Records that survive
These are the record series of Williamsburg 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 Williamsburg District, and its records from those years carry the district's name.
Wills and estates
- Estate papers · Probate Court1806-1915
- Estate record books · Court of Ordinary1806-1840
- Journals of the Probate Court · Probate Court1828-1915
- Guardian, trustee, and committee account books · Court of Equity1830-1861
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bond books · Court of Equity1834-1868
- Returns books · Probate Court1838-1874
- Bond books · Probate Court1841-1883
- Inventories, appraisements, and sales books · Probate Court1841-1920
- Real estate books · Probate Court1841-1908
- Will books · Probate Court1841-1881
- Public guardian journals · Court of Common Pleas1857-1907
- Letters books · Probate Court1867-1946
- Guardian, trustee, and committee account books · Probate Court1869-1874
- Public guardian journals · Probate Court1871-1920
- and 2 more series in the full listing
Deeds and land
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1806-1929
- Plat books · Commissioner of Locations1806-1864
- Plat books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1906-1927
- Agriculture lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1910-1939
- Register of aliens · Clerk of Court1940
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage books · Probate Court1911-1950
- Marriage licenses · Probate Court1911-1950
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Equity file books · Court of Equity1823-1868
- Equity records (general index) · Court of Equity1823-1868
- Equity rolls · Court of Equity1823-1868
- Equity minutes · Court of Equity1828-1868
- Minutes of the Master · Master1828-1869
- Sales books of the Master · Master1829-1870
- Cashbooks of the Master · Master1830-1836
- Equity report books · Court of Equity1832-1868
- Equity bill dockets · Court of Equity1843-1868
- Equity petition dockets · Court of Equity1843-1868
- Equity decree books · Court of Equity1844-1868
- Stock books · Master1857-1860
- Equity bill dockets · Court of Common Pleas1869-1870
- Equity decree books · Court of Common Pleas1869
- and 6 more series in the full listing
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Confederate pension rolls and associated papers · Board of Honor1889-1973
- Distribution of state pension fund books · Probate Court1916-1917
Tax records
- 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
- Fifteen percent delinquent tax lists · Treasurer1883-1888
- Treasurer's tax duplicate books · Treasurer1894-1960
- Annual county tax settlements of the Treasurer · Treasuer1912-1923
- Tax execution books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1921
- Taxation of costs books · Court of Common Pleas1921-1923
- Tax execution books of the Treasurer · Treasurer1928-1958
- Annual school tax settlement of the Treasurer · Treasurer1934-1958
- General cashbooks of the Treasurer · Treasurer1936-1948
Elections and voters
- Voter registration books · Clerk of Court1882-1895
- Democratic club rolls · Democratic Party (Williamsburg County, S.C.)1920-1949
Court records
- Citizens' copies of recorded instruments · Clerk of Courtabout 1730-1866
- Abstracts of judgments · Court of Common Pleas1806-1886
- Indictments (index) · Court of General Sessions1806-1873
- Judgment books · Court of Common Pleas1814-1816
- Rough civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1814-1851
- Rough criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1814-1869
- Pleadings and judgments · Court of Common Pleas1817-1885
- Bar dockets · Court of Common Pleas1823-1909
- Minutes of the Commissioners of the Poor · Williamsburg District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Poor1831-1868
- Abstracts of decrees in summary process · Court of Common Pleas1841-1855
- Appearance books · Court of Common Pleas1841-1870
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1841-1903
- Inquiry dockets · Court of Common Pleas1841-1858
- Issue dockets · Court of Common Pleas1841-1870
- and 16 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Teachers' certification record books · Board of Education1895-1936
County government
- Sheriff's return of prisoners in jail · County Council1869
Other records
- Writ books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1837-1897
- Execution books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1844-1892
- Sales books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1867-1919
- Jail books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1948-1958
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
- Williamsburg 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: Williamsburg 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, Williamsburg" 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: Georgetown District
Later formed partly from Williamsburg County: Florence County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1804, 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.