South Carolina Land Records

Latest update: 7 March 2023

According to The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy : "Perhaps no category of records is more important to the genealogist than those relating to land.... As might be expected, the systems of land granting and land tenure in these jurisdictions varied widely, and each must be studied separately." South Carolina land records are a bit complicated. South Carolina land records created before the American Revolution may refer to the counties of Colleton, Craven, Berkeley, and Granville; these were nonfunctioning but useful as geographical locators. Beaufort District was created out of Granville County. 

Deeds and mortgages were recorded only at Charleston until 1769–1772; and until 1785, such records from local courthouses continued to be sent to and stored in Charleston. Pre-1719 records are at the state archive in Columbia. 

• Charles H. Lesser, South Carolina Begins: The Records of a Proprietary Colony, 1663–1721 (Columbia: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1995). 
• Silas Emmett Lucas, Jr., An Index to Deeds of the Province and State of South Carolina 1719–1785 and Charleston District 1785–1800 (Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1977), 
• Clara A. Langley, South Carolina Deed Abstracts, 1719–1772, 4 vols. (Spartanburg, S.C.: 1983).

From 1785 to 1799, there were first seven and then nine “old” districts, where conveyances were stored. About 1799 these large districts were abolished and conveyances were recorded and stored at twenty-four small “new” districts. (These districts have been called counties since 1868.)  

• Michael E. Stauffer, County Formation in South Carolina (Columbia: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1994).

The need, until about 1769–72, to go to Charleston to record conveyances, the turmoil of the revolution from 1775 to 1783, and the loss of many “old” district records means South Carolina deeds created before 1800 are very incomplete. South Carolina passed a bounty-land act and established a small military reserve. 

•  “Bounty Grants to Revolutionary Soldiers,” South Carolina Historical Magazine 7 (1906): 173–78, 217–24.

A unique land source is the state’s Reconstruction attempt to buy land for black freedmen. Some records exist showing whites selling to the project and blacks buying. 

• Carol K. Rothrock, The Promised Land; The History of the South Carolina Land Commission, 1869–1890 (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1969). 
• “Granting of Land in Colonial South Carolina,” South Carolina Historical Magazine 77 (1976): 208–12. 
• Robert K. Ackerman, South Carolina Colonial Land Policies (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1977); 
• David A. Means, “The Recording of Land Titles in South Carolina . . . ,” South Carolina Law Quarterly 10 (1957–58): 346–419 
• South Carolina Archives Summary Guide
• Robert L. Meriwether, The Expansion of South Carolina 1729–1765 (Kingsport, Tenn.: Southern Publishers, 1940).

For Budding Coastal Ecologists

To supplement the "Keeping the May River Wild" program earlier this month, I prepared two lists of library materials about coastal ecology and documentary film-making to share with participants and online customers.

You can find the lists on coastal ecology through the "Coastal Ecology" bookbag I am sharing through the SC LENDS catalog. You can see the contents of the bookbag on "Documentary Film-making," too!

The coastal ecology hand-out includes links to online information in our "Local History and Nature" web pages on the marshes, shrimp, snakes and spiders, tides, sea foam, etc. Please contact me (gracec@bcgov.net or telephone 255-6446) if you'd like a hardcopy of the hand-out.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I hope that you are as thankful as I am for the bounty of nature in whose midst we reside. We should always be mindful of its beauty and its fragility. Happy Thanksgiving.

2nd Annual Tour of Historic Churches -- Dec. 4th

The Beaufort County Historical Society is pleased to announce the participation list for their 2nd Annual Tour of Historic Churches. This year there are 6 churches on the tour plus an additional feature of choirs, Church yard tours, and Bell Ringer’s to bring in your holiday spirit. The Churches on tour will be open from 10 am til 4 pm. Fee.

The special events are:

10:00 am- First Presbyterian Church of Beaufort -1201 North St.-Choir Performance

11:00 am- Wesley United Methodist Church -701 West St.-Choir Performance

11:30 am-Optional lunch at Wesley United Methodist Church -- $10.00 RSVP Louise Williams 525-6799 or 986-8759

12:15 pm- First African Baptist Church -601 New St.-Spirituals

l:00 pm -St Peter’s Catholic Churchyard- Carteret & Duke Streets-Cider and Spanish Choir

2:00 pm -The Parish Church of St. Helena- 505 Church St.-Churchyard Tour

3:00 pm -The Baptist Church of Beaufort –601 Charles St- Bell Ringers

Tickets are available at participating Churches, LuLu Burgess on Bay St, or by contacting: Pamela Ovens-President - sail@singlestar.us or call 843-785-2767 .

JFK: Good libraries are essential

When I was tidying up the vertical files for relocation, I was reminded of a letter from the President of the United States in 1963 in the Library archives.

President Kennedy wrote: "Good libraries are as essential to an educated and informed people as the school system itself. The library is not only the custodian of our cultural heritage but the key to progress and the advancement of knowledge."

The occasion? He wrote to congratulate the nascent Beaufort County Library on its award of the Dorothy Canfield Fisher award as "Best Small Library" in the United States.

Why was Beaufort County Library chosen as the "Best Small Library" in 1963? It had a great deal to do with how forward looking the County, the Library Board of Trustees, and the community was for a Southern town. A formerly all white library, Beaufort Township Library, and a formerly all black community library, the Laura M. Towne Library on the Penn Community Center campus with some County support, merged to create the Beaufort County Library -- and the Towne Library contributed a bookmobile. There weren't any other public libraries in Beaufort County at the time or ways to get access to reading materials or assistance in using reference materials. Hilton Head and Bluffton had very small permanent populations in them and no access to community library services.

According to News for Public Librarians: 2nd series, no. 6 dated December 1962 issued by the South Carolina State Library Board:

"Beaufort was the winner because it met all the criteria and because the newly appointed county library board has made every effort to organize the library on sound economical principles and according to library standards and has recognized the importance and taken the necessary steps to obtain the services of a trained librarian to direct the library."

Fast forward to the present day and ask yourselves these questions:

Q: Does the Beaufort County Library serve its community well?

Q: Does Beaufort County Library maintain its operation according to sound economical principles?

Q: Does Beaufort County Library maintain current library standards?

Whether your answer is "yes" or "no," or even something in between, our Library Board of Trustees, Administrators, and County Council need to know what you think in order that Beaufort County Library can better meet your needs for library services.

"How to Update your Christmas Card List"

I get a few electronic newsletters relating to genealogy in my work e-mail box every month in an attempt to stay abreast of things. Most of the time I just quickly peruse the headings and eliminate the entries as not particularly worth sharing. But, sometimes, as on November 1, I run across a tidbit I'd like to share or comment thereon.

For example, The Genealogy News - Weekly Edition e-newsletter (31/Oct/2010) contained a link to the "Genealogy Tip of the Day" blog entry on "Deaths from Just Over Two Weeks Ago in the Social Security Death Index (Source: Genealogy Tip of the Day via RSS Feed, 27/Oct/2010)".

When I was at the combined Society of Georgia Archivists and the South Carolina Archival Association meeting on Oct. 28th and 29th, my highly esteemed Local History Librarian colleague for Richland County Public Library, Deborah Bloom, mentioned a hook she uses with her customers to get them interested in databases. She helps customers "Update Their Christmas Card List" by showing them how to use the Social Security Death Index.

A coincidence? A convergance of the cosmos? You tell me.

The Social Security Death Index is available several ways. You can find it in Ancestry Library Edition inside our branches; you can register for free at GenealogyBank to access it; or you can use Family Search among others.

Being naturally rather skeptical, I asked "Just how quick is the turn-around?" The answer was personal and quite startling. One of my younger-than-I-am first cousins, Joey Bell, died very unexpectedly on October 21st. I put his name into the SSDI on GenealogyBank.com and found that by November 1, 2010, he was listed.

Now, that's quick. I guess he gets crossed off my Christmas card list -- not that I am especially good at getting them into the mail in the first place. (I did quite well last year, though. Shall I go for good two years in consecutiveness? Stay tuned. I just may). RIP, Joey. You were a good cousin.

Clemson to digitize NPS documents for SCDL

Press Release: Clemson University Libraries is the proud recipient of an IMLS National Leadership grant for the development of the Open Parks Grid project. Over the next 3 years, over 3 million pages of printed information held by the National Parks Service and the state parks of South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia will be digitized and made full-text searchable. In addition, over 150,000 objects will also be digitized. These objects include maps, photographs and artifacts. Objects related to South Carolina will be made available through the South Carolina Digital Library.

For more information or questions, feel free to contact Emily B. Gore, Head of Digital Initiatives and IT at Clemson University Libraries.

Find the full press release here.

National Native American Month

Once upon a time, Native Americans roamed the wetlands, fished the estuaries, and camped along our riverbanks. Many small Native American groups lived in the area. These former residents left behind shell middens, pottery shards, and their words upon our landscape: Wimbee, Combahee, Kussoh, Yamasee, Pocotaligo, Coosawhatchie, Daufuskie, Salkehatchie. The groups were rather small and unorganized, key factors in the ability of European newcomers to successfully take advantage of them.

Interested in learning more about the Yamassee, the PeeDee, the Cusabo, the Etiwans, etc. to honor the history and culture of South Carolina based Native American tribes?

Here are a few suggestions to help you celebrate National Native American Month!

1. Drop by the Research Room to see the display of just a few of the many materials we have on the tribes present in this area during the colonial period.

2. Review the lists mentioned below to pick out the items you'd like to use in order to delve a little deeper into the history of Native Americans who were here when the Europeans began arriving in the early 16th century. Some of the materials are available thorough the "Local History" sections of our branch libraries.

3. Visit some of the websites I recommend below to learn more. This you can do from the privacy of your home or office, any time day or night, in whatever state of dress or undress, you like!

A good portal to online information about the various South Carolina based tribes can be found on SCiway.

The black and white drawings of the Indians used in the display case can be found online in the "History of South Carolina Slide Collection," a part of Knowitall. Although Knowitall is designed to support K-12 curriculum, there is plenty of information for the lifelong learner about a broad variety of historical, cultural, and environmental topics important to our state's past and future.

We posted a "Recommended Reading" list of our Beaufort County Library materials about the local Native Americans on the internet in 2008. More than 2000 people have consulted the list thus far. A slightly different presentation of materials available though the BCL about local Native American groups is delivered through the "Pathfinder to Materials about Lowcountry South Carolina Indians."

View Yamasee Indian artifacts on Beaufort County Library's Local History & Nature page on Altamaha.

For those interested in learning more about tribes in other parts of the the Western hemisphere, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian has a fabulous series of online exhibitions. Not to be outdone, the Library of Congress has posted a series of links to exhibits and collections, including online audio, photographs, and video files. (Unfortunately, our little tribes are not mentioned, but even so, the online resources from NMAI and LOC are wonderful.)

Spend a few minutes -- or a few hours -- a few days -- or more than a few years -- exploring the great diversity among the Native American tribes.

Sheriff McTeer and Dr. Buzzard Coming Soon!

A month from now, we are all in for a treat.

Baynard Woods will be doing a presentation for us about his newly released book, Coffin Point – in County Council Chambers -- on December 14th. Woods did some of his research in the BDC. Mark your calendars now. I think this one, because of the topics – Sheriff McTeer, voodoo doctors, rootwork, spells and hexes – will be quite popular. (Aren’t you already intrigued?)

Click here for the flyer.

Click here to learn more about the book.

Click here for the Coffin Point Facebook page.

Click here to learn more about the presenter, Baynard Woods.

To get an idea of the wealth of materials we have on or by Ed McTeer and Dr. Buzzard, here are some "Recommended Readings" for you to consider: James Edwin McTeer and Dr. Buzzard. (You'll notice some overlap. It is hard to mention one man without referring to the other.)

StudySC Just Keeps Getting Better

StudySC continues to improve.

Each grade level in StudySC now features a "History After 1865" section that includes information for K-12 students on Reconstruction politics, life in the textile mills, local and national civil rights activists, and life in the modern "New South." Each grade level has unique material, and it's not just for the K-12 crowd. Anyone can learn from these librarian vetted, and K-12 curriculum approved, links. Try one or more: Elementary School;
Middle School; and/or High School.

I always test drive the digital content I share with you in Connections. In the case of the High School "History after 1865" section there are two articles directly relevant to the history, culture, and environment of Beaufort District:

1. "A Word of Warning: A Former Slave Urges Constitutional Caution" in which Civil War hero Robert Smalls asks the governor not to disenfranchise many African American (and poor white) voters by using a poll tax and literacy test to vote.

2. Henry McMillan, a newly freedman gives testimony about his life as a slave on Eustis Plantation on Lady's Island.

A delightful new feature is the "SC Glossary" section which includes definitions for terms such as "beach music," "carpetbagger," "scalawag," and "grits."

Enjoy!

BDC Closed Nov. 11th

All Beaufort County government offices are closed Thursday, November 11th to observe Veteran's Day -- which includes the BDC Research Room, of course.

October is always the busiest month for the BDC -- and this one was even busier than usual

Please note: I'm counting Sept. 29th and Sept. 30th as part of October. We were closed until 5 pm on September 29th to relocate the BDC.

We held the Grand-Reopening private function on September 29th, and got back to daily business on September 30th.

The BDC hosted 9 Behind-the-Scenes tours of our new facility, created a display of significant documents we have inside the new room, and I wrote an inordinately large number of Connections entries to highlight Archives Month for which there were 550 pageviews.

In addition, we coordinated 2 free-and-open-to-the-public programs and accepted a County Council proclamation on behalf of the AM Team 2010 for Archaeology Month.

Because a learning staff is a competent staff, we participated in several no and/or very low cost training opportunities in order to help us become even better stewards of the materials entrusted into our care.

99 people got a Behind-the-Scenes tour of our new facility during October.

We had a total of 42 people attend the Archaeology Month programs on Palmetto Bluff and Gullah Genealogy. The session on Gullah Genealogy, presented by archaeologists Carl Steen and Dr. Jodi Barnes, was broadcast live on the County Channel on Oct. 26th.

We also had 96 Research Room customer visits (with only 1 complaint).

I (and the Smithsonian Institution Archives) posted 31 days of blog entries about archives, management of archives, other archives, etc. Just click on the BROWSE BY TOPIC tag "archives" along the left hand column to see all 31 entries. There were 550 page views of Connections during October.

We fielded 15 e-mail or telephone reference inquiries.

Charmaine went to the PALMCOP (Palmetto Archives, Libraries, and Museums Council on Preservation) conference to learn more about preservation techniques for encapsulation, phase boxes, basic book repair, document repair, and care for photographs and negatives.

I went to the combined Society of Georgia Archivists and the South Carolina Archival Association conference at the very end of the month in order to keep my skills current. It is always a good idea to "test" what we do here against what other area archives are doing to share their holdings with the public.

Charmaine participated in 2 free online webinars sponsored by the IMLS dealing with how to use social media to tell our story offered with the public. (You may recall that the BDC was the recipient of a Connecting to Collections Bookshelf grant a few years ago, and I was the grateful recipient of a scholarship from Heritage Preservation to attend the IMLS regional symposium in Buffalo, NY last June.)

So adding it all up, the BDC touched the lives and helped meet the curiosity of 252 people plus however many unique individuals looked at this blog 550 times last month.

Heritage Days at Penn Center

The 28th Annual Heritage Days celebration (brochure) at Penn Center starts next week.

Study Gullah culture up close and personal. There will be demonstrations of basketry, net-making, hair braiding, and bateau making that are part of a cultural legacy rooted in West Africa. Learn how to trace your family tree. Entertainment includes the Darien County Gullah Shouters, the Ujimaa African Dancers, and Aunt Pearlie Sue.

For additional information on Heritage Days Celebration events, dates & times, please call the Penn Center at 843-838-2432 or visit www.penncenter.com.

To sample some of the many Gullah related materials that the Beaufort County Library offers, go to our "The Gullah Language and Sea Island Culture Part I:The Gullah Language" and Part II: "Bibliography of Gullah and Sea Island Cultural Materials." You can also click on Connections blog topic "Gullah" on the bottom left under the section "BROWSE BY TOPIC" for other entries we've posted about Gullah.

Natural History Program Tomorrow

Penn Center Offers Family History Workshop

Penn Center is offering a workshop on “AFRICAN AMERICAN GENEALOGY” as part of their Heritage Days Festival. The workshop will be held Friday, November 12th 9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. at the St. Helena Elementary School Gymnasium. A panel presentation by experts from the University of South Florida Africana Project, genealogists and researchers will present their ground-breaking work of placing tens of thousands of historic slave records online which has enabled millions of African Americans to learn about their ancestral heritage. Bring your wireless laptop and take a journey into the past. GROUPS ARE WELCOME. Tickets: Adults $25 / College I.D. $15 / Youth $5 (under 17).

Call (843) 838-2474 to make a reservation or for more details.

Film-Screening and Discussion on Thursday

The November BDC @ The Branches program is a film-screening and discussion with the film-maker and naturalist, Greg Smith. We will be showing his documentary "Keeping the May River Wild," in the Children's Programming Room in the Beaufort Branch Library at 311 Scott Street, beginning at 5:30 pm this Thursday, Nov. 4th.

By starting the screening at 5:30pm, library customers will only have to pay the City of Beaufort for 30 minutes of parking.

Please note: I am seriously considering starting any future BDC @ The Branches local history programs being held in the 311 Scott Street building at or after 6 pm so that paying for parking is not a hindrance to BDC customers interested in learning more about our local history, culture, and environment. I'd like to hear what you think about starting BDC programs at 311 Scott Street a bit later in the evening. Are you in favor of a slightly later start time? Is it a bad idea? Please let me hear from you.