Sumter County, South Carolina Genealogy

United States  South Carolina  Sumter County

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

County Courthouse
Sumter County Courthouse 13 E. Canal St. Sumter, SC 29150

Clerk of Court 141 N. Main St. Sumter, SC 29150 Phone: 803-436-2223 Court records

Register of Deeds 141 N. Main St. Sumter, SC 29150 Phone: 803-436-2223 Land records

Probate Court 141 N. Main St. Sumter, SC 29150 Phone: 803-436-2166 Probate and marriage records

Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday

History
The county is named after General Thomas Sumter (1734-1832).

Parent County
1798--Sumter County was created in 1798 from Camden District. County seat:  Sumter 

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
Calhoun | Clarendon | Florence | Kershaw | Lee | Richland

Research Guides

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

Census
1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Sumter 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.

1820 Manufactures

The original manufactures schedules for South Carolina are kept at the NARA, Washington, D.C. FHL copies: 1024517 - 1024518.

Published abstract:


 * National Archives. Indexes to Manufactures Census of 1820. 1920; reprint, Knightstown, Ind.: Bookmark, 1977. 973 X2m 1820; digital version at Lineages. [Includes this county.]

1840 Revolutionary War Pensioners


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. Washington, D.C.: Blair and Rives, 1841. 973 X2pc 1840;  2321; digital versions at U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. [See South Carolina, Sumter District on page 142.]

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Sumter

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 Sumter, South Carolina at World Connect, produces more than 10,000 results.

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

Message Boards


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

Bibliography


 * [Andrews] Andrews, Robert W. The Life and Adventures of Capt. Robert W. Andrews, of Sumter, South Carolina: Extending Over a Period of 97 Years Replete with Startling Situations and Interesting Incidents. Together with Reminiscences of the War of 1812, and the Recent Unpleasantness Between the North and South. Boston: E.P. Whitcomb, 1887.
 * [Birchmore] Phelps, Dallas LeRoy. Birchmore Families of Sumter County, South Carolina. Camden, S.C.: D.L. Phelps, 1996. Item 5
 * [Bradford] Gottschalk, Kathrine Cox. Descendants of John Bradford, Sr. of Sumter District, South Carolina. Typescript, microfilmed 1976.
 * [Brunson] Brunson, Ray D. and Jean Brunson. Brunson Descendants of John and Hannah Brownson of South Carolina Notes on Brunsons of St. Mark's Parish/Old Sumter District, South Carolina, Brunsons from South Carolina to Other States, the Sons of John and Hannah Brownson. Lafayette, La.: R. &amp; J. Brunson, 1991.
 * [Geddings] Record Book of Edward Geddings of Privateer and Sumter, South Carolina and His Descendants Geddings, McLeod, Jennings, Parker, Pritchard, Turner and Treasure. MSS., microfilmed 1975. Item 14
 * [Jones] Terrar, Edward. Family History Information About Charles H. Jones (1833-1895) and Elizabeth Margaret David Jones (1831-1887) and Related Watts/David/Stafford/Macon/Brown/Benson Families in Sumter County, South Carolina. Silver Spring, Md.: E. Terrar, 1988.
 * [Locklair] Brown, Gerald D. A Genealogy of a Locklair Family Mainly of the Old Sumter District of South Carolina - Present Day Sumter and Lee Counties. Hemingway, S.C.: Three Rivers Historical Society, 1995.
 * [McKenzie] Brown, Gerald D. Descendants of Daniel and Rebecca McKenzie Old Williamsburg/Sumter Districts of South Carolina. Hemingway, S.C.: Three Rivers Historical Society, 1995.
 * [Prescott] Prescott, Adell Taylor. The Ancestors and Descendants of Benjamin Prescott of North Carolina and Sumter District, South Carolina Born ca.1752, Died Prior to 1830. Greenville, N.C.: A.T. Prescott, 1980.
 * [Welch] Welch, Brian E. Welch Records in Sumter District and Other Areas of South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.: B.E. Welch, 1995.

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.

Local Histories

 * Gregorie, Anne King. History of Sumter County, South Carolina. Sumter, S.C.: Library Board of Sumter County, 1954. 975.769 H2g.
 * Review:
 * by Jack Kenny Williams in The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 56, No. 1 (Jan. 1955):56-57. Digital version at JSTOR ($).

Revolutionary War

 * "Jasper Redden McCoy, Revolution, Scapo Swamp exploit legend, SC," Periodical Bay Area Genealogical Society Newsletter, February 2005, Volume 4, Issue 6. Bay Area Genealogical Society : Houston, TX.
 * "Pensioners census, 1840," Sumter Black River Watchman, October 2003, Volume 19, Issue 7. Sumter County Genealogical Society : Sumter, SC.
 * "Adam Cusack execution, 1780," Sumter Black River Watchman, September 2002, Issue 6. Sumter County Genealogical Society : Sumter, SC.
 * "Loyalists," Sumter Black River Watchman, March 2000. Sumter County Genealogical Society : Sumter, SC

Newspapers
For a history of Sumter newspaper presses, see:


 * Stubbs, Thomas McAlpin. "The Fourth Estate of Sumter South Carolina," The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Oct. 1953):185-200. Digital version at JSTOR ($).

Probate
The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has microfilms or typescripts of wills, inventories, bills of sale, power of attorneys, bonds, notes, administrations, judgments, and sales records. They have placed Will Transcriptions for 1782 to 1855 online. Index searchable by name and the image is available.

Web Sites

 * Sumter County SCGenWeb
 * Family History Library Catalog
 * Sumter County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)