Records that survive
These are the record series of Fairfield 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 Fairfield District, and its records from those years carry the district's name.
Wills and estates
- Estate papers · Probate Court1787-1915
- Estate record books · Court of Ordinary1787-1848
- Fee books · Court of Ordinary1800-1846
- Papers · Probate Courtabout 1800-1900
- Journals of the Probate Court · Probate Court1801-1906
- Guardian, trustee, and committee accounts · Master1818-1868
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bonds · Master1818-1867
- Rough journals of the Court of Ordinary · Court of Ordinary1818-1838
- Letters of guardianship files · Court of Equity1821-1827
- Cashbooks of the Probate Judge · Probate Court1825-1886
- Guardian, trustee, and committee account books · Court of Equity1826-1868
- Ledgers of the Probate Court · Probate Court1827-1902
- Orders for sales · Court of Ordinary1831-1848
- Receipts for distribution of funds from sale of real estate · Court of Ordinary1831-1845
- and 26 more series in the full listing
Deeds and land
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1785-1945
- Non-conveyances recorded in conveyance books (index) · Register of Mesne Conveyances1785-1841
- Citizens' copies of recorded instruments · Register of Mesne Conveyancesabout 1800-1920
- Plat books · Commissioner of Locations1802-1841
- Official bonds of constables · Register of Mesne Conveyances1823-1867
- Abstracts of agricultural lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1878
- Record of sinking fund sales and leases of forfeited lands · Sheriff1893-1902
- Chattel mortgage indexes · Register of Mesne Conveyances1915-1967
- Chattel mortgage books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1919-1970
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage books · Probate Court1911-1993
- Marriage licenses · Probate Court1911-1950
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Equity papers · Court of Equityabout 1800-1868
- Writs of partition · Court of Common Pleas1800-1831
- Equity bills · Court of Equity1807-1868
- Equity records (general index) · Court of Equity1807-1868
- Bonds for money decrees · Court of Equity1820-1866
- Equity bill dockets · Court of Equity1820-1849
- Equity minutes · Court of Equity1820-1868
- Equity petitions · Court of Equity1820-1868
- Depositions · Court of Equity1821-1868
- Equity reports · Master1823-1867
- Equity orders · Court of Equity1824-1868
- Subpoena writs · Court of Equity1828-1868
- Equity rules · Master1836-1852
- Equity file books · Court of Equity1841-1856
- and 18 more series in the full listing
Confederate veterans and pensions
- List of Confederate tax returns · Clerk of Court1863
- List of Confederate tax-in-kind returns · Clerk of Court1863-1864
- Confederate pension applications · Board of Honor1890-1927
- Confederate veterans' enrollment books · Clerk of Court1902
- Confederate pension rolls · Board of Honor1918-1943
- Distribution of state pension fund books · Probate Court1930-1943
Tax records
- Tax returns · Tax Collector1792-1843
- Taxation of costs books · County and Intermediate Court1797-1799
- Taxation of costs books · Court of Common Pleas1800-1803
- Taxation of costs books · Master1852-1861
- Tax execution books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1867
- Tax execution books of the Treasurer · Treasurer1871-1893
- Business and professional licenses issued · Treasurer1872
- Tax receipt books · Treasurer1873-1883
- Twenty percent delinquent tax lists · Treasurer1875
- Fifteen percent delinquent tax lists · Treasurer1877-1887
- Treasurer's tax duplicate books · Treasurer1882-1986
- School funds cashbooks of the Treasurer · Treasurer1891-1893
- Auditor's tax duplicate books · Auditor1902-1922
- General ledgers of the Treasurer · Treasurer1981-1990
- and 1 more series in the full listing
Elections and voters
- Election files · Clerk of Court1874-1906
Court records
- Journals of the County and Intermediate Court · County and Intermediate Court1785-1799
- Appearance books · County and Intermediate Court1786-1791
- Civil dockets · County and Intermediate Court1786-1791
- Record of estrays · County and Intermediate Court1787-1799
- Criminal dockets · County and Intermediate Court1790-1793
- Execution dockets · County and Intermediate Court1797-1799
- Memoranda · County and Intermediate Court1797-1799
- Memoranda · Court of Common Pleas1797-1802
- Appearance books · Court of Common Pleas1800-1830
- Deposition files · Court of Common Pleasabout 1800-1880
- Execution dockets · Court of Common Pleas1800-1810
- Fieri facias executions (obsolete index) · Court of Common Pleas1800-1839
- Fines and forfeitures · Clerk of Court1800-1803
- Indictments · Court of General Sessionsabout 1800-1925
- and 63 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Annual settlements of county school funds · Board of Education1874-1876
- Annual settlements of state school funds · Board of Education1874-1876
- Teachers' payrolls · Board of Education1882-1884
- General ledgers of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1891-1951
- General cashbooks of the Superintendent · Board of Education1895-1912
- Voucher registers · Board of Education1906-1913
- Photograph of Monticello High School vocational shop class · Board of Educationabout 1943-1946
County government
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Poor · Court of General Sessions1809-1830
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Roads · Court of General Sessions1809-1866
- Order books of John Miller · Miller, John, Tailor of Fairfield County, S.C1835-1844
- Daybooks of John D. Smith · Smith, John D., Watchmaker of Fairfield County, S.C1836-1839
- Daybooks of John Miller · Miller, John, Tailor of Fairfield County, S.C1837-1845
- Accounts of John Small · Small, John, Blacksmith of Fairfield County, S.C1838-1840
- Account books of John D. Watson · Watson, John D., Physician of Fairfield County, S.C1840-1845
- Commissions and appointments · Clerk of Court1840-1876
- Cotton account books of W. B. Peake · Peake, W. B., Physician and Cotton Merchant of Fairfield County, S.C1842-1852
- Medical account books of W. B. Peake · Peake, W. B., Physician and Cotton Merchant of Fairfield County, S.C1845-1849
- Cashbooks of Thomas Willard · Willard, Thomas, Cotton merchant of Fairfield County, S.C1847-1849
- Cotton accounts of R. C. Woodward · Woodward, R. C., Merchant of Fairfield County, S.C1847-1849
- Beef accounts of R. C. Woodward · Woodward, R. C., Merchant of Fairfield County, S.C1849
- Daybooks of the Planters' Bank of Fairfield · Planters' Bank of Fairfield (Fairfield County, S.C.)1853-1865
- and 12 more series in the full listing
Other records
- Executions of the Sheriff · Sheriff1797-1877
- Cashbooks of the Winnsboro Masonic Lodge No. 6 · Winnsboro Masonic Lodge No. 6 (A.Y.M.)1805-1811
- Writ books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1810-1913
- Execution books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1820-1904
- Sales books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1831-1904
- Subpoena books · Sheriff1831-1834
- Inn and tavern accounts · Kirkland, Daniel B., Innkeeper of Winnsboro, S.C1845
- Cashbooks of the Sheriff · Sheriffabout 1861-1864
- Jail books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1875-1905
- Records of the Association of the Survivors of the Sixth Regiment · Association of the Survivors of the Sixth Regiment1878-1899
- Ledgers of D. R. Flenniken and Company · D. R. Flenniken and Company1881-1884
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 Fairfield 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: Fairfield 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, Fairfield" 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 Camden District
Later formed partly from Fairfield County: Kershaw 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.