1710
Four Judicial Districts
IN THE BEGINNING: Of primary importance to the researcher is the fact that records
pre-dating 1785 were all filed in Charleston, irrespective of the
residence in these old "royal" counties and such early documents
will be found at the South
Carolina Department of Archives and History in Columbia, South
Carolina.
From the establishment of a colony on the Ashley River in 1671 until
roughly 1710, South Carolina was part of "Carolina" which
embraced both modern North and South Carolina. South Carolina was
recognized as a royal colony in 1723. In 1682-83, the first three counties
were established by the Lords Proprietors for the purposes of local
government, administration of justice, granting of land, and the election
of representatives to the legislative assembly: Berkeley,
Colleton, and Craven,
with a fourth, Granville, established
somewhat later. All were discontinued in 1769 and the present Berkeley
County is NOT the original. These old county names are found on early
documents and can cause confusion when searching for records.
| OLD
BERKELEY COUNTY (1683 - 1769) | Created:
1683, discontinued 1769 One of the original "counties" created by the Crown for administrative purposes, this Berkeley County centered around Charleston and extended from the Stono River on the south to Seewee Creek (modern Awendaw Creek) on the north. See map above (1710) for modern counties represented in this area. NOTE: All records for this area were filed in Charleston and this is NOT modern Berkeley County.
|
| OLD COLLETON
COUNTY (1683 - 1769) |
Created:
1683, discontinued 1769 One of the original "counties" created by the Crown for administrative purposes, Colleton extended from Seewee (Awendaw) Creek on the north to the Combahee River. See map above (1710) for modern counties represented in this area. NOTE: All records for this area were filed in Charleston.
|
| OLD
CRAVEN COUNTY (1683-1769) | Created:
1683, discontinued 1769 One of the original "counties" created by the Crown for administrative purposes. See map above (1710) for modern counties represented in this large area. NOTE: All records for this area were filed in Charleston.
|
| OLD GRANVILLE COUNTY (1683 - 1769) | Created:
1683, discontinued 1769 One of the original "counties" created by the Crown for administrative purposes, Granville extended from the Combahee River in the north to the Savannah River in the south. See map above (1710) for modern counties represented in this area. NOTE: All records for this area were filed in Charleston. The area known as Granville County became Beaufort District in 1769.
|
1769
Seven Judicial Districts
NOTE that the royal "counties" have completely disappeared and that the names "Berkeley", "Colleton" "Craven" and "Granville" are NOT used as district names.
1801
26 Counties
(Black titles are 1801, hi-lighted are recent)
PARISHES OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH
In addition to normal church functions, Parishes of the Anglican Church served as election districts during the colonial period. You will note, for instance, on the 1790 federal census, that many parish names were used as enumeration districts. You'll need to know the names and geographic location of these parishes.
