South Carolina Compiled Genealogies

United States South Carolina  Genealogy

Most archives, historical societies, and genealogical societies have special collections and indexes of genealogical value. These must usually be searched in person. Some of the best manuscript collections are at the South Carolina Historical Society, the South Carolinian Library, and the Charleston Library Society. Some notable genealogical collections for South Carolina.

Online Resources

 * Search Engines. Online search engines make it possible to search for ancestors' names across the Internet. Examples:


 * Google.com (try searching for your ancestor's name in parenthesis, i.e. "Jebediah Hogg")


 * Mocavo.com (a new site that searches only websites with genealogical content)

Family Tree Databases

 * World Connect. Hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians appear in family trees submitted to the online World Connect Project. The accuracy of the data varies, but the database is commendable for its ability to include transcribed sources within each individual's file. These databases will provide many researchers clues as to what has been done in the past, and where future research efforts should be directed.

Digital Books
Many published genealogies, particularly those printed before 1923, which are now out of copyright, are being digitized and made available online. Major sites include:


 * Google Books
 * Internet Archive
 * Ancestry.com
 * Family History Archive (this site focuses specifically on genealogy and history books)
 * World Vital Records
 * JSTOR (this subscription site searches, among other items, scholarly history journals)

Community Networking Sites
In the pre-Internet days, many genealogists published queries in genealogical journals where their ancestors lived, such as the South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research. Today, most genealogists post queries online.

Message Boards and Lists. Genealogists share information and ask questions in online message boards. Some examples are:


 * South Carolina Genealogy Forum (Genealogy.com) 25,000+ messages
 * South Carolina - Family History &amp; Genealogy Message Boards (Ancestry.com) 10,000+ messages
 * RootsWeb Mailing Lists (find lists devoted to your surname, ancestor's place of residence, ethnicity, etc.)

You should also use message boards focused on specific surnames and localities (such as counties) to find your ancestors. DNA. DNA studies are one of the most exciting new ways to learn about your roots. There are many DNA companies that can assist. Y-Chromosome tests are very helpful, because they can help many people who share surnames find out if they're related. They let you know if someone is already studying your particular surname. A few that include surname projects are:


 * Family Tree DNA (also try YSearch)
 * Ancestry DNA
 * Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation

Finding Aids
Family History Library Catalog. Use the "Last names" search to pinpoint books about specific families in this large collection at the Family History Library.

PERSI. This database, available online both at Ancestry.com ($) and HeritageQuestOnline ($), searches the titles of articles published in genealogy journals. It can help you learn if anyone has published information in this format on your particular family tree.

FamilySearch Wiki Bibliographies. Lists of South Carolina genealogies, county-by-county, are being compiled on FamilySearch Wiki:

Abbeville· Aiken· Allendale· Anderson· Bamberg· Barnwell· Beaufort· Berkeley· Calhoun· Charleston· Cherokee· Chester· Chesterfield· Clarendon· Colleton· Darlington· Dillon· Dorchester· Edgefield· Fairfield· Florence· Georgetown· Greenville· Greenwood· Hampton· Horry· Jasper· Kershaw· Lancaster· Laurens· Lee· Lexington· Marion· Marlboro· McCormick· Newberry· Oconee· Orangeburg· Pickens· Richland· Saluda· Spartanburg· Sumter· Union· Williamsburg· York

Manuscript Collections
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Collection

This collection consists of transcripts of Bible records, cemetery records, church records, marriages, deaths, obituaries, and wills. It was microfilmed in 1971 at the DAR Library, Washington, DC, and is available on 31 films at the Family History Library. The volumes are generally arranged by county.

An every-name index of 617,000 names has been produced by the Family History Library

Leonardo Andrea.

The late Leonardo Andrea was a professional genealogist who specialized in South Carolina research. Surname indexes to his Files, Folders, and Resources are available online, courtesy: The Andrea Files: South Carolina Genealogical Research. The original manuscripts are kept at the South Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. FHL has microfilmed several Andrea collections. The Catalog breaks down the surnames that appear in several of these collections:


 * 1029 folders (51 films) and printed index
 * Genealogical correspondence (21 films)
 * Miscellaneous genealogical data (2 films)

An inventory of the collection is Index to Genealogical Folders in the Leonardo Andrea Collection

Colonial Families of South Carolina

This collection of surname folders by Motte Alston Read was filmed in 1952 at the South Carolina Historical Society. The subject and family index is on The information is from newspapers, deeds, court records, church records, and so forth. The subject references can only be investigated through correspondence with the South Carolina Historical Society.

Published Sources
Some major published genealogical collections for South Carolina include :


 * South Carolina Genealogies: Articles from the South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine. Five Volumes. Spartanburg, South Carolina: The Reprint Co., 1983. Volume 5 contains an every-name index to Volumes one through four.


 * Wooley, James E., ed. A Collection of Upper South Carolina Genealogical and Family Records. Three Volumes. Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1979-82. (Family History Library book This is an alphabetical collection for families from the Old 96 District.


 * Lineage Charts South Carolina Genealogical Society Chapters. Four Volumes. Greenville, South Carolina: Greenville Chapter, The South Carolina Genealogical Society, 1976-87?. This contains records submitted by members of the Society.


 * Crozier, William Armstrong. A Key to Southern Pedigrees: Being a Comprehensive Guide to the Colonial Ancestry of Families in the States of Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Alabama. 2nd ed. Baltimore: Southern Book Company, 1953. Digital version at - free.

Writing and Sharing Your Family History
Sharing your own family history is valuable for several reasons:


 * It helps you see gaps in your own research and raises opportunities to find new information.
 * It helps other researchers progress in researching ancestors you share in common.
 * It draws other researchers to you who already have information about your family that you do not yet possess.
 * It draws together researchers with common interests, sparking collaboration opportunities. For instance, researchers in various localities might choose to do lookups for each other in remote repositories. Your readers may also share photos of your ancestors that you have never seen before.


 * See also:
 * Create a Family History
 * Writing Your Family and Personal History
 * A Guide to Printing Your Family History