Records that survive
These are the record series of Aiken 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. Aiken County was formed in 1871, so records from before then are with the county or counties it was formed from.
Wills and estates
- Journals of the Probate Court · Probate Court1872-1938
- Administration bond books · Probate Court1873-1959
- Estate papers · Probate Court1873-1903
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bond books · Probate Court1873-1954
- Inventories, appraisements, and sales books · Probate Court1873-1924
- Letters of administration with will annexed books · Probate Court1873-1958
- Will books · Probate Court1873-1905
- Letters dismissory books · Probate Court1877-1947
- Returns books · Probate Court1877-1967
- Administration bonds with will annexed books · Probate Court1878-1962
- Public guardian journals · Court of Common Pleas1885-1890
- Public guardian journals · Probate Court1895-1910
- Cashbooks of the Probate Judge · Probate Court1896-1944
- Real estate sales books · Probate Court1917-1921
- and 3 more series in the full listing
Deeds and land
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1872-1951
- Miscellaneous records · Register of Mesne Conveyances1872-1920
- Abstracts of agricultural lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1883-1909
- Labor contracts (index) · Register of Mesne Conveyances1908-1928
- Master's conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1913-1914
- Contract books of the South Carolina Cotton Growers Cooperative Association · Register of Mesne Conveyances1924-1930
- List for notification of tax liens · Sheriff1926-1935
- Sales books of the Forfeited Land Commission · Forfeited Land Commission1929-1966
- Register of aliens · Clerk of Court1940
- Plat books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1952-1985
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Equity minutes · Court of Common Pleas1873-1875
- Cashbooks of the Master · Master1884-1908
- Minutes of the Master · Master1884-1897
- Receipt books · Master1912-1916
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Confederate pension lists · Board of Honor1888-1895
- Confederate pension rolls · Board of Honor1895-1937
- Confederate veterans' enrollment books · Clerk of Court1902
- Confederate pension papers · Board of Honor1919-1963
- Confederate widows pension rolls · Board of Honor1946
Tax records
- Delinquent tax sales books of the Auditor · Auditor1872-1890
- Auditor's tax duplicate books · Auditor1873-1950
- Orders on the County Treasurer · Board of Education1873
- Teachers' pay certificates (duplicates) · Board of Education1873
- Treasurer's tax duplicate books · Treasurer1873-1967
- Letters sent · Auditor1875-1896
- Minutes of the Board of Assessors · Board of Assessors of Rocky Grove Township1879-1909
- Minutes of the Board of Assessors · Board of Assessors of Schultz Township1879-1911
- Minutes of the Board of Assessors · Board of Assessors of Silverton Township1879-1911
- Circulars from the Comptroller General · Auditor1883-1895
- General ledgers of the Auditor · Auditor1888-1921
- General ledgers of the Treasurer · Treasurer1889-1969
- Annual county tax settlements of the Auditor · Auditor1894-1930
- Annual county tax settlements of the Treasurer · Treasurer1895-1919
- and 7 more series in the full listing
Elections and voters
- Voter registration books · Clerk of Court1882-1898
- Democratic club rolls · Democratic Party (Aiken County, S.C.)1914
Court records
- Abstracts of judgments (index) · Court of Common Pleas1868-1901
- Civil dockets · Magistrates Court1871-1940
- Judgment rolls · Court of Common Pleas1872-1904
- Minutes of the County Council · County Council1872-1972
- Register of magistrates and notaries public · Clerk of Court1872-1930
- Bar dockets · Court of Common Pleas1873-1880
- Calendar no. 1 · Court of Common Pleas1873-1966
- Calendar no. 3 · Court of Common Pleas1873-1957
- Calendar no. 4 · Court of Common Pleas1873-1883
- Calendar no. 5 · Court of Common Pleas1873-1882
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1873-1921
- Coroner's inquisitions · Court of General Sessions1873-1947
- Criminal dockets · Court of General Sessions1873-1954
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1873-1943
- and 26 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Census files of school children for Shaw District · Board of Education1874
- Downer School fund records · Court of Common Pleas1879-1888
- Teachers' certification record books · Board of Education1883-1950
- Monthly reports of teachers · Board of Education1884-1885
- Scholarship applications (Act of 1906) · Board of Education1909-1917
- General ledgers of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1911-1952
- Annual reports of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1913-1949
- Census files of school children · Board of Education1919-1943
- List of school district trustees · Board of Education1930-1937
- Report on school improvements · Board of Education1935-1936
- Bus drivers' contracts · Board of Education1936-1937
- Teachers' contracts · Board of Education1936-1940
County government
- Account books of the Board of Equalization · Board of Equalization1873-1920
- General ledgers of the County Council · County Council1876-1947
- Claims against the county · Treasurer1877-1880
- Claims against the county · County Council1883-1887
- Poor House records · County Council1886-1925
- Democratic club ledgers · Democratic Party (Aiken County, S.C.)1900-1934
- Dispensary ledgers · Board of Control1907-1916
- Stock ledgers of the Board of Control · Board of Control1908-1915
- Monthly reports of county dispensers · Board of Control1910
- Cashbooks of the Board of Control · Board of Control1912-1916
- Chain gang books · County Council1912-1973
- Sentences of convicts · County Council1912-1947
- Record of shipments received by railroad · Board of Control1913-1916
- Reports on chain gang cost reduction · County Council1941
- and 6 more series in the full listing
Other records
- Jail books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1872-1938
- Sales books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1873-1936
- Writ books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1881-1937
- Execution books of the sheriff · Sheriff1897-1909
- Coroner's inquisition books · Coroner1901-1933
- Road officer's bond books · Sheriff1935
- General correspondence · Sheriff1945-1955
- Releases to the U.S. Marshal · Sheriff1962
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
- Aiken 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: Aiken 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, Aiken" 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: Barnwell County, Edgefield County, Lexington County, Orangeburg County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Barnwell County, Edgefield County, Lexington County, Orangeburg County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1871, 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.