Records that survive
These are the record series of Berkeley 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. Berkeley County was formed in 1882, so records from before then are with the county or counties it was formed from.
Wills and estates
- Real estate mortgage books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1880-1969
- Transfer of real estate book · Auditor1882-1885
- Will books · Probate Court1882-1956
- Administration bond books · Probate Court1883-1981
- Administration bonds with will annexed books · Probate Court1883-1947
- Committee letters and bonds books · Probate Court1883-1961
- Estate papers · Probate Court1883-1998
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bond books · Probate Court1883-1962
- Inventories, appraisements, and sales books · Probate Court1883-1947
- Letters of administration books · Probate Court1883-1974
- Letters of administration with will annexed books · Probate Court1883-1947
- Letters of guardianship books · Probate Court1883-1962
- Letters testamentary books · Probate Court1883-1970
- Journals of the Probate Court · Probate Court1884-1919
- and 9 more series in the full listing
Deeds and land
- Lands devised books · Probate Court1861-1937
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1870-1964
- Charter books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1883-1899
- Miscellaneous records recorded by the Register of Mesne Conveyances · Register of Mesne Conveyances1883-1969
- Plat books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1885-1958
- Abstracts of agricultural lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1888-1909
- Bills of sales books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1892-1920
- Agricultural lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1904-1915
- Official bonds books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1921-1963
- Register of aliens · Clerk of Court1940
- Debtor index to financial statements · Register of Mesne Conveyances1981-1991
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage registers · Probate Court1916-1970
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Ledgers of the Master · Master1883-1891
- Reports of the Master · Court of Common Pleas1883-1890
- Minutes of the Master · Master1892-1896
- Sales books of the Master · Master1898-1919
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Distribution of state pension fund books · Board of Honor1916-1919
Tax records
- Treasurer's tax duplicate books · Treasurer1882-1967
- Auditor's tax duplicate books · Auditor1884-1986
- Letters sent · Treasurer1891-1896
- Road tax assessments paid by road work · County Council1893-1904
- Annual school tax settlements of the Board of Education · Board of Education1894-1926
- General ledgers of the Treasurer · Treasurer1908-1960
Elections and voters
- Voter registration books · Clerk of Court1883-1956
Court records
- File dockets · Court of Common Pleas1881-1928
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1882-1927
- Judgment rolls · Court of Common Pleas1882-1904
- Minutes of the County Council · County Council1882-2009
- Bar calendar no. 1 · Court of Common Pleas1883-1963
- Bar calendar no. 2 · Court of Common Pleas1883-1922
- Bar calendar no. 3 · Court of Common Pleas1883-1963
- Calendar no. 1 · Court of Common Pleas1883-1963
- Calendar no. 2 · Court of Common Pleas1883-1963
- Calendar no. 3 · Court of Common Pleas1883-1963
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1883-1927
- Confessions of judgment before the clerk (recorded copy) · Court of Common Pleas1883-1895
- Contingent dockets · Court of General Sessions1883-1916
- Criminal dockets · Court of General Sessions1883-1954
- and 16 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Audit reports of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1899-1904
- General cashbooks of the Superintendent · Board of Education1905-1912
- General ledgers of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1912-1961
- Annual reports of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1924-1949
- Teachers' certification record books · Board of Education1945-1951
- Teachers' recertification record books · Board of Education1945-1947
- Teachers' payrolls · Board of Education1950-1951
- Audit reports on schools · Legislative Delegation1953-1974
County government
- Register of county officials · Clerk of Court1883-1924
- Expenditures in support of the poor · County Council1892-1920
- Claims against the county · County Council1893-1894
- Sentences of convicts · County Council1895-1896
- General ledgers of the County Council · County Council1909-1922
- Record of settlements · County Council1911-1961
Other records
- Audit reports · Legislative Delegation1882-1972
- Coroner's inquisition books · Coroner1883-1927
- Execution books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1919-1941
- Jail books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1924-1980
- Sales books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1941-1960
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
- Berkeley 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: Berkeley 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, Berkeley" 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: Charleston County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Charleston County
Later formed partly from Berkeley County: Dorchester County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1882, 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.