Florence County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States  South Carolina  Florence County

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

County Courthouse
Florence County Courthouse 180 N. Irby St. Florence, SC 29501-3431 Phone: 843-665-3031

Florence County Probate Court 180 N. Irby St. Florence, SC 29501 Phone: 843-665-3085 Probate and marriage records

Florence County Clerk of Court 180 N. Irby St. Florence, SC 29501 Phone: 843-665-3031 Court and land records

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

History
The county is named after Florence Harllee.

Parent County
1888--Florence County was created 22 December 1888 from Marion, Darlington, Clarendon and Williamsburg Counties. County seat: Florence

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
Clarendon | Darlington | Dillon | Lee | Marion | Marlboro | Sumter | Williamsburg

Research Guides

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

African Americans
United States African Americans South Carolina African Americans

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

Census
1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Florence 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.

1900


 * Tanner, Vernon M. 1900 Census of the United States, State of South Carolina, County of Florence. 2 vols. Hemingway, S.C.: Three Rivers Historical Society, n.d. 975.784 X2t 1900

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Florence

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
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 Florence, South Carolina at World Connect, produces more than 4,500 results.

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

Message Boards


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

Bibliography


 * [Keeffe] Hanna, Muriel K. Keeffe/Keefe/Keith Family of Florence and Marion Counties, South Carolina. Summerton, S.C.: M.K. Hanna, 2004.
 * [Lee] Brown, Gerald D. A Genealogy of a Lee Family Ancestry and Descendants of David Lee, Sr.: Mainly of Old Williamsburg District - Present Day Florence County, South Carolina. Hemingway, S.C.: Three Rivers Historical Society, 1995.
 * [Lewis] Lewis, J.D. My Neck of the Woods: The Lewis Families of Southeastern North Carolina and Northeastern South Carolina. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2002. book 929.273 L585Ljd, CD-ROM no. 1036

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

 * King, G. Wayne. "The Emergence of Florence, South Carolina, 1853-1890," The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 82, No. 3 (Jul., 1981), pp. 197-209. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * Gregg, Alexander. History of the Old Cheraws : Containing an Account of the Aborigines of the Pedee, the First White Settlements, their Subsequent Progress, Civil Changes, the Struggle of the Revolution, and the Growth of the Country Afterward, Extending from About A.D. 1730 to 1810 with Notices of Families and Sketches of Individuals   (Baltimore, Maryland : Genealogical Pub. Co., 1967 ), 629 pages. Book at
 * King, G. Wayne. Rise Up So Early : a History of Florence County, Sourth Carolina (Spartanburg, South Carolina : Reprint Company, 1981), 452 pages. Includes bibliographical references and index. Book found at

General

 * "Mars Bluff Light Dragoons, votes," Pee Dee Queue, November 1985, Volume 9, Issue 11. Pee Dee Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society : Marion, SC.
 * "Mars Bluff Light Dragoons, roll, 1837," Pee Dee Queue, September 1985, Volume 9, Issue 9. Pee Dee Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society : Marion, SC.

Civil War

 * King, G. Wayne. Rise Up So Early : a History of Florence County, Sourth Carolina (Spartanburg, South Carolina : Reprint Company, 1981), 452 pages. Includes bibliographical references and index. Civil War pages 45-58. Book found at

Newspapers
Historic

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


 * Black Sun (Columbia, S.C.) 1977-current.
 * Florence County Journal (Timmonsville, S.C.) 1925-1929.
 * Florence Morning News (Florence, S.C.) 1945-current.
 * Florence Times (Florence, S.C.) 1876-1896.
 * Florence Times (Florence, S.C.) 1965-1970.
 * Lake City News (Lake City, S.C.) 1910-1972.
 * Lake City News and Post (Lake City, S.C.) 1972-current.
 * Morning News (Florence, S.C.) 1929-1945.
 * Pee Dee Times (Florence, S.C.) 1987-1992.
 * The Farmers' Friend (Timmonsville, S.C.) 1887-1889.
 * The Florence Pioneer (Florence, S.C.) 1872-1876.
 * The Florence Star (FLorence, S.C.) 1941-1941.
 * The Timmonsville News (Timmonsville, S.C.) 1875-187?.
 * The Advertiser (Timmonsville, S.C.) 1934-1934.
 * The Banner Messenger (Florence, S.C.) 1896-1896.
 * The Dewey Eagle (Lake City, S.C.) 1898-1901.
 * The Evening Herald (Florence, S.C.) 1903-1904.
 * The Examiner (Florence, S.C.) 1977-1978.
 * The Florence Advertiser (Florence, S.C.) 1932-1932.
 * The Florence Daily Times (Florence, S.C.) 1894-1925.
 * The Florence Evening Star (Florence, S.C.) 1939-1941.
 * The Florence Journal (Florence, S.C.) 1978-1983.
 * The Florence Messenger (Florence, S.C.) 1889-1896.
 * The Florentine (Florence, S.C.) 1957-1958.
 * The Lake City Post (Lake City, S.C.) 1968-1972.
 * The Morning News Review (Florence, S.C.) 1923-1929.
 * The Olanta Observer (Olanta, S.C.) 1915-1920.
 * The Reform Advocate (Florence, S.C.) 1893-1914.
 * The Rutledge County News (Lake City, S.C.) 1908-1910.
 * The Times (Florence, S.C.) 1992-current.
 * The Times-Herald (Lake City, S.C.) 1949-1967.
 * The Times-Messenger (Florence, S.C.) 1896-1919.
 * The Timmonsville Enterprise (Timmonsville, S.C.) 1895-1925.
 * The Timmonsville News (Timmonsville, S.C.) 1964-1972.
 * The Timmonsville News (Timmonsville, S.C.) 1925-1933.
 * The Timmonsville Times (Timmonsville, S.C.) 1946-1958.
 * The Watchman and Defender (Timmonsville, S.C.) 1920-1931.
 * The Weekly News Review (Florence, S.C.) 1922-1923.
 * Timmonsville News-Argus (Timmonsville, S.C.) 1937-1937.


 * Ancestry.com. The Morning News Review [1924-1928] (Florence, South Carolina) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Ancestry.com. Florence Morning News [1929-1977] (Florence, South Carolina) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Ancestry.com. Morning News [1936] (Florence, South Carolina) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Available at Ancestry ($).

Florence County Information Portal

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:
 * Pee Dee Queue
 * Three Rivers Chronicle

Published abstracts
Holcomb and Lucas's publication includes the area that later became Florence County:


 * [1811, 1814, 1824] Holcomb, Brent H. and Silas Emmett Lucas. Some South Carolina County Records... 2 vols. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1976-1989. [Includes 1811, 1814, and 1824 tax lists for Marion District.]
 * [1930s] Grandma's Trunk, Tax Receipts, 1930s, Three Rivers Chronicle, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Summer 2001).

Archives, Libraries, and Museums
Florence County Library Systemconsists of a Main Library, five branch facilities, and a bookmobile. The library systen is on Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter.

Florence - Main Library 509 South Dargan Street Florence, South Carolina 29506 Phone: (843) 662-8424 Fax: (843) 661-7544 The E.N. Zeigler South Carolina History Room in the Florence Library contains many genealogical resource. Researchers will find one the largest genealogical collections in northeastern South Carolina. Cemetery surveys for most South Carolina counties, as well as deed, probate, and newspaper abstracts that include South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia. It is home to the Graham Collection, purchased in 1927 by the Library from the estate of Samuel A. Graham, State Senator from Williamsburg County. This unique collection of rare Americana is especially rich in South Carolina items and includes several exceedingly rare maps, such as Nicola Sanson’s 1696, Herman Moll’s 1715, Henry Mouzon’s 1773 and 1775, and William de Brahm’s 1780. SC Room Phone: 843-413-7073/7060 SC Room email: scroom@florencelibrary.org.

Johnsonville 242 South Georgetown Highway Johnsonville, South Carolina 29555 Phone: (843) 386-2052 Fax: (843) 380-1302

Lake City 221 East Main Street Lake City, South Carolina 29560 Phone: (843) 394-8071 Fax: (843) 394-1033

Olanta 210 E. Hampton Street Olanta, South Carolina 29114 Phone: (843) 396-4287 Fax: (843) 396-9317

Pamplico 100 East Main Street Pamplico, South Carolina 29583 Phone: (843) 493-5441 Fax: (843) 493-0361

Timmonsville 298 W. Smith Street Timmonsville, South Carolina 29161 Phone: (843) 346-2941 Fax: (843) 346-2931

Societies
Pee Dee Chapter SCGS Old Marion District P.O. Box 1428 Marion SC 29571-1428 Old Marion District includes Marion, Florence and Dillon Counties.

Family History Centers
Florence South Carolina 1620 Malden Dr Florence, Florence, South Carolina, United States Phone: 843-669-0100 Hours: T- Th &amp; Sat 10am-3pm, Closed: Closed Major Holidays Attention: whwiggins

Web Sites

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