Berkeley County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States  South Carolina  Berkeley County

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

County Courthouse
Berkeley County Courthouse 223 North Live Oak Drive Moncks Corner, SC 29461-2331 Phone: 843-761-6900

Berkeley County Probate Court 300 California Avenue Moncks Corner, SC 29461 Phone: 843-719-4519

Register of Deeds 1003 Highway 52 Moncks Corner, SC 29461-6120 Phone: 843-719-4084

Clerk of Courts 300-BCalifornia Ave. Moncks Corner, SC 29461 Phone: 843-719-4400

Hours 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday

History
The county was named after Virginia Governor William Berkeley (1605-1677).

Parent County
1882--Berkeley County was created 31 January 1882 from Charleston County. County seat:  Moncks Corner

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

 * Charleston
 * Clarendon
 * Dorchester
 * Georgetown
 * Orangeburg
 * Williamsburg

Research Guides

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

African American

 * Heinegg, Paul. "'Other Free' Heads of Household in the 1790 South Carolina Census, by County," Free African Americans.com. [Includes free blacks in Berkeley County.]

Cemeteries

 * Dwight, H.R. "Inscriptions from Tombstones in Graveyard at Hanover Plantation, St. John's Parish, Berkeley County, S. C.," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Apr. 1940):74. Digital version at JSTOR ($).

Census
1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Berkeley 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.

Church
The following Berkeley County church records have been indexed on the International Genealogical Index:


 * Webber, Mabel L. "Register of St. Andrews Parish, Berkeley County, South Carolina. 1719-1774 Mabel L. Webber," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 12, No. 4 (Oct., 1911), pp. 172-189; Vol. 13, No. 1 (Jan., 1912), pp. 21-41; Vol. 13, No. 2 (Apr., 1912), pp. 104-112; Vol. 13, No. 3 (Jul., 1912), pp. 154-162; Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1912), pp. 213-223; Vol. 14, No. 1 (Jan., 1913), pp. 20-35; Vol. 14, No. 2 (Apr., 1913), pp. 81-97; Vol. 14, No. 3 (Jul., 1913), pp. 147-159; Vol. 14, No. 4 (Oct., 1913), pp. 209-218; Vol. 15, No. 1 (Jan., 1914), pp. 39-50; Vol. 15, No. 2 (Apr., 1914), pp. 97-106. Digital version at JSTOR ($).

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 Berkeley, South Carolina at World Connect, results in more than 7,500 entries.

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

Message Boards


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

Bibliography


 * [Allston] Groves, Joseph A. The Alstons and Allstons of North and South Carolina Compiled from English, Colonial and Family Records, with Personal Reminiscences, Also Notes of Some Allied Families. Selma, Ga.: J.G. Groves, 1902. 896812 Item 1
 * [Allston] Allston, Susan Lowndes. Brookgreen Waccamaw in the Carolina Low Country. Charleston, S.C.: Walker, Evans &amp; Cogswell, 1935. 929.273 AL58a
 * [Anderson] McNees, Lucien L. Descendants of Capt. Henry Anderson, Sr. of Newberry County, South Carolina. Ebenezer, Miss.: L.L. McNees, 1972. 1035998 Item 2
 * [Ball] Deas, Anne Simons. Recollections of the Ball family of South Carolina and the Comingtee plantations. Summerville, SC, 1904. Digital version at American Libraries.
 * [Ball]  John Ball and Keating Simons Ball Books, 1779-1911. The Southern Historical Collections at the Louis Round WIlson Special Collections Library.
 * [Carter] Pedigree of the Descendants of Thomas Cater, Planter of Berkeley County, S. C., Will Dated, 1730. FHL US/CAN Pedigree File no. 456.
 * [Gordon] Marshall, Erminie Northcutt. Gordons of the Deep South. Austin, Texas: [E.N. Marshall], 1961. 929.273 G653ma
 * [Lee] Jamison, Elizabeth Ann Arledge. Past, Present and Future Generations of the Sligh and Lee Families of South Carolina. Franklin, Tenn.: E.A.A. Jamison, 1997. 929.273 L51je; digital version at Family History Archives.
 * [McCrary] Reynolds, Harriet Dickson. Colonel Robert McCrary (1732-1804) of North Carolina and Some of His Descendants in Georgia and Alabama. Typescript. 929.273 M137rhd
 * [Mell] Mell, P.H. and Eliza Elizabeth Cooper Pell. The Genealogy of the Mell Family in the Southern States. Auburn, Ala.: Dr. &amp; Mrs. P.M. Pell, 1897. 1016937 Item 12
 * [Ramsey] Ramsey, James. Ramsey Roots and Branches. Houston, Texas: J. Ramsey, 1980. 929.273 R149rj
 * [Ravenel] Ravenel, Henry James. Ravenel Records: A History and Genealogy of the Huguenot Family of Ravenel, of South Carolina; with Some Incidental Account of the Parish of St. Johns Berkeley, which was Their Principal Location. Atlanta, Ga.: The Franklin Printing and Publishing Co., 1898. Digital version at Google Books.
 * [Sparks] Sparks, Kenneth Edgar. The History of a Sparks Family. Vancouver, Wash.: K.E. Sparks, 1974. 1206299 Item 21

Historic Residences

 * Lees, William B. "The Historical Development of Limerick Plantation, a Tidewater Rice Plantation in Berkeley County, South Carolina, 1683-1945," The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 82, No. 1 (Jan., 1981), pp. 44-62. Digital version at JSTOR ($).

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.


 * Chapman, Charles S. A Working Plan for Forest Lands in Berkeley County, South Carolina. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1905. Digital version at Google Books.

Local Histories

 * Orvin, Maxwell Clayton. Monck's Corner, Berkeley County, South Carolina. Charleston, S.C.?: unknown, 1950. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Revolutionary War

 * "Pee Dee supplies for the siege of Charleston, 1780," Darlington Flag, Fall 2006, Volume 18, Issue 4. Old Darlington District Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society : Hartsville, SC.
 * "Battle of the Great Cane Brake on the Reedy River, 1775," Greenville County Historical Society Proceedings and Papers, 2005, Volume 12. Greenville County Historical Society : Greenville, SC.
 * "Elizabeth Jackson, Waxham women aid Revolutionary soldiers, Charleston, 1781," Chester District Genealogical Society Bulletin, March 2003, Volume 27, Issue 1. Chester County Genealogical Society : Richburg, SC. Book 975.74 D25b Film 2416428, 2406014, 2416420, 2435185, 1709620.
 * "Rebel prisoners from Charleston, 1780," Ancient City Genealogist, February 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1. St. Augustine Genealogical Society : St. Augustine, Florida.
 * "Nathanael Greene's troops attack British, 1781," St. Lucie River Whig, Summer 2000, Volume 8, Issue 3. St. Lucie River Chapter : Lucie, Florida.
 * "Dorchester its mystery fort," Americana, April 1933, Volume 27, Issue 2. American Historical Society : Somerville, New Jersey. Book 973 B2a

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, Berkeley County, p. 182. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Probate

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Christ Church Parish, St. John's Parish, and Berkeley County proved in London, see place-name index. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

Web Sites

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