Records that survive
These are the record series of Dorchester 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. Dorchester County was formed in 1897, so records from before then are with the county or counties it was formed from.
Wills and estates
- Estate papers · Probate Court1897-1915
- Papers · Probate Court1900-1940
- Commitment papers · Probate Court1935-1948
Deeds and land
- Conveyance books of Colleton County (transcripts) · Register of Mesne Conveyances1867-1897
- Conveyance books of Berkeley County (transcripts) · Register of Mesne Conveyances1885-1897
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1897-1920
- Transcripts of Colleton County abstracts of agricultural liens · Register of Mesne Conveyances1897
- Abstracts of agricultural lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1908
- Labor contracts (index) · Register of Mesne Conveyances1909-1919
- Register of aliens · Clerk of Court1940-1951
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage books · Probate Court1911-1957
- Marriage licenses · Probate Court1918-1950
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Equity report books · Court of Common Pleas1897-1929
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Confederate pension papers · Board of Honor1909-1958
- Confederate pension applications · Board of Honor1919-1929
- Confederate widows pension applications · Board of Honor1919-1922
Tax records
- Auditor's tax duplicate books · Auditor1897-1923
- Treasurer's tax duplicate books · Treasurer1899-1973
Court records
- Abstracts of judgments · Court of Common Pleas1866-1897
- Judgment rolls of Colleton County transferred to Dorchester County · Court of Common Pleas1866-1897
- Transcripts of the Colleton County journals · Court of Common Pleas1866-1897
- Calendar no. 1 · Court of Common Pleas1897-1941
- Calendar no. 3 · Court of Common Pleas1897-1925
- Cases heard in chambers · Court of Common Pleas1897-1960
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1897-1926
- Criminal dockets · Court of General Sessions1897-1931
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1897-1917
- Bar calendars · Court of Common Pleas1898-1922
- Contingent dockets · Court of General Sessions1898-1975
- Register of public bonds issued · Clerk of Court1907-1946
- Indictments · Court of General Sessions1912-1920
- Calendar no. 2 · Court of Common Pleas1916-1928
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
- Dorchester 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: Dorchester 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, Dorchester" 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: Berkeley County, Colleton County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Berkeley County, Colleton County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1897, 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.