Barnwell County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States  South Carolina  Barnwell County

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

County Courthouse
Barnwell County Courthouse 141 Main Street Barnwell, SC 29812-0723 Phone: 803-541-1031

Barnwell County Probate Court Barnwell County Courthouse Room 108 Barnwell, SC 29812 Phone: 803-541-1031 Marriage and Probate records

Clerk of Court P.O. Box 723 141 Main Street Barnwell, SC 29812 Phone: 803-541-1020 Court records Will not research records but will provide a list of abstrators who will research for a fee.

Barnwell County Register of Mesne Conveyances P.O. Box 723 Barnwell, SC 29812-0723 Phone: 803-541-1020 Land records

Hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Probate records (1781-87) and clerk of court's records, including deeds (1791-99), were destroyed with the records of Orangeburg County in February 1865. South Carolina Archives and History Center

History
The county was named after the Barnwell family.

Parent County
1798--Barnwell County was created in 1798 from Orangeburg District. County seat: Barnwell

Boundary Changes
"Rotating Formation South Carolina County Boundary Maps" (1682-1987) may be viewed for free at the My South Carolina Genealogy website. They rely on AniMap 3.0 software.

Neighboring Counties
Aiken | Allendale | Bamberg | Burke County, Georgia | Orangeburg

Research Guides

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

African American

 * Kelly, Wilhelmina Rhodes. The Hines Bush Family: and Other Related People of Color from Barnwell District, South Carolina, 1842-2004. Tucson, Ariz.: Hats Off Books, 2004.

Census
1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Barnwell 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.

1800


 * Jarrell, Lawrence E. Early Barnwell, South Carolina Census. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 1998. 975.77 X2j

1810


 * Jarrell, Lawrence E. Early Barnwell, South Carolina Census. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 1998. 975.77 X2j

1820


 * Jarrell, Lawrence E. 1820 Barnwell District, South Carolina Census. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 1998. 975.77 X2j 1820

1820 Manufactures

The original manufactures schedules for South Carolina are kept at the NARA, Washington, D.C. FHL copies: 1024517 - 1024518.

Published abstract:


 * National Archives. Indexes to Manufactures Census of 1820. 1920; reprint, Knightstown, Ind.: Bookmark, 1977. 973 X2m 1820; digital version at Lineages. [Includes this county.]

1840 Revolutionary War Pensioners


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. Washington, D.C.: Blair and Rives, 1841. 973 X2pc 1840;  2321; digital version at U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. [See South Carolina, Barnwell District on page 142.]

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.

Family Histories
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 Barnwell, South Carolina at World Connect, results in more than 50,000 entries.

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


 * Manning, Edna Anderson. Manning Collection, Barnwell County, South Carolina Records, 1717-1965. MSS., South Caroliniana Library, Columbia, S.C. 15 vols.

Message Boards


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

Bibliography


 * [Boyd] DeHuff, Elizabeth Willis. The Family of Rueben Boyd (1769-1827) of Barnwell County, South Carolina. Augusta, Ga.: E.W. DeHuff, 1963.
 * [Brown] Johnston, Ernest. Brown and Hallonquist: An Account of the Ancestors of Benjamin Franklin Brown (1814-1884) and His Wife, Catherine Ann Hallonquist (1830-1894) of Barnwell, South Carolina. Shepherdstown, W. Va.: [E. B. Johnston], 1998.
 * [Bush] Kelly, Wilhelmina Rhodes. The Hines Bush Family: and Other Related People of Color from Barnwell District, South Carolina, 1842-2004. Tucson, Ariz.: Hats Off Books, 2004.
 * [Dunbar] DeHuff, Elizabeth Willis. The Dunbar Family of Barnwell County, South Carolina. Augusta, Ga.: E.W. DeHuff, 1970.
 * [Dyess] Trammell, Pamela Karen Veuleman. The Descendants of the Dyess Brothers of Barnwell, South Carolina: A Heritage of Which We Can All Be Proud. Texarkana, Texas: P.K.V. Trammell, 1994. ; Supplement:
 * [Dyess] Trammell, Pamela Karen Veuleman. Dyess Newsletter. Texarkana, Texas: Tri-State Genealogical Research, 1995.
 * [Hair] DeHuff, Elizabeth Willis. Aid in Genealogical Research on the Hair Family of Barnwell County, South Carolina. Augusta, Ga.: E.W. DeHuff, 1966.
 * [Hallonquist] Johnston, Ernest. Brown and Hallonquist: An Account of the Ancestors of Benjamin Franklin Brown (1814-1884) and His Wife, Catherine Ann Hallonquist (1830-1894) of Barnwell, South Carolina. Shepherdstown, W. Va.: [E. B. Johnston], 1998.
 * [Harter] Smith, Mannie George. The Harters of Barnwell District South Carolina (c. 1753). Columbia, S.C.: R. L. Bryan, 1994. Item 6
 * [Holly] MacDowell, Dorothy K. The Holly/Holley Family: Early Barnwell &amp; Edgefield Districts, South Carolina. Aiken, S.C.: D.K. MacDowell, [198-?].
 * [Howell] Clark, Betty Lane. Joseph Howell, Revolutionary Soldier of Old Barnwell District, S. C.: and Allied Families. Typescript, 1971. Item 1
 * [McCreary] McCreary, Richard A. The McCrearys of Barnwell County, S. C. Columbia, S.C.: R.A. McCreary, 1991.
 * [Middleton] Brown, Leslie H. "John Middleton of Hampton, Va., and Onslow County, N.C.," The American Genealogist, Vol. 55, No. 3 (Jul. 1979):161-162.
 * [O'Bannon] DeHuff, Elizabeth Willis. The Family of Thomas O'Bannon of Fauquier County, Virginia, and Barnwell County, South Carolina. Augusta, Ga.: E.W. DeHuff, 1969.
 * [Smith] Woodruff, Caldwell. Captain Aaron Smith, of Old Ninety-six, South Carolina, Who with His Wife, Five Children and Five Negro Slaves, was Massacred by Cherokee Indians, 1 July 1776: With an Account of His Four Sons: Ezekiel Smith of Hancock County, Georgia; Major John Carraway Smith, of Jones County, Georgia; Thos. Keeling Smith, of Putnam County, Georgia and Lieutenant Aaron Smith, Jr., of Barnwell County, S. C. Typescript, Georgia Historical Society Collection, Savannah, Ga. Microfilmed 1959. Item 1
 * [Treadway] Thompson, Opal Treadway and Ted Thompson. Treadway, a History of the Treadway Family of Barnwell County, South Carolina. North Augusta, S.C.: O.T. Thompson, 1991.
 * [Weathersbee] DeHuff, Elizabeth Willis. The Weathersbee Family of Halifax and Martin Counties, North Carolina and Barnwell County, South Carolina. [Augusta, Ga.]: E.W. De Huff, 1965.
 * [Willis] DeHuff, Elizabeth Willis. The Family of Robert Willis of Barnwell County, South Carolina. Augusta, Ga.: E.W. DeHuff, 1957. ; 1962 update:
 * [Wilson] DeHuff, Elizabeth Willis. Family of the Rev. James Wilson of Barnwell County, South Carolina. [Augusta, Ga.]: E.W. DeHuff, 1958. ; 1963 edition:

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.

Probate
The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has microfilms or typescripts of wills, inventories, bills of sale, power of attorneys, bonds, notes, administrations, judgments, and sales records. They have placed Will Transcriptions for 1782 to 1855 online. Index searchable by name and the image is available.

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Family History Library Catalog
 * Barnwell County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)