The Mad Genealogist

Successful research in South Carolina requires an understanding of the unique and complex development of its local government and jurisdictions. Unlike the other twelve British colonies, South Carolina did not form counties or towns during the colonial period.

• Districts/Counties, 1800–present – In 1800, the nine circuit court districts and thirty-seven counties were abolished and replaced by twenty-five districts. Some of the new districts were identical with counties in districts established 1785–99; other districts were new polities entirely. As the highest level of local government, all twenty-five districts had equal status and record-keeping functions. The original districts expanded and divided between 1800 and 1867 to become thirty districts. Under the new constitution adopted in 1868, districts were renamed counties.The forty-six present-day counties in South Carolina trace their lineage to the formation of districts in 1800. Although many can trace their geographical lineage to 1785, and some can trace their records lineage to 1785, any listing of counties that provides a formation date pre-1800 misses the essential point that the pre-1800 counties were not the highest level of local government. Before 1800, all counties were counties in circuit court districts; residents could conduct their business in either the county or the circuit court district, and researchers must check the records of both. See County Resources—Districts/Counties, for a complete listing of the counties of South Carolina and their records.The listing of Districts/Counties includes all districts and counties in existence from 1800 to the present and refers to the county, or county and circuit court district from which the district was formed. Some counties functioned before 1800, and the date those counties began functioning is recorded. The beginning dates for land, probate, and court records are the first indicated for the type of record specified in each county’s courthouse and may include records of an earlier polity. Many records were destroyed, particularly near the end of the Civil War, and many other records are fragmentary; dates given for the first record do not imply that all records from that date are extant. Residents of the Up-Country counties often recorded records when they acquired local government, so some of the records pre-date the formation of local governments.
• Counties in Districts – In 1785, the seven circuit court districts were subdivided into thirty-three counties. Inferior courts were established in some of the counties, and record-keeping began at the local level. However, the circuit court districts continued to function, and many local actions were conducted at the district seat instead of the county seat. Three districts—Beaufort, Charleston, and Georgetown—were allowed to postpone the formation of county governments, and their counties never functioned. The residents of Orangeburgh District also preferred district government to county government, and three of the four counties in that district were disused from 1791 through 1799.While many present-day counties were established geographically between 1785 and 1799, the counties created during that period did not keep records or function as local governments equally. The county did not become the highest level of local government throughout South Carolina until 1800. See County Resources—Counties in Districts, for a complete listing of counties established and abolished between 1785 and 1799.The listing of counties in circuit court districts includes every county formed between 1785 and 1800. Counties abolished in 1800 are identified, and the location of their extant records is detailed.
• Circuit Court Districts, 1769-1800 – Circuit court districts were established in 1769 and began holding court by about 1772. Originally there were seven districts: Beaufort, Camden, Charleston, Cheraws, Georgetown, Ninety-Six, and Orangeburgh. Pinckney and Washington circuit court districts were added in 1791.The listing of circuit court districts details the extant records of the nine circuit court districts created in 1769 and 1791 and where the extant records are located. The counties formed in each district are identified.
• Townships -One of the early and genealogically important actions of the provincial (royal) government was the Township Act of 1731; additional townships were authorized in 1761. The act authorized eleven townships containing 20,000 acres each, and agents were sent to Europe to recruit families as settlers. The families were offered inducements such as free transportation to South Carolina, free provisions for one year, and free land. The townships neither created nor kept records; their functions were solely geographical. Townships, like parishes, were used for some tax districts and appeared as locators in grants and conveyances. The townships are included in the listing of Townships and Parishes.
• Parishes – In 1706, the Province of South Carolina established the Church of England as the official state-supported church. The twenty-five parishes established from 1706 through 1778 recorded vital records and became districts for the proportioning and election of representatives in 1716; parishes were also used as tax districts. They functioned as geographic locators in grants and conveyances, but did not necessarily replace the proprietary counties in that function; some grants and conveyances mention the parish, some the proprietary county, and some give both.
• Proprietary Counties – The first division of South Carolina into local polities occurred in 1682 when Berkeley, Colleton, and Craven proprietary counties were established; Carteret was added in 1685 and renamed Granville in 1708. These counties neither created nor kept records; their function was geographical. The proprietary counties served as districts for the assignment and election of representatives until 1716, militia duty, and general reference in land grants and conveyances (deeds). The proprietary counties were superceded by circuit court districts in 1769, but continued to be used as geographical references until the formation of counties within the circuit court districts in 1785. The forty-six current counties in South Carolina are listed with their proprietary counties in the listing of Proprietary Counties.