Federal

Many federal census records are found at the Family History Library, the National Archives, and other federal archives. The United States Research Outline (30972) provides more detailed information about these records.

Federal censuses were taken in South Carolina at ten-year intervals beginning in 1790. They are available on microfilm for 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920. The 1890 schedules were destroyed, except those for Civil War veterans and widows, which are at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, the National Archives, and the Family History Library.

Indexes are available for the 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses in book format. Microfilm soundex (phonetic) indexes are available for part of the 1880 and all of the 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses.

Mortality schedules (lists of deaths in the year preceding the census) exist for 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 (FHL films 1294287-89). Indexes have been published for 1850 and 1860. The originals are at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

Colonial and State

No colonial censuses have been preserved. See the “Taxation” section of this outline for similar lists of names for this time period.

An 1848 census for the city of Charleston is available at the Family History Library (FHL film 823835 item 2). Although not available at the Family History Library, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History has the following state censuses:

• 1829 state census (Fairfield and Laurens Districts)
• 1839 state census (Kershaw District)
• 1869 population returns
• 1875 agricultural and population returns
  

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CHURCH RECORDS

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Church records and histories are critical to research in South Carolina because of the lack of civil vital records prior to 1900. Before 1900 the largest religious groups in South Carolina were the Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches. The Anglican Church (later, Protestant Episcopal) was established in 1706 and was serving 25 parishes by 1778. During the colonial period the Lutheran, Huguenot, and Quaker denominations were also represented.

The Family History Library has a large collection of Baptist, Methodist, and Protestant Episcopal church records on microfilm. From the Charleston area, for example, the library has copies of records from the South Carolina Historical Society, Southern Baptist Convention, and local churches. These materials include records of the Methodists (1845 to 1980 on 145 microfiche), Baptists (1868 to 1955), Evangelical Lutherans (from 1778), Congregationalists (from 1732), Protestant Episcopals (from 1713), Lutherans (from 1749), and Society of Friends (from 1719).

Many denominations have collected their records into central repositories. Church repositories are listed in Local and Family History in South Carolina (see the “For Further Reading” section of this outline). You can also write to the following addresses to learn where their records are located.

Baptist

South Carolina Baptist Historical Collection
James B. Duke Library
Furman University
3300 Poinsett Highway
Greenville, SC 29613-0600
Telephone: 864-294-2194
Fax: 864-294-2194

See also:

Bolt, Ernest C. South Carolina Baptist Churches by Association. Nashville: Historical Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, 196-. (FHL film 1001802.)

Townsend, Leah. South Carolina Baptists, 1670-1805. Florence, S.C.: Florence Printing Co., 1935. (FHL book 975.7 K2t; fiche 6101031.)

Methodist

South Carolina Methodist Conference Archives
Sandor Teszler Library
Wofford College
429 N. Church Street
Spartanburg, SC 29301-3663
Telephone: 864-597-4300
Fax: 864-597-4329

For a history of the Methodist church, see Albert Micajah Shipp, History of Methodism in South Carolina (Nashville: Southern Methodist Publishing House, 1884; FHL film 908353 item 2). The appendix includes biographical sketches.

Presbyterian and Reformed

Department of History-Montreat Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
318 Georgia Terr.
P.O. Box 849
Montreat, NC 28757
Telephone: 704-669-7061
Fax: 704-669-5369

To locate Presbyterian records see:

Inventory of the Church Archives of South Carolina Presbyterian Churches; 1969 Arrangement with Indexes. N.p.: South Carolina Historical Records Survey, WPA, 1969. (FHL film 906117-18.)

Howe, George. History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.: Duffie and Chapman, 1870-1883. (FHL book 975.7 K2h; fiche 6110643.) This volume covers the history of the church to 1800.

Roman Catholic

Charleston Diocesan Archives
119 Broad Street
P.O. Box 818
Charleston, SC 29402
Telephone: 803-723-3488
Fax: 803-724-6387

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