South Carolina, State and Territorial Censuses - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection consists of census records ranging from 1829 to 1920. This collection includes the following censuses:
 * South Carolina state 1829, 1839, 1869, 1875
 * Aiken City, 1868
 * Edgefield village, 1891
 * Georgetown City, 1920
 * Union County, 1869

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:


 * Full name of your ancestor
 * Others living in same household
 * Relationship to others in household
 * Age
 * Gender


 * Color or race
 * Numbers of individuals in the household grouped by age or color
 * Address
 * Employment
 * Occupation


 * Military service
 * Number of children born/living
 * Education
 * Ability to read/write

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The residence of your ancestor.
 * The approximate age of your ancestor.
 * The names of other family members and their relationships.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date and locate birth records in county files.
 * Look for your ancestor in every census during his or her lifetime.
 * Study others in the same household, neighbors, and anyone with similar names nearby on the censuses to locate possible relatives.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may live nearby.
 * If your ancestor used multiple names throughout their life, look for all their names.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. In addition local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.
 * A boundary change could have occurred and the record of your ancestor is now in a neighboring locality.
 * There is also the possibility that a family was missed in the census or may not have fit the group of people that were included in the census.

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of South Carolina.
 * South Carolina Guided Research
 * South Carolina Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Related Family History Library Holdings

 * South Carolina state population census schedules, 1869
 * South Carolina, state and territorial censuses, 1829-1920

Related FamilySearch Historical Record Collections

 * South Carolina, County Voter Registration Records, 1882-1895

Citing this Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.