Record losses
The South Carolina Archives notes: In February 1865, advancing federal troops destroyed pre-1839 records of the clerk of court; the destruction included deeds and virtually all probate records.
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 Lexington 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 1804 until 1868 it was called Lexington District, and its records from those years carry the district's name. From 1800 until 1804 its land was part of Orangeburg District, so look there for records from those years.
Wills and estates
- Guardianship records · Court of Equityabout 1800-1868
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bond books · Court of Equity1809-1867
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bonds · Master1809-1868
- Guardian, trustee, and committee accounts · Master1818-1867
- Papers · Probate Court1823-1928
- Petitions for guardianship · Court of Equity1834-1867
- Guardian, trustee, and committee account books · Court of Equity1856-1868
- Letters testamentary files · Probate Court1864
- Bond books · Probate Court1865-1938
- Estate papers · Probate Court1865-1973
- Journals of the Probate Court · Probate Court1865-1915
- Returns books · Probate Court1865-1955
- Will books · Probate Court1865-1908
- Cashbooks of the Probate Judge · Probate Court1866-1933
- and 21 more series in the full listing
Deeds and land
- Mortgages to the Master/Commissioner in Equity · Master1828-1859
- Citizens' copies of recorded instruments · Register of Mesne Conveyances1830-1926
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1839-1916
- Plat books · Commissioner of Locations1840-1871
- Warrants of survey books · Commissioner of Locations1840-1868
- Official bonds books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1867-1903
- Homestead exemption files · Court of Common Pleas1868-1937
- Official bonds · Register of Mesne Conveyances1868-1895
- Sales books of the Forfeited Land Commission · Forfeited Land Commission1871-1947
- Agricultural lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1872-1883
- Agricultural liens · Register of Mesne Conveyances1872-1929
- Attachment bonds for crops under lien · Court of Common Pleas1874-1881
- Charters · Register of Mesne Conveyances1874-1896
- Town of Batesburg tavern license bonds (copies) · Register of Mesne Conveyances1877
- and 8 more series in the full listing
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage books · Probate Court1911-1958
- Marriage licenses · Probate Court1911-1973
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Equity bills · Court of Equity1806-1868
- Bonds for money decrees · Court of Equity1822-1859
- Equity minutes · Court of Equity1824-1868
- Equity decree books · Court of Equity1829-1866
- Equity papers · Court of Equity1830-1868
- Receipt books · Master1841-1864
- Annual reports of the Commissioner in Equity · Master1850-1864
- Equity bar dockets · Court of Equity1866-1868
- Equity bill dockets · Court of Equity1866-1868
- Record of bills to perpetuate testimony · Court of Equity1866-1867
- Reports on bills to perpetuate testimony · Court of Equity1866-1867
- Equity bar dockets · Court of Common Pleas1869-1870
- Equity bill dockets · Court of Common Pleas1869-1870
- Equity bills (exhibits) · Court of Common Pleas1895-1908
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Confederate pension papers · Clerk of Court1888-1893
- Confederate pension receipts · Clerk of Court1888
- Confederate pension applications · Board of Honor1893-1932
- Confederate pension rolls · Board of Honor1896-1960
- Confederate widows pension applications · Board of Honor1897-1935
- List of Confederate pension applications · Board of Honor1897-1898
- Minutes of the Board of Honor · Board of Honor1901-1910
- Confederate veterans' enrollment books · Clerk of Court1903-1908
- Confederate pension reports · Board of Honor1904-1959
- Confederate pension receipts · Board of Honor1915
- Confederate pension applications (Florida) · Board of Honor1916
- Distribution of state pension fund books · Clerk of Court1916-1919
- Confederate pension papers · Board of Honor1919-1937
- Annual report of the Comptroller General on Confederate pensions · Board of Honor1921
- and 1 more series in the full listing
Tax records
- Tax returns lists · Clerk of Court1865-1867
- 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
- Teachers' pay certificates (duplicates) · Board of Education1870-1893
- Delinquent tax sales books of the Treasurer · Treasurer1871-1878
- Delinquent tax lists of the Auditor · Auditor1872-1884
- Receipts · Treasurer1876-1881
- Orders for payment for the enumeration of children between the ages of six and sixteen · Treasurer1877-1878
- Changes in assessment · Auditor1879-1880
- Jurors, witnesses, and constables pay certificates · Treasurer1879-1901
- Property tax returns · Auditor1879-1883
- School maintenance certificates (duplicates) · Board of Education1881-1892
- Tax executions of the Treasurer · Treasurer1883-1933
- and 27 more series in the full listing
Elections and voters
- Election files · Clerk of Courtabout 1880-1930
- Voter registration books · Clerk of Court1896-1958
- Voter registration books · Board of Registration1906
- Democratic club rolls · Democratic Party (Lexington County, S.C.)1918-1942
Court records
- Abstracts of decrees in summary process · Court of Common Pleas1840-1868
- Abstracts of judgments · Court of Common Pleas1840-1952
- Appearance books · Court of Common Pleas1840-1870
- Bar dockets · Court of Common Pleas1840-1899
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1840-1943
- Confessions of judgment before the clerk (recorded copy) · Court of Common Pleas1840-1870
- Criminal dockets · Court of General Sessions1840-1958
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1840-1946
- File dockets · Court of Common Pleas1840-1869
- Fines and forfeitures · Court of General Sessions1840-1907
- Inquiry dockets · Court of Common Pleas1840-1870
- Issue dockets · Court of Common Pleas1840-1870
- Miscellaneous indexes · Clerk of Court1840-1868
- Pleadings and judgments · Court of Common Pleas1840-1903
- and 96 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Monthly reports of teachers · Board of Education1869-1900
- Papers · Board of Education1870-1935
- Teachers' pay certificates · Treasurer1870-1895
- Receipts for pay certificates · Board of Education1871-1887
- School maintenance certificates · Treasurer1876-1894
- Teachers' payrolls · Board of Education1876-1889
- List of school district trustees · Board of Education1878-1945
- Orders for School Commissioners' salaries and expenditures · Treasurer1878-1890
- Cash receipts for school certificates · Auditor1879
- Census files of school children · Board of Education1879
- Contracts and obligations · Board of Education1881-1888
- Register of claims · Board of Education1881-1894
- Teachers' examinations · Board of Education1882-1893
- Annual reports of the School Commissioner · Court of General Sessions1884-1887
- and 22 more series in the full listing
County government
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Roads · Lexington District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1852-1867
- Tavern license bonds · Lexington District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1865-1868
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Poor · Court of General Sessions1866-1867
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Public Buildings · Court of General Sessions1866-1867
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Roads · Court of General Sessions1866-1868
- Bonds to perform work · Lexington District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1866-1868
- Tavern license bonds · County Council1868-1873
- Cash receipts for claims against the county · Auditor1870-1878
- Account books of the County Council · County Council1874-1881
- Claims against the county · Treasurer1876-1899
- Annual reports of the County Commissioners · Court of General Sessions1883-1889
- Orders for Board of Examiners' salaries and expenses · Treasurer1884-1888
- Orders for County Commissioners' salaries and expenses · Treasurer1888-1893
- Accounts of liquor sold books · Board of Control1893-1908
- and 10 more series in the full listing
Other records
- Receipt books · Sheriff1806-1809
- Execution books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1844-1909
- Writ books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1857-1921
- Sales books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1866-1931
- Jail books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1873-1926
- Coroner's inquisition books · Coroner1890-1910
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
- Lexington 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: Lexington 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, Lexington" 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 Orangeburg District
Check the parent county for earlier records: Newberry County
Later formed partly from Lexington County: Aiken County, Calhoun County, Newberry 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.