Conway Genealogy Records
Conway genealogy research benefits from the city's role as the county seat of Horry County, which means all official Horry County genealogy records are maintained here. The city was chartered in 1887 and developed as the administrative and commercial center for one of South Carolina's most geographically isolated counties. All estate, marriage, and land records for Conway residents and the surrounding county are held at the Horry County Probate Court and Register of Deeds in Conway. The Horry County Memorial Library and the Horry County Museum are the primary local resources for Conway genealogy research.
Conway Quick Facts
Horry County Memorial Library for Conway Genealogy
The Horry County Memorial Library at 1008 Fifth Avenue, Conway, SC 29526 is the primary genealogy resource for Conway and all of Horry County. Phone: (843) 248-1520. The library holds local history materials, compiled family histories, local newspapers on microfilm, census records, and genealogy reference resources specific to the Horry County region. Because Conway is the county seat, the library's collections are particularly rich in materials documenting the administrative and community history of Horry County from the nineteenth century. The library holds materials on the distinctive cultural community of Horry County, which was historically isolated from the rest of South Carolina by geographic barriers including rivers and extensive wetlands.
The Horry County Museum at 428 Main Street, Conway, SC 29526 holds the primary historical collections for Horry County. The museum documents the tobacco farming economy that became central to Horry County in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as the lumber, naval stores, and turpentine industries that preceded it. The museum holds photographs, documents, and artifacts that document the families who built Conway and Horry County over generations. The Horry County Historical Society supports genealogy research through publications and maintains research files on county families. Coastal Carolina University maintains library resources and supports research on the Pee Dee and Grand Strand region including the Conway area.
Conway's role as the Horry County seat means all official genealogy records are centralized here, and the city's library and museum collections make it the best single destination for Horry County genealogy research.
Horry County Records for Conway Genealogy
The Horry County Probate Court at 1301 2nd Avenue, Conway, SC 29526 holds marriage licenses from July 1, 1911 through June 30, 1950 and estate records from the county's 1801 formation. Phone: (843) 915-5370. For Conway marriages from July 1950 onward, contact the South Carolina Department of Public Health at 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201. Phone: 803-898-3630. The probate court's estate records document the farming, commercial, and professional families of Conway and Horry County over more than two centuries.
The Horry County Register of Deeds at 1301 2nd Avenue, Conway maintains land records for all of Horry County including Conway. Phone: (843) 915-5408. Property records for Conway addresses document ownership through the county-level system. The SCDAH Online Records Index includes early land plats for Horry County from the initial settlement period. Horry County was formed from Georgetown District in 1801, so researchers tracing families in the Conway area before 1801 should consult Georgetown District court records and colonial land plats at SCDAH.
Conway Vital Records
South Carolina required birth and death registration starting January 1, 1915. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History holds Horry 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 Horry County deaths from 1915 through 1967. Records for Conway residents are filed under Horry County. For Conway genealogy before 1915, church records and census data are the primary sources. Conway's Baptist, Methodist, and other Protestant congregations maintained registers from the late nineteenth century. The First Baptist Church of Conway and other historic downtown congregations hold records that document vital events for Conway families from the city's chartered period. The Horry County Memorial Library holds some compiled church records and cemetery surveys that help researchers access pre-registration vital events in the Conway area.
SCDAH holds microfilm and digital collections covering Horry County from its 1801 formation and the predecessor Georgetown District records, making it the essential archive for Conway genealogy research extending into the early American period.
Nearby Cities
Conway is the county seat of Horry County. Myrtle Beach and Carolina Forest are major communities in the county. All Horry County genealogy records are held at the Conway courthouse.