Records that survive
These are the record series of Lee 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. Lee County was formed in 1898, so records from before then are with the county or counties it was formed from.
Wills and estates
- Estate papers · Probate Court1902-1951
- Orders for appointment of guardians ad litem · Court of Common Pleas1902-1914
- Bond books · Probate Court1903-1983
- Inventories and appraisements books · Probate Court1903-1959
- Returns books · Probate Court1903-1958
- Cashbooks of the Probate Judge · Probate Court1904-1949
- Real estate books · Probate Court1904-1926
- Letters of administration books · Probate Court1913-1956
- Letters of guardianship books · Probate Court1914-1987
Deeds and land
- Conveyance books (index) · Register of Mesne Conveyances1902-1951
- Land devised books · Probate Court1903-1943
- Plat books (index) · Register of Mesne Conveyances1903-1973
- Abstracts of agricultural lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1904-1924
- Plat books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1906-1948
- Labor contracts (index) · Register of Mesne Conveyances1908-1928
- Account books of the Forfeited Land Commission · Forfeited Land Commission1924-1940
- Minutes of the Forfeited Land Commission · Forfeited Land Commission1929-1935
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage books · Probate Court1911-1950
- Marriage licenses · Probate Court1911-1950
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Confederate pension papers · Board of Honor1909-1919
- Distribution of state pension fund books · Probate Court1916-1959
Tax records
- Auditor's tax duplicate books · Auditor1902-1920
- School funds cashbooks of the Treasurer · Treasurer1903-1934
- Minutes of the Board of Assessors · Board of Assessors of Bishopville Township1938
Elections and voters
- Voter registration books · Clerk of Court1908-1965
- Democratic club rolls · Democratic Party (Lee County, S.C.)1916-1934
Court records
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1903-1941
- Coroner's inquisitions · Court of General Sessions1903-1959
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1903-1933
- Minutes of the County Council · County Council1903-1929
- Courthouse bond registers · County Council1907-1908
- Criminal dockets · Magistrates Court1907-1933
- Register of motor vehicles · Clerk of Court1910-1913
- Motor vehicle registrations · Clerk of Court1912-1917
- Papers · Clerk of Court1913-1915
- Mercantile and industrial establishments other than corporations registers · Register of Mesne Conveyances1918-1952
- Minutes of the Board of Equalization · Board of Equalization1934-1938
- Journals of the Supervisor · County Council1938-1963
Schools
- School district bond books · Clerk of Court1930-1933
- General ledgers of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1948-1953
County government
- General ledgers of the County Council · County Council1905-1925
- Letterbooks · County Council1905-1906
- Stock ledgers of the Board of Control · Board of Control1907-1909
- Ledgers of the Sinking Fund Commission · Sinking Fund Commission1930-1967
- Audit reports · County Council1932
Other records
- Coroner's inquisition books · Coroner1902-1954
- Jail books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1917-1941
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 Lee 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: Lee 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, Lee" 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: Darlington County, Kershaw County, Sumter County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Darlington County, Kershaw County, Sumter County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1898, 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.