Records that survive
These are the record series of York 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 York District, and its records from those years carry the district's name.
Wills and estates
- Estate papers · Probate Courtabout 1787-1977
- Estate record books · Court of Ordinary1787-1840
- Will books · Probate Court1787-1978
- Inventories, appraisements, and sales books · Probate Court1788-1978
- Estate papers (fragments) · Probate Court1795-1874
- Journals of the Probate Court · Probate Court1814-1979
- Guardian, trustee, and committee bonds · Master1820-1863
- Public guardian journals · Court of Ordinary1822-1826
- Guardian, trustee, and committee accounts · Masterabout 1824-1860
- Real estate books · Probate Court1825-1899
- Bond books · Probate Court1840-1875
- Guardian, trustee, and committee account books · Court of Equity1840-1868
- Returns books · Probate Court1840-1978
- Cashbooks of the Probate Judge · Probate Court1841-1902
- and 22 more series in the full listing
Deeds and land
- Conveyance books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1786-1950
- Citizens' copies of recorded instruments · Register of Mesne Conveyancesabout 1800-1900
- Plat books · Commissioner of Locations1802-1879
- Mortgages to the Master/Commissioner in Equity · Master1822-1863
- Lands devised books · Probate Court1868-1906
- Mechanics' liens books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1870-1916
- Abstracts of agricultural lien books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1883-1908
- Official bonds books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1892-1919
- Plat books · Register of Mesne Conveyances1908-1950
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage books · Probate Court1911-1970
Equity court (estate and land suits)
- Bond books · Court of Equity1812-1868
- Equity bills · Court of Equity1820-1868
- Equity decrees · Court of Equity1820-1854
- Equity dockets · Court of Equity1820-1868
- Equity minutes · Court of Equity1820-1868
- Equity petitions · Court of Equity1820-1868
- Equity records (general index) · Court of Equity1820-1868
- Writs of partition · Court of Equity1820-1847
- Bonds for money decrees · Court of Equity1821-1867
- Equity decree books (appeals) · Court of Equity1821-1825
- Equity reports · Master1822-1850
- Annual reports of the Commissioner in Equity · Master1825-1869
- Equity report books · Court of Equity1825-1868
- Rough equity minutes · Court of Equity1833-1837
- and 15 more series in the full listing
Confederate veterans and pensions
- Petitions and orders for payment · York District (S.C.). Soldiers' Board of Relief1861-1864
- Confederate pension rolls · Board of Honor1896-1962
- Confederate veterans' enrollment books · Clerk of Court1902
- Confederate pension applications · Board of Honor1919-1929
- Confederate widows pension applications · Board of Honor1919-1938
- Confederate pension papers · Board of Honor1945-1965
Tax records
- Taxation of costs books · Master1848-1868
- Assessor's returns of taxable real property · Auditor1868
- Auditor's tax duplicate books · Auditor1869-1920
- Income tax returns · Auditor1898-1917
- Turkey Creek Drainage District tax duplicate books · Auditor1919-1931
- Taxable inheritance books · Probate Court1922-1993
Elections and voters
- Voter registration books · Clerk of Court1884-1895
Court records
- Journals of the County and Intermediate Court · County and Intermediate Court1786-1797
- Abstracts of judgments · Court of Common Pleas1800-1874
- Civil journals · Court of Common Pleas1800-1950
- Criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1800-1902
- Pleadings and judgments · Court of Common Pleas1800-1913
- Indictments · Court of General Sessions1803-1901
- Minutes of the Commissioners of the Roads · York District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1805-1852
- Appearance books · Court of Common Pleas1822-1839
- Confessions of judgment before the clerk (recorded copy) · Court of Common Pleas1826-1877
- Rough criminal journals · Court of General Sessions1829-1878
- Contingent dockets · Court of General Sessions1840-1909
- Criminal dockets · Court of General Sessions1840-1902
- Issue dockets · Court of Common Pleas1840-1870
- Register of magistrates and constables · Clerk of Court1840-1911
- and 25 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Directory of teachers · Board of Education1920-1955
- Cashbooks for books sold · Board of Education1923-1930
- Photographs of schools · Board of Educationabout 1926-1949
- Yearbooks of the York County Educational Association · York County Educational Association (S.C.)1929-1950
- Annual reports of the Superintendent of Education · Board of Education1930-1950
County government
- Receipt books of the Aera and Aetna Iron Works · Aera and Aetna Iron Works (York County, S.C.)1798-1802
- Accounts · York District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Roads1805-1839
- Accounts with students of the Yorkville Female Academy · Chambers, Benjamin, Merchant of York County, S.C1821-1823
- Accounts · York District (S.C.). Commissioners of the Public Buildings1863-1864
Other records
- Receipt books · Sheriff1809-1866
- Coroner's inquisition books · Coroner1881-1896
- Sales books of the Sheriff · Sheriff1889-1938
- Rent books of Hattie J. Dickson · Dickson, Hattie J1891-1894
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
- York 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: York 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, York" 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 York 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.