South Carolina Archives and Libraries

The following archives, libraries, and societies have collections or services to assist genealogical researchers.    

South Carolina Department of Archives and History
8301 Parklane Road
Columbia, SC 29229
Telephone: 803-896-6100
Fax: 803-896-6198
[1]http://scdah.sc.gov

The Archives is open Monday thru Saturday from 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. A search engine for indexes to

state plats 1784 to 1868 and to Will Transcripts 1782 to 1855 is found at

[n][2]  [3]

The staff will check a few indexes for a specific name and send a photocopy order for records in which that name appears. A useful guide to the collection is Marion C. Chandler and Earl W. Wade, The South Carolina Archives: A Temporary Summary Guide, 2d ed. (Columbia, South Carolina: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1976; FHL book 975.7 A5c).

National Archives—Southeast Region (Atlanta) 
1557 St. Joseph Avenue
East Point, GA 30344
Telephone: 404-763-7477
Fax: 404-763-7033

South Carolina Historical Society
100 Meeting Street
Charleston, SC 29401-2299 
Telephone: 803-723-3225
Fax: 803-723-8584
http://www.southcarolinahistoricalsociety.org/

A helpful guide to the manuscript collection of this society is David Moltke-Hansen and Sallie Doscher, “South Carolina Historical Society Manuscript Guide,” South Carolina Historical Magazine, July 1979 (Charleston: South Carolina Historical Society, 1979; FHL book 975.7 B2s, vol. 80, no. 3, supp.; film 1697883 item 13).

Thomas Cooper Library 
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208-0103
Telephone: 803-777-3142
Fax: 803-777-4661
[http://www.sciway.net/lib/usclib.html www.sciway.net/lib/usclib.html ]

A useful guide to the manuscript collection of this library is Allen H. Stokes, A Guide to the Manuscript Collection of the South Carolinian Library (Columbia, South Carolina: The Library, 1982; FHL book 975.7 A3s; fiche 6101065).

Charleston Library Society 
164 King Street
Charleston, SC 29401
Telephone: 803-723-9912
www.charleston'library'society.org/

Charleston County Public Library

The Charleston County Public Library possesses a large number of books, maps, manuscripts, and images covering a wide variety of local history and genealogical topics. These resources are divided into two separate departments. The South Carolina Room houses local and regional history and genealogy materials, focusing on the history and genealogy of South Carolina, with special emphasis on Charleston and the Lowcountry. The Special Collections Department is an archive of historic manuscripts, books and visual materials representing Charleston and the surrounding Lowcountry. Access to the original materials in Special Collections is by appointment only, but much of the unique manuscript material is available on microfilm or photocopies in the South Carolina Room.

www.ccpl.org/

A helpful guide to research institutions in South Carolina is John Hammond Moore, Research Materials in South Carolina . . . (Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1967; FHL book 975.7 A5m).

To learn more about the history and record-keeping systems of South Carolina counties, use the 14 inventories of the county archives published by the Historical Records Survey around 1940. The Family History Library has all of the inventories.

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)