Chesterfield County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States  South Carolina  Chesterfield County

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

History
The county is named after British statesman Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773).

Parent County
1798--Chesterfield County was created in 1798 from Cheraws District. County seat: Chesterfield 

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

Neighboring Counties

 * Anson County, North Carolina
 * Darlington
 * Kershaw
 * Lancaster
 * Lee
 * Marlboro
 * Richmond County, North Carolina
 * Union County, North Carolina

Research Guides

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

Census
1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Chesterfield 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.

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.

Family Histories
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:


 * Locate publications about direct ancestors
 * Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
 * Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" [Friends, Associates, and Neighbors]

General

As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Chesterfield, South Carolina at World Connect, results in more than 10,000 entries.

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


 * Historical Society of Chesterfield County. Book Committee. The Heritage of Chesterfield County, South Carolina. Knoxville, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Pub., 2004.

Message Boards


 * Chesterfield County, SC Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Chesterfield County, SC Genealogy Forum (GenForum)

Bibliography


 * [Eddins] Rivers, Minnie Lee Sanders and Sharon F. Corey. Descendants of Nehemiah and Bedie Eddins, Chesterfield, South Carolina. Mt. Croghan, S.C.: S.F. Corey, 2000.
 * [Ellis] Raymond, Charles E. Journey into the Past with Reverend John Ellis and Catherine McCraney: of Chesterfield District, South Carolina, Darlington District, South Carolina, Conecuh County, Alabama and Wilcox County, Alabama. Murrieta, Calif.: C.E. Raymond, 2006. ; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Graves] Graves, Kenneth Vance. Robert Graves of Anson County, N. C. and Chesterfield County, S. C., Ancestors and Descendants (ca. 1580-1979) a Branch of the Descendants of Capt. Thomas Graves, 1608 Immigrant to Jamestown, Va.; Allied Families Include Austin, Bagley, Davis, Dunn, Guy, Pyle, Reeves, Sholars, Slater, Smith, Wallis, Ward, Weisinger and Others. Baltimore, Md.: Gateway Press, 1980.
 * [Hendrick] Hendrix, GeLee Corley. "Benjamin Hendrick (1730-1818) of Virginia and Carolina and Some of His Descendants," The American Genealogist, Vol. 65, No. 1 (Jan. 1990):44-53.

Land
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.

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Family History Library Catalog
 * Chesterfield County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)