Berkeley County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States  South Carolina  Berkeley County

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

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:

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


 * [Carter] Pedigree of the Descendants of Thomas Cater, Planter of Berkeley County, S. C., Will Dated, 1730. FHL US/CAN Pedigree File no. 456.
 * [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.

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 ($).

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)