If you have family roots in or originating from Chesterfield County SC you are well aware of the lack of historical records for that county.
The first courthouse was built in Chesterfield County in 1786 consisting of a log cabin approximately 60X40 feet. [1]This fist courthouse evolved into a larger two story building which was burnt and destroyed by Gen. Sherman on 2 March 1865. It was this destructive act, during the Civil War, which resulted in the loss of almost ALL early historical records of the County. Very few extant documents exist for the county prior to 2 March 1865.
Land records, probate records, newspaper and other legal and historical documents were destroyed on that Thursday in 1865.
So what is available for this burned county?
Recently, Family Search [2] has filmed and posted the extant Estate Records for the county on their Website.
You can access these records by clicking on the above hyperlink. When the Family search website comes up select “RECORDS” along the top of the page
Scroll down to “Browse by Location” and select USA, Canada and Mexico
On the next page that appears - enter “South Carolina” in the search box at top left corner
You will get the following listing of available records.
- South Carolina Deaths, 1915-1943
- South Carolina Deaths, 1944-1955
- South Carolina Probate Records, Bound Volumes, 1671-1977
- South Carolina Probate Records, Files and Loose Papers, 1732-1964
- South Carolina, Civil War Confederate Service Records, 1861-1865
Also listed are the number of records and when they were last updated.
As shown here, you can see that the LDS Church family History Library has very few records for Chesterfield County, South Carolina.
The website contained two listings for the County Estate Records
1. South Carolina Probate Records, Bound Volumes, 1671-1977
2. South Carolina Probate Records, Files and Loose Papers, 1732-1964
The first listing is the INDEX for the estate records. They are in alphabetical orders but there is no indications or index for the Image number where surname “A” begins or end. So if your surname starts with “M” which is the middle of the alphabet you should look at the total Image on the film and maybe jumped to Image “90” of 187. Then you could work your way backward or forward as needed.
This is what you your alphabetical listing [3]will look like:
When you find your surname on the Estate Index make note of the folder number for the Estate. Let’s assume that Sarah A. Allen listed above is your relative. Her Estate folder is Folder #1197.
Next we will want to go to this listing 2 above - South Carolina Probate Records, Files and Loose Papers, 1732-1964
At the beginning of the Files and Loose pager film you will come to a page that has all the cases listed. You will want the listing that encompasses the Estate Folder you are looking for – Filer #1197.
In this case the actual grouping is:
Just as the INDEX is an alphabetical listing the estate folders are listed numerical so you will have to guess as to what image number your folder may start on. There are 1297 images on the above reel. Case 1197 is approximately 60 cases from the start of the reel and only 9 cases from the end of the reel. So it’s safe to assume that the Estate Folder is toward the end of the reel. I started on Image 1000 and found the actual estate for Sarah A. Allen begins on Image 1152 of 1297.
There are two other resources available related to early probate records in Chesterfield, South Carolina. The following books were research, abstracted and printed by James Pigg[4] while a member of the Chesterfield Genealogical Society[5].
1. Miscellaneous Abstracts from Pre-Civil War Cheraw Newspapers James Pigg
2. Cheraw/Chesterfield District Wills, 17501865 & Abstracts from the Court of Common Pleas, 1823 - 1869, James Pigg, 2000
These two books can be purchased from the Old Darlington District Chapter of The South Carolina Genealogical Society[6].
If your ancestor left an estate in Chesterfield, South Carolina, I do hope the information here will be helpful in your search. If you have questions about research in Chesterfield County feel free to contact me through e-mail or this blog.
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