Calhoun County was named for John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), who served as United States vice president, secretary of state and of war, and senator. The county seat, the town of St. Matthews, was settled around 1841 in an area that was known for its cotton plantations. The county itself was formed in 1908 from parts of Orangeburg and Lexington counties. During the Revolutionary War a famous incident took place at Fort Motte in present day Calhoun County. Rebecca Motte (1738-1815), a local plantation owner, helped the Revolutionary troops drive the British out of her plantation house; she reportedly provided the soldiers with a burning arrow to destroy her own dwelling. Another famous resident of the area was Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Julia Peterkin (1880-1961), who lived at Lang Syne Plantation.(SOURCE: South Carolina State Library)
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
Calhoun County Clerk of Court has Court Records from 1908 and is located at Courthouse Annex, Ste. 108 St. Matthews 29135; Phone 803-874-2435 . The Clerk of Court consist of The Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions. The Court of Common Pleas is the court of general jurisdiction over civil cases in Calhoun County, excepting those cases in which the amount or value of property in dispute is less than $7,500. Cases involving money or property totaling less than $7,500 are heard in Small Claims Magistrates' Courts. The Court of General Sessions is the court of general jurisdiction over criminal cases in Calhoun County, excepting most misdemeanor cases, which are usually adjudicated in the Magistrates' Courts.
Calhoun County Clerk of Probate Court has Marriage Records from 1911 , Probate Records from 1908 and is located at S. Huff Drive St. Matthews 29135 ;Phone 803-874-3514 302.
Probate Court has original jurisdiction over actions concerning the issuance of marriage licenses, the estate of a deceased person, the will of an individual, the estate of a minor or incapacitated person, trusts, and involuntary commitments. South Carolina had no law requiring marriage licenses or registration until 1 July 1911. Licenses are on file with the judge of probate in each county. Prior to 1911, marriages were legal if performed according to canonical law; common law marriages also were recognized. Many churches recorded marriages, but when compared with the vast number of marriages that took place, the number of documented marriages is small. Marriage settlements, made by a widow and her second husband to protect the heirs of her first husband, and pre-marital agreements, not necessarily involving widows, were popular for a while. These records date from about 1760 to about 1890 and may be found in county conveyance books or the South Carolina Department of Archives and History and on microfilm at the FHL. Newspapers accounts of marriages from 1732 to the present are a primary source of marriage documentation (see Newspapers).
Calhoun County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1908 and is located at Courthouse Annex, Ste. 108 St. Matthews 29135; Phone 803-874-2435 . The Register Of Deeds Office records land titles, leins and other documents related to property transaction in Calhoun County. The Register Of Deeds Office must assure that all recorded documents comply with the requirements of federal and state recording statutes and are available for public review.
Below is a list of online resources for Calhoun County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Calhoun County Court Records by clicking the link below:
South Carolina Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
PLEASE READ!! There were no South Carolina birth or Death certificates before January 01, 1915
Click Here to Search South Carolina Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Calhoun County Health Departmenthas vital records and is located at 410 Herlong Ave.
St. Matthews, S.C. 29155,
Phone: (803) 874-2037 . This office can search for birth and death records from January 01, 1915. Marriage records prior to 1950 may be available from the Probate Judge in the county where the license was issued. Divorce records since April 1949 should be available from the County Clerk in the county where the petition was filed (See Calhoun County Court Records for Address and Phone number)
South Carolina DHEC, Division of Vital Records is located at
2600 Bull Street,
Columbia, SC 29201;
telephone # (803) 898-3630,
fax #: (803) 799-0301. The fee to search for a birth, Marriage or Death certificate is $12.00, which includes one certified copy of the certificate or a "Certificate of Failure to Find."
There were no South Carolina birth or Death "certificates" before January 01, 1915.
For each additional copy of the certificate ordered at the same time, the fee is $3.00. Checks or Money Orders should be made payable to "S.C. DHEC, Division of Vital Records." Please do not send cash. Fees are non refundable. Additional fees of $5.00 are required for expedited service. The
expedite fee guarantees a response leaving the Division
of Vital Records within three (3) working days. A
response can be in the form of a letter, a telephone
call, or a certification being mailed.
Below is a list of online resources for Calhoun County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Calhoun County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Federal Population Schedules that exist for South Carolina are 1790, 1800 (Part of the 1800 census for Richland District is missing), 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. The first federal census was taken in 1790. The 1850 census of York and Lexington districts indicates county
of birth as well as state for each person. There are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms
Below is a list of online resources for Calhoun County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Calhoun County Census Records by clicking the link below:
South Carolina Antique Maps & Atlases has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for South Carolina and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for South Carolina showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for South Carolina showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries . You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps. The South Carolina Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches, cemeteries, roads, ect... free for viewing or download here
Below is a list of online resources for Calhoun County Maps. Email us with websites containing Calhoun County Maps by clicking the link below:
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. A list of Wars fought on American.
Below is a list of online resources for Calhoun County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Calhoun County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 from the State of South Carolina (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of South Carolina (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
With
the exception of a single tax list from 1733 and occasional
lists of tax collectors, no colonial tax records of South Carolina
have survived. Parishes and townships functioned as tax districts
until 1800; circuit court districts and their counties also
functioned as tax districts from 1785–1800. Many of these
tax lists are incomplete, the known tax lists, 1783–99,
are as follows:
Christ Church Parish, 1784, 1786, 1788, and 1793–99
Prince Frederick's Parish, 1784 and 1786
Prince George's Parish, 1786–87
Prince William's Parish, 1798
St. Andrew's Parish, 1784–85, 1787, 1789, 1791, and 1795
St. Bartholomew's Parish, 1783–87 and 1798
St. Helena's Parish, 1798
St. James Goose Creek, 1796
St. John's Berkeley Parish, 1793
St. Luke's Parish, 1798–99
St. Paul's Parish, 1783, 1785–96, and 1798–99
Ninety-Six District, 1787
OrangeburghDistrict, 1787
Lancaster County in Camden District, 1797
Lexington County in Orangeburgh District, 1788.
Directories for the city of Charleston date from 1782.
These directories may help locate a Charleston ancestor who
does not appear in other records. They are housed at the Charleston
Library Society
Jury
List - The jury lists include men eligible to serve on juries
and were compiled from tax lists. The Jury Lists of South
Carolina, 1778–1779 is accepted as proof of the
identity of Revolutionary War patriots. The best available
substitutes for colonial tax lists are jury lists.
Voter
Registration Lists - Voter registration lists, 1867, 1868,
and 1898 are another valuable substitute for tax records.
The lists from 1867 and 1868 are particularly useful for
Black American research because the newly freed slaves registered
to vote; many blacks make their first appearance in the
voter registration lists. Although voter registration was
conducted by counties, the originals of the 1867, 1868,
and 1898 lists are at the South Carolina Department of Archives
and History; counties maintained copies for their records.
Most
districts/counties have some tax records dating from 1800 to
the present, with the majority of tax records dating from 1865.
A fairly complete series from 1824, mostly of the Low Country
districts, is available at the South Carolina Department of
Archives and History. The South
Carolina Department of Archives and History has originals
of most extant tax lists, and microfilmed copies of county tax
records are available at the South
Carolina Department of Archives and History and the FHL.
Below is a list of online resources for Calhoun County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Calhoun County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Calhoun County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Calhoun County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
South Carolina Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search South Carolina Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
The WPA and the DAR have compiled major collections of South Carolina tombstone inscriptions. Most South Carolina counties have historical or genealogical societies that have compiled cemetery records. See addresses for local historical and genealogical societies. Cemetery records are frequently published in the major genealogical periodicals of South Carolina
Below is a list of online resources for Calhoun County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Calhoun County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Calhoun County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Calhoun County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
South Carolina Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
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