Craven County, South Carolina Genealogy

History
Craven County was created by the Carolina Proprietors in 1664 as an original county. At first it consisted of everything south of Cape Fear, North Carolina, but starting in 1682 other counties began to be carved out of its territory. See the 1760 South Carolina map.

From 1664 to 1768 this original Craven County was never surveyed or properly laid out. Its boundaries were ambiguous and changed over time. Its county government never became functional. Most records were kept at the parish level; none were kept at the county level. There was no county seat. There were no political connotations to the county's existence. In this case the term "county" had no meaning other than to describe an approximate geographical area. It was a county in name only.

Craven County was abolished in 1768.

For documents of people who lived in this area 1664 to 1768, look in:


 * St. James Santee Parish records since 1706
 * Prince George Parish records since 1721
 * Prince Frederick Parish records since 1734
 * St. Stephen's Parish records since 1754
 * St. Mark's Parish records since 1757
 * All Saints Parish records since 1767
 * St. David's Parish records since 1768
 * papers filed in the early capital at Charleston, South Carolina.

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating South Carolina county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation South Carolina County Boundary Maps" (1682-1987) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Genealogy
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]


 * [Barnett] Wear, Kyle. "Proposed Ancestry and Extended Family of William Barnett," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Summer 2008):123-138.
 * [Blassingame] Lafo, Susan, Phyllis Harrison, Barbara Bleades, and Larry Tyner. "Blassingame Myths and Facts," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Spring 1998):70-76.
 * [Brockington] Wells, Laurence K. "Brockington Family Origins," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Winter 2010):39-41.
 * [Cantey] The Colonial Dames of America. Ancestral Records and Portraits, 2 vols. New York: The Grafton Press Publishers, 1910. Digitized by Internet Archive: Vol. I and Vol. II - both free.
 * [Kelly] Hendrix, GeLee Corley. "Going beyond the Database - Interpretation, Amplification, and Development of Evidence: South Carolina's COM Index and Several James Kelleys," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 86, No. 2 (June 1998):116-133..
 * [McGirtt] The Colonial Dames of America. Ancestral Records and Portraits, 2 vols. New York: The Grafton Press Publishers, 1910. Digitized by Internet Archive: Vol. I and Vol. II - both free.

Published abstracts

 * [1768] Quit Rent Rolls. [Includes Craven County]

Websites

 * Craven County, South Carolina, courtesy: Carolana.com. Includes history.