South Carolina Vital Records: Difference between revisions

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=== Vital Records Reference Dates  ===

South Carolina's civil records start the following years:  

=== Pre-1915  ===

Late in December 1853, the South Carolina state legislature passed the 1853 Registration Act^{<ref>South Carolina ''Statutes at Large'' 12:264</ref>}, which required the tax collectors in the districts and parishes [''counties''] of the state to make "a separate return, stating the number of whites, male and female, who have been born, married, or who have died during the year in their respective households, and the number of blacks who have been born, or who have died during the same period." This law was strengthened by adding a payment to the collector in 1856^{<ref>South Carolina ''Statutes at Large'' 12:425-6</ref>}, but was repealed in January 1861<ref>South Carolina ''Statutes at Large'' 12:748-9.</ref>. Unfortunately none of these registers have been found or are known to have survived.^{<ref name="SC Marriage">Ruth S. Green, Charles H. Lesser, Charles R. Lessor, "South Carolina Marriage Records," ''The South Carolina Historical Magazine'' 79, no. 2 (Apr 1978): 155-162.</ref>}  

Some residents recorded delayed birth certificates that date back to the late 1800s. Andrew Jackson's delayed birth certificate (1766) is the earliest example. The clerk in [[Marion County, South Carolina|Marion County]] recorded every entry in family Bibles when residents came to have their births registered.<ref name="beck">Mike Becknell, "Overview of South Carolina Genealogical Research," Group Tour of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 10 May 2011.</ref>  

=== 1915 and After  ===

'''1915-1965''' {{RecordSearch|1417492|South Carolina Deaths, 1915-1965}} at FamilySearch- [[South Carolina Deaths - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index and images. FamilySearch also has an [https://familysearch.org/s/collection/show#uri=http://search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1589507&hash=Mrd8SMocDIIen2Q83tu%252B82PRagg%253D online index] to deaths for the years 1944-1955. The FamilySearch Library collection includes death certificates 1915-1955. ({{FSC|769125|titleno}} Film beginning with 1913451).  

*[https://scdhec.gov/vital-records/death-indexes-genealogy/vital-records-death-indexes-1915-1967 Death Indexes 1915-1967] at South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control's Division of Vital Records.  

During the colonial period, the governor, as judge of the Ordinary [Probate] Court could issue a marriage license. Some of these licenses have been found. Generally, most individuals would have been married in the parish church after banns had been published. The Act of 1704 and the Church Act of 1706 recognized the Church of England as the established church and the state was divided into seven parishes. Although the ministers of the "Dissenter" religions, everyone not a member of the Church of England, retained their right to baptize and marry, the law required the registrar of the parish to record all marriages. Not all marriages were reported to the parish registrar. This was the law until the Episcopal Church was disestablished in 1778 when South Carolina adopted a new Constitution. The dissenter religions may have kept their own records concurrently with the established church during the colonial period.<ref name="SC Guide">Theresa M. Hicks, ''South Carolina a Guide for Genealogists'' (Columbia, SC : South Carolina Genealogical Society, 2004) 132-33</ref> A few counties or cities may have earlier records than 1911. If they exist they would normally be in the custody of the county probate judge.  

Some larger cities and counties have early marriage records. Charleston and Georgetown both had early marriage records.  

== Additional Helps  ==

=== Tips  ===

*Records for African Americans may be recorded in separate files with separate indexes.  

=== Lost and Missing Records  ===

=== Substitute Records  ===

*[[South Carolina Census|South Carolina Census]] Census records are a valuable source for birth and marriage information. You may also determine the approximate time of death when the individual disappears from the census. This is a good place to begin a search.  

*[[South Carolina Obituaries|Obituaries]]: Obituaries found in newspapers can list the age of the deceased, birth date and place, death date and place, and names of living relatives and their residences.

*[[South Carolina Periodicals|South Carolina Periodicals]] Local genealogical and historical societies often publish periodicals which may contain abstracted early birth, marriage and death information.  

*[[South Carolina Probate Records|Probate Records]]: If no death record exists, probate records may be helpful in estimating when an individual has died. Probate records in the 20th Century often contain the exact death date. Implied marriages are also identified when fathers mention married daughters.  

*[[South Carolina History|History]]: Local histories, family histories and biographies can all be sources of birth, marriage and death information. Often this information is found in county-level records or in surname searches of the FamilySearch Catalog.

*[https://scdhec.gov/vital-records South Carolina Vital Records]  

*USGenWeb.org [http://sciway3.net/scgenweb/ South Carolina Site]  

== References  ==