Lancaster County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States South Carolina  Lancaster County

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

County Courthouse
Lancaster County Courthouse 104 N. Main St. Lancaster, SC 29721

Clerk of Court 3888 Chester Highway Lancaster, SC 29720 Phone: 803-285-1581 Court records

Probate Court 101 North Main St., Room 121 Lancaster, SC 29720 Phone: 803-283-3379 Probate and marriage records

Register of Deeds 101 North Main Street Lancaster, SC 29720 Phone: 803-416-9440 Land records

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

History
The county is named after Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Parent County
1798--Lancaster County was created in 1798 from Camden District. County seat:  Lancaster

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
Although marauding federal soldiers attempted to fire the courthouse, many records were saved; loose equity papers, however, seem to have perished. Moreover, most of Lancaster's probate records were destroyed when Union cavalry intercepted in open country local officials who were attempting to remove the records to safety.

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

Neighboring Counties
Chester | Chesterfield | Fairfield | Kershaw | Mecklenburg County, North Carolina | Union County, North Carolina | York

Research Guides

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

African Americans
United States African Americans South Carolina African Americans


 * Heinegg, Paul. "'Other Free' Heads of Household in the 1790 South Carolina Census, by County," Free African Americans.com. [Includes free blacks in Lancaster County.]

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

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

1810

 * Small, Otha Burris. 1810 Lancaster County, South Carolina Census. Monroe, N.C.: O.B. Small, [199-?]. 975.745 X2s 1810

1820

 * 1820 Lancaster County, South Carolina Census. 975.745 X2L 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.]

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, Lancaster District on page 144.]

1850

 * Jeffcoat, Frances Reeves. Lancaster District, 1850 Census from the Seventh Census of the United States: Original Return of the Assistant Marshal, First Series, White and Colored Population, 30 June 1850, Ended 10 November 1850, K.G. Billings, Assistant Marshal. Columbia, S.C.: F.R. Jeffcoat, 1984. 975.745 X2j 1850

1860

 * Small, Otha Burris. 1860 Census of Lancaster County, South Carolina. 975.745 X2s 1860

1870

 * Small, Otha Burris. 1870 Census of Lancaster County, South Carolina. Monroe, N.C.: O.B. Small, 1991. 975.745 X2s 1870

1880

 * Small, Otha Burris. 1880 Census, Lancaster County, South Carolina. 975.745 X2s 1880

Church
The Inventory of (SC) Church Archives 1937-1939 is available for free online, courtesy: South Caroliniana Library. Lancaster County's W.P.A. reports are included.

DNA
DNA has been collected from men claiming descent from the following Lancaster County residents. FamilySearch has not independently verified the lineages of those tested.

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

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

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 show where you may best expect to find land records for Lancaster County:

* Some Camden District records are included with Kershaw County records

** Some early records may be found in North Carolina

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

 * Gardner, Miles. Further Tales of Murder and Mayhem : in Lancaster, Kershaw, and Chesterfield Counties (Spartanburg, South Carolina : Reprint Company Publishers, c2006), 296 pages. Book at  and Other Libraries.

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


 * Occaneechi Path pre-historic
 * Great Valley Road (south fork) 1740s (overlapped Occaneechi Path in Lancaster County)

General

 * "Gay Street Pres. church cem. veteran burials," Catawba-Wateree Messenger, September 2002, Volume 15, Issue 8. Catawba Wateree Genealogical Society : St. Camden, SC.
 * "Veterans buried, Old Presbyterian cemetery," Lancaster County Society of Historical Preservation Newsletter, November 1987. Lancaster County Society of Historical Preservation : Lancaster, SC.

Revolutionary War

 * "Massacre at Waxhaws, 1780," St. Lucie River Whig, Winter 2004, Volume 13, Issue 1. St. Lucie River Chapter : St. Lucie, Florida.
 * "Revolutionary War Pensioners, 1841," Carolinas Genealogical Society Bulletin, November 1965, Volume 2, Issue 3. Carolinas Genealogical Society : Monroe, NC. Book 975 B2c.

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, Lancaster County, p. 186. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

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


 * - 4th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry (Rutledge's)
 * - Company A (may have been known as Charleston Light Dragoons)
 * - Company H (also known as the Catawba Rangers)
 * - 5th Battalion, South Carolina Reserves (Brown's), Company E


 * Jeffcoat, Frances Reeves. South Carolina. Dept. of Archives and History.. Confederate Records, Lancaster District, South Carolina : Gleaned from South Carolina Department of Archives and History and the Lancaster Ledger   (Columbia, S.C. : F.R. Jeffcoat, ©1986.), 232 pages. "The base of the whole collection is taken from the "Lancaster Ledger," the newspaper serving the Lancaster District during the war. The rolls were taken from the "Confederate Rolls" in the archives in Columbia, S.C, old newspapers and a manuscript.... . The manuscript is believed to be those Confederate War Records of Lancaster District compiled by Mrs. Lottie B. Foster in 1902"--Pref., 3rd prelim.  Book found at  and Other Libraries.
 * South Carolina. County Court (Lancaster County). Confederate Veteran Enrollment Book. ( Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1956). Arranged by surname in alphabetical order. Microfilm copy at

Newspapers
Historic

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


 * Lancaster County Citizen (Lancaster, S.C.) 1916-1923.
 * Lancaster Enterprise (Lancaster, S.C.) 1891-1905.
 * The Carolina Review (Lancaster, S.C.) 1878-1880.
 * The Kershaw Era (Kershaw, S.C.) 1889-1938.
 * The Kershaw News-Era (Kershaw, S.C.) 1946-current.
 * The Kershaw Times (Kershaw, S.C.) 1938-1939.
 * The Lancaster Citizen (Lancaster, S.C.) 1923-1925.
 * The Lancaster News (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current.
 * The Lancaster Ledger (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905.
 * The Lancaster Review (Lancaster, S.C.) 1880-1905.

Current


 * The Lancaster News (Lancaster, S.C.) Online edition.

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:


 * Carolinas Genealogical Society Bulletin
 * Catawba-Wateree Messenger (Family History Library book 975.761 D25c .)

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.

Probate records of Lancaster County exist in the county probate court, the court of ordinary, and the court of equity. Court of equity records include testimonial evidence relative to last wills and testaments. Estate records of the probate court for Lancaster County, 1865-1950, have been microfilmed.

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 online tax lists for Lancaster County.
 * Tax duplicate books are kept at the county courthouse. Microfilmed reproductions (1868-1875, 1890):

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 Lancaster 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 Lancaster 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


 * 1852-1894 - Items of Interest from the Lancaster Ledger, Lancaster, South Carolina by Catherine Fussell Wells WorldCat - index
 * 1898-1951 - Lancaster County, South Carolina Marriage Registers, ca. 1898-1951 - records
 * 1898-1955 - Lancaster County, South Carolina Marriage Licenses, 1911-1950; Proofs of Marriage, 1898-1955; Unused Marriage License Affidavits (with names), 1911-1921 - index and records
 * 1913-1920 - Kershaw, South Carolina and Surrounding Area: Abstracts from the Kershaw Era and the Camden Chronicle, 1913-1920 by Carol P. McNaughton 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 Lancaster 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


 * 1852-1894 - Items of Interest from the Lancaster Ledger, Lancaster, South Carolina by Catherine Fussell Wells WorldCat - index
 * 1913-1920 - Kershaw, South Carolina and Surrounding Area: Abstracts from the Kershaw Era and the Camden Chronicle, 1913-1920 by Carol P. McNaughton 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.

Family History Centers
Family History Centers in South Carolina

Web Sites

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