Record losses
The South Carolina Archives notes: Fires in January and November of 1872 and January 1873 destroyed virtually all records except those of the probate and equity courts.
Compare the years below for gaps. Where records are missing, try the parent county or district, state records such as land grants and tax lists, church records and newspapers. See Burned Counties.
Records that survive
These are the record series of Abbeville County held at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History in Columbia, in the original or on microfilm, with the office that kept each and the years covered. A span can include gaps. From 1800 until 1868 it was called Abbeville District, and its records from those years carry the district's name.
Wills and estates
- Estate papers · Probate Court1782-1950
- Estate record books · Court of Ordinary1787-1815
- Inventories, appraisements, and sales books · Probate Court1787-1883
- Will books · Probate Court1815-1970
- Journals of the Probate Court · Probate Court1819-1882
- Guardian, trustee, and committee accounts · Master1825-1866
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bonds · Master1825-1864
- Real estate books · Court of Ordinary1825-1840
- Real estate books · Probate Court1825-1881
- Settlement books · Court of Ordinary1836-1841
- Administration bond books · Probate Court1840-1929
- Administration bonds with will annexed books · Probate Court1840-1923
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bond books · Probate Court1840-1894
- Letters of administration books · Probate Court1840-1900
- and 20 more series in the full listing
Deeds and land
- Abstracts of "burned" conveyances, mortgages, etc. · Register of Mesne Conveyances1817-1882
- Homestead exemption files · Court of Common Pleas1871-1913
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1872-1920, 1991-1993
- Official bonds books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1872-1933
- Chattel mortgage indexes · Register of Mesne Conveyances1874-1963
- Index to liens · Register of Mesne Conveyances1878-1909
- Chattel mortgage books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1883-1967
- Record of homesteads book · Register of Mesne Conveyances1885-1935
- Charter books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1887-1900
- Mechanics' liens books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1891-1924
- Index to labor contracts · Register of Mesne Conveyances1908-1926
- Plat books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1916-1993
- Contract books of the South Carolina Cotton Growers Cooperative Association · Register of Mesne Conveyances1924-1930
- Agricultural lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1935-1952
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage books · Probate Court1911-1954
- Marriage licenses · Probate Court1911-1950
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Equity records (general index) · Court of Equity1791-1868
- Equity rolls · Court of Equity1820-1868
- Equity orders · Court of Equity1825-1828
- Equity reports · Master1826-1861
- Bonds for money decrees · Court of Equity1829-1859
- Account books of the Master · Master1839-1971
- Equity decree books · Court of Equity1839-1858
- Equity report books · Court of Equity1839-1868
- Equity file books · Court of Equity1841-1868
- Equity minutes · Court of Equity1842-1853
- Minutes of the Master · Master1843-1911
- Equity sales books · Court of Equity1850-1868
- Receipt books · Master1851-1899
- Stock books · Master1854-1899
- and 3 more series in the full listing
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Confederate pension rolls · Board of Honor1897-1909
- Distribution of state pension fund books · Probate Court1900-1957
- Confederate veterans' enrollment books · Clerk of Court1902
- Letters received · Board of Honor1908
Tax records
- Treasurer's tax duplicate books · Treasurer1881-1970
- Auditor's tax duplicate books · Auditor1914-1921
- General cash books of the treasurer · Treasurer1934-1981
- General ledgers of the treasurer · Treasurer1935-1975
- Ledger of the Bank of Abbeville · Treasurer1937-1931
- Cash books of the tax collector · Tax Collector1952-1983
- Public service employment ledger · Treasurer1978-1979
Elections and voters
- Voter registration books · Clerk of Court1882-1933
- Democratic club rolls · Democrat Party (Abbeville County, S.C.)1918-1948
Court records
- Abstracts of "burned" judgments and decrees · Court of Common Pleas1865-1886
- Abstracts of judgments · Court of Common Pleas1872-1922
- Rolls of trial justices and constables · Clerk of Court1872-1896
- Calendar no. 4 · Court of Common Pleas1873-1883
- Calendar no. 5 · Court of Common Pleas1873-1883
- Calendar no. 6 · Court of Common Pleas1873-1883
- Citizenship petitions · Court of Common Pleas1873-1908
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1873-1900
- Confessions of judgment before the clerk (recorded copy) · Court of Common Pleas1873-1929
- Contingent docket · Court of General Sessions1873-1978
- Criminal docket · Court of General Sessions1873-1893
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1873-1907
- Sessions index · Court of General Sessions1873-1890
- Miscellaneous records of the Clerk of Court · Clerk of Court1874-1876
- and 26 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Register of claims · Board of Education1884-1889
- Teachers' certification record books · Board of Education1895-1946
- Special school books · Auditor1912-1915
- General ledgers of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1924-1963
- Annual reports of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1933-1949
- School ledgers · Treasurer1935-1969
- Correspondence and reports books · School District No. 60 (Abbeville, S.C.). Board of Trustees1952-1956
- Audit reports · Board of Education1953-1972
- Audited financial statements · School District No. 60 (Abbeville, S.C.). Board of Trustees1982-1984
County government
- Ledgers of Wardlaw and Dendy · Wardlaw and Dendy (Abbeville County, S.C.)1847-1849
- Cashbooks of the County Commissioners · County Commissioners1896-1897
- Convict record · County Commissioners1909, 1911
- Ledgers of the supervisor of the County Commissioners · County Commissioners1936-1951
- Files of the chairman of the Board of Trustees · School District No. 9 (Calhoun Falls, S.C.). Board of Trustees1945-1952
- Annual budget · County Council1992
Other records
- Coroner's inquisition books · Coroner1840-1849
- Jail books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1940-1982
- Audit reports · Legislative Delegation1944-1972
See the full list at the South Carolina Archives
Source: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Summary Guide to County Records. Many county offices keep their own older books too, so ask the county as well. South Carolina required marriage licenses from July 1, 1911, and statewide birth and death registration began in 1915.
Where to find the records
- Abbeville County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the probate judge, the register of deeds and the clerk of court, and any online record search the county offers.
- The probate judge
Wills and estates (from 1868; before that, the Court of Ordinary), and marriage licenses from July 1911.
- The register of deeds
Deeds and mortgages. The office was called the Register of Mesne Conveyances (RMC) until 1998, and in most counties the clerk of court records deeds instead.
- The clerk of court
Civil and criminal court records, and in some counties the old equity court's files on estate divisions and land disputes.
- The South Carolina Department of Archives and History
Older county records in the original or on microfilm, plus colonial and state land grants and plats, and Confederate pension applications.
- South Carolina Archives: Abbeville County recordsfree
Every record series the state archives holds for this county, with its years, office and microfilm.
- South Carolina Archives Online Records Indexfree
Search by name for land grants and plats, Confederate pension applications, will transcripts and other records, many with images.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "South Carolina, Abbeville" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Part of Ninety-Six District
Later formed partly from Abbeville County: Greenwood County, McCormick County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1785, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Until the early 1780s, South Carolina's wills were recorded in Charleston for the whole colony, so look there for an ancestor who died before then. Before 1868, the equity court's suits over estate divisions and land often name every heir.