Greenwood County, South Carolina Genealogy

Guide to  ancestry, family history and genealogy court records, deeds, maps, immigration, maps, military records, newspapers, obituaries, plantations, probate records, slaves, local archives, libraries, museums, churches, cemeteries, and Civil War records.

Description
The County was named for its county seat, Greenwood. This had been named around 1824 after a plantation owned by John McGehee, an early resident. The area was developed largely for cotton plantations and was dependent on slave labor. It has continued to be agricultural in the 21st century. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Greenwood County Courthouse 528 Monument Street Greenwood, SC 29646

Greenwood County Clerk of Court 528 Monument St., Room 114 Greenwood, SC 29646 Phone: 864-942-8546 Court and land records

Greenwood County Probate Court 528 Monument St., Room 205 Greewood, SC 29646 Phone: 864-942-8625 Probate and marriage records

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

Quick Facts
The county is named after Greenwood Plantation.

Parent County
2 March 1897: Greenwood County was created from Abbeville and Edgefield Counties. County seat: Greenwood

County Pronunciation

 * 1) Hear it spoken

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.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Research Guides

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

African Americans
United States African Americans South Carolina African Americans

Known plantations South Carolina Plantations:


 * Barratt House - also called Chinaquin Ridge
 * Chinaquin Ridge - also called Barratt House
 * J. Wesley Brooks House - also called Scotch Cross
 * Jew's Land
 * Leaside
 * Murrays Hard Labor - also called White Hall
 * Roselands
 * Scotch Cross - also called J. Wesley Brooks House
 * Stony Point
 * White Hall - also called Murrays Hard Labor
 * Winterseat

Cemeteries

 * There are more than 25 burial grounds in the county. To view a list, see Greenwood County, South Carolina Cemeteries.
 * National Cemetery Administration

Census

 * 1829-1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Greenwood 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.

Church History and Records
Greenwood County Churches identifies dozens of churches in the area, courtesy: South Carolina Genealogical Society.

Baptist

 * Siloam - records (1799-1853) available on microfilm at the University of NC Davis Library.

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
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 Greenwood, South Carolina at World Connect, produces more than 3,500 results.

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


 * Watson, Margaret J., Harry Legare Watson, and Louise M. Watson. Greenwood County Sketches: Old Roads and Early Families. Greenwood, S.C.: Attic Press, 1982. ; digital version at World Vital Records ($).

Message Boards


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

Bibliography


 * Dorn - Wood, Willie Mae G. Old Families of McCormick County, South Carolina and Dorn Families of Edgefield, Greenwood and McCormick Counties. 2 vols. 1982.

Land and Property
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 Greenwood County:

* Abbeville deeds burned in 1873 while in storage

** Records of Pendleton/Anderson County should also be checked

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

 * Bowen, Anne Herd. Greenwood County: a History (Greenwood, South Carolina: The Museum, 1992, c1992, Kingsport, Tennessee: Arcata Graphics), 400 pages. Concerns the very earliest people, institutions, and events. Book found at ▲

General

 * "Coronacco State Guards, 1833," Genealogical Roots and Branches, Winter 2001, Volume 22, Issue 4. Old Ninety-Six Chapter, SCGS: Greenwood, SC.

Revolutionary War

 * "Battle of Ninety Six note," SAR Magazine, Winter 2001, Volume 95, Issue 3. National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution: Louisville, KY.
 * "Veterans list, (sel.)," Genealogical Roots and Branches, Winter 2001, Volume 22, Issue 4. Old Ninety-Six Chapter, SCGS: Greenwood, SC.
 * "War in back country," Periodical: Journal of America's Military Past, Fall 1996, Volume 23, Issue 3. Council on America's Military Past : Ft. Myer, VA.

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)

Regiments. Greenwood County did not exist during the Civil War. Present day Greenwood County was created 2 March 1897 from Abbeville and Edgefield Counties. During the Civil War, men from the area of Greenwood County mostly would have served in various regiments recruited in Abbeville and Edgefield counties. Counties were called districts during the Civil War.

Other Resources
 * Eaton, Lafayette Claud. Butler Guards: Company B, 2nd South Carolina Infantry Regiment, Confederate States army (Vallejo, Calif.: L.C. Eaton, 1996?), 151 pages. Civil War pages. Includes index. Includes the final roll call of the original Butler Guards present at the surrender at Greensboro.The Butler Guards were originally a South Carolina state militia that became the core of Company B of the 2nd South Carolina Infantry Regiment. They later became a part of the United Confederate Veterans. Book found at
 * Cook, H. T. The Hard Labor Section. (S.l. : W.C. Kirkland?, 1993). 90 [40] pages. The Hard Labor area includes Greenwood &amp; McCormick counties. Includes lists of militiamen and confederate soldiers. Book at and Other Libraries.

Newspapers
Historic

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


 * Greenwood Daily Journal (Greenwood, S.C.) 1911-1919.
 * News and Views (Greenwood, S.C.) 1903-1906.
 * The Baptist Press (Greenwoood, S.C.) 1905-1907.
 * The Evening Index (Greenwood, S.C.) 1918-1919.
 * The Greenwood Herald (Greenwood, S.C.) 1938-19??.
 * The Greenwood Index (Greenwood, S.C.) 1897-1???.
 * The Greenwood Index (Greenwood, S.C.) 1897-1918.
 * The Greenwood Journal (Greenwood, S.C.) 1894-1911.
 * The Greenwood Light (Greenwood, S.C.) 1885-1886.
 * The Greenwood Plain Dealer (Greenwood, S.C.) 1939-1949.
 * The Greenwood Times (Greenwood, S.C.) 1889-1890.
 * The Greenwood Tribune (Greenwood, S.C.) 1885-1890.
 * The Greenwood Tribune (Greenwood, S.C.) 1934-19??.
 * The Index-Journal (Greenwood, S.C.) 1919-current.
 * The Mill Visitor (Greenwood, S.C.) 1916-19??.
 * The News Scimiter (Greenwood, S.C.) 1911-1913.
 * The Ninety-Six Guardian (Ninety-Six, S.C.) 1877-1879.
 * The Ninety-Six Herald (Ninety-Six, S.C.) 1876-187?.
 * The Ninety Six Star and County Review (Ninety Six, S.C.) 1981-1985.
 * The Observer (Ware Shoals, S.C.) 1981-current.
 * The Saluda Argus (Greenwood, S.C.) 1881-1884.
 * The South Carolina Baptist (Greenwood, S.C.) 1897-1905.
 * The Star and County Review (Ninety Six, S.C.) 1985-current.

Current


 * Index-Journal (Greenwood, S.C.) Online edition.

Obituary
Greenwood County Obituary Index

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:


 * Genealogical Roots and Branches

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.

South Carolina Genealogical Records: Volume 1, Abbeville County and parts of Greewood and McCormick Counties by Elizabeth Wood Thomas. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: Willo Publishing Co., C1964. Includes will book l (1787-1809), will book II (1815-1839) and index to equity records, 1791-1906.

Online Probate Records
 * 1670-1980 - South Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1670-1980 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1671-1977 - at FamilySearch — images
 * 1732-1964 - at FamilySearch — images
 * 1782-1866 - South Carolina, Will Transcripts 1782-1866 at findmypast — $, index

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 tax lists for Greenwood County.

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 Greenwood 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.


 * 1766-1900 - at FamilySearch — images

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 Greenwood 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


 * 1777-1852 - Abbeville District, South Carolina Marriages, 1777-1852 by S. Emmett Lucas, Jr. ▲  - index
 * 1846-1860 - Marriage and Death Notices from the Abbeville Banner, 1846-1860 bu E. Don Herd, Jr; Ann B. Herd ▲  - index
 * 1911-1950 - Greenwood County, South Carolina Marriage Licenses, 1911-1950 - index and 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 Greenwood 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


 * 1846-1860 - Marriage and Death Notices from the Abbeville Banner, 1846-1860 bu E. Don Herd, Jr; Ann B. Herd ▲  - index
 * 1915-1965 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 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.

Libraries
[http://www2.youseemore.com/Greenwood/default.asp? Greenwood County Library] Address: 106 N. Main St. Greenwood, SC 29646 Telephone: 864-941-4650 Hours: Sunday 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p. m., Monday to Wednesday 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Thursday to Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Genealogy/Local History Link

Ninety Six Branch Library Address: 118 Cambridge St. South Ninety Six, SC 29666 Telephone: 864-543-4749 Hours: Monday 9am-7:30pm, Tuesday-Friday 9am-5:30pm

Ware Shoals Community Library Address: 54 South Greenwood Ave. Ware Shoals, SC 29692 Telephone: 864-456-2813 Hours: Monday 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday-Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

South Carolina Digital Library (SCDL) is a collaborative effort that includes South Carolina’s schools, libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions. Collaborating groups are encouraged to create, maintain, and promote digital collections that represent South Carolina's historical and cultural resources. A number of Greenwood County items are in the collection. To see images from Greenwood County, Click Here.

Family History Centers

 * Greenwood South Carolina Family History Center - A wealth of resources are available for persons researching ancestors in Greenwood County. Contact the family history center to learn what documentation is avialable and where to access genealogical records.

Open Hours: Mon 12pm-4pm Wed 1pm-8pm (Closed every third Wednesday of the month) Sat 11am-4pm Sun 8am-9:30am and 1:30pm-4pm A family history consultation is provided for each patron to identify useful resources and helpful training. Also, the center is run by volunteer staff and is subject to closures. Please make an appointment by calling (864) 337-7931 or contact via e-mail: SC_Greenwood@familyhistorymail.org.

Societies - Genealogical, Historical, Lineage
Old 96 Chapter SCGS P.O. Box 3468 Greenwood SC 29648-3468 Old 96 Chapter covers Greenwood, Abbeville and part of Edgefield and McCormick Counties.

Greenville County Chapter SCGS Box 16236 Greenville, SC 29606 Research Library = Greenville County Public Library Facebook

Websites

 * Greenwood County, SC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * Greenwood County, SCGenWeb
 * Greenwood County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)