Lexington County, South Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for the commemorate Battle of Lexington in the American Revolutionary War. The County is located in the central location of the state.

County Courthouse
Lexington County Courthouse 205 E. Main St. Lexington, SC 29072 Phone: 803-785-8212 Lexington 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 Lexington County, South Carolina Cemeteries.
 * National Cemetery Administration

Census Records

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

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. Includes this county.

1839 State Census
 * "The 1839 State Census of Lexington District," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Summer 1997):137-143.

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 version at Google Book. [See South Carolina, Lexington District on page 142.]

1850 Census takers uncharacteristically recorded the birth town or county of residents on the first page of enumeration for this census year. The returns have been published twice:
 * Harwell, Carolyn Lewis and Lexington Genealogical Association. Lexington County, South Carolina 1850 Census with Genealogical Data on Many Families. 1985. 975.773 X2h 1850
 * Buff, L.H., Margaret L. Hollis, Janice GartmanLee and Lexington Genealogical Association. Lexington County, South Carolina 1850 Census, Second Edition: With Genealogical Data on Most Families. 975.773 X2h 1850 1998

1860
 * Jones, Marvin D. 1860 Census, Lexington County, South Carolina. 2000. 975.773 X2j 1860
 * Trotter, Shirley F. Johnson. 1860 Census, Lexington County, South Carolina: With a Complete Index of Names Including the Mortality Schedule and the Slave Schedule. Lexington, S.C.: S.F.J. Trotter, 1991. 975.773 X2t 1860

1870
 * Trotter, Shirley F. Johnson and South Carolina Genealogical Society. Dutch Fork Chapter. 1870 Census, Lexington County, South Carolina with a Complete Name Index. Chapin, S.C.: Dutch Fork Chapter of the South Carolina Genealogical Society, 1989. 975.773 X2t 1870

Church Records
St. Stephen's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lexington, South Carolina: Church Records and Cemetery Inscriptions (Lexington, S.C.: Loyal Sunday School Class, 1989).LC 89-63490.

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * URL FamilySearch Places

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records Lexington County has court records from 1800 that are held in the office of the Clerk of Court. Lexington County was a part of the Orangeburg district from 1785-1800. The South Carolina Archives and History Center has court records available on microfilm for Lexington County. The Family History Library collection includes books and microfilm regarding court records for Lexington County.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans The 1860 slave schedule is abstracted in: Known plantations South Carolina Plantations:
 * United States African Americans
 * South Carolina African Americans
 * Trotter, Shirley F. Johnson. 1860 Census, Lexington County, South Carolina: With a Complete Index of Names Including the Mortality Schedule and the Slave Schedule. Lexington, S.C.: S.F.J. Trotter, 1991.
 * Burnt Mill
 * Chalk Hill
 * Corley Hill
 * Fox - Lexington
 * Green Acres - also called Lorick
 * Hayes
 * Jake Mack's Place - also called Samuel Jeffcoat
 * Little Hope
 * Lorick
 * The Point
 * Poor Hope
 * Red Tavern
 * Rising Hope
 * Samuel Jeffcoat - also called Jake Mack's Place
 * Samuel Lorick
 * Seawright Beaver Creek
 * Silver Hill

Genealogies
 General  Surname indexes to Leonardo Andrea's Files | Folders | Resources are available online, courtesy: The Andrea Files: South Carolina Genealogical Research. Learn more.
 * Gregg, E. Stuart. Miller, Lewis, King, Smith, Shealy--Some Families of the Old Lexington District Certain Lines of Descent from South Carolina Settlers, George Peter Miller, Charles Clark, David King, John W. Lewis, Henry Smith, Johann Caspar Mantz, Hans Amacher, Thomas Minnick, Hans Adam Summer, Johann Shely, and Some of Their Scions. Hilton Head Island, S.C.: E.S. Gregg, 1988.
 * Hammond, Wanda Amick and Lexington Genealogical Association. Lexington Lineage Charts, Volume 1 [South Carolina]. Lexington, S.C.: Lexington Genealogical Association, 1987.
 * Lexington County, SC Genealogy Forum (GenForum)

 Bibliography 
 * Ballington - Ballington, Lewis Clinton. The Ballington Family of Lexington County, South Carolina. S.C.?: L.C. Ballington, 2007.
 * Butler - Memoirs of General William Butler: Including a Brief Sketch of His Father and Brother, Who Fell in the Revolution, at Cloud's Creek, Lexington District, S.C. Atlanta, Ga.: Jas. P. Harrison &amp; Co., Printers and Binders, 1885. Digital version at Internet Archive.
 * Fox - Steadman, Joseph Earle. Ancestry of the Fox Family of Richland and Lexington Counties, South Carolina.
 * Hamiter - Hamiter, David L. "The Hamiter Family of South Carolina," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Winter 1995):3-12.
 * Langford - Langford, George Shealy. Langfords in America Sketches on Early Arrivals and Migrations: Genealogical Recording on Descendants from Early Saluda River, South Carolina Families (Lexington, Newberry, Saluda and Old Edgefield Counties), 1773-1975: Some Related Families [of] Holley, Waters, Shealy, Timms, Robertson. College Park, Md.: Langford, 1977.
 * Mathias Hammond, Frederick L. The Family Heritage of Long John Mathias and Quilla Bouknight Mathias of Lexington County, S.C. Typescript.
 * Shealy - Nichols, Carl W. "Shealy Family Gets a Biologic Birth Certificate," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Winter 2008):3-12.
 * Spence - "The Wife of James Spence of Lexington County," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Fall 2004):186.
 * 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 show where you may best expect to find land records.
 * Some Orangeburg District deeds were recorded in Charleston District and were not destroyed ** Orangeburg District and Lexington District records destroyed by fire in 1865.Only Lexington County deeds after 1839 survive.
 * Some Orangeburg District deeds were recorded in Charleston District and were not destroyed ** Orangeburg District and Lexington District records destroyed by fire in 1865.Only Lexington County deeds after 1839 survive.

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.
 * 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

Local Histories

 * The county is named after the Revolutionary War Battles of Lexington and Concord. Lexington County lies in the Dutch Fork region of the state.


 * Harman,Godfrey M.Uncle Josh Remembrances of Old Lexington County, South Carolina. (Lexington, South Carolina Lexington County Historical Society, c1990),85 pages. "In late 1870 Uncle Josh [Godfrey M. Harman] began publishing the Lexington Dispatch.... In 1922 at the age of 77 he undertook a series of articles describing his world as it was in the previous century. Book 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 Lexington County for European settlers included:
 * Occaneechi Path pre-historic
 * Fall Line Road about 1735 (overlapped Occaneechi Path in Lexington County)
 * Great Valley Road (south fork) 1740s (overlapped Occaneechi Path in Lexington County)
 * Old South Carolina State Road 1747

Military Records
General
 * "Lexington District militia petition, 1825," South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Winter 2003, Volume 31, Issue 1. Brent Holcomb: Columbia, SC.
 * "Militia list, 1847," Lexington Genealogical Exchange, Summer 1985, Volume 5, Issue 1. Lexington County Genealogical Association: Lexington, SC.

Revolutionary War
 * "Saxe Gotha and Dutch Fort revolutionary patriots," Lexington Genealogical Exchange, Spring 1985, Volume 4, Issue 4. Lexington County Genealogical Association: Lexington, SC.

War of 1812
 * 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, Lexington County, p. 186. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.
 * "Pension records applications," Lexington Genealogical Exchange, Winter 1996, Volume 15, Issue 3 and Winter 1995, Volume 14, Issue 3. Lexington County Genealogical Association: Lexington, SC.

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. Civil War service men from Lexington 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 formed with many men from Lexington County:
 * - 1st Battalion, South Carolina Sharpshooters, Company A (also known the Union Light Infantry and German Fusiliers), Company B (also known as the Sumter Guards), and Company C (also known as the Charleston Sharpshooters and Palmetto Guards)
 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry, Company A (also known as the Boykin Mounted Rangers and Hampton Scouts)
 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina Artillery, Company E
 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina State Troops Junior Reserves (State Militia), Company A, Company E, Company F, and Company G
 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina State Troops (6 months 1863-64), Company A, Company F, Company G
 * - 3rd Battalion, South Carolina Infantry (Lauren's) (James'), Company F (also known as the Harper Rifles)
 * - 3rd Battalion, South Carolina Light Artillery (Palmetto Battalion), Company F (also known as the Chestnut Light Artillery), Company G (also known as the DeSaussure Light Artillery and the DePass Light Battery), and Company K(also known as Richardson's Company)
 * - 3rd Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company C, Company E, and Company H
 * - 4th Regiment, South Carolina State Troop Junior Reserves, Company D
 * - 5th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry (Ferguson's), Company F
 * - 6th Battalion, South Carolina Reserves (Meriwether's), Company B and Company C
 * - 6th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry (Aiken's Partisan Rangers) (1st Partisan Rangers), Company B
 * - 6th Battalion, South Carolina Reserves (Meriwether's), Company B Roster and Company C Roster
 * - 7th Battalion, South Carolina Infantry (Nelson's) (Enfield Rifles), Company E
 * - 7th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry, Company D
 * - 9th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company K
 * - 12th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company D
 * - 13th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company H and Company K
 * - 14th Battalion, South Carolina Cavalry, Company C and Company D
 * - 15th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company C and Company I
 * - 15th Regiment, South Carolina Militia, Company A and Company H
 * - 16th Battalion, South Carolina Cavalry, Company B
 * - 20th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company B, Company C, Company I, Company H, Reorganized Company C, Reorganized Company H, Reorganized Company I, Reorganized Company K, and Reorganized Company L
 * - Aiken's Mounted Infantry, South Carolina

Other Resources
 * Lexington County, Clerk of Court. Confederate Pension and Veterans Records, 1861-1948. (Columbia, South Carolina: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1971). Most volumes are alphabetically arranged by surname. Four microfilms (1) Pension applications of Confederate veterans and their widows (some later) 1861-1919 Pension rolls (some years are missing) 1918-1948-FHL film 20685, (2) Confederate pension record 1888-FHL film 1027231, (3) Enrollment book of Confederate veterans 1903-1905, 1908-FHL film 1027232, (4) Confederate pension roll 1896, 1901-1919, 1923-FHL film 1027251 Microfilm copies at

Newspapers

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

Historic The Library of Congress has identified the following historic newspapers for Lexington 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.
 * Batesburg-Leesville News (Leesville, S.C.) 1921-1924.
 * Leesville News (Leesville, S.C.) 1906-1911.
 * Leesville Sun (Leesville, S.C.) 1905-1906.
 * Leesville Twin-County News (Leesville, S.C.) 1913-1921.
 * Lexington County Chronicle (Lexington, S.C.) 1992-current.
 * Lexington Dispatch-News (Lexington, S.C.) 1917-1919.
 * Lexington Telegraph (Lexington C.H., S.C.) 1853-1856.
 * Our News Letter (Summit, S.C.) 1894-1906.
 * Semi-Monthly Tribune (Leesville, S.C.) 1889-1890.
 * South Carolina Temperance Advocate and Register of Agriculture and General Literature (Columbia, S.C.) 1841-1854.
 * South Carolina Temperance Standard (Lexington, S.C.) 1854-1855.
 * South Carolina Temperance Standard (Lexington, S.C.) 1877-1877.
 * Southlan (Brookland, S.C.) 1895-1896.
 * The Batesburg Advocate (Batesburg, S.C.) 1901-1911.
 * The Batesburg Herald and the Leesville News-Advocate (Batesburg, S.C.) 1913-1918.
 * The Batesburg Sentinel (Batesburg, S.C.) 1889-1889.
 * The Carolina News (Chapin, S.C.) 1896-1904.
 * The Cayce-West Columbia Journal (West Columbia-Cayce, S.C.) 1987-1988.
 * The Chapin Times (Chapin, S.C.) 1976-current.
 * The Congaree Chronicle (West Columbia, S.C.) 1941-1942.
 * The Dispatch-News (Lexington, S.C.) 1919-current.
 * The Enterprise (Batesburg, S.C.) 1910-1915.
 * The Independent News of Irmo (Irmo, S.C.) 1980-current.
 * The Irmese Independent (Irmo, S.C.) 1978-1980.
 * The Journal (West Columbia, S.C.) 1960-1987.
 * The Leesville Lancet (Leesville, S.C.) 1897-1898.
 * The Lexington County Journal (West Columbia, S.C.) 1987-1987.
 * The Lexington Dispatch (Lexington, S.C.) 1870-1917.
 * The Lexington Flag (Lexington, S.C.) 1857-1861.
 * The Lexington News (Lexington, S.C.) 1915-1917.
 * The News-Advocate (Leesville, S.C.) 1911-1913.
 * The Peoples Advocate (Batesburg, S.C.) 1895-1895.
 * The Southern Headlight (Batesburg, S.C.) 1924-1924.
 * The Summerland Headlight (Batesburg, S.C.) 1924-1925.
 * The Summit Courier (Summit, S.C.) 1876-1879.
 * The Twin-City News (Batesburg, S.C.) 1925-current.
 * The Weekly Advocate (Batesburg, S.C.) 1895-1896.
 * The Weekly News (Lewiedale, S.C.) 1885-1888.
 * This Way (Batesburg, S.C.) 1894-1897.

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

Current
 * Lexington County Chronicle and The Dispatch-News (Lexington, S.C.) Online edition.

Periodicals

 * Lexington Genealogical Exchange (Family History Library book 975.773 D25l .)
 * South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research (Family History Library book 975.7 B2sc .)
 * Lutheran Visitor (Abstracts: 1866-1868, 1870-1904), including births, marriages, deaths.(Abstracted and contributed by Edith Greisser, South Carolina Genealogy Trails

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records The South Carolina Department of Archives and History hasmicrofilms or typescripts of wills, inventories, bills of sale, power of attorneys, bonds, notes, administrations, judgments, and sales records. This collection includes estate papers of the court of ordinary and probate courts from 1865-1900, with indexes from 1856-1940.Statewide Will Transcriptions for 1782 to 1855 is available online, with searchable index by name, and the image is available. Early probate records for Lexington County may be found in now-extinct Orangeburgh District. Estate papers of Lexington County probate court are available on microfilm from 1863-1900. Other probate records available in the county probate court and court of equity. Other microfilm probate record collections: Lexington County Probate Court Online Indexes (Estate and Marriages) Estate (1865-1994) Male Marriage (1911-1987) Female Marriage (1936-1987)
 * Will books, 1865-1908; index to estate papers, 1865-1940, Probate Court, Lexington County, South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1971.
 * Administrators and guardians records, 1809-1902, Probate Court and Court of Equity, Lexington County, South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1971.
 * 1670-1980 South Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1670-1980 at Ancestry.com — index & images, ($)
 * 1671-1977 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images Only
 * 1732-1964 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images Only
 * 1737-1964 South Carolina Probate Records, Files and Loose Papers, 1732-1964 at Ancestry - images ($)
 * 1782-1866 South Carolina, Will Transcripts 1782-1866 at Findmypast — index, ($) — $, index

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

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

Original sources Tax duplicate books survive. Copies of years 1868-1876:.

Published abstracts
 * Tax Executions, 1803, Carolina Herald and Newsletter, Vol. 30 (Jan. 2002).

Vital Records

 * Lutheran Visitor (Abstracts: 1866-1868, 1870-1904), including births, marriages, deaths. (Abstracted and contributed by Edith Greisser, South Carolina Genealogy Trails
 * Marriages &amp; Death Notice Abstracted from Newspapers in Camden, SC 1822-1842

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
 * Marriages of Lexington, Newberry, and Orangeburgh [sic] Counties, South Carolina by Martha H. Spivey WorldCat - index
 * 1911-1987 Probate Court Marriage Records Index - index
 * 1911-1958 Lexington County, South Carolina Marriage Licenses, 1911-1950; Indexes, 1911-1958 - index and records
 * 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
Online Death Records and Indexes
 * 1816-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1821-1969 South Carolina, U.S., Death Records, 1821-1969 at Ancestry - index & images, ($)
 * 1890-1910 - Inquisition Books, 1890-1910
 * 1915-1943 South Carolina, Deaths, 1915-1943 at MyHeritage - index & images, ($)
 * 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.

Family History Centers

 * Columbia South Carolina Family History Center
 * Lexington South Carolina Family History Center
 * West Columbia South Carolina Family History Center


 * Richland County Public Library - an affiliate library

Societies

 * Lexington County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 1442 Lexington SC 29072 Website

Websites

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