South Carolina Vital Records

United States   South Carolina   Vital Records

Introduction to Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. United States Vital Records has additional research guidance on researching and using vital records. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the South Carolina Vital Records State Department of Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.

Vital Records Reference Dates South Carolina's civil records start the following years: Birth Marriage Death Earliest 1706 1732 1706 Statewide Registration 1915 1911 1915 General Compliance 1918 1911 1918

South Carolina Birth, Marriage and Death Records Online

The following is a list of online resources useful for locating South Carolina Vital Records which consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths.  After locating a person in an index always consult the original record to confirm the information in the index.

• South Carolina Deaths, 1915-1943Index with images
• South Carolin Deaths, 1944-1955Index
• South Carolina Death Indexes 1915-1959 -Free Courtesy of  the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control's Division of Vital Records.  Be sure to read the explanation of codes before you view the images.
• Search the South Carolina Birth, Marriage & Death Records at Ancestry.com - ($) 
• Order South Carolina Certificates online. ($)

Birth and Death Records

Pre-1915

Begining in 1704, birth, marriage and burial records were recorded in registers of the Church of England (later known as the Protestant Episcopal Church) . All of these registers have been published either in book form or in the

• South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine (FHL Collection Book 975.7 B2s) An index to article titles (not individual names can be found in PERSI.
• South Carolina:A Guide for Genealogists (FHL Collection Book 975.7 D27hs) includes lists of parish names and the South Carolina Historical Magazine volume number where corresponding parish records are published.

In addtion:

• The Works Project Admnistration published an indexed inventory of the church archives of the Presbyterian Church (FHL Collection Films 906117 and 906118). Other denominations' records should also be consulted.
• See Richard Cote's Local and Family History in South Carolina (FHL Collection Book 975.7 H23c)for more information about the availability of church records to substitute for civil vital records.
• The Daughters of the America Revolution have published an indexed Genealogical Collection (FHL Collectionfilm/fiche beginning with 6052835). These records include South Carolina church records and cemetery transcripts among other records.
  

1915

Statewide registration of vital statistics began in January 1915. For information write to:

Office of Vital Records and Public Health Statistics
2600 Bull Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Telephone: 803-734-4830
Fax: 803-799-0301
Internet: South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

Only parent, guardian, legal representative or person named on a certificate my request a certified copy of a birth certificate.  Immediate family members may request a birth certificate for a deceased person if they submit an original certified copy of the registrant's death record.

Copies of the state records are also available at the courthouse of each county starting in 1915. You can write to the county clerk for information. The Family History Library has not acquired these state records. The county clerks also have post-1915 delayed registrations of birth.

Earlier records were kept by some of the larger cities and are available from the appropriate county health department, except for a few major cities where the records are at the city health department.

• Charleston began recording deaths in 1821-1886(FHL Collection 49 films beginning with 23361) and births in 1877-1901 (FHL 387620 22 Films beginning with 23416.)

Death Records

Death records South Carolina required death certificates beginning in 1915. After 50 years, death records become public record and these certificates are available from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.  Death cerficates less than 50 years old must be ordered from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.  Please see information concerning ordering certficates under the heading "Births and Deaths" on this wiki page.  If you are not an immediate family member, you may be issued a statement of death naming the date and county of death.  The Family History Library collection includes death cerficates 1915-1955. (FHL Collection Film beginning with 1913451.) An online index is available at FamilySearch Record Search. Images to death certificates 1915-1943 are included online.

• South Carolina Deaths 1915-1943 Index with images
• South Carolina Deaths 1944-1955 Index only
• South Carolina Death Records, 1821-1955 are available online through Ancestry.com (subscription service).  The records are indexed and provide access to available death certificate images (after 1915). ($)

Charleston and Georgetown both had some early death records.

• Charleston 1821-1886 (FHL Collection Film beginning with 23361).
• Georgetown Coroner's Report 1913-1916. Available from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

Marriage Records

Statewide registration of marriages began in July 1950. These records are located at the Office of Vital Records and Public Health Statistics (address above).

Before the statewide registration of marriages, the ordinary of the province could issue a marriage license, or banns could be published in the parish church. There are some marriage settlement records at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History from the 1760s to the 1880s. Marriage information was sometimes recorded in the records of the probate court in the early 1800s.

• Clemens, William M. North and South Carolina Marriage Records: From the Earliest Colonial Days to the Civil War. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1927. Digital version at World Vital Records ($). 1981 reprint: FHL 975 V28c 1981; 1987 reprint: FHL 975 V28c 1987

Marriage settlements were legal agreements, primarily made by women who had been married previously. The Family History Library has some of these records, 1785 to 1889, from the Department of Archives and History.

Charleston and Georgetown both had early marriage records.

• Charleston marriage records 1877 to 1887 (FHL Collection Film beginning with 23410).
• Georgetown returns of marriages 1884 to 1899. Available from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

Numerous South Carolina marriages have been abstracted from newspapers (see the “Newspapers” page). Of special note:

• Holcomb, Brent H. South Carolina Marriages, Two Volumes. This covers 1688 to 1820.
• Salley, A.S. Marriage Notices in the South Carolina Gazette and Its Successors, 1732 - 1801. Albany, N.Y.: A.S. Salley, 1902. Digital version at World Vital Records ($).

County marriage license records begin about 1900 to 1910 and are in the custody of the probate judge. The Family History Library has some county marriage records on film and in published form.

Divorce Records

Divorce proceedings are kept by the county court. Divorce was illegal in South Carolina until 1949, and there are restrictions on the availability of the records. Write to the individual counties for information.

Adoption Records

Adoption records in South Carolina are confidential and sealed.  Adoption records are court records and the court where the adoption was finalized must be petitioned to open the adoption files.  For questions and help regarding adoption reunion, contact the South Carolina Adoption Reunion Registry. Adult adoptees, adoptive families, birth parents of the adoptee, or biological siblings to the adoptee can request non-identifying information or access to runion register services. 

Additional Helps

Tips

• Information listed on vital records is given by and informant.  Learn the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) of the record.  The closer the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) and whether or not the informant was present at the time of the event can help determine the accuracy of the information found on the record.
• If you are unable to locate vital records recorded by governments, search for church records of christening, marriage, death or burial.  A family Bible may have been used to record births, marriages and deaths.
• Records for African American may be recorded in separate files with separate indexes.
• Privacy laws may restrict your access to some vital records.  Copies of some vital records recorded in the last 100 years may be unavailable to anyone except a direct relative.
• Search for Vital Records in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search and then choosing Vital Records.  Search for South Carolina to locate records filed by the States and then search the name of the county to locate records kept by the  county,

Lost and Missing Records

Abbebille 1873, Beaufort 1865, Chesterfield 1865, Clarendon 1911, Colleton 1805, 1865, Darlington 1806, Georgetown 1865, Lancaster 1865, Lexington 1939, 1865,Oranageburg 1865, Richland 1865, Sumpter 1801.

See individual county wiki pages for more information about record loss in that county.
For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:

• Arlene Eakle, When the Records are Gone in Tennessee Genealogy Blog
• Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
• Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle

Substitute Records

South Carolina Church Records Depending on the denomination, church records may contain information about birth, marriage and death.

South Carolina Cemetery Records Cemetery records are a rich source of birth and death information.  These records may also reveal family relationships.

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

South Carolina Military Records Military pension records can give birth, marriage and death information,  In addtion, soldiers' homes records can included this same information.

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

South Carolina Newspapers Besides obituaries, local newspapers may contain birth and marriage announcements and death notices.  Also check newspaper social columns for additional information. 

• 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.

• 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 Family History Library catalog.

More Online South Carolina Vital Records Links

• Obituary Index Database with obituary and death notice information from the Columbia, SC newspapers. -Free
• South Carolina Links from fhlfavorites.info - Free
• South Carolina Databases listed on Rootsweb.com- Free
• USGenWeb.org South Carolina Site - Free
• German Roots Links for South Carolina Birth & Marriage and Death Records - Free/$  This site includes all records, not just those for persons with German ancestry.
• Progenealogists Links for the United States. Press Ctrl + F  to search for South Carolina or SC - Free/$

Family History Library Vital Records Collections

South Carolina Vital Records Index

This is a collection of Family History Library records which are abstracted, indexed and titled the South Carolina Vital Records Index. For over 30 years, volunteer indexers extracted this information from microfilm copies of the original records. In 1998, a few of the entries were published on 7 CDs by the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the "North America Vital Records Index." This index is an index of the births, marriages, and deaths throughout Kentucky. The index is not necessarily complete for any particular place or region.

These records are availble online for free at FamilySearch Historical Records Collection.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.