Records that survive
These are the record series of Laurens 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 Laurens District, and its records from those years carry the district's name.
Wills and estates
- Estate record books · Court of Ordinary1788-1838
- Inventories and appraisements books · Court of Ordinary1788-1811
- Estate papers · Probate Courtabout 1800-1900
- Administration bond books · Probate Court1804-1901
- Guardian ad litem files · Court of Common Pleas1812-1833
- Papers · Probate Courtabout 1820-1940
- Guardian, trustee, and committee accounts · Master1821-1868
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bonds · Master1822-1868
- Inventories, appraisements, and sales books · Probate Court1825-1929
- Guardian, trustee, and committee account books · Court of Equity1827-1868
- Real estate books · Probate Court1828-1934
- Will books · Probate Court1833-1912
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bond books · Probate Court1836-1910
- Letters of guardianship books · Probate Court1836-1911
- and 25 more series in the full listing
Deeds and land
- Abstracts of conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1785-1821
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1785-1979
- Plat books · Commissioner of Locations1806-1866
- Citizens' copies of recorded instruments · Register of Mesne Conveyancesabout 1807-1951
- Official bonds of constables · Register of Mesne Conveyances1841-1872
- Plat books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1868-1921
- Official bonds books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1878-1905
- Homestead exemption files · Court of Common Pleas1879-1929
- Charter books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1893-1910
- Master's conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1893-1937
- Labor contracts (index) · Register of Mesne Conveyances1908-1928
- Buzzards Roost project right of way books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1937-1938
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage books · Probate Court1911-1951
- Marriage licenses · Probate Court1911-1950
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Equity decree books · Court of Equity1821-1868
- Equity decrees · Court of Equity1821-1849
- Equity petitions · Court of Equity1821-1868
- Equity records (general index) · Court of Equity1821-1868
- Fieri facias executions · Court of Equity1821-1858
- Writs of ne exeat · Court of Equity1821-1850
- Writs of partition books · Court of Equity1821-1826
- Equity bills · Court of Equity1822-1868
- Equity orders · Court of Equity1822-1868
- Equity reports · Master1822-1868
- Writs of injunction · Court of Equity1822-1859
- Sales books of the Master · Master1825-1886
- Equity minutes · Court of Equity1827-1868
- Equity rules · Master1832-1868
- and 16 more series in the full listing
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Revolutionary War pension applications · Clerk of Court1820-1830
- Confederate pension rolls · Board of Honor1896-1930
- Confederate veterans' enrollment books · Clerk of Courtabout 1902-1921
- Record books of the Camp Garlington Chapter of the United Confederate Veterans · United Confederate Veterans (Laurens County, S.C.). Camp Garlington1902-1925
- Confederate pension accounts books · Board of Honor1909-1911
- Confederate pension receipts books · Board of Honor1928-1929
- Confederate widows pension rolls · Board of Honor1930
- Distribution of state pension fund books · Probate Court1933-1968
Tax records
- Tax returns lists · Clerk of Courtabout 1865
- Tax returns · Tax Collector1866
- Assessor's returns of taxable personal property · Auditor1868-1869
- Assessor's returns of taxable real property · Auditor1868-1870
- Auditor's tax duplicate books · Auditor1868-1967
- Delinquent tax sales books of the Treasurer · Treasurer1871-1887
- Treasurer's tax duplicate books · Treasurer1875-1969
- Tax receipt books · Treasurer1876-1877
- Fifteen percent delinquent tax lists · Treasurer1879-1917
- Taxation of costs books · Master1880-1888
- Annual reports of the County Treasurer · Court of General Sessions1881-1901
- Returns of licenses, fines, and forfeitures · Auditor1881-1898
- Cashbooks of taxes paid · Treasurer1883-1884
- Tax execution books of the Treasurer · Treasurer1884-1917
- and 16 more series in the full listing
Elections and voters
- Voter registration books · Clerk of Court1882-1934
- Democratic club rolls · Democratic Party (Laurens County, S.C.)1898-1940
Court records
- Journals of the County and Intermediate Court · County and Intermediate Court1786-1790
- Attachment bonds · Court of Common Pleas1799-1908
- Garnishee returns · Court of Common Pleas1799-1862
- Indictments · Court of General Sessions1799-1900
- Abstracts of decrees in summary process · Court of Common Pleas1800-1869
- Abstracts of judgments · Court of Common Pleas1800-1880
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1800-1907
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1800-1908
- Judgment rolls · Court of Common Pleas1800-1907
- Orders · Court of Common Pleasabout 1800-1915
- Papers · Court of Common Pleasabout 1800-1900
- Petitions and decrees in summary process · Court of Common Pleas1800-1869
- Petitions to be excused from jury duty · Clerk of Court1800-1900
- Pleadings and judgments · Court of Common Pleas1800-1880
- and 89 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Free Schools · Court of General Sessions1856-1861
- Annual reports of the School Commissioner · Court of General Sessions1882-1894
- Student attendance record books · Board of Education1901-1914
- General ledgers of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1911-
- Annual reports of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1931-1969
County government
- Reports of the Commissioners of the Roads to the Comptroller General · Clerk of Court1809
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Roads · Court of General Sessions1810-1867
- Register of county officials · Clerk of Court1841-1914
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Public Buildings · Court of General Sessions1845-1866
- List of Commissioners of the Roads with roads under their charge · Court of General Sessions1853-1859
- Reports of fines imposed by the Commissioners of the Roads · Court of General Sessions1858
- Ledgers of C. W. Miller · Miller, C. W., Merchant of Laurens County, S.C1871-1873
- Reports of the Board of Equalization · Auditor1874
- List of persons on the 1880 census for Laurens County · Clerk of Court1880
- Accounts of G. W. Shell, Watts, and Company · G. W. Shell, Watts, and Company, Cotton merchants of Laurens County, S.C1882-1885
- Annual reports of the County Commissioners · Court of General Sessions1882-1895
- Account books of J. T. Callicot · Callicot, J. T., Farmer of Laurens County, S.C1895-1915
- Claims against the county · County Council1895-1939
- Sales accounts of the Laurens Distributing Company · Laurens Distributing Company (Laurens County, S.C.)1910-1930
- and 5 more series in the full listing
Other records
- Execution books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1809-1896
- Writ books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1841-1898
- Sales books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1845-1876
- Cashbooks of Allen and Samuel Barksdale · Barksdale, Allen1846-1860
- Coroner's inquisition books · Coroner1872-1901
- Writ books of the Sheriff (civil) · Sheriff1899-1909
- Writ books of the Sheriff (criminal) · Sheriff1899-1903
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
- Laurens 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: Laurens 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, Laurens" 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 Ninety-Six District
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.