Records that survive
These are the record series of Dillon 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. Dillon County was formed in 1910, so records from before then are with the county or counties it was formed from.
Wills and estates
- Estate papers · Probate Court1910-1950
Deeds and land
- Charter books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1910-1950
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1910-1936
- Plat books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1910-1925
- Master's conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1919-1932
- Contract books of the South Carolina Cotton Growers Cooperative Association · Register of Mesne Conveyances1924-1930
- Sales books of the Forfeited Land Commission · Forfeited Land Commission1933-1944
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage books · Probate Court1911-1950
- Marriage licenses · Probate Court1911-1951
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Sales books of the Master · Master1910-1952
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Distribution of state pension fund books · Probate Court1916-1935
Tax records
- Annual school tax settlements of the Treasurer · Treasurer1910-1916
- Treasurer's tax duplicate books · Treasurer1910-1950
- Auditor's tax duplicate books · Auditor1911-1946
- Paupers orders · Treasurer1935-1937
Elections and voters
- Voter registration books · Clerk of Court1918-1956
- Democratic club rolls · Democratic Party (Dillon County, S.C.)1926-1942
Court records
- Civil dockets · Magistrates Court1907-1913
- Criminal dockets · Magistrates Court1907-1953
- Judgment rolls (indexes) · Court of Common Pleasabout 1910-1960
- Pleadings and judgments · Court of Common Pleas1917-1945
- Records of public bond issues · Clerk of Court1917-1956
- Calendar no. 1 · Court of Common Pleasabout 1926-1948
- Office docket · Court of Common Pleas1940-1950
- Minutes of the County Council · County Council2011-2015
Schools
- General cashbooks of the Superintendent · Board of Education1910-1911
- General ledgers of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1911-1950
County government
- Cashbooks of the Sinking Fund Commission · Sinking Fund Commission1917-1930
Other records
- Coroner's inquisition books · Coroner1910-1952
- Jail books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1939-1944
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 Dillon 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: Dillon 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, Dillon" 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: Marion County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Marion County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1910, 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.