Oconee County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States  South Carolina  Oconee County

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

County Courthouse
Oconee County Courthouse 415 South Pine Street Walhalla, SC 29691

Clerk of Court P.O. Box 678 Walhalla, SC 29691 Phone: 864-638-4280 Court records

Register of Deeds 415 South Pine Street Walhalla, SC 29691 Phone: 864-638-4285 Land records

Probate Court P.O. Box 471 Walhalla, SC 29691 Phone: 864-638-4275 Probate and marriage records

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

History
The county is named after the Oconee tribe of Native Americans.

Parent County
1868--Oconee County was created 29 January 1868 from Pickens County. County seat: Walhalla

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

 * Lost census: 1890

Neighboring Counties

 * Anderson
 * Franklin County, Georgia
 * Habersham County, Georgia
 * Hart County, Georgia
 * Jackson County, North Carolina
 * Macon County, North Carolina
 * Pickens
 * Rabun County, Georgia
 * Stephens County, Georgia
 * Transylvania County, North Carolina

Research Guides

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

African Americans
United States African Americans South Carolina African Americans


 * Megginson, W.J. Black Soldiers in World War I: Anderson, Pickens and Oconee Counties, South Carolina; with a Discussion of Pensions for Civil War Slave Labor. Seneca, S.C.: Oconee County Historical Society, 1994.

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

Census
1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Oconee 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 Oconee County, SC census assignments, including links to transcribed files [The USGenWeb Census Project®]

Church
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Seneca

Presbyterian


 * The Old Stone Church, Oconee County, South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.?: Old Stone Church and Cemetery Association with cooperation of the Andrew Pickens and Cateechee Chapters, D.A.R., 1905. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

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

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.

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


 * Savannah River pre-historic
 * Old Cherokee Path pre-historic
 * Lower Cherokee Traders' Path pre-historic
 * Coosa-Tualoo Indian Warpath
 * Tugaloo-Apalachie Bay Trail
 * Augusta and Cherokee Trail in Georgia 1740s
 * Old South Carolina State Road 1747
 * Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail about 1765
 * Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path about 1777
 * Upper Road about 1783
 * Unicoi Trail or Turnpike 1813

French and Indian War

 * "Garrison at Ft. Prince George, 1756, Keowee," Tulsa Annals, January 1973, Volume 8, Issue 1. Tulsa Genealogical Society : Tulsa, OK.

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

Civil War
Oconee County was created in 1868, three years after the Civil War ended. During the Civil War, the area of Oconee County was part of Pickens District (later Pickens County). Men living in the area of what is now Oconee County may have served in regiments from Pickens District/County.


 * -1st Regiment, South Carolina Rifles (Orr's)


 * -Company A (also known as Kowee Riflemen)


 * -Company C (also known as Mountain Boys)


 * -Company E (also known as Oconee Riflemen)


 * -Company F (also known as Blue Ridge Rifles)


 * Bell, Louise Matheson. Rebels in Grey : Soldiers from Pickens District, 1861-1865 ( Seneca, S.C. : Greys of Oconee Chapter No. 1783, United Daughters of the Confederacy, ©1984), 172 pages. Concerns Pickens and Oconee Counties. Book atWorldCat.

Militia

 * Holder, Frederick C.; South Carolina (State) Militia, 2nd Regiment; South Carolina (State) Militia, 5th Regiment; Oconee County Historical Society (Oconee County, South Carolina). The Bailey A. Barton Muster Roll Book of Pickens District, South Carolina [1858]. Seneca, S.C.: Oconee County Historical Society, 1990. Book 975.723 M2b; Film 1697757 item 12. Reviewed in The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 91, No. 4 (Oct. 1990):280-281. Digital version of review at JSTOR ($). [Covers present Pickens and Oconee counties.]

Native American

 * Seaborn, Margaret Mills. From 1730 through 1776, Cherokee Indian Towns of Oconee County, South Carolina: With Principal Paths. n.p.: n.p., 1974. Map.

Newspapers
Historic

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


 * Farm and Factory (Seneca, S.C.) 1903-1929.
 * Keowee Courier (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current.
 * The Journal and Tribune (Seneca, S.C.) 1952-1985.
 * The Journal/Tribune (Seneca, S.C.) 1985-current.
 * The Messenger (Seneca, S.C.) 1954-current.
 * The New Carolinian (Seneca, S.C.) 1897-1898.
 * The Oconee News (Walhalla, S.C.) 1901-1911.
 * The Seneca Journal (Seneca, S.C.) 1930-1952.
 * The Westminster News (Westminster, S.C.) 1953-current.
 * Tugaloo Tribune (Westminster, S.C.) 1909-1952.
 * Walhalla Banner (Walhalla, S.C.) 185?-1???.

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 Pendleton District 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.

Published abstracts

 * [1864] Internal Revenue Assessment, 1864, Old Pendleton District Newsletter, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Mar. 2009).

To see how the Civil War financially impacted residents of Oconee County, South Carolina, compare values of real and personal estates on the 1860 Census, with 1866-1867 tax records:


 * [1866-1867] Rich, Peggy Burton and Margarette Gibbs Ogle. Pickens District, South Carolina 1866 Tax List, January 1, 1866- January 1, 1867. n.p.: South Carolina Genealogical Society. Old Pendleton Chapter, 1991.

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 Oconee 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.

Birth Substitutes - Indexes

1849-1949 - Keowee Courier Newspaper by Oconee County, South Carolina USGenWeb - index, incomplete

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 Oconee 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 and Records


 * 1826-1848; 1857-1871 - Abstract of Marriages and Deaths from the Pendleton Messenger, 1826- 1848, the Keowee Courier, 1857-1871 WorldCat - index
 * 1849-1868 - The Keowee Courier, 1849-1851, 1857-1861 and 1865-1868 by Colleen M. Elliot  WorldCat - missing years, index
 * 1849-1949 - Keowee Courier Newspaper by Oconee County, South Carolina USGenWeb - index, incomplete
 * 1911-1950 - Marriage Licenses, 1911-1950 - records
 * 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 Oconee 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


 * 1826-1848; 1857-1871 - Abstract of Marriages and Deaths from the Pendleton Messenger, 1826- 1848, the Keowee Courier, 1857-1871 WorldCat - index
 * 1849-1868 - The Keowee Courier, 1849-1851, 1857-1861 and 1865-1868 by Colleen M. Elliot  WorldCat - missing years, 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.

Societies
Old Pendleton District SCGS Chapter P.O. Box 603 Central SC 29630-0603 E-mail: [mailto:claytonroom@swi.edu claytonroom@swi.edu] Old Pendleton District includes Anderson, Oconee and Pickens Counties.

Oconee County Genealogical Society 247 Cross Hill Road Easley SC 29640 source: Society Hill

Family History Centers
Seneca South Carolina 5003 Wells Highway Seneca, Oconee, South Carolina, United States Phone: 864-886-9345 Hours: T,Th 10 a.m to 5 p.m Wed. 6;30 p.m. to 8;30 p.m. Closed: Closed Major Holidays

Web Sites

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