Charleston County Genealogy Records
Charleston County genealogy research draws on one of the most extensive record collections in the American South. Charleston was the colonial capital of South Carolina and the center of trade, law, and society for the entire region. Court records, land grants, probate files, church registers, and vital records from Charleston County span more than three centuries. The Charleston County Probate Court, Register of Deeds, and the Charleston County Public Library South Carolina Room are the primary local sources. The South Carolina Historical Society, also based in Charleston, holds unparalleled manuscript collections for genealogy research. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History in Columbia holds additional state and county records that extend Charleston County genealogy research back to the colonial era.
Charleston County Quick Facts
Charleston County Probate Court Genealogy Records
The Charleston County Probate Court maintains marriage records dating back to 1877, one of the earliest marriage record collections in South Carolina. The court provides an online index to marriage records at its website. Marriage records from 1877 to 1922 are also available on microfilm at the Charleston County Public Library South Carolina Room. Under S.C. Code Ann. § 20-1-20, every marriage requires a written application filed with the Probate Court. The court maintains a permanent record of all licenses as required by § 20-1-270. The Probate Court is at 100 Broad Street, Suite 469, Charleston, SC 29401. Phone: (843) 958-5180.
Estate records at the Charleston County Probate Court include wills, inventories, administration papers, and guardianship files. Charleston County Probate Records from 1671 to 1977 include wills and miscellaneous probate records covering estates, guardianships, and related probate matters recorded over three centuries. Early probate inventories from the eighteenth century list plantation property in extraordinary detail and can document multiple generations of Charleston County families.
FamilySearch holds digitized collections of Charleston County probate records including South Carolina Probate Records, Bound Volumes, 1671 to 1977, and South Carolina Probate Records, Files and Loose Papers, 1732 to 1964. These free online collections allow researchers to search early Charleston County estate files from home before visiting the courthouse or SCDAH in person.
Charleston County Public Library South Carolina Room
The Charleston County Public Library South Carolina Room at 68 Calhoun Street, Charleston, SC 29401 is one of the most important genealogy resources in the state. Phone: (843) 805-6952. The collection includes the Charleston Death Card File, which covers deaths from 1819 to 1926 and serves as an index to death certificates. Microfilm of Charleston County death certificates from 1866 to 1914 is held here, along with Returns of Deaths for the City of Charleston starting in 1819, a ledger maintained by the City Department of Health.
The South Carolina Room also holds microfilm of Charleston County Probate Court marriage records from 1877 to 1922, obituaries and newspaper collections, cemetery records and tombstone inscriptions, and church records for Charleston area congregations. This combination of death, marriage, church, and cemetery records in one local collection makes the South Carolina Room an essential first stop for Charleston County genealogy research.
The library's genealogy collection includes unique local indexes not available elsewhere, such as the Charleston Death Card File covering 1819 to 1926, which predates the state vital records system by nearly a century.
Charleston County Vital Records for Genealogy
South Carolina required birth and death registration starting January 1, 1915. Under S.C. Code Ann. § 44-63-10, every birth in the state must be registered within five days. However, Charleston County has death records that predate the state system. The Charleston County Public Library South Carolina Room holds microfilm of Charleston County death certificates from 1866 to 1914, decades before state registration began. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History holds 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.
Death certificates become public records 50 years after death under § 44-63-84. The free South Carolina death index for genealogy covers Charleston County deaths from 1915 through 1967. For Charleston County deaths between 1819 and 1914, the Charleston Death Card File at the South Carolina Room is the primary index. Use this local resource before searching the statewide system for pre-1915 death records in Charleston County.
South Carolina Historical Society and Charleston Genealogy
The South Carolina Historical Society at 100 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401 holds unparalleled collections for Charleston County genealogy research. Phone: (843) 723-3225. The society maintains genealogy vertical files containing newspaper clippings, lineage charts, obituaries, and research notes compiled by other genealogists. Manuscript collections include unique documents such as letters, diaries, journals, and scrapbooks from Charleston families spanning three centuries. The WPA Tombstone index for Charleston documents burial locations for thousands of individuals.
The Historical Society holds the Charleston Death Register from 1821 to 1927 and a birth register from 1877 to 1927. These registers predate the state vital records system and document births and deaths in the city of Charleston with names, dates, and in many cases additional family information. Charleston Church Records held by the society include membership rolls, records of births, deaths, marriages, and baptisms from colonial-era parishes. Parish Registers from the original Anglican parishes document vital events from the early eighteenth century.
The society's photograph collection of over 30,000 images and library of 50,000 books, pamphlets, and serials provide additional context for Charleston County genealogy research. Membership in the Historical Society provides access to research services and collections. Non-members can access the reading room for a fee.
Charleston County Register of Deeds and Land Records
The Charleston County Register of Deeds at 101 Meeting Street, Room 106, Charleston, SC 29401 maintains deeds, mortgages, plats, and liens with online indexes. Phone: (843) 958-5182. Charleston County has some of the most extensive land records in South Carolina, dating back to the colonial period. These records document property ownership, family transfers, and boundary descriptions across centuries of Charleston County history.
The SCDAH Online Records Index includes state land grant plats from 1784 to 1868, colonial plats from the proprietary period, and other early land documents. For Charleston County genealogy, colonial-era land grants are especially valuable because they document the first English families to settle in the region and trace how land passed through families from the proprietary period through the early republic. Early plats often include references to neighboring landowners that can identify family networks in a specific area.
The South Carolina Department of Archives and History holds microfilm of Charleston County court records, equity court records, and other documents that supplement the land records at the Register of Deeds. SCDAH also holds federal and state census microfilm for Charleston County covering multiple enumeration years.
South Carolina Archives Resources for Charleston County Genealogy
The South Carolina Department of Archives and History holds microfilm of Charleston County federal and state censuses, county probate and land records, family histories, cemeteries, taxes, newspapers, and equity court records. SCDAH is at 8301 Parklane Road, Columbia, SC 29223. Phone: (803) 896-6100. The Research Room provides access to these materials and to a small research library covering all 46 counties.
The SCDAH Digital Collections include Confederate Pension Applications from 1919 to 1938, Will Transcripts from 1782 to 1855, and colonial plats. Will Transcripts from the colonial and early statehood periods are especially rich for Charleston County genealogy because the city was the center of wealth in colonial South Carolina. Colonial plats and Grand Jury Presentments from 1783 to 1877 also cover Charleston County in detail.
SCDAH is the best single source for Charleston County genealogy records that span multiple time periods and record types across both the colonial and post-colonial eras.
Cities in Charleston County
Charleston County includes the city of Charleston as county seat, the city of North Charleston, and the town of Mount Pleasant. Genealogy records for all Charleston County communities are maintained at the county Probate Court and Register of Deeds.
Nearby Counties
Charleston County borders several South Carolina Lowcountry counties. Ancestors who lived near a county line may have records in neighboring counties.