Records that survive
These are the record series of Union 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 Union District, and its records from those years carry the district's name.
Wills and estates
- Estate papers · Probate Court1787-1925
- Will books · Probate Court1792-1911
- Guardian ad litem bonds · Court of Common Pleas1801-1827
- Journals of the Probate Court · Probate Court1802-1920
- Guardian, trustee, and committee accounts · Master1820-1868
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bonds · Master1820-1866
- Inventories, appraisements, and sales books · Probate Court1828-1910
- Returns books · Probate Court1829-1926
- Bond books · Court of Ordinary1833-1867
- Real estate books · Probate Court1835-1928
- Writ books of the Sheriff (ordinary) · Sheriff1835-1839
- Real estate cashbooks · Probate Court1836-1888
- Receipts supporting guardian, trustee, and committee accounts · Probate Courtabout 1840-1870
- Daybooks of the Court of Ordinary · Court of Ordinary1841-1848
- and 18 more series in the full listing
Deeds and land
- Abstracts of conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1785-1800
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1785-1916
- Plat books · Commissioner of Locations1803-1860
- Plat books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1803-1969
- Warrants of survey · Commissioner of Locations1803-1856
- Citizens' copies of recorded instruments · Register of Mesne Conveyances1807-1950
- Mortgages to the Master/Commissioner in Equity · Masterabout 1821-1851
- Official bonds of constables · Register of Mesne Conveyances1823-1872
- Agricultural lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1870-1879
- Official bonds books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1873-1929
- Mechanics' liens books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1875-1926
- Abstracts of agricultural lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1878-1955
- Agricultural liens · Register of Mesne Conveyancesabout 1881-1900
- Warrants to seize crops under lien · Court of Common Pleasabout 1881-1893
- and 8 more series in the full listing
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage licenses · Probate Court1911-1950
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Writs of partition · Court of Common Pleas1806-1828
- Partition books · Court of Common Pleas1815-1822
- Equity bills · Court of Equity1818-1868
- Equity records (general index) · Court of Equity1818-1868
- Equity petitions · Court of Equityabout 1820-1868
- Bonds for money decrees · Court of Equity1821-1863
- Fieri facias executions · Court of Equity1821-1847
- Equity decree books · Court of Equity1822-1867
- Rough equity minutes · Court of Equity1823-1841
- Sales books of the Master · Master1823-1955
- Equity reports · Master1824-1868
- Equity decrees · Court of Equity1829-1837
- Equity report books · Court of Equity1832-1868
- Writ books of the Sheriff (equity) · Sheriff1835-1839
- and 19 more series in the full listing
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Annual reports of the Soldiers' Board of Relief · Court of General Sessions1862-1863
- Minutes of the Board of Honor · Board of Honor1889-1896
- Confederate pension rolls · Board of Honor1900-1913
- Confederate veterans' enrollment books · Clerk of Court1902
- Confederate pension application books · Board of Honor1910-1919
- Confederate pension applications · Board of Honor1919-1922
Tax records
- Tax returns lists · Clerk of Court1851
- Tax notices · Auditor1867-1871
- Delinquent tax sales books of the Auditor · Auditor1870-1895
- Court costs assessed the county · Court of General Sessions1873-1879
- Treasurer's tax duplicate books · Treasurer1880-1920
- Fifteen percent delinquent tax lists · Treasurer1883-1904
- Auditor's tax duplicate books · Auditor1893-1960
- Annual county tax settlements of the Treasurer · Treasurer1894-1911
- Annual school tax settlements of the Board of Education · Board of Education1894-1919
- Annual school tax settlements of the Treasurer · Treasurer1894-1897
- General ledgers of the Treasurer · Treasurer1895-1964
- Annual reports of the County Treasurer · Court of General Sessions1897
- General cashbooks of the Treasurer · Treasurer1897-1928
- General journals of the Treasurer · Treasurer1897-1898
- and 13 more series in the full listing
Elections and voters
- Election files · Clerk of Courtabout 1868-1958
- Voter registration books · Clerk of Court1868
- Voter registration certificate stubs · Board of Registration1912-1932
Court records
- Journals of the County and Intermediate Court · County and Intermediate Court1785-1792
- Miscellaneous records · Clerk of Court1785...1985
- Miscellaneous records · County and Intermediate Court1785-1799
- Arrest warrants · County and Intermediate Court1789
- Rough journals of the County and Intermediate Court · County and Intermediate Court1790-1799
- Judgment rolls · Court of Common Pleasabout 1792-1975
- Abstracts of judgments · Court of Common Pleas1800-1925
- Attachment bonds · Court of Common Pleas1800-1872
- Citizenship petitions · Court of Common Pleas1800-1910
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1800-1926
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1800-1951
- Deposition files · Court of Common Pleas1800-1872
- Fieri facias executions · Court of Common Pleas1800-1839
- Indictments · Court of General Sessions1800-1977
- and 107 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Claims of teachers · Union District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Free Schools1840-1845
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Free Schools · Court of General Sessions1858
- Teachers' certification record books · Board of Education1870-1944
- General cashbooks of the Superintendent · Board of Education1894-1921
- Papers · Board of Educationabout 1907-1939
- School funds ledgers · Treasurer1907-1927
- Appropriations by the Board of Education to local school districts · Board of Education1911-1914
- General ledgers of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1911-1929
- Annual report work sheets of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1912-1930
- Annual reports of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1929-1974
- Directory of teachers · Board of Education1934-1974
- Code of ethics of the Union County Teachers' Association · Union County Teachers' Association (S.C.)1936
- Audit reports of the Superintendent of Education · Court of General Sessions1939-1968
- Audit reports of Union City School District No. 11 · Court of General Sessions1951-1952
- and 6 more series in the full listing
County government
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Poor · Court of General Sessions1812-1865
- Account books of John Rogers · Rogers, John, Merchant of Union County, S.C1816-1819
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Roads · Court of General Sessions1840-1863
- Annual reports of the Commissioners of the Public Buildings · Court of General Sessions1844-1862
- Tavern license bonds · Union District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1846-1861
- Bonds to perform work · Union District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1851-1854
- Certificates of contract fulfillment · Union District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1852-1859
- Register of county officials · Clerk of Court1866-1969
- Accounts · Union District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1867-1868
- State population census for Union County · Clerk of Court1869
- Commissions and appointments · Clerk of Courtabout 1870-1930
- General ledgers of the County Council · County Council1872-1954
- Notices to Jury Commissioners to draw juries · Clerk of Court1873-1875
- Reports of claims audited by the County Commissioners · Court of General Sessions1888-1907
- and 6 more series in the full listing
Other records
- Execution books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1802-1967
- Subpoena books · Sheriff1810-1831
- Sales books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1823-1968
- Writ books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1824-1899
- Coroner's inquisition books · Coroner1872-1945
- Receipt books · Sheriff1873-1885
- Jail books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1883-1993
- Fee books · Sheriff1897-1912
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 Union 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: Union 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, Union" 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 Union 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.