Charleston Library Society

Charleston Library Society Contact Information E-mail:  info@charlestonlibrarysociety.org Address: 164 King Street Charleston, SC, 29401 Telephone:  843.723.9912  Fax:  843.723.3500 Hours and holidays:  Monday-Friday 9:30 to 5:30; Saturday 9:30 to 2:00; holidays Directions, map, and public transportation: By foot - located a fifteen-minute-or-less walk below Calhoun Street. Just above the intersection of King and Queen streets, the Society's main entrance is flanked by ginkgo trees. From the Gateway Walk enter through the garden path at the East Entrance. Parking: - Only a few parking spaces exist behind the building. The driveway is an immediate left after passing the SCE&G driveway. The nearest public parking garages are at the corner of King and Queen Streets. The Horlbeck Alley, Cumberland Street, and Majestic Square parking garages are also nearby. :Map: Google map. Public transportation: CARTA bus routes 20, 30, 202, and 211 stop nearby at Meeting Street and Broad Street. Internet sites and databases: Charleston Library Society about the Society, events, collections, catalog, support/join, or shop. Charleston Library Society Catalog by keyword or phrase including author, title, or subject. Collection Description This is the third oldest library in America started in 1748. In 1778 most of the collection was destroyed, but has been rebuilt. This library has valuable newspapers from the 1700s, and Charleston city directories since 1782. Includes regional, state, and local histories, manuscripts, and letters. {Please briefly describe the strengths and weaknesses of each collection for genealogists (about two or three sentences for smaller collections). For example, explain the collection size, who (which ethnic, political, or religious groups) are covered, dates covered, jurisdictions covered, record types available, significant indexes, and any noteworthy record loss or gaps.} Tips {Optional} Guides {Optional: Internet or guide books describing this collection for genealogists. } Alternate Repositories If you cannot visit or find a source at the Charleston Library Society, a similar source may be available at one of the following. Similar Collections Historical Charleston Foundation preservation, museums, events, experience history, media, shop. South Carolina Department of Archives and History federal and state censuses, county probate and land records, family histories, cemeteries, taxes, newspapers, equity court records, state death certificates. South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, SC, diaries and papers, plantation, business, and church records, maps, plats, genealogies, 30,000 photos, 50,000 books, pamphlets, and serials. Neighboring Collections Charleston County Public Library SC Room records, Charleston Archives deaths 1819-1926. Databases: newspapers, Ancestry, Genealogy & Biography Master Index, biographies, African Americans. Charleston Museum Archives photos, Civil War and other military records, family papers. Charleston County Clerk of the Court magistrate, family, circuit, equity court records. Charleston County Probate Court with online marriage and will indexes. Charleston County Register of Deeds deeds, mortgages, plats, and liens with online indexes. Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina Archives, Dalco Historical Soc., Charleston, colonial parish records. Repositories in surrounding counties:  Berkeley, Georgetown, Colleton, and Dorchester counties. Berkeley County Historical Society plantations, church, cemetery, & family records, articles, queries. Georgetown County Museum photos, cemeteries, Native Americans, slavery, plantations, military. Colleton County Historical and Preservation Society history, events, photos, contacts. South Carolina Genealogical Society, Edgefield, has a modest collection of family histories, genealogies, state and county record abstracts, county histories, local histories, and church histories. South Caroliniana Library (Univ. of SC, Columbia) 75,000 books/micrifilms, 1.3 manuscripts including genealogies, and the notable collections of Leonardo Andrea, Bessie Lee Garvin, and Louise K. Crowder. South Carolina State Museum, Columbia, Revolutionary and colonial, antebellum, Civil War, post Civil War, African American history. Repositories in other surrounding states: North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. National Archives Southeast Region (Atlanta) (i.e. Morrow), federal censuses, Ancestry.com, military, pensions, bounty-land, photos, passengers arrival indexes, naturalizations, Native Americans, African Americans, workshops. State Library of N. Car., Raleigh, family history, Bibles, marriage, death, newspaper, deeds, photos. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, census, military, courts, bond, deed, estate, vital records, wills. Georgia Archives, Morrow, genealogies, county histories, newspapers, tax digests, private papers, church records, cemeteries, Bible records, a few municipal records, census, maps, land plats, photographs, Georgia Confederate service and pension records, colonial, headright, and bounty land grants, land lottery, and Georgia county records. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, vital records, censuses, county records, tax lists, local histories, school censuses, military records, Native Americans, newspapers, obituary lists, and maps. Dallas Public Central Library Texas, 111,700 volumes, 64,500 microfilms, 89,000 microfiche, and over 700 maps, marriage, probate, deed, and tax abstracts in book form, or microfilm of originals for some states, and online databases. Sources