A Genealogists' Tool Kit : Military and Other Records From the Revolutionary War In the BDC Research Room

Earlier this month I wrote about the "Revolutionary Roots" programs in the BCL's America 250 project. 

Let's say that you have identified ancestors in your family tree who may have served in a military capacity during the conflict as Americans and the British were determining the future government of the English colonies in North America. Establishing your blood ties to a Revolutionary War soldier in particular can be thrilling, time-consuming, and once documents, may afford you the opportunity to join a heritage society. 

Does the BDC have materials to help you document your ancestor's service and life? Yes, we do! 

General Types of Military Records

It may help to know a little about the various types of military service-related records that one finds on databases or in library collections. Military records provide a variety of information about an individual and could include their birthplace, age at enlistment, occupation, and names of immediate family members. Some types of military records include:

• Service records: Service records for militia, volunteer, or regular forces document that an individual served in the military and can provide your ancestor’s unit or organization.
• Draft, Conscription, or Selective Service Records: Since 1863, the federal government has registered millions of men who may have been eligible for military service. Enrollment and Draft information include name residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, physical description, and other information.
• Bounty Land Warrants: The federal government provided bounty land for those who served in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and Indian wars between 1790 and 1855.
• Pension Records: The federal government and some state governments granted pensions or bounty land to officers, disabled veterans, needy veterans, widows or orphans of veterans, and veterans who served a certain length of time. Pension records usually contain more genealogical information than service records. However, not every veteran received or applied for a pension.

Although subscription databases such as Ancestry Library Edition and Fold 3 have a lot of materials posted online to help you dig deeper into your ancestral roots, these massive databases do not have digital surrogates of every resource ever created and/or published. Sometimes one has to go analog - as in visiting archives or visiting libraries to find appropriate printed or microfilmed materials to use in your research. 

Printed Materials in the Research Room

Here are a few printed materials in the BDC that may help you discover more about your Patriot or Loyalist ancestors. 

DAR Patriot Index: Centennial Edition by the Daughters of the American Revolution (National Society of the DAR Centennial Administration, c1994). Covers Patriots whose service has been established through DAR membership applications submitted between October 1890 and 11 October 1990. Part 1: Surnames beginning with A - F; Part 2: Surnames beginning with G - O; and Part 3: Surnames beginning with P - Z.  

Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants Awarded by State Governments by Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck (Genealogical Publishing, 1996). "A land bounty is a grant of land from a government as a reward to pay citizens for the risks and hardships they endured in the service of their country, usually in a military related capacity." This volume lists bounty land grants in Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and "Virginia-Indiana."- introduction

Revolutionary War Pensions Awarded by State Governments, 1775 – 1874, the General and Federal governments prior to 1814, and by Private Acts of Congress to 1905 by Lloyd de Witt Bockstruck (Genealogical Publishing, [2011]). More than 16,500 pensioners are featured in this work compiled in an attempt to identify and recreate the Revolutionary War pension files generated prior to the disastrous fire in the War Department on 8 November 1800, which destroyed nearly a quarter-century of records.

Stub Entries to Indents issued in payments of Claims against South Carolina growing out of the Revolution (The Historical Commission of South Carolina, 1910-1939).

South Carolina Loyalists in the American Revolution by Robert Lambert (University of South Carolina Press, 1987).

African-American Patriots in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution by Bobby G. Moss and Michael C. Scoggins (Scotia-Hibernia Press, 2004).

African-American Loyalists in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution by Bobby G. Moss and Michael C. Scoggins (Scotia-Hibernia Press, 2005).

African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War (National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, 2001).  Please note: This is also available free as a downloadable PDF file. Online the title is "Forgotten Patriots: African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War." Because the PDF file is 874 pages, it can take some time for the file to download. 

South Carolinians in the Revolution by Sara Ervin ([S.l.]: Genealogical Publishing, 1965). 

Anecdotes of the Revolutionary War in America with Sketches of Character of Persons the Most Distinguished, in the Southern States, for Civil and Military Services by Alexander Garden (A.E. Miller, 1822). 

South Carolina in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians by Eric G. Grundset for the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. (National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, 2013).

Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution by Bobby Moss (Genealogical Publishing, 1985).

Traditions and Reminiscences, Chiefly of the American Revolution in the South : including biographical sketches, incidents, and anecdotes, few of which have been published, particularly of residents in the upper country by Joseph Johnson (Walker and James,1851). 

We may have even more. Contact us to discuss your research problem. 

Microfilmed Materials in the Research Room

Beaufort is a "Burned County": Almost all of our pre-Civil War records were destroyed in 1865. Given this fact, genealogical research can be more challenging here. Through the years, the BDC purchased some SC Department of Archives and History records on microfilm to help fill the historical gap. Among the most important series that can help you identify ancestors who may have served during the American Revolution are:

South Carolina Tax Returns, 1783-1800. (2 rolls) This series supplies information about landowners and size of holdings that census records and deed books leave out for the period covered. A printed guide to these records is available in our Research Room. 

Records of the South Carolina Treasury, 1775-1780. (6 rolls) This office was critical to the operation of the newly independent colony and funding of the war effort. The records reflect the increased responsibilities of the revolutionary treasury as the expenses of the war and the problems of supplying the new government grew. They hold a wealth of information on the financial management of the colony during this period and detail military expenditures. A printed guide to these records is available in our Research Room.

Accounts Audited Growing Out of the Revolution in South Carolina. (165 rolls)

This is a fundamental genealogical and historical resource for information regarding the Revolutionary War era. A printed guide to these records is available in our Research Room. You can search series S108092 online via the Online Records Index at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History (SCDAH).  

South Carolina Will Transcripts, 1782-1868. (31 rolls) This is a fundamental genealogical and historical resource for the period covered. A printed guide to these records is available in our Research Room. You can search series L10125 online via the Online Records Index at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. 

South Carolina State Plats, Charleston Series, 1784-1860; Columbia Series, 1796-1868. (30 rolls) These plats are an essential source for genealogy and local history as well as a gold mine of primary documentation for social, cultural, and economic historical studies. A printed guide to these records is available in our Research Room. You can search these series online via the Online Records Index at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

Memorials of the 17th and 18th Century South Carolina Land Titles. (7 rolls)

We have a volume of memorials to quitrents in printed form in the Research Room though this series on microfilm is far more extensive than the printed volume available. In certain cases, this is the only surviving record of a particular transaction, containing Proprietary land grants, certificates of admeasurements, wills, leases, and releases. A printed guide to the Memorials microfilmed series is available in our Research Room. The Memorials on microfilm is partially indexed online via the Online Records Index at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

Tip: Using the guides to collections held at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History can be a bit daunting. Be sure to read "Searching the SCDAH Summary Guide and Online Catalog" by Katharine Slover on the Silver Crescent Standard: The Blog of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History (8 August 2019) for guidance. 

Tip: The information on the SCDAH's page about its Digital Collections and downloading the list of digitized genealogical related materials at the SCDAH may prove very helpful to you as well. 

Confused? Need a little more help than the online guides provide? You are always welcome to set up an appointment to sit down with BDC staff for a little one-on-one assistance with the Online Records Index or with the printed materials or microfilm we have in the BDC Research Room. Though we cannot do genealogical research for you, we can certainly guide you on how to use the genealogical materials we have and offer suggestions on other resources and cultural heritage organizations that might have additional sources of information more about your Revolutionary War era ancestors. 

Please e-mail bdc@bcgov.net or call us at 843-255-6468 to set a date and time for a mutually agreeable research appointment.  

Discover Your Ancestry : Revolutionary Roots Programs and more at Beaufort County Library

The Beaufort County Library, in cooperation with the BDC, Beaufort County Historical Society, the Beaufort County 250th committee and others, will celebrate the quarter-millennial of American democracy from April 1 through July 2 with a mix of activities you can do (mostly) at your own convenience.

Revolutionary Roots Programs

Among those activities are multiple offerings of "Revolutionary Roots," a hands-on Ancestry Library Edition (ALE) program to learn how to trace your lineage, uncover stories about ancestors who lived during the Revolutionary Era, and see how your own family may connect to America's fight for Independence. No prior genealogy experience is required - just curiosity and a love of history! Library staff will be on hand to help you learn the basics. Perhaps you'll find an ancestor or two whose service might make you eligible for a (Continental) Revolutionary War related heritage society. 

Military records are rich with genealogical information that will grown your family tree. Come learn how to get the most out of the ones related to the American Revolution on ALE.

Did you know that you can access the Library's ALE subscription via the public WIFI inside our buildings? For your own convenience, we encourage you to bring your laptop or smart phone with you the day of the session.

Don't have a laptop computer or a smart phone? Not a problem. You can use Library equipment where available - though it's best to ask what will be available at each location in advance of the session. Equipment often varies among the branch libraries.

The "Revolutionary Roots" program will be offered:

• Monday, May 11 at Port Royal Branch, 11 AM - 12:30 PM
• Thursday, May 28 at Hilton Head Island Branch, 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
• Tuesday, June 9 at Lobeco Branch, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
• Tuesday, June 16 at Beaufort Branch, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Note: Please see the Library calendar entries for each of the above sessions for specific registration requirements at each location.

Can't make any of these dates and times? Not a problem. The BDC can help.

The BDC's Sydney Whiteside offers one-on-one instructional sessions to will show you how to search for your Revolutionary War era ancestors by appointment. Just contact us at bdc@bcgov.net or 843-255-6468 to make the necessary arrangements for a two-hour research slot.

Attendance at any of the "Revolutionary Roots" sessions at the branches or by appointment in the BDC Research Room will earn you a stamp on the Library's Celebrate America 250 passport shown above that is available at all BCL locations and bookmobiles.

You could just stop there ... but wait! There's even more ways for you to celebrate America's 250th birthday at the Library.

Celebrate America 250 Passport

There are 6 optional activities on the Celebrate America 250 passport, but only 4 are necessary to be eligible for a Beaufort County 250th committee sticker. Choose any 4 activities from this list:

• Color a Square for the Library Paper Quilt
• Attend Play Like It's 1776
• Complete the Historic Marker Scavenger Hunt
• Attend Revolutionary Roots
• Add to the Library Time Capsule (submissions will be permanently archived in the BDC Research Room after project ends)
• Attend Liberty and Legacy

Why not "complete the Historic Marker Scavenger Hunt" before or after you "Attend [a] Revolutionary Roots" session? It's easy. Just pick up a "Revealing the Revolution - Library Quest Scavenger Hunt" bi-fold brochure game sheet available at all Library locations, find the "Revealing the Revolution" placards hidden throughout the branch library, and correctly answer the questions on the game sheet. Show the library staff at the service desks your completed game sheet to get another "star stamp" on your passport ... and you're half done to earning a Beaufort County 250th Committee sticker.

If you stick around a few more minutes to "Color a Square for the Library Paper Quilt" or "Add to the Library Time Capsule" with your hope for the future, you can get your Beaufort County 250th Committee sticker from the Library staff as soon as you're done. One visit, 4 activities, passport stamped and prize all in a day. What a deal!

Revealing the Revolution Challenges

To notch up the rewards: Once Library staff have stamped your passport for your participation in the scavenger hunt, return the Scavenger Hunt game sheet (only the Revealing the Revolution game sheet. You can keep the Celebrate 250 passport as a souvenir) to one of the be-starred boxes at the Library location.

BDC staff will get the completed game sheets to the Beaufort County Historical Society on a periodic basis. The BCHS will be distributing prizes via mail over the course of the project. All prizes for the "Revealing the Revolution" challenges are set to be mailed by the end of July as long while supplies last.

As a reminder: The BCL America 250 project ends on Thursday, July 2nd because the Library system will be closed on Friday, July 3rd and Saturday, July 4th for Independence Day 2026.

Family Tree Magazine's "5 Clues You May Have Native American Ancestry"

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, I'd like to share a bit about the challenges of proving Native American ancestry. 

I cannot count the number of times that I have had a person call on the phone or show up in person to ask if the BDC staff could help them prove that there was a Cherokee brave or chief or princess in their family tree charts. The usual statement is something along the lines of "Grandma said that there was one," so of course it had to be true. Well, maybe it is true but a statement made by an elder or in a printed family history is not a proven fact backed up by genealogical evidence. It's not that Grandma is a liar. She's just relaying information that was probably relayed to her across the dining room table or perhaps at a family reunion picnic at some point in the past. Genealogical research, however, requires proof. 

Technically, meeting the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) requires that a researcher gathers and weighs the evidence for his/her statement based upon: 

1. Reasonably exhaustive research.
2. Complete and accurate source citations.
3. Thorough analysis and correlation.
4. Resolution of conflicting evidence.
5. Soundly written conclusion based on the strongest evidence.

Diane Haddad offered this advice about how to check out family lore regarding Native American ancestors in your family tree in an article I received by email back in July 2023. She offers these "5 Clues [that] You May Have Native American Ancestry:"

1. An I or In designation appears in the "race" columns for an ancestor in the 1860 - 1950 Federal United States censuses.  

2. A proven blood relative is named on an Indian reservation census or a tribal enrollment. Ancestry.com has a Native American Research guide posted online to point you to databases that may help you. FamilySearch.org offers a Native American wiki article with plenty of links out to potential sources as well. Although the free US Indian Census Rolls, 1885 - 1940 on Access Genealogy are not indexed, you can read and scroll through a lot of agency and tribal lists. 

3. A genetic genealogy test indicates you have DNA markers associated with American Indian ancestry - though it is important to remember that only half of your parent's genes make it to you and through the generations the likelihood that a particular string of genes or individual gene will endure becomes less and less. She also makes the point that DNA alone will not make a tribal government recognize you as a member. Since the predominant ancestor I get told about is purportedly a Cherokee, here's what the Cherokee Nation requires of its applicants for tribal membership (2018).  

4. Family stories and newspapers tell of Native ancestry, and your ancestors lived in areas where they would have come into contact with Native Americans should be treated as clues for further research. [The underline is mine for emphasis since so many family historians tend to jump to the conclusion that this "proves" their Native American ancestry. It does not meet the criteria of the Genealogical Proof Standard alone.]

5. An ancestor lived in Indian Territory (a.k.a. the state of Oklahoma) by the year 1900. 

Let me conclude that because the Cherokee were more of an upstate tribe, they fall outside the BDC's geographical imperative.  We have a few sources related to the coastal Indian groups, more specifically about the Yamasee, but other Native American groups in what is now the Southeastern part of the United States falls outside our collection scope. BDC staff will always share the resources we have in the Research Room with our in-facility customers who make an appointment: bdc@bcgov.net ; 843-255-6468 and will do our best to guide you to sources at other locations or on the open internet to assist you with your research. We do not however have the resources to do this type of in depth research on your behalf. 

Reminder: The Library is closed on Friday, November 10 and Saturday, November 11 for the Veterans Day holiday. Regular hours will resume on Monday, November 13, 2023.

Genealogy Insider: Finding Enslaved Ancestors Using Enslaved.org

Today's post is totally pirated from Family Tree Magazine's Genealogy Insider e-newsletter that arrived in my in-box on 9 February 2023. I have made some minor formatting changes but the content is wholly from Genealogy Insider. When I searched the database on the place "Beaufort" I got 319 hits. This database - to which you can contribute - is another tool in the toolbox for African American ancestral research. -- Grace Cordial

We have more access to records documenting enslaved people than ever before, thanks in large part to digital initiatives like Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade (Enslaved.org). Kristina E. Poznan is the managing editor of Enslaved.org’s Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation, and she was kind enough to shed some light on this impressive resource.

Q: What is Enslaved.org? How does it differ from other sites?

Enslaved.org launched in 2019 and has been serving the needs of genealogists, students, and members of the public interested in named individuals who were part of the historical trade in enslaved people of African descent. Enslaved.org is a discovery hub that helps users to search and find information from a large and growing number of datasets and digital projects simultaneously. There is no fee and no log-in, just a free search tool.

Q: What sources are in Enslaved.org? How are they different from other sites?

The historians, archives, libraries, and museums that submit records about enslaved and emancipated people to Enslaved.org are generally gathering information from records more obscure than those found on other genealogical resource sites. These include probate inventories, runaway advertisements in newspapers, plantation registries, baptisms, coroners’ reports, and sale receipts. Getting information from these kinds of records is time-consuming, but they often provide a greater variety of details than a census.

Q: Why can I only sometimes see the original source?

Access to the original records is through the website of the project or institution that hosts the records. When they are available, we provide links to digitized sources, but in some cases the sources have not been digitized yet.

Q: Does data on Enslaved.org contain other kinds of information, too?

Yes, in addition to information about enslaved and emancipated peoples, Enslaved.org also contains some information about free people of color as well as some slave owners.

Q: How can I contribute information to Enslaved.org?

If you know of an archival record collection in which enslaved people are named and/or otherwise documented, let us know at enslaved.org@gmail.com and we will try to work with that institution to integrate it into our resources.

Kristina E. Poznan, PhD

Clinical Assistant Professor of History at the University of Maryland

Managing Editor of Enslaved.org’s Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation

15 Best Genealogy Books

Family Tree Magazine compiled a list of what it considers as the 15 Best Genealogy books recently. The BDC Research Room has five on our Ready Reference shelves for customers to consult as needed. These five important titles are: Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills; Genealogy Standards by the Board for Certification of Genealogists; Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians by Elizabeth Shown Mills; Mastering Genealogical Proof by Thomas G. Jones; and the Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources by Alice Eichholz. They don't have the sexiest of titles but such handbooks and guides can really help you research efficiently.

Make an appointment to come to our Research Room: bdc@bcgov.net or 843-255-6468 to see these titles and/or to get a little one-on-one help with your genealogical research.

The complete list is:

1. Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills
2. Genealogy Standards by the Board for Certification of Genealogists
3. Evidence! Citation and Analysis for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Shown Mills
4. Professional Genealogy : A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians by Elizabeth Shown Mills
5. Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History by Megan Smolenyak
6. 300 Questions to Ask Your Parents Before It's Too Late by Shannon L. Alder
7. Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case by Christine Rose
8. Unpuzzling Your Past: The Best-Selling Basic Guide to Genealogy by Emily Anne Croom
9. The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy by Val D. Greenwood
10. German-English Genealogical Dictionary by Ernest Thode
11. Mastering Genealogical Proof by Thomas G. Jones
12. Reading Early American Handwriting by Kip Sperry
13. The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy by Blaine T. Betinger
14. The Family Tree Problem Solver: Tried-and-True Tactics for Tracing Elusive Ancestors by Marsha Hoffman Rising
15. The Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources by Alice Eichholz

All 15 titles can be borrowed from other parts of the Beaufort County Library and/or the SCLENDS consortium - as long as you have a valid library card. Probably not all at once but give it a couple of weeks or two or three and you can explode your brain with detailed genealogical research knowledge.

Heads up: All units of the Beaufort County Library will be closed on Monday, February 20, 2023 in honor of all of the United States' past presidents. Regular hours resume on Tuesday, February 21, 2023. If you'd like an appointment February 21 - 24, please contact us before Noon on Friday, February 17th to make those arrangements. That way you'll have the best shot at getting the date and time your prefer. Our phone number is 843-255-6468; our email address is bdc@bcgov.net.

BDC Genealogy Services Primer (2025)

Latest update: 14 May 2025 - gmc

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association states that libraries have a responsibility to serve the needs of patrons interested in genealogical research by providing basic genealogical reference materials and how-to-do-it books in the library and by providing access to additional genealogical research materials through interlibrary loan or referral. The latest guidelines (2022-2023) are available as a PDF. 

Developing and maintaining genealogy and local history collections requires library staff to perform a number of activities. David Dowell in Crash Course in Genealogy (2011) cited these:

1. Building and preserving collections
2.Organizing and cataloging collections
3. Digitizing unique records
4. Creating finding aids
5. Providing short courses and other public programming
6. Information assistance, both in person or remotely by e-mail or text messaging

Beaufort County Library goes one step further and supports a more geographically focused genealogical reference service through the Beaufort District Collection, the system's special collections local history library and archives. The BDC concentrates on guiding genealogical researchers interested in ancestors who lived in our area of lowcountry South Carolina and to a somewhat lesser extent, in other parts of Palmetto State. Doing so creates plenty of challenges for family historians as boundary changes, destroyed records, and historical context sometimes work against successful research findings.  

It comes as a surprise to some researchers that Beaufort County has not always been “Beaufort County.” Other political and administrative divisions have applied at different periods of time during the past include St. Helena Parish, St. Luke's Parish, Granville County, Hilton County, Shrewsbury County, etc. From 1769 to 1868, Beaufort District was a judicial district covering approximately 1920 square miles. In 1868, Beaufort District was re-named Beaufort County. In 1878, Beaufort County split into Beaufort County and Hampton County. In 1912, both Beaufort County and Hampton County gave up territory to carve Jasper County within their midst.

We posted a "Beaufort County History Moments" video segment about how the District’s boundaries have shifted through time to provide context for the jurisdictional changes. 

To see the changes of political and administrative division throughout the United States, consult the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries Project of the William M. Scholl Center for American History and Culture at The Newberry Library in Chicago.

Here are the "Big Four" record types most frequently consulted by family historians and the customary level of government at which the records are held:

1.  Census Records - usually created on the national and/or state level 

2.  Vital Records - official death, marriage, and birth certificates, usually created on a state and/or local level 

3.   Probate Records - exist mainly at the county level and often indicate family relationships between the deceased and named beneficiaries 

4.   Land (Property) Records - exist mainly at the county level

Among the "Big Four" you'll see that at least three are held at the county level. If a county courthouse suffers fire, war or pestilence, then the odds are increased that records will be damaged - and most likely it will be for precisely those years that you most need! 

Bottom line: Beaufort is a "Burned County": almost all of our pre-Civil War records were destroyed in 1865.  This fact makes genealogy more challenging here.

To do genealogical and historical research in current-day Beaufort, Hampton, and Jasper Counties, one must consult a variety of other types of records to document past events and ancestors. The challenge therefore is to identify and consult other types of records at other levels of government or those created or maintained by an individual or family that might help you fill in the blanks. The BDC tries to help fill the gap caused by the destruction of Beaufort District's courthouse records during the Civil War in the following ways: by providing access to some records inside our Research Room and by offering guidance on how to gain access to records that might help you either online or held by other entities. 

"Big Four #1: Census Records:" We provide access to some national and some state level census records on microfilm and/or through our subscription to the Ancestry Library Edition (ALE) database for you to discover more about your ancestors. Access to the Library’s Ancestry Library Edition subscription is available on Beaufort County Library computers & wi-fi only but not available from home. As there are more than 11,000 databases inside Ancestry Library Edition to research, you are not limited to researching ancestors from just this area. Please note: Ask your local public library about the genealogy databases it provides.  

To do genealogical and historical research in current-day Beaufort, Hampton, and Jasper Counties, one must use consult a variety of other types of records to document past events and ancestors. The challenge therefore is to identify and consult other types of records at other levels of government or those created or maintained by an individual or family that might help you fill in the blanks. The BDC tries to help fill the gap caused by the destruction of Beaufort District's courthouse records during the Civil War in the following ways: by providing access to some records inside our Research Room and by offering guidance on how to gain access to records that might help you either online or held by other entities. 

Another great option for you is the free Family Search website. On September 21, 2021, Family Search announced that their digitization of their holdings of 2.4 million rolls of microfilm was complete and available for research. This was a monumental project that spread over 83 years of microfilming in archives, county courthouses, and religious institutions throughout the world! Thus, the universe of digital records for family history research has grown exponentially. Just bear in mind that many of these digitized microfilms are not indexed so the browse feature is your means of access. You can search these microfilms at no charge by registering for a free account on the website.   

"Big Four #2: Vital Records" South Carolina, as is the case for most Southern states, did not issue death, marriage, and birth certificates until the 1910s. Divorce was not allowed except for a few years during the Reconstruction Era and from 1962 until the present.

The South Carolina Department of Public Health State Vital Records Office is responsible birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates. You can read the rules and fees associated for accessing these records on their Vital Records page.  Some records are too recent to be released to the public yet. 

The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has posted birth certificates from 1915 – 1924 into their South Carolina Electronic Records Archive database. By state law, 100 years must elapse before access to birth certificates is released to the general public. 

South Carolina death certificates are released to the public 52 years after an individual's death. Ancestry Library Edition has a database of “South Carolina Death Records,1821 – 1972” including digital images of state issued death certificates. Note: Not all the records contained in this database are death certificates. Some of the earlier records confirm a death but are not official certificates of death. This database contains the following South Carolina death records:

• Statewide death certificates, 1915-1960 and 1962-1972
• Charleston City death records, 1821-1914
• Spartanburg City death records, 1895-1897 and 1903-1914
• Union City death records, 1900 and 1913-1914

Death records can consist of certificates, registers, returns of interment, returns of death, transportation for burial forms, and physician’s certificates, among other documents. 

Other potential sources for death information are churches and synagogues. Some kept records concerning funerals and burials, baptism and christenings, and wedding ceremonies from which a researcher can infer dates of birth, marriage, and death. Sometimes announcements of these events appear in local newspapers. While these are not official certificates of death, these records indicate that a death (or other vital record event) has occurred. For example, we have a copy of the St. Helena Parish Register, 1823 - 1894 that includes baptisms, confirmations, weddings, and funerals. 

You can visit our own Online Obituary Index to check for death notices noted in Beaufort County local newspapers, 1862-1997 and 2007–2008. This is a long-term and ongoing project.  

You can also try searching for obituaries in historic newspapers hosted on the Chronicling America Historic Newspapers website or for more recent obituaries, on the Legacy.com or Find A Grave databases.

"Big Four #3: Probate Records:" Many Beaufort County-related probate records were destroyed when the records of the Beaufort District Courthouse were destroyed in the waning days of the Civil War.  However, some residents of Beaufort District may have filed wills or abstracts of their wills in other jurisdictions. A careful researcher would check neighboring counties as well.  

Formal registration of marriages began on 1 July 1911. The South Carolina Department of Public Health State Vital Records Office is the official repository of these records but only distributes marriage certificates for those issued between July 1950 and December 2023. For marriage records prior to or after these dates, you will need to contact the Probate Court that originally issued the marriage license. Some of Beaufort County's marriage records are available online by searching the South Carolina Probate Court Marriage License index. Probate courts in the state also administer estates, guardianships, and involuntary commitments of mentally ill and substance abusing individuals. 

We also provide some printed secondary works about marriages performed in South Carolina from the late 17th - 19th centuries in the Research Room. 

"Big Four #4: Land Records:" Similarly, many Beaufort County-related land records were destroyed when the records of the Beaufort District Courthouse were destroyed in the waning days of the Civil War. The Register of Deeds Office is responsible for caring for the county's land records.

As a practical rule-of-thumb, use 1866 as the starting date for most Beaufort District related property records.

We have a range of land related compiled secondary sources in the Research Room for you to use to try to determine where your ancestor may have lived during the 18th and 19th centuries.

We hold and share the Behan Papers with customers inside the Research Room. This archival collection of research materials consists of 4 binders and 2 folders of pertaining to Early South Carolina Land Grants for Granville County. These are “land genealogies” of early properties and property owners and their families from the late 17th– early 19th centuries in Beaufort District, SC compiled over 15 years by William Behan. 

An online source well worth your time is the Online Records Index, a database of records from the SC Department of Archives and History (SCDAH) that includes a host of state records. The Online Records Index database includes Will Transcripts (1782-1855); Records of Confederate Veterans (1909-1973); Plats for State Land Grants (1784-1868); Legislative Papers (1782-1866); Criminal Court Records (1769-1891); School Insurance Photographs (1935-1952); and National Register Properties and other state records series. While this index covers only a small fraction of the holdings of the SC State Archives, searching the Online Records Index first can be of immense importance and economical in that we have microfilm of some of the records in our Research Room.  

To accommodate researchers, we provide access to 18 series of primary documents microfilmed by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1663-1900, inside the Beaufort District Collection Research Room. Some have been digitized in the Online Records Index and show digital images of the documents while other documents are only indexed there. Contact us for a PDF of the list of microfilm series we have and descriptions of what each of these record series include.

We are happy to consult with you regarding your historical and family history research projects. However, we are unable to offer the depth and scope of research support that some family historians need. In those cases, you may want to hire a professional genealogist to assist you. We provide some guidance about what to ask and consider before making such a commercial transaction in the Connections blog post made on 28 October 2021. 

Access to the BDC Research Room is affected by staff levels and responsibilities at other library locations. For assured personalized service, appointments are strongly encouraged as walk-in customers cannot always be accommodated. It’s prudent to contact us before you try to visit our facility: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net.