Record losses
The South Carolina Archives notes: Although marauding federal soldiers attempted to fire the courthouse, many records were saved; loose equity papers, however, seem to have perished. Moreover, most of Lancaster's probate records were destroyed when Union cavalry intercepted in open country local officials who were attempting to remove the records to safety.
Compare the years below for gaps. Where records are missing, try the parent county or district, state records such as land grants and tax lists, church records and newspapers. See Burned Counties.
Records that survive
These are the record series of Lancaster 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 Lancaster District, and its records from those years carry the district's name.
Wills and estates
- Guardian, trustee, and committee account books · Probate Courtabout 1820-1871
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bonds · Court of Ordinary1824-1867
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bond books · Court of Equity1837-1868
- Guardian, trustee, and committee account books · Court of Equity1839-1850
- Returns books · Probate Court1847-1920
- Receipt books · Court of Ordinary1854-1860
- Estate papers (fragments of the estate records of Samuel B. Hammond) · Court of Ordinary1858-1863
- Estate papers · Probate Court1865-1915
- Journals of the Probate Court · Probate Court1865-1897
- Warrant appraisement book · Probate Court1865-1877
- Will books · Probate Court1865-1919
- Inventories, appraisements, and sales books · Probate Court1867-1920
- Inventory of records and equipment · County Council1872
- Commitment papers · Probate Court1894-1952
- and 1 more series in the full listing
Deeds and land
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1787-1922
- List of warrants · Commissioner of Locations1829
- Plat books · Commissioner of Locations1829-1882
- Warrants of survey books · Commissioner of Locations1841-1882
- Official bonds books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1866-1884
- Mechanics' liens books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1874-1953
- Receipts for redemption of land · County Council1878
- Abstracts of agricultural lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1881-1882
- Charter books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1889-1949
- Labor contracts (index) · Register of Mesne Conveyances1908-1929
- Register of aliens · Clerk of Court1940-1956
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage books · Probate Court1911-1951
- Marriage licenses · Probate Court1911-1950
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Equity file books · Court of Equity1818-1868
- Equity minutes · Court of Equity1822-1868
- Equity records (general index) · Court of Equityabout 1822-1860
- Minutes of the Master · Master1830-1869
- Receipt books · Master1833-1838
- Sales books of the Master · Master1834-1868
- Equity decree books · Court of Equity1837-1868
- Equity bar dockets · Court of Equity1840-1868
- Equity dockets · Court of Equity1840-1868
- Equity report books · Court of Equity1840-1868
- Money decrees books · Court of Equity1840-1866
- Annual reports of the Commissioner in Equity · Master1841-1867
- Reports on bills to perpetuate testimony · Court of Equity1866-1868
- Record of bills to perpetuate testimony · Court of Equity1867
- and 6 more series in the full listing
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Confederate veterans' enrollment books · Clerk of Court1902
- Distribution of state pension fund books · Probate Court1916
- Confederate pension applications · Board of Honor1919
Tax records
- Assessor's returns of taxable personal property · Auditor1868-1870
- Assessor's returns of taxable real property · Auditor1868-1870
- Auditor's tax duplicate books · Auditor1868-1920
- Delinquent tax sales books of the Auditor · Auditor1868-1885
- General cashbooks of the Treasurer · Treasurer1876-1945
- Annual school tax settlements of the Treasurer · Treasurer1893-1929
- School funds cashbooks of the Treasurer · Treasurer1893-1933
- Treasurer's tax duplicate books · Treasurer1894-1984
- Annual county tax settlements of the Treasurer · Treasurer1895-1925
- Daily summaries of receipts and disbursements · Treasurer1895-1907
- Cancelled bonds · Treasurer1905-1937
- Annual school tax settlements of the Board of Education · Board of Education1919-1933
- General ledgers of the Treasurer · Treasurer1927-1946
- Returns books of the Magistrates · Treasurer1934-1943
- and 1 more series in the full listing
Court records
- Jury lists · Clerk of Court1789
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1800-1929
- Indictments · Court of General Sessions1800-1957
- Judgment rolls · Court of Common Pleas1800-1927
- Minutes of the Commissioners to Establish a Free School · Lancaster District (S.C.). Commissioners to Establish a Free School1800-1840
- Petitions and decrees in summary process · Court of Common Pleas1800-1850
- Rough civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1808-1870
- Pleadings and judgments · Court of Common Pleas1815-1924
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1817-1936
- Rough bar dockets · Court of Common Pleas1821-1844
- Confessions of judgment before the clerk (recorded copy) · Court of Common Pleas1829-1902
- Abstracts of decrees in summary process · Court of Common Pleas1830-1870
- Pleadings and judgments (abstracts) · Court of Common Pleas1835-1897
- Garnishee returns · Court of Common Pleas1839-1840
- and 44 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Teachers' certification record books · Board of Education1870-1937
- General ledgers of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1905-1927
- Record of active teachers · Board of Education1937
- General reference file · Board of Education1938-1945
- School bonds issued · Treasurer1946
County government
- Register of county officials · Clerk of Court1844-1944
- Orders books · Lancaster District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1852-1859
- Expenditures in support of the poor · County Council1868-1870
- Liquor license receipts · County Council1876
- Magistrates' fines · County Council1876
- Cashbooks of the County Council · County Council1881-1916
- Chain gang books · County Council1929-1943
Other records
- Ledgers of Samuel B. Hammond · Hammond, Samuel Babout 1820-1836
- Sales books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1866-1960
- Coroner's inquisition books · Coroner1885-1928
- Jail books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1948-1973
- Jail books of the Jailer · Jailer1956-1972
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
- Lancaster 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: Lancaster 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, Lancaster" 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 Lancaster 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.