Record losses
The South Carolina Archives notes: A fire during the federal occupation of Columbia in February 1865 destroyed the courthouse and most of the records in it. Most of the equity and probate records, however, had been safely removed.
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 Richland 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 1799 until 1868 it was called Richland District, and its records from those years carry the district's name.
Wills and estates
- Estate papers · Probate Court1787-1909
- Estate record books · Court of Ordinary1787-1839
- Journals of the Probate Court · Probate Court1806-1890
- Citations, bonds, and letters books · Court of Ordinary1808-1839
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bond books · Court of Equity1809-1868
- Real estate books · Probate Court1825-1878
- Returns books · Probate Court1837-1966
- Bond books · Court of Ordinary1839-1868
- Inventories, appraisements, and sales books · Probate Court1839-1904
- Guardian, trustee, and committee account books · Court of Equity1840-1868
- Letters books · Probate Court1840-1919
- Will books · Probate Court1840-1966
- Petitions for the appointment of trustees · Probate Court1841-1882
- Probate records (general index) · Probate Courtabout 1865-1878
- and 17 more series in the full listing
Deeds and land
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1865-1951
- Agricultural lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1870-1876
- Plat books · Lawyers Title Companyabout 1871-1924
- Register of Mesne Conveyances records (general index) · Register of Mesne Conveyances1872-1908
- Lands devised books · Probate Court1885-1911
- Charter books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1887-1944
- Official bonds books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1903-1946
- Block plats of the City of Columbia · Register of Mesne Conveyances1921
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage books · Probate Court1911-1965
- Marriage licenses · Probate Court1911-1922
- Affidavits to prove marriages prior to June 30, 1911 · Probate Court1943-1987
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Equity papers · Court of Equityabout 1781-1868
- Equity bills (abstracts) · Court of Equity1793-1812
- Equity bills · Court of Equity1793-1868
- Equity records (general index) · Court of Equity1793-1868
- Equity petitions · Court of Equity1804-1867
- Equity papers · Court of Equity1809-1862
- Annual reports of the Master · Court of Equity1818-1869
- Equity minutes · Court of Equity1863-1868
- Equity bill dockets · Court of Equity1867-1868
- Equity bill dockets · Court of Common Pleas1869
- Equity bills · Court of Common Pleas1869-1883
- Equity minutes · Court of Common Pleas1869-1870
- Equity records (general index) · Court of Common Pleas1869-1870
- Petitions for writs of partition · Probate Court1869
- and 7 more series in the full listing
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Account books of the Board of Honor · Board of Honor1919-1926
- Confederate pension rolls · Board of Honor1919-1947
- Confederate pension papers · Board of Honor1920-1976
Tax records
- Letters sent · Auditor1873-1881
- Treasurer's tax duplicate books · Treasurer1876-1960
- Fifteen percent delinquent tax lists · Treasurer1878
- Auditor's tax duplicate books · Auditor1883-1962
- School funds cashbooks of the Treasurer · Treasurer1887-1920
- Tax execution books of the Treasurer · Treasurer1890-1953
- Annual county tax settlements of the Treasurer · Treasurer1894-1903
- List of tax executions · Sheriff1900
- General cashbooks of the Treasurer · Treasurer1903-1917
- Annual school tax settlements of the Board of Education · Board of Education1910-1919
- Road tax books · Auditor1911-1912
- Tax execution books of the Sheriff for the city of Columbia · Sheriff1921
- Bond ledgers · Treasurer1923-1930
- Tax sales books · Tax Collector1942-1968
Elections and voters
- Democratic club rolls · Democratic Party (Richland County, S.C.)1908
- Voter registration books · Clerk of Court1948-1956
Court records
- Fieri facias executions · County and Intermediate Court1791
- Criminal dockets · Magistrates Court1847-1944
- Dockets of the Court of Magistrates and Freeholders · Court of Magistrates and Freeholders1847-1850
- Papers · Court of Common Pleas1850-1957
- Judgment rolls · Court of Common Pleas1856-1951
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1865-1900
- Civil journals · District Court1866-1868
- Indictments · Court of General Sessions1866-1957
- Abstracts of judgments (index) · Court of Common Pleasabout 1867-1900
- Coroner's inquisitions · Court of General Sessions1871-1950
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1875-1884
- Miscellaneous papers · Court of General Sessionsabout 1877-1955
- Petitions to be excused from jury duty · Clerk of Court1880-1937
- Grand jury presentments · Court of General Sessions1881-1922
- and 22 more series in the full listing
Schools
- General ledgers of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1879-1967
- Teachers' certification record books · Board of Education1907-1922
- Contingent account books · Board of Education1916-1918
- General cashbooks of the Superintendent · Board of Education1916-1920
- Directory of teachers · Board of Education1922-1968
- Annual reports of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1931-1969
- Teachers' certification records books (African-American teachers) · Board of Education1931-1945
- Correspondence with the school districts · Board of Education1933-1960
- Columbia street directory · Board of Education1943
- State aid applications · Board of Education1946-1966
- High school accreditation applications · Board of Education1947-1968
- Yearbooks of the Columbia Hospital School of Nursing · Columbia Hospital (Columbia, S.C.). School of Nursing1950-1963
- History of the school lunch program · Board of Education1955
- Attendance statistics for Richland School District No. 6 · Board of Education1960-1969
- and 13 more series in the full listing
County government
- Account books of Robert Cathcart and Company · Robert Cathcart and Company (Richland County, S.C.)1841-1860
- Ledgers of the Seaboard Insurance Company · Seaboard Insurance Company (Richland County, S.C.)1877-1885
- Descriptive lists of prisoners on the county chain gang · County Council1895-1929
- Supervisor's scrapbooks · County Council1912-1946
- Chain gang payrolls · County Council1918-1937
- Audit reports · County Council1919-1951
- General ledgers of the County Council · County Council1921-1950
- Cashbooks of the County Council · County Council1924-1949
- Reports to County Supervisors · Magistrates Court1930-1932
- Annual reports of Richland County · Clerk of Court1952-1981
Other records
- Coroner's inquisition books · Coroner1848
- Receipts · Sheriff1869
- Final narrative relocation report by the city of Columbia Housing Authority · Columbia Housing Authority (S.C.)1964
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
- Richland 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: Richland 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, Richland" 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 Richland 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.