The origin of the name of this county is uncertain, but it may have been named for Darlington, England. The county was formed in 1785, with the county seat at Darlington, and until 1800 it was a part of the Cheraws District. Parts of Darlington County were removed to form Florence County in 1888 and Lee County in 1902. This area was settled in the mid-eighteenth century by Welsh, Scotch-Irish, and English farmers, who grew cotton primarily. In more recent years the county has been best known for the stock car races which take place at the Darlington Raceway. David Rogerson Williams (1776-1830), governor and scientific experimenter, was a native of Darlington; he is remembered for introducing the mule to Southern agriculture. Other prominent Darlington residents were industrialists James Lide Coker (1837-1918) and
David R. Coker (1870-1938) and novelists Annie Greene Nelson (1902-1993) and Elizabeth Boatwright Coker (1909-1993) (Source: South Carolina State Library)
See Extended History for a more Detailed History
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.
Darlington County Clerk of Court has Court Records from 1801 and is located at One Public Square, Room B9,
Darlington, SC 29532Telephone: (843) 398-4330 . 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 Darlington 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 Darlington County, excepting most misdemeanor cases, which are usually adjudicated in the Magistrates' Courts.
Darlington County Clerk of Probate Court has Marriage Records from 1911 , Probate Records from 1783 and is located at One Public Square, Room 208,
Darlington, SC 29532Telephone: (843) 398-4310 .
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).
Darlington County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1803 and is located at One Public Square, Room B9,
Darlington, SC 29532Telephone: (843) 398-4330 . The Register Of Deeds Office records land titles, leins and other documents related to property transaction in Darlington 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 Darlington County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Darlington 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.
Darlington County Health Departmenthas vital records and is located at 305 Russell Street, Darlington, S.C. 29532,
Phone: (843) 398-4400. 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 Darlington 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 Darlington County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Darlington 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 Darlington County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Darlington 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 Darlington County Maps. Email us with websites containing Darlington 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 Darlington County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Darlington 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 Darlington County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Darlington 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 Darlington County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Darlington 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
There are many churches and cemeteries in Darlington County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Darlington County Tombstone Transcription Project (Coming Soon).
The South Carolina Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches and cemeteries free for viewing or download here.
Below is a list of online resources for Darlington County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Darlington 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 Darlington County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Darlington 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.
For nearly sixty, years after the first settlements at Charles Town, the area which is now Darlington County was a heavily timbered pine forestland, inhabited only by a few small Indian tribes, of whom the Cheraws were the most dominate.
Until the early 1730's, no white man had attempted to establish a home this far into the backcountry along the upper Pee Dee; one of the first of whom we have any record was one Murfee, who cleared a plantation on the Pee Dee River somewhere in the vicinity of what is known today as Pocket landing. He was soon joined by an influx of Welshmen from Pennsylvania and Delaware.
In all effort to induce settlers to come to this area of South Carolina, the Colonial Government in 1736 and again in 1737, set aside two immense grants of land extending for miles along both sides of the Pee Dee River, for the exclusive use of the Welsh Baptist in Delaware who were contemplating removal to this Province. The entire length of Darlington County bounding on Pee Dee River lies within the limits of these two old Royal Grants.
The Welshmen came and started the nucleus of a new civilization in the wilderness, developing new institutions of their own, with little further aid or guidance from the Royal Government. At first, they congregated in the bend of the river opposite the present Town of Society Hill, in what is now Marlboro County, where they had founded the Baptist Church of Christ lit the Welsh Neck in 1738. The surnames of those constituting this church were James, Devonald, Evans, Harry, Wilds and Jones.
From this bend in the river - called the Welsh Neck, the Welshmen cleared new lands up and down both sides of the river, first cultivating flax and hemp, later Indigo, and raising cattle. Cheraw Bacon was a popular item in the Charles Town markets of Colonial days. During the several decades immediately prior to the Revolution, the original Welsh domain was peacefully invaded by English, Scotch-Irish, French Huguenot and German Palatine settlers from other regions. From the inevitable intermarriages that followed, the strict Welsh Baptist identity was eventually lost.
Darlington County, however, continued to be a stronghold of the Baptist denomination well into the nineteenth century. There were no churches of any other faith in the area until about 1789, when Methodist missionaries began to traverse the region seeking converts; their first foothold was in the present I Lydia neighborhood, where one of the oldest Methodist churches in South Carolina was founded - Wesley Chapel or the "Gully Church".
The first and only Presbyterian Church in the District for years was the Darlington Church, founded in 1827 by the Scotch. Irish settlers from Marion and Williamsburg District; the Episcopalians of Darlington District were only able to support one church - Trinity Church, Society Hill, founded 1833, for a quarter century until the second Episcopal Church was organized in 1859 near Mars Bluff.
Other than several "Hard Shell" Baptist churches, weak and widely separated, no other denominations were represented in Darlington District until after the War Between the States.
The first village in the entire area and for many, many years, the only village within what is now Darlington County, sprang up on a bluff on the west aide of Pee Dee River, across from the original settlements and church in the Welsh Neck. By 1760, this important trading post and boat landing had come to be known as Long Bluff. It was chosen as the site for the Court House after Cheraws District was created in 1768. In this Court House, in 1774, a Petit Jury Presentment of grievances against the British Crown is among the earliest and boldest declarations of rights in the thirteen colonies. Long Bluff continued to be the seat of justice and commerce throughout the tragic days of the American Revolution.
Although the war inflicted severe casualties in lives and property, recovery was not unduly protracted, probably due to the natural increase in population plus the influx of many new settlers from North Carolina.
In 1777, a group of prosperous planters of the area formed the St. David's Society to promote the cause of education; little was done during the war, but with the return of peace, a schoolhouse - St. David's Academy - was erected on the first hill beyond the river, about 1 mile from the village of Long Bluff; a few years later, the Welsh Neck Baptist Church removed from the east side of the river to a lot on the hill, adjacent to the Academy. A new community began to grow up around the Academy and Church, and was named Greeneville in honor of Gen. Greene of the Revolution. The old village of Long Bluff was eventually abandoned in favor of the new village on the hill, which soon changed its name to Society Hill obviously in honor of the Academy of St. David's Society which dominated the hill. Society Hill, with its old, respected and influential Baptist Church; its Academy boasting tutors of the highest caliber; and its Library Society soon became the unchallenged cultural center of the Pee Dee Region, a title it held for generations.
In 1785, Darlington County was one of three counties created out of old Cheraws District; after some controversy, the site of the Court House of the new county was located on the plantation of John King, Sr. on Swift Creek, about the geographical center of the area. The Court House was built a short distance south of the King residence at the intersection of two roads. Lots were laid off surrounding the Court House by Josiah Cantey, Deputy Surveyor, but his plat has never been found. The village thus created was first known as Darlington Court House.
By 1820, other villages had sprung up throughout the district: Mechanicsville, near the river, about 10 miles below Society Hill on the road to Georgetown; Springville, more a summer resort than a village, but boasting an academy and a post office; and Kelley Town, not far from Black Creek in the Northwestern portion of the district.
By 1820, other villages had sprung up throughout the district: Mechanicsville, near the river, about 10 miles below Society Hill on the road to Georgetown; Springville, more a summer resort than a village, but boasting an academy and a post office; and Kelley Town, not far from Black Creek in the Northwestern portion of the district.
Hartsville came into being as a village around Capt. Thomas E. Hart's Store and post office in the early 1840's; Lamar (then known as Mims' Cross Roads) grew around a crossroads store and post office on the Capt. George Mims' Plantation in the early 1850's. About the same time, Leavensworth came into being as a village, centering around John F. Wilson's store and grist mill, at an intersection near the center of his immense plantation, originally owned by Dr. Nathan Leavensworth. There was also a school; a U.S. Post Office; and a resident physician, Dr. John J. Wilson. In the late 1850's Dovesville (then Dove's Depot) grew around a C&D Railroad Depot built on the plantation of Daniel Dove soon after the tracks were laid across his land.
With an ever increasing acreage devoted to the planting of cotton, the overall wealth of the district grew considerably during the first half of the district grew considerably during the first half of the Nineteenth century. As it was throughout the entire South, this cotton economy was vitally dependent upon the labor of the black man-the system of slavery- and the concentration of that class was heavy in Darlington District in the last decade prior to the war. The ratio of population as revealed by the United States Census of 1850 shows that whites were outnumbered by blacks nearly two to one.
In the ante-bellum period, the wealth of the district was, for the most part, concentrated in the eastern half of the area, which was made up of numerous huge plantations, each an independent community within itself. With a few notable exceptions, the western portions of the district contained smaller and less prosperous plantations and farms, and fewer slaves.
With agriculture having dominated the way of life in the district from the first settlements in the 1730's, it is not surprising that the planters of the area as early as 1768 organized a Planters Club about which little is known; again, around the early 1840's another attempt was made to form Planters Society, but likewise no record exists concerning this group. On May 5, 1846, the Darlington District Agricultural Society was formed for the purpose of "promoting the planting interests" and is still active to this day, being the second oldest such group in the state and one of the oldest in the nation. The first officers of the Society were W.E. James, President; Rev. J.M. Timmons, Rev. Robert Campbell, I.D. Wilson and Robert Rogers, Vice Presidents.
There was a successful attempt at industrialization made as early as 1812 by one of Darlington's most colorful figures, Gov. David Rogerson Williams. He established and operated during his lifetime a water-powered cotton mill on Cedar Creek near Society Hill for the manufacture of cotton bagging, oznaburgs, etc. It was first known as Cheraw Union Factory and later as Union Manufacturing Company of South Carolina.
During the War Between the States, Darlington County escaped Sherman's torch, being out of the direct line of the Federal advance. There were no battles fought on her territory, and only several minor skirmishes. However, detachments of the main force did pass through the district by way of Kelley Town and New Market, confiscating supplies and livestock over a wide area. But Pioneer cabins and palatial ante-bellum mansions were left standing.
In 1868, the name Darlington District (in use since 1798) was changed to Darlington County and provisions made for Township system of county Government patterned after that of the New England states. The system was unsuitable for this region and never developed as originally intended.
In 1888, Darlington County, one of the larger counties of the state, lost almost one third of its territory toward the formation of the new County of Florence; again, in 1901, it lost an additional 50 square miles of territory at the formation of the new County of Lee.
From the time of Gov. Williams' cotton factory, there was no further serious attempt at manufacturing of any nature until 1883, when a cotton mill was built in Darlington under the leadership of Major James Lide Coker. Within the following twenty years, Major Coker had also organized at Hartsville the Carolina Fibre Company and the Southern Novelty Company, both factories based on the conversion of southern pine into paper and paper products.
Agriculture has, however, continued to be the mainstay of Darlington County until the present day; cotton was King until dethroned after World War One by Flue-Cured Tobacco, which was introduced to Darlington planters in the late 1880's. Since World War Two, the industrial growth of the county has been very favorable and promises to provide an alternative to the decline in agricultural pursuits which are expected in the next generation.
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