Newberry County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States South Carolina  Newberry County

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

County Courthouse
Newberry County Courthouse 1226 College St. Newberry, SC 29108

Clerk of Court 1226 College St. P.O. Drawer 10 Newberry, SC 29108 Phone: 803-321-2110 Court and land records

Probate Court 1309 College St. Newberry, SC 29108 Phone: 803-321-2118 Probate and marriage records

Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday

History
The origin of the county's name is unknown. Many German immigrants settled in the Dutch Fork Area during the eighteenth century.

Parent County
1795--Newberry County was created in 1795 from District 96. County seat: Newberry

County Pronunciation

 * 1) Hear it spoken

Boundary Changes
"Rotating Formation South Carolina County Boundary Maps" (1682-1987) may be viewed for free at the My South Carolina Genealogy website. The maps rely on AniMap 3.0 software.

Record Loss
Pre-1881 General Sessions Indictments and pre-1870 Judgment Rolls were lost at an undetermined date, under unknown circumstances.

Populated Places
For further information (and links) on these populated places, please go to Populated Places, Newberry County, South Carolina

Neighboring Counties

 * Fairfield
 * Greenwood
 * Laurens
 * Lexington
 * Richland
 * Saluda
 * Union

Research Guides

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

African Americans
United States African Americans South Carolina African Americans


 * Greisser, Edith. African-American Cemeteries, Newberry, South Carolina. 2004?.
 * Heinegg, Paul. "'Other Free' Heads of Household in the 1790 South Carolina Census, by County," Free African Americans.com. [Includes free blacks in Newberry County.]
 * Motes, Margaret Peckham. Blacks Found in the Deeds of Laurens &amp; Newberry Counties, SC: 1785-1827 Listed in Deeds of Gift, Deeds of Sale, Mortgages, Born Free and Freed. Abstracted from Laurens County, SC Deed Books A-L and Newberry County, SC Deed Books A-G. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2002. Digital versions at Ancestry ($) and World Vital Records ($). Publisher's website.

Known plantations South Carolina Plantations:


 * Hardy
 * Oak Grove
 * Pomaria - Pomaria

Cemeteries
There are more than 450 burial grounds in the county. To view a list, see Newberry County, South Carolina Cemeteries.

Census
1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Newberry 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 Newberry County, SC census assignments, including links to transcribed files [The USGenWeb Census Project®]

1790

 * Sease, David Edmond and Edith Greisser. Federal Census Newberry South Carolina 1790, 1800, 1810. 2007. 975.739 X2s

1800

 * Sease, David Edmond and Edith Greisser. Federal Census Newberry South Carolina 1790, 1800, 1810. 2007. 975.739 X2s

1810

 * Sease, David Edmond and Edith Greisser. Federal Census Newberry South Carolina 1790, 1800, 1810. 2007. 975.739 X2s

1820

 * Greisser, Edith. 1820 Federal Census Newberry, South Carolina. 200-?. 975.739 X2g 1820

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; digital version at Lineages. [Includes this county.]

1830

 * Greisser, Edith. 1830 Federal Census Newberry County, South Carolina. 200-?. 975.739 X2g 1830

1840

 * Greisser, Edith. 1840 Federal Census Newberry County, South Carolina. 200-?. 975.739 X2g 1840

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 Books. [See South Carolina, Newberry District on page 142.]

1850

 * Wicker, Eleanor Clyburn et al. Newberry County, South Carolina, 1850 Census with Genealogical Data on Many Families. Newberry, S.C.: Newberry County Historical Society, 1985. 975.739 X28w 1850

1860

 * Sease, David Edmond. 1860 Census, Newberry County, South Carolina. n.p.: n.p., n.d. 975.739 X2s 1860 [Includes 1860 Mortality Schedule.]

1870

 * Bundrick, Betty Mooney. Newberry County, South Carolina 1870 Census: With Mortality Schedules, Agriculture Schedules, Census Index. [Chapin, S.C.]: Dutch Fork Chapter of the South Carolina Geneal. Society, 1990. 975.739 X2b 1870

1880

 * Greisser, Edith and Old Newberry District Genealogical Society. 1880 Census Newberry County, SC: Including the Townships of Newberry, Caldwell, Maybinton, Cromer, Reeder, Floyd, Moon, Mendenhall, Stoney, Battery, Cannon &amp; Heller. Clearwater, S.C.: Eastern Digital Resources, 2006. CD-ROM no. 5920

Church
The following Newberry County church records have been indexed on the International Genealogical Index:

Church of England (Anglican, Episcopal)
See St. Paul's Parish.

Court
Newberry County has court records from 1776 that are held in the office of the Clerk of Court. Newberry County was a part of the Ninety-Six District from 1785 - 1800. The records of the Ninety-Six District courts are housed in Abbeville County with the Clerk of Court.

The South Carolina Archives and History Center has court records available on microfilm for Newberry County.

The Family History Library collection includes books and microfilm regarding court records for Newberry County.

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 125 genealogies have been published about Newberry County families. To view a list, visit Newberry County, South Carolina Genealogy.

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

Genealogists have platted the early land records of Newberry County.

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 shows where you may best expect to find land records for Newberry County:

* Small portion ceded to Lexington County in 1788

** Small portion ceded to Lexington District in 1808


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

Local Histories

 * O'Neall, John Belton. The Annals of Newberry: In Two Parts. Newberry, S.C.: Aull &amp; Houseal, 1892. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * O'Neall, John Belton and John Abney Chapman. The Annals of Newberry in Two Parts (Baltimore, Maryland] : Clearfield, 1995). 861 pages. Part first by John Belton O'Neall, The Annals of Newberry, Historical, Biographical and Anecdotical, originally published in 1859. The 2nd part by John Abney Chapman, The Annals of Newberry; Historical, Biographical and Anecdotical ; also Religious, Medical and Literary, and includes biographical information and Civil War rosters. Civil War pages 374-445, 455-560 &amp; 803-804. Digital copies at Google books and Internet Archives. Book at  and Other Libraries.
 * Page, Thomas H. The History of Newberry County, South Carolina. 2 volumes. (Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1973).Contents: v. 1. 1749-1860. This volume deals with the settlement of the area, establishment of its ecomony, emigration from the district, changing the minds of the people because of the pressures of slavery, and the development of the county. Vol 2: 1860-1990. Overcoming the adversity of war and economic depression... Book at   and Other Libraries


 * Reviews:
 * By Daniel W. Hollis in The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 75, No. 1 (Jan. 1974):53-55. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * By Eric Russell Lacy in The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 40, No. 2 (May 1974):341-341. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * By W.W. Abbot in The Journal of American History, Vol. 60, No. 4 (Mar. 1974):1096. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * By Richard K. MacMaster in The American Historical Review, Vol. 79, No. 4 (Oct. 1974):1251-1252. Digital version at JSTOR ($).


 * Page, Thomas H. The History of Newberry County, South Carolina. Vol. II: 1860-1990. 975.739 H2p v. 2.


 * Reviews:
 * By Allan D. Charles in The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 94, No. 2 (Apr. 1993):148-149. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * By G. Wayne King in The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 60, No. 1 (Feb. 1994):145-147. Digital version at JSTOR ($).


 * Summer, George Leland. Newberry County, South Carolina : Historical and Genealogical Annals. (Baltimore : Genealogical Pub. Co., 1980, ©1950.). 483 pages. Originally, interested in making researches on Summer family and other pioneer families, added historical information.Book found at and Other Libraries.

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


 * Old South Carolina State Road 1747

General

 * "State militia court martial, 1818," Old Newberry District Quarterly, Winter 2002, Volume 11, Issue 4. Old Newberry District Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society : Newberry, SC.

Revolutionary War

 * "Pensioners in county, 1840," Old Newberry District Quarterly, Winter 2002, Volume 11, Issue 4. Old Newberry District Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society : Newberry, SC.
 * "Daniel Dewalt, Sr., Tory in War," Old Newberry District Quarterly, Summer 1999, Volume 8, Issue 2. Old Newberry District Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society : Newberry, SC.
 * "Loyalists in the Southern Campaign," Old Newberry District Quarterly, Spring 1999, Volume 8, Issue 1. Old Newberry District Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society : Newberry, SC.
 * "Revolutionary War claims," Dutch Fork Digest, July 1989, Volume 4, Issue 3. Dutch Fork Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society : Chapin, SC.
 * "Stub incidents, 1786," Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, December 1948, Volume 82, Issue 12. Daughters of the American Revolution " Washington D.C.
 * "Revolutionary soldiers, Newberry," American Irish Historical Society Journal, 1913, Volume 12. American Irish Historical Society Journal : New York, NY.

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, Newberry County, p. 187. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

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


 * - 3rd Regiment, South Carolina Infantry
 * - Company B (also known as Williams Guards)
 * - Company C - Prosperity (also known as Frog Level and Pickens Guards)
 * - Company E (also known as Quitman Rifles)
 * - Company F


 * - 4th Battalion, South Carolina Reserve, Companies A and C


 * - 5th Regiment, South Carolina State Troops, Company C


 * - 9th Regiment, South Carolina Reserves, Company F


 * - 13th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry,
 * - Company D
 * - Company G
 * - Company H


 * - 15th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry
 * - Company I


 * - 19th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company D


 * - 20th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry
 * - Company G
 * - Reorganized Company F
 * - Reorganized Company M


 * O'Neall, John Belton and John Abney Chapman. The Annals of Newberry in Two Parts (Baltimore, Maryland] : Clearfield, 1995). 861 pages. Part first by John Belton O'Neall, The Annals of Newberry, Historical, Biographical and Anecdotical, originally published in 1859. The 2nd part by John Abney Chapman, The Annals of Newberry; Historical, Biographical and Anecdotical ; also Religious, Medical and Literary, and includes biographical information and Civil War rosters. Civil War pages 374-445, 455-560 &amp; 803-804. Digital copies at Google books and Internet Archives. Book at  and Other Libraries.

Newspapers
Historic

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


 * The Anderson Intelligencer
 * The Conservatist (Newberry, S.C.) 185?-1???.
 * The Conservatist (Newberry, S.C.) 1858-1861.
 * The Courier &amp; Citizens Journal (Whitmire, S.C.) 1990-current.
 * The Eagle Eye (Prosperity, S.C.) 1901-1903.
 * The Evening Telegram (Newberry, S.C.) 1904-1904.
 * The Herald and News (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937.
 * The Intelligencer (Anderson, S.C.) 1915-1916
 * The Keowee courier (Pickens, SC) 1861-1900
 * The Lutheran Visitor (Columbia, S.C.) 1869-1904.
 * The Newberry Herald (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884.
 * The Newberry Herald and News (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903.
 * The Newberry Mirror (Newberry, S.C.) 18??-18??.
 * The Newberry News (Newberry, S.C.) 1878-1884.
 * The Newberry Observer (Newberry, S.C.) 1883-1901.
 * The Newberry Observer (Newberry, S.C.) 1929-1937.
 * The Newberry Observer and Herald and News (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-current.
 * The Newberry Sentinel (Newberry, S.C.) 1849-1855.
 * The Newberry Sun (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972.
 * The Observer (Newberry, S.C.) 1901-1929.
 * The Orangeburg News (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1911
 * The Peak News (Peak, S.C.) 1888-1890.
 * The Press and Reporter (Prosperity, S.C.) 1885-1897.
 * The Progressive Age (Newberry, S.C.) 1873-187?.
 * The Prosperity Advertiser (Prosperity, S.C.) 1897-1898.
 * The Rising Sun (Newberry, S.C.) 1856-186?.
 * The Sun (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1865.
 * The Tri-Weekly Herald (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1865.
 * The Watchman and Southron (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1922
 * The Whitmire Courier (Whitmire, S.C.) 1989-1990.
 * The Whitmire News (Whitmire, S.C.) 1934-1936.
 * The Whitmire News (Whitmire, [S.C.]) 1949-1989.

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:


 * Old Newberry District Quarterly

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.

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.

Estate indexes are available on microfilm from 1785-1985 at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, with actual records from 1785 to circa 1889. Another microfilm of this estate index from 1785-1945 available through the Family History Library. A printed estate index has also been published:


 * Glenda Bundrick [and] Ann (Smith) King, comp. Newberry, SC probate index, 1785-1992. [Newberry, South Carolina: Bundrick and King, 1992?].

The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Newberry District/County estate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Available indexes:


 * Newberry District Estate Records, Book A: 1787-1796
 * Newberry County Estate Records, Book B: 1800-1814
 * Newberry County Estate Records, Book C: 1800-1803
 * Newberry County Estate Records, Book D: 1803-1815
 * Newberry County Loose Estate Records 1790s-1820s

Taxation
Tax-related records are kept by the offices of the county Assessor, Auditor, Sheriff, and Treasurer. Taxes were levied on real and personal property and can help establish ages, residences, relationships, and the year an individual died or left the area. They can be used as substitutes for missing or destroyed land and census records.


 * South Carolina Department of Archives and History tax lists for Newberry County.

For advice on Newberry tax records, see:


 * Tax Record Tip, Deed Tip, Old Newberry District Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Spring 2007).

Original sources
Tax records, kept at the county courthouse, survive. Copies of years [blank]:.

Published abstracts

 * [1840] "1840 Tax Return for Newberry District," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Winter 1990):3-10; Vol. 18, No. 2 (Spring 1990):90-96.
 * [1840] Tax List, 1840, Old Newberry District Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Spring 2002).
 * [1851] General Tax List, 1851, Old Newberry District Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Fall 2001).
 * [1911] Taxation of Unmarried Men, Banning of Tights on Stage, and Beach Apparel Restrictions, 1911, Newberry County Historical and Museum Society Bulletin (Fall 2007).
 * [1913] Taxes, 1913, Newberry County Historical and Museum Society Bulletin (Fall 2008).

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 Newberry 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 Newberry 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 and Marriage Substitutes - Indexes


 * Marriages of Lexington, Newberry, and Orangeburgh [sic] Counties, South Carolina by Martha H. Spivey WorldCat - index
 * 1858-1877 - Early Newberry: Abstracts from Newberry Newspapers WorldCat - index
 * 1874-1877 - Early Newberry: Abstracts from Herald and Newberry Herald, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1877 by Edith Greisser WorldCat - index
 * 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 Newberry 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 Death Substitutes - Indexes and Records

Obituaries
 * 1858-1877 - Early Newberry: Abstracts from Newberry Newspapers WorldCat - index
 * 1874-1877 - Early Newberry: Abstracts from Herald and Newberry Herald, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1877 by Edith Greisser WorldCat - index
 * 1879-1893 - Coroner's inquisitions, Newberry County, South Carolina, 1879-1893 by Edith Greisser WorldCat - 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.


 * Obituary abstracts - time span varies; provided by the Newberry Public Libra

Libraries
Newberry County Library Sysyem From the Library's main page you can search the catalog.


 * Hal Kohn Memorial Library - Main Library 1100 Friend Street Newberry, South Carolina 29108-3416 Telephone: (803)276-0854
 * Whitmire War Memorial Library 1510 Church Street Whitmire, South Carolina 29178-1431 Telephone: (803)694-3961

Family History Centers
Dutch Fork/Irmo South Carolina 7449 Broad River Rd Irmo, Newberry, South Carolina, United States Phone: (803) 276-8716 Hours: T-W 7PM-9PM Attention: new phone number (803) 732-0251 if you'd like to leave a message

Web Sites

 * Newberry County, SCGenWeb
 * South Carolina Genealogy Trails: Newberry County
 * Newberry County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Newberry County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)