Florence County, South Carolina Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for the daughter of General W. W. Harlee. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Florence County Courthouse 180 North Irby Street Florence, SC 29501-3431 Phone: 843-665-3031 Florence 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 cemetery list, see Florence County, South Carolina Cemeteries.
 * National Cemetery Administration

Census Records

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

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 Records
Episcopal Church Before 1785, residents of what is now Florence County were served by these colonial parishes.


 * Prince Frederick Parish 1734
 * St. Mark's Parish 1757
 * St. David's Parish 1768

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 * Florence

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records
 * Dates Vary Florence County, Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Public Index – index; courts include Circuit Court, Summary Court and Masters-in-Equity, records added periodically

Directories

 * U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans United States African Americans South Carolina African Americans Known plantations South Carolina Plantations:
 * Blooming Grove - Florence
 * Claussen House - Florence - also called Jeffries Creek
 * Columns - Mars Bluff - also called Rankin-Harwell House
 * DeBerry - Pamplico
 * Evander Gregg House - Mars Bluff - also called Red Doe
 * Gregg - Mars Bluff - also called Wallace House
 * Jeffries Creek - Florence - also called Claussen House
 * Pauls - Pamplico
 * Rankin-Harwell House - Mars Bluff - also called Columns
 * Red Doe - Mars Bluff - also called Evander Gregg House
 * Roseville - Florence
 * Wallace House - Mars Bluff - also called Gregg

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

Bibliography
 * Chisolm - Horn, John Chisolm and Ruth Marguerite Horn Thompson. The Ancestors and Descendants of Edward Traill Horn (1850-1915) - Harriet Chisolm (1861-1946), Henry Eyster Jacobs (1844-1932) - Laura Hewes Downing (1852-1936). Huntingdon, Pa.: J.C. Horn Associates, 1989..
 * The Darlington Flag (Lydia, SC) 1851-1852
 * Haynes Christensen, Celia Langford. Haynes Heritage. Yorba Linda, Calif.: C.L. Christensen, 1998..
 * Keeffe - Hanna, Muriel K. Keeffe/Keefe/Keith Family of Florence and Marion Counties, South Carolina. Summerton, S.C.: M.K. Hanna, 2004.
 * LaMotte - Gault, Charles B. Portrait Album of the Family of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Beers Gault of Lake Waccamaw and Wilmington, North Carolina. Typescript. Microfilmed 1971:.
 * 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
 * McCown - Clement, Louise McCown. The McCown Family of the Peedee Section of South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.: R.L. Bruan, 1966..
 * O'Cain - Hegg, Sadie Catherine Leach. The Cain Tree and Tangled Branches: A Genealogical Record. n.p.: S.L. Hegg, 1990..
 * Stone - Rogers, Dorothy Lee and Louis Benjamin Rogers.Stone Works: Descendants of Old Austin Stone of the Three Rivers Area, with Related Families. Garden City, S.C.: D.L. Rogers, 2004..
 * Taylor - House, D.J., Norma House, and Danny House. Cox--Wheeler: and Related Families. West Columbia, S.C.: D.J. ; N. House, 1995..

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records The following charts show where you may best expect to find land records.
 * Sumter District records destroyed by fire 27 Nov 1801
 * Many colonial deeds for Marion County are recorded in deed records after 1800.

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
The county is named after Florence Harllee.


 * 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

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
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 Online Civil War Indexes and Records
 * 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)

Florence County did not exist during the Civil War. It was created on 22 December 1888 from Marion, Darlington, Clarendon and Williamsburg Counties. During the Civil War, men from the area of Florence County mostly would have served in various regiments recruited in those counties. Counties were called districts during the Civil War.

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

Newspapers

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

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 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 Farmers' Friend (Timmonsville, S.C.) 1887-1889.
 * 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 Florence Pioneer (Florence, S.C.) 1872-1876.
 * The Florence Star (Florence, S.C.) 1941-1941.
 * 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.) 1875-187?.
 * The Timmonsville News (Timmonsville, S.C.) 1925-1933.
 * The Timmonsville News (Timmonsville, S.C.) 1964-1972.
 * 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 ($).

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

Current
 * SC Now Morning News (Florence, S.C.) Online edition.
 * Florence County Information Portal

Periodicals

 * Pee Dee Queue
 * Three Rivers Chronicle

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * Florence County, South Carolina estate papers, ca. 1884-1916 at FamilySearch.
 * South Carolina, Florence County, Probate Court at Ancestry.com.
 * Cheraws or Chesterfield Distict wills, 1750-1865 and abstracts from the court of common pleas, 1823-1869. By James C. Pigg.(included today's Chesterfield, Marlboro and Darlington Counties and parts of Florence and Lee counties. These are Work Projects Administration (WPA) transcripts.
 * 1670-1980 South Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1670-1980 at Ancestry.com — index & 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
 * 1990s-Current South Carolina Probate Index, Florence County at SouthCarolinaProbate.net - index; records added periodically

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
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records Published abstracts Holcomb and Lucas's publication includes the area that later became Florence County:
 * South Carolina Department of Archives and History tax lists for 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).

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 ($)

Birth Substitutes - Indexes
 * 1800s-1900s Births, Deaths and Marriages from Timmonsville, South Carolina Newspapers: Late 19th ; 20th Century by Robert M. DeFee WorldCat - index

Marriage
Online Marriage Records and Indexes
 * 1800s Deaths and Marriages from 19th Century Florence, S.C. Newspapers by Robert M. DeFee WorldCat - index
 * 1800s-1900s Births, Deaths and Marriages from Timmonsville, South Carolina Newspapers: Late 19th ; 20th Century by Robert M. DeFee WorldCat - index
 * 1911-1955 Florence County, South Carolina Marriage Registers: Whites ; Afro-Americans, ca. 1911-1955 - records
 * 1917-1950 Florence County, South Carolina Marriage Licenses; Affidavits, ca. 1917-1950 - records
 * 1990s-Current South Carolina Marriage Index, Florence County at SouthCarolinaProbate.net - index; records added periodically
 * 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
Online Death Records and Indexes
 * Florence, South Carolina Area Obituaries by John M. Gregg
 * 1800s Deaths and Marriages from 19th Century Florence, S.C. Newspapers by Robert M. DeFee, - index
 * 1800s-1900s Births, Deaths and Marriages from Timmonsville, South Carolina Newspapers: Late 19th and 20th Century by Robert M. DeFee, - index
 * 1816-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1821-1969 South Carolina, U.S., Death Records, 1821-1969 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1889-1915 Extracts from Florence County Coroner's Inquisitions, 1889-1915 by Robert M. DeFee WorldCat - Index
 * 1915-1943 South Carolina, Deaths, 1915-1943 at MyHeritage - index & images ($)
 * 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.

FamilySearch Centers

 * Camden South Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Columbia South Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Florence South Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Sumter South Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Richland County Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Florence County Library System Website Multiple locations Doctors Bruce & Lee Foundation Library 509 South Dargan Street Florence, SC 29506 Phone: 843-662-8424 Website The South Carolina Room contains many genealogical resources and 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 rare maps.

Museums
Florence Museum 111 West Cheves Street Florence, SC 29501 Phone: 843-676-1200 Website The Florence Museum contains primarily art and artifacts; a few historic documents are included in its collection.

Societies
Old Darlington District Chapter, SCGS P.O. Box 175 Hartsville, SC 29551 Email: [mailto:leemlw@aol.com leemlw@aol.com] Website Darlington County Historical Commission and Museum 204 Hewitt Street Darlington, SC 29532 Phone: 843-398-4710 Email: [mailto:dchc@darcosc.net dchc@darcosc.net] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Florence County SCGenWeb
 * Florence County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Friends of the Florence Stockade
 * – 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: Florence County, available online, courtesy: South Carolina Department of Archives and History.