Orangeburg County, South Carolina Genealogy

United StatesSouth Carolina Orangeburg County


 * Not to be confused with the overarching court district called Orangeburgh District abolished in 1800.

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

County Courthouse
Orangeburg County Courthouse 190 Gibson Street Orangeburg, SC 29115

Clerk of Court 190 Gibson Street Orangeburg, SC 29115 Phone: 803-533-6260 Court records

Register of Deeds 190 Gibson St. Orangeburg, SC 29116 Phone: 803-533-6235 Land records On-line Research

Probate Court 190 Gibson St. Orangeburg, SC 29116 Phone: 803-533-6280

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

Historical Facts
The county is named after William V, Prince of Orange (1748-1806). Orangeburg County was the site of the Revolutionary War Battle of Eutaw Springs.

Parent County
1769--Modern Orangeburg County was created in 1800 from the northeast half of the old overarching Orangeburgh District abolished in 1800.

County Pronunciation

 * 1) Hear it spoken

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.

Variant Spellings

 * Orangeburgh officially dropped the h in 1783 and is since known as Orangeburg.

Record Loss

 * Public records were removed to Columbia early in 1865; on 17 February 1865, they were burned there during Sherman's occupation.

Populated Places
For further information (and links) on these populated places, please go to Populated Places, Orangeburg County, South Carolina

Neighboring Counties

 * Aiken
 * Bamberg
 * Barnwell
 * Berkeley
 * Calhoun
 * Clarendon
 * Colleton
 * Dorchester
 * Lexington

Research Guides

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

African Americans
United States African Americans South Carolina African Americans


 * Heinegg, Paul. "'Other Free' Heads of Household in the 1790 South Carolina Census, by County," Free African Americans.com. [Includes free blacks in South Orangeburgh District.]
 * Morris-Crowther, Jayne. "An Economic Study of the Substantial Slaveholders of Orangeburg County, 1860-1880," The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 86, No. 4 (Oct. 1985):296-314. Digital version at JSTOR ($).

Cemeteries
There are more than # burial grounds in the county. To view a list, see Orangeburg County, South Carolina Cemeteries.

Census
1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Orangeburg 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.

See Orangeburg County, SC census assignments, including links to transcribed files [The USGenWeb Census Project®]

1820

 * Jarrell, Lawrence E. 1820 Orangeburgh, South Carolina Census. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 1998. 975.779 X2j 1820

1850

 * Black, James M. 1850 Census of Orangeburg County, S.C.: Transcribed from the Original Records from the National Archives as Contained on the Microfilm Copy in the Genealogical Library. 1956. 975.779 X2p 1850
 * Buff, L.H. The Orangeburg District (SC) 1850 Census. Lexington, S.C.: Lexington Genealogical Association, 1997. 975.779 X2b 1850

Church

 * Clute, Robert F. The Annals and Parish Register of St. Thomas and St. Denis Parish in South Carolina from 1680 to 1884. Charleston, S.C.: Evans &amp; Cogswell, 1884. ; digital versions at Ancestry ($); Google Books; another Google Books version; Internet Archive; World Vital Records ($).

Presbyterian


 * Estes, Frank B. History of Orangeburg Presbyterian Church 1835-1935. 1935. Digital version at Internet Archive.

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
More than 75 genealogies have been published about Orangeburg County families. To view a list, visit Orangeburg County, South Carolina Genealogy.

Land
Because of South Carolina’s history as an agricultural state many residents owned land. For more information abou 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 shows where you may best expect to find land records for Orangeburg County:

* Some Orangeburg District deeds were recorded in Charleston District and were not destroyed ** Orangeburg District, Orangeburg County,  1791 Lexington County (only deeds 1839-1865 remain) and Lewisburg County records destroyed by fire

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

 * Salley, A.S. The History of Orangeburg County, South Carolina: From Its First Settlement to the Close of the Revolutionary War. Orangeburg, S.C.: R.L. Berry, 1898. ; 1969 reprint: ; ; digital versions at Google Books; Internet Archive; World Vital Records ($); another World Vital Records ($) version.

Migration

 * Orangeburgh German-Swiss Genealogical Society. Orangeburgh German Swiss Newsletter. 1981-.  Item 5
 * Orangeburgh German-Swiss Genealogical Society. Orangeburgh Immigrants and First Families. Orangeburg, S.C.: Orangeburgh German-Swiss Genealogical Society, 1990.
 * Ravenel, Daniel. Liste des François et Suisses: From an Old Manuscript of French and Swiss Protestants Settled in Charleston, on the Santee and at the Orange Quarter in Carolina, Who Desired Naturalization, Prepared Probably about 1695-6. 1822; reprint, New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1888. ; digital version at World Vital Records ($).

Early migration routes to and from Orangeburg County for European settlers included:


 * Camden-Charleston Path 1732
 * Old South Carolina State Road 1747
 * Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail about 1765

Military
The Battle of Eutaw Springs was fought in Orangeburg County, South Carolina.

Revolutionary War

 * "Foot Rovers aka Raccoon Co., 1775," Rice Planter, Summer 2003, Volume 11, Issue 2. Rice Planter / Old St. Bartholomew Chapter : Columbia, SC.
 * "Wm. Paulling pension, 1832," Orangeburg German-Swiss Newsletter, Fall 2000, Volume 8, Issue 4. Orangeburg German Swiss Genealogical Society : Orangeburg, SC.
 * "Captain Jacob Rumph's Company, 1783," Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, March 1964, Volume 98, Issue 3. Daughters of the American Revolution : Washington D.C.
 * "Casualty list, Eutaw, 1781," Carolina Genealogist, Fall 1971, Issue 5. Heritage Paper : Danielsville, GA 30633.
 * Ruple, Jack D. Orangeburg documents. Little Rock, Arkansas : J.D. Ruple, c1987. Book 975.77 R28r Fiche 6010949

War of 1812

 * List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, South Carolina, Orangeburgh County [sic], p. 187. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War
Civil War service men from Orangeburg 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 formed with many men from Orangeburg County.


 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina State Troops (6 months 1863-64), Companies C and G
 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina Artillery, Companies F and I
 * - 3rd Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry
 * - Company I (also known as the Rebel Troops), a few from Orangeburg
 * - 5th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry
 * - Company I (also known as Jasper Light Infantry)
 * Before Reorganization Roster, After Reorganization Roster
 * - 6th Battalion, South Carolina Reserves (Meriwether's)
 * - Company A, Roster
 * - 14th Regiment, South Carolina Militia - Company C and E
 * -15th Regiment, South Carolina Militia - Company G
 * - 20th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry
 * - 25th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry (Eutaw Regiment), Company G


 * Culler, Daniel Marchant. Orangeburgh District, 1768-1868 : History and Records. (Spartanburg, South Carolina : Reprint Co., c1995), 737 pages. Scope of the work was the story "between the American Revolution and the Civil War, and before it became Orangeburg County. Book found in and Other Libraries.
 * Orangeburgh German-Swiss Genealogical Society. Orangeburg CSA enrollment roster, 1864. ( Orangeburg, South Carolina : Orangeburg German-Swiss Geneal. Society, 1991), 29 pages. List of persons reporting for enrollment in Orangeburg for possible military service in the Confederate Army. Book found in

Newspapers
Historic

The Library of Congress has identified the following historic newspapers for Orangeburg 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 Voice (Columbia, S.C.) 1977-current.
 * Branchville Journal (Branchville, S.C.) 1907-1913.
 * North Trade Journal (North, S.C.) 1957-current.
 * Orangeburg Evening News (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1904-1917.
 * Orangeburg News and Times (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1875-1877.
 * Orangeburg Times (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1872-1875.
 * Orangeburg Times (Orangeburg Court House [S.C.]) 1877-1881.
 * The Branchville Enterprise (Branchville, S.C.) 1927-1935.
 * The Carolina Times (Orangeburg Court-House, S.C.) 1865-1867.
 * The Citizen (Orangeburg, S.C.) 187?-187?.
 * The Edisto Clarion (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1854-1855.
 * The Edisto Clarion (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1878-1878.
 * The Edisto Messenger (Springfield, S.C.) 1961-1961.
 * The Enterprise (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1892-1895.
 * The Enterprise and Alliance Monitor (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1890-1892.
 * The Free Citizen (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1874-1876.
 * The Holly Hill Observer (Holly Hill, S.C.) 1972-current.
 * The Methodist Messenger (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-1888.
 * The Orangeburg Democrat (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1879-1881.
 * The Orangeburg News (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875.
 * The Orangeburg Observer and Orangeburg News (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1934-1949.
 * The Orangeburg Sun (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1908-????.
 * The Patriot (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1894-1908.
 * The People's Recorder (Columbia, S.C.) 1893-1925.
 * The Santee News (Elloree-Holly Hill, S.C.) 1930-1930.
 * The Santee Striper (Santee, S.C.) 1987-current.
 * The Southron (Orangeburg Court House [S.C.]) 1855-1860.
 * The Spectator (Branchville, Orangeburg Co., S.C.) 1887-1891.
 * The Tax-Payer (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1877-1878.
 * The Times and Democrat (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current.
 * View South News (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1979-current.
 * Weekly Dispatch (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1894-1896.

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:


 * Huxford Genealogical Society Quarterly
 * Orangeburgh German-Swiss Newsletter
 * South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research (Family History Library book 975.7 B2sc .)

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.

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. Archival records include estate papers from 1790-1893 from the court of ordinary and probate court records, along with other corollary papers. Statewide Will Transcriptions, 1782 to 1855, database is available online with a searchable index by name. Images are available.

Microfilm indexes of Orangeburg County probate estate papers, 1865-1947, are available at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History and at the Family History Library. Original will records available at the county probate court and on microfilm for 1866-1957 at the Department of Archives and History and the FH Library.

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 online tax lists for Orangeburg County.
 * Federal Excise Tax Records Add Dimension to Family History, 1789-1817, 1861-1864, Orangeburgh German-Swiss Newsletter, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Summer 2008).

Published abstracts

 * [1818] St. Matthews Tax List, 1818, South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Summer 1973); Vol. 1, No. 4 (Fall 1973).
 * [1851] Tax Records, 1851, Huxford Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Summer 1974); Vol. 1, No. 3 (Fall 1974); Vol. 1, No. 4 (Winter 1974).
 * [1851] Tax List, 1851, South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Winter 1979); Vol. 7, No. 2 (Spring 1979).

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 Orangeburg 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.

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 Orangeburg 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 - Indexes and Records


 * Marriages of Lexington, Newberry, and Orangeburgh [sic] Counties, South Carolina by Martha H. Spivey WorldCat - index
 * 1911-1951 - Marriage Licenses (Orangeburg County, South Carolina), 1911-1951 - reocords
 * 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 Orangeburg 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 - Indexes and Records


 * 1914-1960 - 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.

Societies - Genealogical, Historical, Lineage
Orangeburg German-Swiss Genealogical Society P.O. Box 974 Orangeburg SC 29116-0974 source: Society Hill

Family History Centers
Orangeburg South Carolina 2740 Broughton St Orangeburg, Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States Phone: 803-531-5531 Hours: By appointment only. Closed: Call listed telephone number for an appointment.

Web Sites

 * Orangeburg County, SCGenWeb
 * Orangeburg County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Orangeburg County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)