Records that survive
These are the record series of Greenville 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 Greenville District, and its records from those years carry the district's name.
Wills and estates
- Estate papers · Probate Court1787-1951
- Estate record books · Court of Ordinary1787-1820
- Journals of the Probate Court · Probate Court1801-1971
- Bond books · Probate Court1816-1898
- Inventories, appraisements, and sales books · Probate Court1816-1955
- Returns books · Probate Court1817-1969
- Papers · Probate Courtabout 1820-1930
- Petitions for guardianship · Court of Equity1820-1864
- Will books · Probate Court1820-1972
- Cashbooks of the Probate Judge · Probate Court1824-1958
- Guardian, trustee, and committee accounts · Court of Ordinaryabout 1824-1836
- Guardian, trustee, and committee accounts · Master1824-1868
- Real estate books · Probate Court1825-1885
- Administration and guardian bonds books · Probate Court1837-1930
- and 24 more series in the full listing
Deeds and land
- Abstracts of conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1785-1870
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1787-1929
- Papers · Register of Mesne Conveyancesabout 1787-1940
- Citizens' copies of recorded instruments · Register of Mesne Conveyancesabout 1800-1855
- Plat books · Commissioner of Locations1804-1846
- Warrants of survey · Commissioner of Locations1818-1856
- Warrants of survey books · Commissioner of Locations1844-1880
- Plats for lands not granted · Commissioner of Locations1849-1856
- Charters · Register of Mesne Conveyances1874-1897
- Lands devised books · Probate Courtabout 1883-1903
- Plat books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1897-1912
- Block plats of the City of Greenville · Block Book Department1912-1923
- Official bonds books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1920-1928
- Affidavits to deeds · Register of Mesne Conveyances1930-1935
- and 1 more series in the full listing
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage licenses · Probate Court1874-2001
- Marriage books · Probate Court1911-1972
- Lists of delayed certificates for births prior to 1915 · Clerk of Court1940-1955
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Bonds · Master1822-1868
- Equity bills · Court of Equity1822-1868
- Equity records (general index) · Court of Equity1822-1868
- Equity reports · Master1822-1868
- Fieri facias executions · Court of Equity1822-1861
- Equity papers · Court of Equity1823-1867
- Equity petitions · Court of Equity1829-1867
- Equity decree books · Court of Equity1845-1846
- Equity file books · Court of Equity1851-1857
- Minutes of the Master · Master1859-1881
- Equity bills · Court of Common Pleas1869-1870
- Equity papers · Court of Common Pleas1869-1896
- Equity records (general index) · Court of Common Pleas1869-1870
- Receivership accounts · Master1879
- and 2 more series in the full listing
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Federal pension papers · Clerk of Court1852-1909
- Confederate claims papers · Clerk of Court1863-1865
- Confederate discharge records for soldiers over forty · Clerk of Court1863
- Confederate pension rolls · Board of Honor1891-1911
- Minutes of the Board of Honor · Board of Honor1901-1919
- Confederate pension applications · Board of Honor1919-1927
- Confederate pension papers · Board of Honor1919-1967
- Confederate widows pension applications · Board of Honor1919-1939
- Record of World War I veterans · Clerk of Court1919-1958
- Confederate pension check stub books · Board of Honor1935-1937
Tax records
- Tax returns lists · Clerk of Court1854-1867
- Tax receipt books · Treasurer1869-1870
- Annual reports of the County Treasurer · Court of General Sessions1882-1893
- Receipts for hawker and peddler licenses · Treasurer1882-1886
- Annual county tax settlements of the Treasurer · Treasurer1915-1917
- Cancelled bonds, coupons, and notes · Treasurer1915-1963
- Daily cash receipts · Treasurer1915-1917
- Cash blotters · Treasurer1917
- Transcripts of proceedings in public bond issues · Treasurer1918-1933
- Record of taxable inheritances · Probate Court1922-1924
- Annual settlements with the Comptroller General · Treasurer1941-1967
- 1975 Institute for Tax Assessing Officials files · Planning Commission1969-1975
Elections and voters
- Election files · Clerk of Courtabout 1862-1926
- Voter registration books · Clerk of Court1868-1936
- Poll lists for Democratic Club elections · Democratic Party (Greenville County, S.C.)1920
- Voter registration applications · Board of Registration1957-1964
Court records
- Processes · County and Intermediate Court1786-1800
- Indictments · County and Intermediate Court1787-1799
- Judgment rolls · Court of Common Pleasabout 1792-1959
- Abstracts of judgments · Court of Common Pleas1800-1925
- Indictments · Court of General Sessions1800-1950
- Papers · Court of Common Pleasabout 1800-1905
- Petitions and decrees in summary process · Court of Common Pleas1800-1870
- Scire facias executions against defaulting jurors · Court of General Sessions1800
- Pleadings and judgments · Court of Common Pleas1801-1956
- Abstracts of decrees in summary process · Court of Common Pleas1802-1867
- Nol pros rolls · Court of General Sessions1803-1917
- Recognizances and peace bonds · Court of General Sessions1803-1835
- Petitions and property schedules of insolvent debtors · Court of Common Pleas1811-1866
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1817-1949
- and 51 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Free Schools · Greenville District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Free Schools1864-1865
- Teachers' certification record books · Board of Education1870-1924
- Annual reports of the Superintendent of Education · Court of General Sessions1886-1932
- General ledgers of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1897-1920
- School funds ledgers · Treasurer1909-1914
- Transcripts of proceedings in school bond issues · Board of Education1923-1924
- Surveys of plants and finances · Board of Education1946
County government
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Roads for the Third Regiment · Court of General Sessions1862-1864
- Receipts · Greenville District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Public Buildings1866
- Annual reports of the County Commissioners · Court of General Sessions1882-1897
- Petitions to the County Council · County Council1910
- Register of county officials · Clerk of Court1911-1944
- County home accounts · Charities and Corrections Commission1915-1924
- County jail accounts · Charities and Corrections Commission1915-1924
- Road files · County Councilabout 1930-1940
- Correspondence of the Sinking Fund Commission · Sinking Fund Commission1931-1951
- Sinking fund investment registers · Sinking Fund Commission1933-1960
- Road vouchers · County Council1938-1940
- Sinking fund loan records · Sinking Fund Commission1938-1961
- Street name change files · Planning Commission1945-1970
- General files · Planning Commissionabout 1951-1979
- and 5 more series in the full listing
Other records
- Executions of the Sheriff · Sheriff1800-1849
- Sales books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1848-1856
- Execution books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1866-1923
- Fee books · Sheriff1892-1896
- Writ books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1901-1909
- Jail books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1914-1962
- Arrest warrants · Sheriff1917-1925
- Jail books of the Jailer · Jailer1918-1938
- Sales books for automobiles seized while transporting contraband liquors · Sheriff1925-1927
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
- Greenville 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: Greenville 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, Greenville" 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: Former Cherokee lands
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1786, 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.