Bluffton Genealogy Records
Bluffton genealogy research draws on Beaufort County records, as Bluffton is located in Beaufort County on the May River near Hilton Head Island. Bluffton was first incorporated in 1852 as a summer retreat for planter families. The town was largely burned during the Civil War in 1863, destroying much of its early documentary history. All official genealogy records for Bluffton residents are held at the Beaufort County Probate Court and Register of Deeds in Beaufort. The Beaufort County Library and the Bluffton Historical Preservation Society are the primary resources for Bluffton genealogy.
Bluffton Quick Facts
Bluffton Historical Preservation Society for Genealogy
The Bluffton Historical Preservation Society at 70 Boundary Street, Bluffton, SC 29910 maintains collections focused on the history of Old Bluffton and the surrounding May River area. The society preserves records, photographs, and documents related to the original Bluffton community and the families who lived there from the town's antebellum origins through the twentieth century. Because so much of Bluffton's early history was lost in the 1863 burning, the society's work to recover and preserve surviving records is particularly important for genealogy researchers. The society holds genealogical files on Bluffton families and can direct researchers to relevant county, state, and church records.
The Beaufort County Library Bluffton branch at 120 Palmetto Way, Bluffton, SC 29910 provides access to genealogy resources including local history materials for the Bluffton area. The library's collections include reference materials on Beaufort County and the broader sea island region. The main Beaufort County Library in Beaufort holds more extensive genealogy collections for the county as a whole. The Gullah Geechee heritage of the May River and Bluffton area is documented through the Gullah Cultural Center at the Honey Horn site on Hilton Head Island, as well as through Freedmen's Bureau records and post-Civil War census materials that document the African American families of the lowcountry sea islands near Bluffton.
Bluffton's colonial-era roots and its traumatic history during the Civil War make it one of the more challenging South Carolina communities for genealogy research, but the Bluffton Historical Preservation Society's efforts have recovered significant materials for the town's history.
Beaufort County Records for Bluffton Genealogy
The Beaufort County Probate Court at 102 Ribaut Road, Beaufort, SC 29902 holds marriage licenses from July 1, 1911 through June 30, 1950 and estate records from the county's formation period. Phone: (843) 255-5850. For Bluffton marriages from July 1950 onward, contact the South Carolina Department of Public Health at 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201. Phone: 803-898-3630. Beaufort County has a longer continuous record history than most South Carolina counties due to its early settlement and its role as a center of colonial administration and trade.
The Beaufort County Register of Deeds at 102 Ribaut Road maintains land records for Bluffton properties and all of Beaufort County. Phone: (843) 255-5860. Land records for the Bluffton area document ownership of the May River tract going back to the colonial period. The SCDAH Online Records Index includes colonial-era plats for the Beaufort District that cover the Bluffton area, useful for tracing the earliest European families in this part of the lowcountry. Researchers with Jasper County connections should note that Jasper County was formed from Beaufort and Hampton counties in 1912, and families near the Bluffton-Jasper border may have records in both counties.
Bluffton Vital Records
South Carolina required birth and death registration starting January 1, 1915. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History holds Beaufort County birth records for 1915 to 1918 online and death records for 1915 to 1963. The South Carolina Department of Public Health holds vital records from 1915 to present at 2600 Bull Street, Columbia. Phone: 803-898-3630.
The free South Carolina death index for genealogy covers Beaufort County deaths from 1915 through 1967. Records for Bluffton residents are filed under Beaufort County. For Bluffton genealogy before 1915, church records are the primary source for pre-registration vital events. The Church of the Cross Episcopal Church in Old Bluffton dates to the antebellum period and its surviving records document some of the town's earliest families. The First Presbyterian Church of Bluffton and other historic congregations also maintained registers. Many pre-Civil War records for Bluffton were lost in the 1863 burning, so researchers should supplement surviving church records with census data and federal records from the Reconstruction era.
The State Library guide helps Bluffton researchers understand which Beaufort County and state offices hold vital records, particularly important given the gaps created when Bluffton's early records were lost during the Civil War.
Nearby Cities
Bluffton is in Beaufort County near Hilton Head Island. County genealogy records are held at the Beaufort County Probate Court and Register of Deeds in Beaufort.