Beaufort County, South Carolina Genealogy

Guide to Beaufort County, South Carolina ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Beaufort County Courthouse 100 Ribaut Rd Beaufort, SC 29902 Telephone: 843-521-5050 Beaufort County Website

County Pronunciation .

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:

Cemeteries

 * To view a list, see Beaufort County, South Carolina Cemeteries.
 * National Cemetery Administration

Census Records

 * 1829-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index & Images

1790
 * Jarrell, Lawrence E. Early Beaufort South Carolina Census. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 1998. 975.79 X2jL

1800
 * Jarrell, Lawrence E. Early Beaufort South Carolina Census. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 1998. 975.79 X2jL

1810
 * Jarrell, Lawrence E. Early Beaufort South Carolina Census. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 1998. 975.79 X2jL

1820
 * Jarrell, Lawrence E. 1820 Beaufort District, South Carolina Census. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 1998. 975.799 X2j 1820

1839
 * "The 1839 State Census of Beaufort District," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Summer 2008):139-143; Vol. 36, No. 4 (Fall 2008):193-195; Vol. 37, No. 1 (Winter 2009):29-31; Vol. 37, No. 2 (Spring 2009):89-91; Vol. 38, No. 2 (Spring 2009):89-91. Abstract of SCDAH microfilm CN 656B.

1850
 * Caldwell, Betsy McIntosh, Ann Kirkland Laffitte, and Lucy Keating Cobb. The 1850 Census of St. Luke's Parish, Beaufort County, South Carolina. Bluffton, S.C.: Bluffton Historical Preservation Society, 1984. 975.799 X2c 1850
 * Jarrell, Lawrence E. 1850 Beaufort District, South Carolina Census Complete Transcription of the Free Schedule, U.S. Federal Census; Current Counties of Beaufort, Hampton, Jasper and Parts of Allendale, South Carolina. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 2000. 975.799 X2j 1850

Church Records
For documents of early residents in this area, look in: The following Beaufort County church records have been indexed on the International Genealogical Index:
 * St. Helena's Parish since 1712
 * Prince William Parish since 1745
 * St. Peter's Parish since 1747
 * St. Lukes Parish since 1767

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans Beaufort County, South Carolina African Americans
 * For a list of known plantations see: South Carolina Plantations.

Genealogies

 * [Albergotti] Albergotti, William Greer. The Chronicles of the Albergotti Family in the Colony of South Carolina, 1732-1776, the State of South Carolina, 1776-1978. Anderson, S.C.: W.G. Albergotti, 1979. 929.273 AL14aw
 * [Bedon] Bedon Family. No publication information. 929.273 B391bed
 * [Black] D.A.R. Charlevoix Chapter (Blytheville, Arkansas). Black: Transcript of Bible Records, 1798-1962. 929.273 B561bLa
 * [Box] Koonce, Herbert F. Paternal Genealogy of the Box Family. [Ala.?]: H.F. Koonce, 1971. 1027881 Item 2
 * [Bradley] Drake, Charles E.F. "Benoni Bradley of Beaufort: A Connecticut Yankee in the Low Country," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Reseach, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Summer 2005):127-132.
 * [Breler] Slaymaker, Susan Clark. The Ancestry of Susan Clark Slaymaker Anderson, Aultman, Beattle, Bellote, Blount, Breland, Bryant, Calcoat, Carruth, Clark, Cowan, Credille, Crenshaw, Durant, Earnest, Eldridge, Floyd, Franklin, Johnson, Kelly, Kirland, Kittrell, McKee, Morris, Odom, Osborne, Ousley, Perry, Pipkin, Powell, Rowland, Savell, Slocumb, Steen, Thompson, Waller, Willis/Willix, Wilson. Gold River, Calif.: S.C. Slaymaker, 1988. 929.273 A1 no. 2312
 * [Breler] Slaymaker, Susan Clark. Southern Born and Southern Bred Family Group Sheets of the Anderson Altman/Aultman, Beatty, Bellote, Blout, Breland/Brealer, Bryant, Carruth, Clark, Cocke, Earnest, Floyd, Franklin, Gulley/Gully, Harris, Hart, Hinnant, Hodges, Hooks, Houston, Johnson, Kirkland, Kittrell, Odom, Osborne, Ousley/Owsley, Perry, Sanders/Saunders, Savell, Slocumb, Steen, Tully, Waller, West, Willis/Willix, Wilson ancestors of Susan Clark Slaymaker. Gold River, Calif.: S.C. Slaymaker, 1990. 6334341; 1991 Supplement:  6334444
 * [Cole] Long, Mary Cole Farrow. Stranger in a Strange Land, from Beaufort, South Carolina, to Galveston Island, Republic of Texas, a Biography of Judge James Pope Cole (1814- 1886). Belton, Texas: Bear Hollow Publishers, 1986.
 * [DeLoach] DeLoach, Harry R. DeLoach Families, 1630-1980 William, William I, William II, Hardy: Descendants of Hardy DeLoach, First DeLoach Settler in Georgia. Claxton, Ga.: H.R. DeLoach, 1981. 929.273 D382d
 * [Dixon] Mann, Jean Anne Dixon. Dixon: A Pioneer Family in Florida. Fernandina Beach, Fla.: J.D. Mann, 1992. 929.273 D643m
 * [Donehue] Andrea, Leonardo. Donehue. Typescript, 1949. 1033991 Item 33
 * [Durling] Durling, Fred Albert. Durling - Rohrmoser Pedigrees, 1628-1972. Typescript. Microfilmed 1983. 6018729; Spanish version:  929.27287 D935d
 * [Durling] Durling, Fred Albert. Genealogy and History of the Durling Family in the United States and Panama. Typescript. 1983-1988. 1033938 Item 30; revised edition: 1320635 Item 37, revised edition (1988): 1320836 Item 7
 * [Heyward] Leach, Frank Willing. "Thomas Heyward, Jr., 1745-1809," Genealogy of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Vol. 20 (year):6047-6185. 1756
 * [Hogg] Howard, John Webb. Record of the Hogg and Howard Families of St. Luke's Parish, Beaufort District, South Carolina. MSS., South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, S.C. Item 5
 * [Howard] Howard, John Webb. Record of the Hogg and Howard Families of St. Luke's Parish, Beaufort District, South Carolina. MSS., South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, S.C. Item 5
 * [Jenkins] Webber, Mabel L. "Descendants of John Jenkins, of St. John's Colleton," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct., 1919), pp. 223-251. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * [Lamar] Lamar, William Harmong, "Thomas Lamar of the Province of Maryland, and a Part of His Descendants," Publications of the Southern History Association, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Jul. 1897):203-210. Digitized by Internet Archive.
 * [Lendegreen] "Sweat Family Bible Records, 1806-1865." 376973 Item 11
 * [Lendegreen] "Sweat Family Bible Records, 1764-1871." 203240 Item 3
 * [Norton] "Norton Family Bible Records, ca. 1783-1881." 203240 Item 3
 * [Redding] Dewees, Mary Adelaide Redding. Record of the Descendants of George Redding and Elizabeth Holdcombe Redding. Oak Hill, Fla.: M.A.R. Dewees, 1984. 929.273 R248d
 * [Robert] Stafford, George Mason Graham. Three Pioneer Rapides Families: A Genealogy. New Orleans, La.: Pelican Pub. Co., 1946. 929.273 R541sg
 * [Smalls] Billingsley, Andrew. Yearning to Breathe Free: Robert Smalls of South Carolina and His Families. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 2007. 921.73 Sm18b
 * [Smart] Davis, Johnna Josey. From Coosawhatchie to Liberty: The Descendants of Reverend James Smart and Levi Long. Knoxville, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Pub., 1995. 929.273 Sm27d
 * [Stoney] Stoney, William Shannon. Genealogy of the Stoney Family. n.p.: W.S. Stoney, 1932. 929490
 * [Tanner] Stafford, George Mason Graham. Three Pioneer Rapides Families: A Genealogy. New Orleans, La.: Pelican Pub. Co., 1946. 929.273 R541sg
 * [Tattnall] Smith, D.E. Huger. "An Account of the Tattnall and Fenwick Families of South Carolina," South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 14, No. 1 (1913). 1465567 Item 2
 * [Thomson] "A Thomson Genealogy," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 28, No. 3 (Summer 2000):123-136; Vol. 28, No. 4 (Fall 2000):186-191; Vol. 29, No. 1 (Winter 2001):25-38.
 * [Tillman] Lowther, Luella. Tillman. Visalia, Calif.: L. Lowther, 1991. 929.273 T466LL.
 * [Tuten] Holland, Mary Ketus Dean and Allen Vernon Tuten. The Tutten Family. 3 vols. 1980. 1035971 Item 4
 * [Ulmer] Ulmer, Lawrence H. and Marsha Lee Ulmer. Our Ulmer Heritage. Hemingway, S.C.: Three Rivers, [1996]. 929.273 UL5u
 * [Warnell] Hargrett, Felix. The Warnell Family of Liberty County, Georgia a Sketch: With Notices of the Allied Families, Smart and Stubbs. Athens, Ga.: F. Hargrett, 1984. 929.273 A1 no. 4431
 * [Wigg] Elvey, Gerald. The Wigg Family. Chichester, England: Phillimore, 1989. 929.273 W638wi
 * [Wilder] Wilder Family: Notable Careers of Captain E.B. Wilder and and William H. Wilder. Typescript. Microfilmed 2001. 1425343 Item 37

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records The following chart shows where you may best expect to find land records.
 * Beaufort District records destroyed by fire
 * Plats For State Land Grants 1784-1868 For information about the State Land Grants, see State Land Grants
 * Sherrard, Thomas H. A Working Plan for Forest Lands in Hampton and Beaufort Counties, South Carolina. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1903. Digital version at Google Books.

Local Histories
The county was named for Henry Somerset, second Duke of Beaufort (1684-1714), one of the Lord Proprietors of South Carolina. Beaufort was once home to a both a French Fort (built 1562) and a Spanish fort (built 1566), neither of which survived. Learn more about the history of Beaufort County from the South Carolina State Library or from Carolana.com.


 * Dabbs, Edith M.Sea Island Diary a History of St. Helena Island (Spartanburg, South Carolina Reprint, 1983, c1983), 285 pages. History of Penn School and St. Helena Island, showing the inseparably interwoven heritage of blacks and whites together. Book at and Other Libraries
 * Johnson, Guion Griffis.A Social History of the Sea Islands With Special Reference to St. Helena Island, South Carolina (New York, New York Negro Universities Press, 1969), 245 pages. Sea Islands during the Federal Occupation throughout the Civil War and Negro culture on St. Helena Island. Book at and Other Libraries
 * Marscher, Fran Heyward. Remembering the Way it was at Hilton Head, Bluffton, and Daufuskie(Charleston, South Carolina The History Press, c2005-c2007), 190 pages. A collection of oral histories. Book at  and Other Libraries.
 * Marscher, Fran Heyward. Remembering the Way it was at Beaufort, Sheldon and the Sea Islands(Charleston, South Carolina The History Press, c2006), 126 pages. A collection of oral histories. Book at and Other Libaries
 * Pearson, Elizabeth Ware. Letters from Port Royal, 1862-1868 (New York, New York Arno Press, Inc., 1969), 345 pages. Letters from Port Royal written at the time of the Civil War. Experiment in freedom for 10,000 slaves. Book at , Other Libraries
 * Rowland, Lawrence S.  The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina(Columbia, South Carolina University of S.C., c1996), 521 pages. Three historians of the Palmetto State recount more that three centuries of Spanish and French exploration, English and Huguenot agriculture and African slave labor. Book (Vol.1) at and Other Libraries.
 * Smith, Henry A.M. "Beaufort: The Original Plan and the Earliest Settlers," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Jul. 1908):141-160. 975.7 B2s v. 9 (1908); digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * Todd, John Reynard and Francis Marion Huston. Prince William's Parish and Plantations (Richmond [Virginia] Garrett &amp; Massie, c1935), 265 pages. This book portrays the physical development &amp; transition of the Prince William's Parish section of South Carolina from the earliest days to the present and to preserve the old records. Book at  Other Libraries

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Beaufort County for European settlers included:
 * Atlantic Ocean about 1670
 * Charleston-Savannah Trail (an extension of the King's Highway) late 1730s

Military Records
 General 
 * "Court-martial at Black Mingo for neglect of military duty, 1809," Three Rivers Chronicle, Summer 2004, Volume 25, Issue 2. Three Rivers Historical Society Hemingway, SC.
 * "Charlesfort revisited," Huguenot Society of South Carolina Transactions, 1985, Volume 26, Issue 90. Huguenot Society of North Carolina Charleston, SC. Book 975.7 C4h
 * "Port Royal Sound, French and Spanish forts," Huguenot Society of South Carolina Transactions, 1936, Volume 7, Issue 41. Huguenot Society of South Carolina Charleston, SC. Book 975.7 C4h
 * "Charles fort, Parris Island, dedication," Huguenot Society of South Carolina Transactions, 1926, Volume 5, Issue 31. Huguenot Society of South Carolina Charleston, SC. Book 975.7 C4h
 * "Charles fort, Parris Island, 1562," Huguenot Society of South Carolina Transactions, 1924, Volume 5, Issue 29. Huguenot Society of South Carolina Charleston, SC. Book 975.7 C4h
 * "Ribaults Fort," Huguenot Society of South Carolina Transactions, 1907, Volume 2, Issue 14. Huguenot Society of South Carolina Charleston, SC. Book 975.7 C4h

Revolutionary War
 * Barnwell, Robert. An Oration, Delivered before the Philomathean Society and Inhabitants of Beaufort, South Carolina, on Monday, July 4, 1803, In Commemoration of American Independence. Charleston, S.C.: John J. Evans &amp; Co., 1803. Digital version at Google Books.
 * "Battle of Port Royal note, 1779," Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, February 2001, Volume 135, Issue 2. Daughters of the America Revolution Washington, D.C. 973 B2dar Films 1294343-48, 1697390 and 2055446.

Civil War
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index & Images
 * 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. Civil War service men from Beaufort County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies and regiments that were specifically formed of men from Beaufort County.
 * - 1st Battalion, South Carolina Sharpshooters, Company B - (also known as the Sumter Guards)
 * - 1st Regiment, South Carolina Infantry (McCreary's) (1st Provisional Army), Company H - (also known as Haskell's Rifle Corps)
 * - 1st Regiment, South Carolina Mounted Militia,
 * - Barnwell's Company (also known as Palmetto Hussars)
 * - Blakewood's Company (also known as Hardeeville Guerrillas)
 * - Bostick's Company (also known as Allendale Guards)
 * - Fripp's Company (also known as St. Helena Mounted Riflemen)
 * - Kirk's Company (also known as May River Troop or Bluffton Troop)
 * - Martin's Company (also known as Calhoun Minute Men or Red Oak Rangers
 * - Screven's Company (also known as Beaufort District or Coosawhatchie Guerrillas)
 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina Infantry (2nd Palmetto Regiment), Company I (also known as Palmetto Guards)
 * - 2nd Battalion, South Carolina Cavalry Reserves,
 * - Company B
 * - Ashley Dragoons or Ashley Rangers (also known as Captain Colcock's Company, South Carolina Cavalry)
 * - Beaufort District Troop (also known as Captain J. H. Howard's Company)
 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina State Troops (6 months 1863-64), Company E and Company K
 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry, Company B (also known as Beaufort Detachment, Hampton Legion, Beaufort District Troop, Beaufort Dragoons)
 * - 3rd Battalion, South Carolina Light Artillery (Palmetto Battalion), Company F (also known as the Chestnut Light Artillery)
 * - 3rd Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry,
 * - Company C (also known as the Beaufort District Troop and Captain John H. Howard's Company, South Carolina Cavalry)
 * - Company H (also known as the Ashley Dragoons or Rangers)
 * - Company I (also known as the Rebel Troops)
 * - 4th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry (Rutledge's), Company D
 * - 7th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry, Company G
 * - 7th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry, Company B
 * - 8th Battalion, South Carolina Reserves (Stalling's), Company C
 * - 9th Battalion, South Carolina infantry (Smith's) (Pee Dee Legion), Company D
 * - 9th Regiment, South Carolina Reserves,, Company K
 * - 11th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry (9th Volunteers),
 * - Company A
 * - Company D
 * - Company E
 * - Company F
 * - 11th Regiment, South Carolina Reserves(90 days 1862-63), Company F and Company L
 * - 24th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Company D

Other Resources
 * Staudenraus, P.J. "Occupied Beaufort, 1863: A War Correspondent's View," The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 64, No. 3 (Jul. 1963):136-144. Digital version at JSTOR (($)).
 * Pearson, Elizabeth Ware, Letters from Port Royal, 1862-1868 (New York, New York: Arno Press, Inc., 1969), 345 pages. Letters from Port Royal written at the time of the Civil War. Experiment in freedom for 10,000 slaves. Book at, Other Libraries
 * Johnson, Guion Griffis. A Social History of the Sea Islands With Special Reference to St. Helena Island, South Carolina (New York, New York;: Negro Universities Press, 1969), 245 pages. Civil War pages start on 154. Sea Islands during the Federal Occupation throughout the Civil War and Negro culture on St. Helena Island. Book at and Other Libraries

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry ($)

Historic The Library of Congress has identified the following historic newspapers for Beaufort 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.
 * Beaufort County News (Beaufort, S.C.) 1939-1939.
 * Beaufort County Times (Beaufort, S.C.) 1871-1872.
 * Beaufort Republican (Beaufort, S.C.) 1871-1873.
 * Beaufort Times (Beaufort, S.C.) 1940-1940.
 * Hilton Head Report (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) 1983-1988.
 * Hospital Sentinel (Hilton Head, S.C.) 186?-186?.
 * Hilton Head Sun (Hilton Head, S.C.) 1988-????.
 * Port Royal Commercial and Beaufort County Republican (Port Royal, S.C.) 1873-1874.
 * Port Royal Standard and Commercial (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876.
 * The Beaufort Enterprise (Grahamville, Beaufort District, S.C.) 1860-1860.
 * The Beaufort Gazette ([Beaufort, S.C.]) 1828-18??.
 * The Beaufort Gazette (Beaufort, S.C.) 1897-current.
 * The Beaufort-Jasper News (Beaufort, S.C.) 1939-1939.
 * The Beaufort Republican and Sea Island Chronicle (Beaufort, S.C.) 1869-1871.
 * The Beaufort Times (Beaufort, S.C.) 1944-1946.
 * The Beaufort Tribune and Port Royal Commercial (Beaufort, S.C.) 1877-1879.
 * The Camp Kettle (Camp Kalorama, Washington, D.C.) 1861-186?.
 * The Camp Kettle (Beaufort, S.C.) 1861-186?.
 * The County Democrat (Beaufort, S.C.) 1910-1912.
 * The Crescent (Beaufort, S.C.) 1879-1881.
 * The Free South (Beaufort, S.C.) 1863-1864.
 * The Hospital Transcript (Hilton Head, S.C.) 1865-1865.
 * The Hospital Transcript (Hilton Head, S.C.) 1865-186?.
 * The Island Packet (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) 1970-current.
 * The Lowcountry Ledger (Beaufort, SC) 1988-1992.
 * The New South (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1866.
 * The New South (Beaufort, S.C.) 188?-189?.
 * The Palmetto Herald (Port Royal, S.C.) 1864-1864.
 * The Palmetto Post (Port Royal, S.C.) 1882-1906.
 * The Sea Island News (Beaufort, S.C.) 1879-1888.
 * The Southern Standard (Beaufort, S.C.) 1872-1873.
 * The Tribune (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876.

University of South Carolina Library Catalog
 * Historical Newspapers of South Carolina at University of South Carolina Libraries - not complete

Current
 * Island Packet (Hilton Head, S.C.) Online edition.
 * The Beaufort Gazette (Beaufort, S.C.) Online editon.

Obituaries
Beaufort County Obituary Indexes

The Beaufort County Library has created a Newspaper Obituary Index. The Index is drawn from the library's microfilmed collection. Also included are some local newspapers that were started in 2006--Beaufort Today, Bluffton Today, and Hilton Head Island Today--these are not in the microfilm archives, they are just published in an online version as the source.

Currently, the obituary index contains 18,794 records from 18 Beaufort County newspapers from 1862 and May 15, 1984 and October, 2007 to the present. This is an ongoing project and records are being added on a regular bases. The site includes instructions on how to secure copies if you locate your ancestor. This index has been compiled independently by volunteers and the staff at the Beaufort County Library! T What a great asset to those doing research in Beaufort County.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1670-1980 South Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1670-1980 at Ancestry.com — index and images ($)
 * 1671-1977 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images Only
 * 1732-1964 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images Only
 * 1782-1866 South Carolina, Will Transcripts 1782-1866 at FindMyPast — index, ($) — $, index

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records An interesting article about the intersection of free blacks and tax collecting in the county was published in 2006:
 * South Carolina Department of Archives and History tax lists for Beaufort County.
 * Free Negroes Prohibition on Collecting Taxes, 1821-1841, Carolina Herald and Newsletter, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Jul. 2006).

Published abstracts 
 * 1816 Aggregate of Poor Tax for St. Peters in 1816, South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Spring 2007).

Birth

 * 1766-1900 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index & Images
 * 1915-1917 South Carolina, U.S., Births, 1915-1917 at Ancestry - index & images ($)

Marriage
Marriages - Indexes
 * There are several online marriage indexes containing miscellaneous marriage records found insome counties of South Carolina listed on the South Carolina Vital Records page.

Death
Deaths and Substitutes - Indexes and Records
 * 1816-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1821-1969 South Carolina, U.S., Death Records, 1821-1969 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1862-1984; 2007-2011 - Newspaper Obituary Index, 1862- May 1984; Oct 2007 to Present by Beaufort County Library - index
 * 1915-1943 South Carolina, Deaths, 1915-1943 at MyHeritage - index & images ($)
 * 1915-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index & 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.

Family History Centers

 * Beaufort South Carolina Family History Center
 * Charleston South Carolina Family History Center
 * Ridgeland South Carolina Family History Center
 * Savannah Georgia Family History Center
 * Statesboro Georgia Family History Center


 * Heritage Library Foundation - an affiliate library
 * International African American Museum - an affiliate library
 * Live Oak Public Libraries - an affiliate library

Libraries
Libraries Beaufort County Public Library Address: 311 Scott St. Beaufort, SC 29902 Telephone: (843) 255-6456 FAX: (843) 470-6541 Hours: Monday - Thursday: 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM; Frriday - Saturday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM; Sunday: CLOSED Collections: Beauford District Collection preserves, maintains and makes accessible a research collection of permanent value that records the history of the area of lowcountry South Carolina known as the old historic Beaufort District. It is intended to be used by customers who perform their own research. TheBDC Research Room provides access to some of its materials and services through the “Virtual BDC,” the BDC web pages, the Online Obituary Index, the Phosphate, Farms, and Family digital collection, and the Connections blog. They present programs about local history, archaeology, and our coastal environment, including the occasional instructional session about how to perform historical and/or genealogical research. The BDC Research Room welcomes all visitors and researchers over the age of 12 years. It has space for up to 6 researchers at a time. Group visits must be scheduled in advance realizing they may not be able to accommodate a request. Website
 * Heritage Library Foundation Address: 852 William Hilton parkway 2nd Floor, Suite A-2 Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States Telephone: 843-686-6560 Email: Info@heritagelib.org Hours: Monday, Thursday, Fririday, Saturday 10:00 am-3:00 pm, Closed: Saturday in July and August Fee: ($)10.00 per day Services: Microfilm readers, computers, high-speed Web service, major online databases at Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com, and HeritageQuest.com through the Library’s network. The Library offers educational programs and publishes The Heritage Observer, a newsletter, and Glimpses,The library is a certified branch facility of the Family History Library.  The Heritage Library is a private reference library and research center which is open to the public. It is one of the most comprehensive libraries of its kind in the region, with and collections of books, microfilm, microfiche, CD-ROM, manuscripts, periodicals, video tapes, audio tapes, and maps. South Carolina materials account for about 10 percent of the holdings. The balance covers other states and many countries. Online catalog  Collections: Collections include the records of The Hilton Head Island Historical Society containing a wealth of historical information, old photographs, and maps of Hilton Head Island and the Low Country. Also included is census data collected by the State of South Carolina immediately following the Civil War. The Library has a continually-growing collection of histories of the plantations that existed on the island, and such ongoing projects as indexing maps, land certificates and indentures, and the collection of material on Colored Troops from pension and other records

Societies

 * Beaufort County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 5492 Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
 * Beaufort County Historical Society P.O. Box 55 Beaufort, SC 29901 Website Facebook
 * Bluffton Historical Preservation Society P.O. Box 742 Bluffton SC 29910 (843) 757-2960 Email: [mailto:info@heywardhouse.org info@heywardhouse.org] Website Facebook
 * Parris Island Historical and Museum Society Bldg. 111 Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island SC 29905 Website

Websites

 * Beaufort County, SCGenWeb
 * Beaufort County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

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