Georgetown County, South Carolina, Genealogy

United States  South Carolina  Georgetown County

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

County Courthouse
Georgetown County Courthouse 715 Prince St. P.O. Box 1270 Georgetown, SC 29442

Georgetown County Clerk of Courts 401 Cleland St., 1st Floor, Room 115 Georgetown, SC 29442 Phone: 843-545-3215 Court records

Georgetown County Probate Court 401 Cleland St., Room #140 Georgetown, SC 29442 Phone: 843-545-3274 Probate and marriage records.

Georgetown County Registrar of Deeds 129 Screven St., Room 109 Georgetown, SC 29442 Phone: 843-545-3088

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

History
The county is named after King George II of Great Britain (1683-1760).

Parent County
1769--Georgetown County was created in 1769 from Craven (Old) County. County seat: Georgetown 

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.

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890
 * Pre-Civil War land records are lost

Neighboring Counties
Berkeley | Charleston | Horry | Marion | Williamsburg

Research Guides

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

African American

 * Gourdin, John Raymond. Gourdin the History and Genealogy of a French-African-American Family from Georgetown County, South Carolina (1830-1994). Baltimore, Md.: Gateway Press, 1995.
 * Heinegg, Paul. "'Other Free' Heads of Household in the 1790 South Carolina Census, by County," Free African Americans.com. [Includes free blacks in All Saints Parish, Prince Frederick's Parish, Georgetown District.]
 * Ohline, Howard A. "Georgetown, South Carolina: Racial Anxieties and Militant Behavior, 1802," The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 73, No. 3 (Jul., 1972), pp. 130-140. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * Ricards, Sherman J. and George M. Blackburn. "A Demographic History of Slavery: Georgetown County, South Carolina, 1850," The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 76, No. 4 (Oct., 1975), pp. 215-224. Digital version at JSTOR ($).

Cemeteries

 * Elzas, Barnett A. The Jewish Cemetery at Georgetown, S.C. Charleston, S.C.: B.A. Elzas, 1910. Digital version at Internet Archive.
 * "Inscriptions from the Churchyard of Prince George Winyah Georgetown, South Carolina," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Jul., 1930), pp. 184-208; digital version at JSTOR ($); Vol. 31, No. 4 (Oct., 1930), pp. 292-313; digital version at JSTOR ($).

Census
1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Georgetown 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 Georgetown County, SC census assignments, including links to transcribed files [The USGenWeb Census Project®]

1790

 * Grant, Marvin A. 1790 Census Georgetown District South Carolina: A Full Transcription of the 1790 Census of the Georgetown District, South Carolina. Kinston, N.C.: M.A. Grant, 2004. 975.789 X2g 1790

1810

 * Teel, Dorothy Owens and Three Rivers Historical Society (Hemingway, S.C.). The 1810 Census of Georgetown District and the 1810 Census of Horry District, South Carolina. 199-?. 975.78 X2t 1810

1850

 * Three Rivers Historical Society. Georgetown County [South Carolina] 1850 Census. Hemingway, S.C.: Three Rivers Historical Society, 1985. 975.789 X2g 1850

1860

 * Wyndham, Melissa J. The 1860 Census of Georgetown County, South Carolina. n.p.: n.p., n.d. 975.789 X2w

1880

 * Tell, Dorothy Owens. 1880 Census, Georgetown County, South Carolina. Hemingway, S.C.: Three Rivers Historical Society (South Carolina), 1985. 975.789 X2t 1880

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

Baptist


 * Mitchell, Thomas R. An Oration Delivered in the Baptist Church in Georgetown, S.C. on Wednesday, the 24th of June, 1818: In Commemoration of St. John the Baptist: By Appointment of the Members of Winyaw Lodge No. 69, Ancient Free Masons. Georgetown, S.C.: Winyaw Intelligence Press, 1818. Digital version at Internet Archive.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Georgetown

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 Georgetown, South Carolina at World Connect, produces more than 8,000 results.

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


 * Fairbourn, Joann Carroll. Georgetown Families Containing Families Living in Georgetown, South Carolina, 1750-1850. Austin, Texas: J.C. Fairbourn, n.d.

Message Boards


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

Bibliography


 * [Bingham] Marsh, Mary Bingham. Bingham or Bigham - Ancestry and De[s]cendants of James Bingham or Bigham Sr. of Marion District, S.C. Hemingway, S.C.: Three Rivers Historical Society, 1995.
 * [Gourdin] Gourdin, John Raymond. Gourdin the History and Genealogy of a French-African-American Family from Georgetown County, South Carolina (1830-1994). Baltimore, Md.: Gateway Press, 1995.
 * [Potts] Revised Pedigree, Potts of Georgetown, S.C. MSS., South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, S.C. Microfilmed 1952. Item 28

Immigration

 * Bridwell, Ronald E. "... That We Should Have a Port..." A History of the Port of Georgetown, South Carolina, 1732-1865. 2 vols. Georgetown, S.C.: The Georgetown Times, 1982. Volume I reviewed by Arthur P. Wade, The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 84, No. 3 (Jul., 1983), p. 182; digital version at JSTOR ($). Volume II reviewed in The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 92, No. 3 (Jul., 1991), p. 224; digital version at JSTOR ($).

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.

Local Histories

 * Bull, Henry DeSaussure. The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of South Carolina. 1935. Digital version at Internet Archive. [Address about the history of Colonial Georgetown.]
 * Rogers, George C. The History of Georgetown County, South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1970.

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, Georgetown County, p. 185. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Newspapers
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.

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