Records that survive
These are the record series of Spartanburg 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 Spartanburg District, and its records from those years carry the district's name.
Wills and estates
- Estate papers · Probate Court1787-1900
- Journals of the Probate Court · Probate Court1800-1907
- Guardian ad litem bonds · Court of Common Pleas1809-1820
- Will books · Probate Court1810-1903
- Inventories and appraisements books · Court of Ordinary1811-1840
- Warrants of appraisement · Court of Ordinary1816-1827
- Guardian, trustee, and committee accounts · Masterabout 1821-1867
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bonds · Master1821-1865
- Papers · Probate Court1823-1968
- Petitions for guardianship of free persons of color · Court of Common Pleas1823-1863
- Real estate books · Probate Court1825-1904
- Real estate papers · Probate Court1825-1900
- Fee books · Probate Court1830-1868
- Real estate cashbooks · Probate Court1830-1911
- and 20 more series in the full listing
Deeds and land
- Abstracts of conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1785-1809
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1785-1911
- Citizens' copies of recorded instruments · Register of Mesne Conveyancesabout 1800-1879
- Plat books · Commissioner of Locations1802-1870
- Official bonds of constables · Register of Mesne Conveyances1823-1867
- Conveyances · Spartanburg District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1828-1830
- Mortgages to the Master/Commissioner in Equity · Master1829-1868
- Official bonds · Register of Mesne Conveyances1837-1920
- Warrants of survey · Commissioner of Locations1849-1858
- Bonds and mortgages · Court of Common Pleas1869-1887
- Crop and mechanics' lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1872-1873
- Bonds to seize crops under lien · Court of Common Pleas1886-1900
Marriages, births and deaths
- List of marriages · Magistrates Court1845-1848
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Equity minutes · Court of Equity1820-1868
- Equity bills · Court of Equity1821-1868
- Equity petitions · Court of Equity1821-1868
- Equity records (general index) · Court of Equity1821-1868
- Equity decree books · Court of Equity1823-1868
- Equity rules · Master1824-1868
- Fieri facias executions · Court of Equity1826-1868
- Equity papers · Court of Equityabout 1828-1868
- Bonds · Masterabout 1829-1868
- Annual reports of the Commissioner in Equity · Master1836-1867
- Stock books · Master1840-1867
- Bond books · Court of Equity1841-1868
- Equity file books · Court of Equity1841-1868
- Minutes of the Master · Master1841-1872
- and 15 more series in the full listing
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Revolutionary War pension applications · Clerk of Courtabout 1820-1860
- Lists of Revolutionary War pension applicants · Clerk of Court1833-1834
- Correspondence with the United States Pension Department · Probate Court1853-1920
- Confederate pension applications · Board of Honor1861-1935
- Powers of attorney over Confederate claims · Clerk of Court1864
- Confederate pension rolls · Board of Honor1889-1935
- Distribution of state pension fund books · Probate Court1916-1919
- Confederate widows pension applications · Board of Honor1919-1935
- Confederate widows pension rolls · Board of Honor1923-1935
Tax records
- Tax executions of the Sheriff · Sheriff1817-1855
- Taxation of costs files · Court of Common Pleas1823-1869
- Tax returns lists · Clerk of Court1844-1863
- Tax execution books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1867-1868
- Assessor's returns of taxable personal property for 4th District · Auditor1868
- Receipts for fines turned over to the County Treasurer · Court of General Sessions1871-1947
- Annual reports of the County Treasurer · Court of General Sessions1883-1891
- Court costs assessed the county · Court of General Sessions1900
- Duplicate certificates of naturalization books · Court of Common Pleas1920-1923
Elections and voters
- Election files · Clerk of Court1855-1900
- Voter registration books · Clerk of Court1882-1897
- Democratic club rolls · Democratic Party (Spartanburg County, S.C.)1906-1908
Court records
- Journals of the County and Intermediate Court · County and Intermediate Court1785-1799
- Recognizances and peace bonds · County and Intermediate Court1788-1796
- Grand jury presentments · County and Intermediate Court1790
- Orders books · County and Intermediate Court1790-1799
- Minutes of the Commissioners of the Poor · Spartanburg District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Poor1796-1827
- Apprenticeship files · Clerk of Court1798-1873
- Petitions and decrees in summary process · County and Intermediate Court1798
- Abstracts of decrees in summary process · Court of Common Pleas1800-1870
- Abstracts of judgments (obsolete) · Court of Common Pleas1800-1840
- Abstracts of judgments · Court of Common Pleas1800-1909
- Affidavits in support of dedimus potestatums · Court of Common Pleasabout 1800-1858
- Capias ad satisfaciendum executions · Court of General Sessions1800-1858
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1800-1900
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1800-1901
- and 115 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Teachers' certification record books · Board of Education1870-1928
- Professional library check out records · Board of Education1871-1882
- Record books of School District No. 1 (Reidsville, S.C.) · School District No. 1 (Reidsville, S.C.). Board of Trustees1873-1888
- Record books of School District No. 15 (Spartanburg, S.C.) · School District No. 15 (Spartanburg, S.C.). Board of Trustees1873-1881
- Census files of school children for Spartanburg Township No. 1 · Board of Education1874-1875
- Teachers' payrolls · Board of Education1876-1910
- Record books · Board of Education1877-1911
- General ledgers of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1881-1907
- Annual reports of the School Commissioner · Court of General Sessions1882-1889
- Annual reports of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1883-1951
- Annual report research material · Board of Education1889-1893
- Letters sent · Board of Education1890-1909
- Record books of School District No. 51 (Woodruff, S.C.) · School District No. 51 (Woodruff, S.C.). Board of Trustees1893-1896
- General cashbooks of the Superintendent · Board of Education1894-1896
- and 10 more series in the full listing
County government
- Orders books · Spartanburg District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1800-1803
- Tavern license bonds · Spartanburg District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1800-1830
- Executions · Spartanburg District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1804-1831
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Poor · Court of General Sessions1810-1867
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Roads · Court of General Sessions1810-1863
- List of licenses to retail spirituous liquors · Spartanburg District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1820
- Estrays · Spartanburg District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1825
- Road petitions · Spartanburg District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1827-1831
- General correspondence · Spartanburg District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1828
- Receipts · Spartanburg District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1828-1865
- Reports of bids · Spartanburg District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1828-1832
- Account books of Jesse Mason · Mason, Jesse, Farmer and Constable of Spartanburg County, S.C1843-1844
- Account books of R. C. Poole · Poole, R. C., Merchant of Spartanburg County, S.C1843-1844
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Public Buildings · Court of General Sessions1846-1866
- and 11 more series in the full listing
Other records
- Affidavits of James Fannere · Fannere, James1787
- Execution books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1804-1909
- Receipt books · Sheriff1804-1809
- Writ books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1807-1902
- Executions of the Sheriff · Sheriffabout 1812-1841
- Rules and regulations of the Agricultural Society of Spartanburg · Agricultural Society of Spartanburg (Spartanburg, S.C.)1829-1872
- Sales books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1842-1909
- Receipts for records and equipment turned over to successors · Sheriff1846-1859
- Jail books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1889-1905
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 Spartanburg 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: Spartanburg 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, Spartanburg" 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
Later formed partly from Spartanburg County: Cherokee 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.