South Carolina Archives and Libraries

United States South Carolina  Archives and Libraries

The following archives, libraries, and societies have collections or services to assist South Carolina genealogical researchers. For manuscript collections and compiled genealogies, the South Caroliniana Library in Columbia and the Charleston Historical Society in Charleston are excellent places to start (both are discussed in this article).

Also visit the State Library Obituary Resources Portal for a listing of SC public libraries that assist with family history searches.

National Archives
Dallas Public Central Library 1515 Young St. Dallas, TX 75201-9987 USA Telephone: 214-670-1433 E-mail: [mailto:genealogy@dallaslibrary.org genealogy@dallaslibrary.org] Internet: Dallas Public Library Genealogy


 * Outstanding genealogical collection with records for more than Texas, including South Carolina, Oklahoma, the South, Mid-Atlantic, and New England states.

Chattanooga Public Library Downtown 1001 Broad Street Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 Telephone: 423-757-5317 E-mail: [mailto:library@lib.chattanooga.gov library@lib.chattanooga.gov] Internet: Local History and Genealogy Department


 * Includes the Upper South's largest family folder collection which is heavy on Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Internet genealogy databases, census, newspapers, obituary index, county records, 30,000 books, manuscripts, and genealogical periodicals.

National Archives at Atlanta 5780 Jonesboro Road Morrow, Georgia 30260 USA Phone: 770-968-2100 Fax: 770-968-2547 E-mail: [mailto:atlanta.archives@nara.gov atlanta.archives@nara.gov] Internet: National Archives at Atlanta


 * Records from over 100 federal agencies and courts in South Carolina. Also includes Vice Admiralty Courts of SC, evolution of federal courts, Constitutional rights, Revolutionary War, Civil War, reconstruction, World Wars I and II, and space exploration. Microfilms for censuses, diplomatic missions, military service records, bounty-land applications, passenger arrival lists, naturalizations, American Indians, and African Americans.

Santa Cruz Public Library Downtown 224 Church Street Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Telephone: 831-427-7707 ext. 5794 E-mail: E-mail reference service form Internet: Locations and Hours-SC Genealogical Society Library


 * Holds the Genealogial Society of Santa Cruz County's library, including the Tina Brayton Collection which is equivalent to the Draper Manuscript Collection  but larger and with a better index, and many compiled genealogies of Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia families.

Statewide Archives
South Carolina Department of Archives and History 8301 Parklane Road Columbia, SC 29229 Telephone: 803-896-6100 Fax: 803-896-6198 Internet: Online Records Index Internet: SC Dept. of Archives and History Hours: Tuesday thru Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.


 * They have colonial records, original county records, and the best manuscript collection in the state. It is a good place to start. The archives has an online search engine for indexes to Confederate Pension Applications, 1919-1926, Criminal Journals, 1769-1776, Plats for State Land Grants, 1784 to 1868, and Will Transcripts 1782 to 1855 as well as other records. It also has a list of county records available at the Archives: Selected Bibliography of County, City, and Town Histories at the SC Archives Reference Library.


 * The staff will check a few indexes for a specific name and send a photocopy order for records in which that name appears. A useful guide to the collection is Marion C. Chandler and Earl W. Wade, The South Carolina Archives: A Temporary Summary Guide, 2d ed. (Columbia, South Carolina: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1976; ; ).

South Carolina State Library 1500 Senate St Columbia, SC 29201 Telephone: 803-734-8666 Fax: 803-734-8676 E-mail: [mailto:reference@statelibrary.sc.gov reference@statelibrary.sc.gov] Internet: South Carolina State Library


 * Book collection is the largest in the state. They also have newspapers, biographies, and reference works.

South Carolina Historical Society 100 Meeting Street Charleston, SC 29401-2299 Telephone: 803-723-3225 Fax: 803-723-8584 Internet: South Carolina Historical Society


 * One of their strengths is colonial immigrant records. They also have biographies, genealogies, and early newspapers. A helpful guide to the manuscript collection of this society is David Moltke-Hansen and Sallie Doscher, “South Carolina Historical Society Manuscript Guide,” South Carolina Historical Magazine, July 1979 (Charleston: South Carolina Historical Society, 1979) ;

Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina Archives Diocesan House 126 Coming Street Charleston, SC 29403 Telephone: 843-722-4075 Fax: 843-723-7628 E-mail: [mailto:bsnyder@dioceseofsc.org bsnyder@dioceseofsc.org] Mrs. Beth Snyder Internet: Diocese of South Carolina


 * Many original Church of England (Episcopal Church) records dating from South Carolina's colonial period (1706-1778) are kept at this facility. The colonial government until 1785 requested the help of local Episcopal parishes in certain functions including record keeping. All surviving colonial parish registers have been published in South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine ;, or in book form. For a descriptive inventory of surviving colonial and more recent parish records, see:


 * Margaretta Childs, and Isabella G. Leland, "South Carolina Episcopal Church Records," South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine 84 (October 1983): 250-63. ; digital version at JSTOR ($);.

Regional Archives
Camden Archives and Museum 1314 Broad Street Camden, SC 29020 Telephone: 803-425-6050 Fax: 803-424-4053 E-mail: [mailto:archives@camdensc.org archives@camdensc.org] Internet: Camden Archives and Museum


 * Their collection covers the whole state with many indexes, bibliographies, books, and periodicals.

Charleston County Public Library 68 Calhoun Street Charleston, South Carolina 29401 Telephone: 843-805-6930 Charleston County Public Library


 * The Charleston County Public Library possesses a large number of books, maps, manuscripts, and images covering a wide variety of local history and genealogical topics. These resources are divided into two separate departments. The South Carolina Room houses local and regional history and genealogy materials, focusing on the history and genealogy of South Carolina, with special emphasis on Charleston and the Lowcountry. The Special Collections Department is an archive of historic manuscripts, books and visual materials representing Charleston and the surrounding Lowcountry. Access to the original materials in Special Collections is by appointment only, but much of the unique manuscript material is available on microfilm or photocopies in the South Carolina Room.

Charleston Library Society 164 King Street Charleston, SC 29401 Telephone: 803-723-9912 Internet: Charleston Library Society


 * This is one of the finest genealogical facilities in the South with a very large collection of family folders, and genealogies.

Darlington County Historical Commission 204 Hewitt St Darlington, SC 29532 Telephone: 843-398-4710 Internet: Darlington County Historical Commission


 * South Carolina reference materials with good indexes.

Greenville County Library System Hughes Main Library 25 Heritage Green Pl Greenville, SC 29601 Telephone: 864-242-5000 E-mail: Ask a Question - South Carolina Room Internet: Genealogy and Local History


 * This excellent book library has a good genealogy collection of South Carolina's former residents including family folders, biographies, and histories.

Orangeburg County Historical Society Library Salley Archives 1421 Middleton Street PO Box 1881 Orangeburg, SC 29116-1881 Telephone: 803-535-0022 E-mail: [mailto:ochs@orangeburgh.org ochs@orangeburgh.org] Internet: OCHS Library Holdings


 * Holdings include court records, family records, deeds, mortgages, surname folders, church records, cemetery transcripts, books and documents of local families.

South Carolina Genealogical Society Tompkins Memorial Library 104 Courthouse Square Edgefield, SC 29824-1335 Telephone: 803-637-4010 Fax: 803-637-2116 E-mail: [mailto:scgs@bellsouth.net scgs@bellsouth.net] Internet: South Carolina Genealogical Society


 * The South Carolina Genealogical Society, and the Old Edgefield District Genealogical Society, at the Tompkins Memorial Library have newspapers, old Edgefield County records such as probate wills and deeds, censuses and mortality tables. There is also an extensive collection of family histories, and over 2,000 surname files available to researchers, which contain Bible records, newspaper clippings, letters, lineage charts, and diary excerpts. The collection includes subject files which include church histories, and cemetery surveys. The old Ninety-Six District is emphasized.

South Caroliniana Library 910 Sumter St. University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208-0103 Telephone: 803-777-3142 Fax: 803-777-4661 Internet: [http://library.sc.edu/p/Collections/SCL? South Caroliniana Library]


 * This is and outstanding collection for South Carolian and the South, including manuscripts, genealogies, histories, atlases, and gazeteers. A useful guide to the manuscript collection of this library is Allen H. Stokes, A Guide to the Manuscript Collection of the South Caroliniana Library (Columbia, South Carolina: The Library, 1982); ;

Sumter County Genealogical Center 122 North Washington Street P.O. Box 2543 Sumter, SC 29151 Telephone: 803-774-3901 Email: [mailto:SumterGenSoc@aol.com SumterGenSoc@aol.com] Internet: Sumter County Genealogical Center


 * This is a premier genealogy collection for South Carolina. The outstanding Janie Reville Collection is well indexed. You can find references to nearly all South Carolina families here.

For Further Reading

 * A helpful guide to research institutions in South Carolina is John Hammond Moore, Research Materials in South Carolina . . . (Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1967) ;


 * To learn more about the history and record-keeping systems of South Carolina counties, use the 14 inventories of the county archives published by the Historical Records Survey around 1940. The Family History Library has all of the inventories


 * South Carolina Libraries (Government, Public, Academic)


 * Archives in Appalachia: A Directory. Boone, North Carolina: Appalachian Consortium Press, 1985. ; The record covers the states of Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The record is arranged alphabetically by state, then by the name of the repository. Each entry lists the archive, its address, phone number, inclusive dates of the collection, the records of the collection, what subjects are covered by the collection, and the size of the collection. There are two indexes: Record type, and Subject, with reference numbers corresponding to the repository. Also included is a list, under “Coming Attractions,” of agencies that do not currently collect manuscript materials but plan to do so in the future.


 * The SC SHRAB South Carolina Historical Repository Directory online county-by-county directory.