Records that survive
These are the record series of Florence 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. Florence County was formed in 1888, so records from before then are with the county or counties it was formed from.
Wills and estates
- Estate papers · Probate Court1888-1916
Deeds and land
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1889-1935
- Plat books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1895-1992
- Abstracts of agricultural lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1910-1954
- Register of aliens · Clerk of Court1940
- Transcripts of proceedings in public bond issues · Register of Mesne Conveyances1964-1969
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage books · Probate Court1911-1955
- Marriage licenses · Probate Court1917-1950
Tax records
- Treasurer's tax duplicate books · Treasurer1923-1957
- Auditor's tax duplicate books · Auditor1925-1958
Court records
- Minutes of the County Council · County Council1889-2015
- Calendar no. 1 · Court of Common Pleas1890-1943
- Calendar no. 2 · Court of Common Pleas1890-1940
- Calendar no. 3 · Court of Common Pleas1890-1948
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1890-1915
- Confessions of judgment before the clerk (recorded copy) · Court of Common Pleas1890-1897
- Contingent dockets · Court of General Sessions1890-1942
- Criminal dockets · Court of General Sessions1890-1977
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1890-1956
- Record of estrays · Clerk of Court1893-1906
- Pleadings and judgments · Court of Common Pleas1895-1944
- Jury lists · Court of General Sessions1897-1917
- Pardons, paroles, and commutations (recorded copy) · Court of General Sessions1897-1915
- Criminal statistics · Court of General Sessions1900-1954
County government
- Register of county officials · Clerk of Court1889-1965
- Audit reports · County Council1953-1968
Other records
- Coroner's inquisition books · Coroner1889-1928
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
- Florence 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: Florence 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, Florence" 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: Clarendon County, Darlington County, Marion County, Williamsburg County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Clarendon County, Darlington County, Marion County, Williamsburg County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1888, 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.