Record losses
The South Carolina Archives notes: A courthouse fire on 19 March 1806, destroyed most of Darlington's records with the exception of early probate files; this fire also destroyed the early records of Cheraw judicial district. T he negligence of district ordinary Shepherd Williams (1827-1835) resulted in the subsequent destruction of a portion of loose probate papers.
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 Darlington 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 Darlington District, and its records from those years carry the district's name.
Wills and estates
- Returns books · Court of Ordinary1783-1825
- Estate papers · Probate Court1787-1950
- Inventories and appraisements books · Court of Ordinary1789-1859
- Estate record books · Court of Ordinary1791-1840
- Journals of the Court of Ordinary · Court of Ordinary1793-1816
- Letters books · Court of Ordinary1840-1864
- Real estate books · Probate Court1840-1872
- Will books · Probate Court1840-1895
- Real estate mortgage books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1911-1914
Deeds and land
- Abstracts of conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1806-1834
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1806-1925
- Plat books · Commissioner of Locations1818-1847
- Plat books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1903-1940
- Master's conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1916-1925
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage bonds · Court of Ordinary1804-1806
- Marriage books · Probate Court1911-1973
- Marriage licenses · Probate Court1911-1950
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Transcripts of Cheraw District bill and answer book · Court of Equity1803-1841
- Transcripts of Cheraw District equity report books · Court of Equity1805-1841
- Transcripts of Cheraw District appeal books · Court of Equity1806-1840
- Transcripts of Cheraw District rough equity minutes · Court of Equity1813-1832
- Transcripts of Cheraw District equity petition books · Court of Equity1814-1841
- Transcripts of Cheraw District partition books · Court of Equity1821-1840
- Transcripts of Cheraw District equity decree books · Court of Equity1823-1838
- Equity bills · Court of Equity1841-1868
- Equity records (general index) · Court of Equity1841-1868
- Equity decree books · Court of Equity1844-1868
- Equity bills · Court of Common Pleasabout 1869-1875
- Equity records (general index) · Court of Common Pleasabout 1869-1875
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Papers · Darlington District (S.C.). Soldiers' Board of Relief1863-1864
Court records
- Transcripts of Cheraw District minutes · Court of Equity1801-1841
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1806-1820
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1806-1876
- Journals of the District Court · District Court1867
- Papers · Magistrates Court1870-1879
- Minutes of the County Council · County Council2014-2015
Schools
- Annual reports of the School Commissioner · Court of General Sessions1886
County government
- Appointments to the County Board of Equalization · Clerk of Court1876
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
- Find Darlington County's official website
We haven't checked this county's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the probate judge, the register of deeds and the clerk of court.
- 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: Darlington 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, Darlington" 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 Cheraws District
Later formed partly from Darlington County: Florence County, Lee 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.