See South Carolina Vital Records for more information.

The Beaufort 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


 * 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.

Death
State-wide death registration began in 1915. For a copy of the death certificates from 1915 or later, contact the South Carolina Department of Health. The Beaufort County Health Department only has copies for deaths occurring in the last 5 years. For more information, see the South Carolina Vital Records page.

Deaths and Substitutes - Indexes and Records


 * 1862-1984; 2007-2011 - Newspaper Obituary Index, 1862- May 1984; Oct 2007 to Present by Beaufort County Library - index
 * 1914-1960 - 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.

Libraries

 * Beaufort County Public Library Address: 311 Scott St. Beaufort, SC 29902 Telephone: (843) 255-6456 FAX: (843) 470-6541 Hours: Monday - Thursday: 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM; Frriday - Saturday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM; Sunday: CLOSED Collections: Beauford District Collectionpreserves, maintains and makes accessible a research collection of permanent value that records the history of the area of lowcountry South Carolina known as the old historic Beaufort District. It is intended to be used by customers who perform their own research. The BDC Research Room provides access to some of its materials and services through the “Virtual BDC,” the BDC web pages, the Online Obituary Index, the Phosphate, Farms, and Family digital collection, and the Connections blog.  They present programs about local history, archaeology, and our coastal environment, including the occasional instructional session about how to perform historical and/or genealogical research . The BDC Research Room welcomes all visitors and researchers over the age of 12 years. It has space for up to 6 researchers at a time. Group visits must be scheduled in advance realizing they may not be able to accommodate a request.
 * Heritage Library Foundation Address: 852 William Hilton parkway 2nd Floor, Suite A-2 Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States Telephone: 843-686-6560 Email: Info@heritagelib.org Hours: Monday, Thursday, Fririday, Saturday 10:00 am-3:00 pm, Closed: Saturday in July and August Fee: $10.00 per day Services: Microfilm readers, computers, high-speed Web service, major online databases at Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com, and HeritageQuest.com through the Library’s network. The Library offers educational programs and publishes The Heritage Observer, a newsletter, and Glimpses,The library is a certified branch facility of the Family History Library.  The Heritage Library is a private reference library and research center which is open to the public. It is one of the most comprehensive libraries of its kind in the region, with and collections of books, microfilm, microfiche, CD-ROM, manuscripts, periodicals, video tapes, audio tapes, and maps. South Carolina materials account for about 10 percent of the holdings. The balance covers other states and many countries. Online catalog Collections: Collections include the records of The Hilton Head Island Historical Society containing a wealth of historical information, old photographs, and maps of Hilton Head Island and the Low Country. Also included is census data collected by the State of South Carolina immediately following the Civil War. The Library has a continually-growing collection of histories of the plantations that existed on the island, and such ongoing projects as indexing maps, land certificates and indentures, and the collection of material on Colored Troops from pension and other records

Societies - Genealogical, Historical, Lineage
Beaufort Chapter SCGS P.O. Box 1070 St. Helena Island SC 29920-1070

Beaufort County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 5492 Hilton Head Island SC 29928 Source: Society Hill

Bluffton Historical Preservation Society P.O. Box 742 Bluffton SC 29910 Source: Society Hill

Parris Island Historical Society P.O. Box 5202 Parris Island SC 29905-5202 Source: Society Hill

Family History Centers

 * Beaufort South Carolina 703 Parris Island Gateway Beaufort, Beaufort, South Carolina, United States Phone: 843-525-1823 Hours: By appointment only.
 * Heritage Library Foundation (described under "Archives, Libraries, and Museums" above) The library is a certified branch facility of the Family History Library and you can order microfilm and microfiche maintained by the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

Web Sites

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