CENSUS RECORDS

Federal censuses for South Carolina begin in 1790 and continue every ten years thereafter. They are available through 1920 (except for the mostly destroyed 1890 census). All have been indexed in at least one format. It should be noted that part of the 1800 census for Richland District is missing. The 1850 census of York and Lexington districts indicates county of birth as well as state for each person.
South Carolina did not conduct any full colonial censuses, though fragments of state census returns are available at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. The 1829 state census of Fairfield and Laurens districts and the 1839 state census of Kershaw and Chesterfield districts are extant. The population returns for the 1869 state census are complete except for Clarendon, Oconee, and Spartanburg counties. The 1875 state census returns are available for Clarendon, Newberry, and Marlboro Counties, as are partial returns for Abbeville, Beaufort, Fairfield, Lancaster, and Sumter counties. The original returns are found at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

South Carolina Research Sources

Holcomb, Brent Howard. A Guide to South Carolina Genealogical Research and Records. Columbia, S.C.: the author, 1986.
Coté, Richard N., comp. Local and Family History in South Carolina: A Bibliography. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1981.
Moore, John Hammond. Research Materials in South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1967.

Archives, Libraries and Societies.
South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1430 Senate Street, P.O. Box 11669, Capitol Station, Columbia, SC 29211-1669

South Carolina Historical Society/Library, 100 Meeting Street, P.O. Box 5401, Spartanburg, SC 29304