The Revolutionary War and the subsequent debt incurred by the new government
brought about the first federal census, taken in 1790. Prior to that time, you may find
various lists in South Carolina colonial records which may serve as
census "substitutes" to place your ancestor in a particular place
at a specific time. Examples include property tax lists,
church membership rolls, lists of local militia. These records are typically found
at the county / district level. Other lists, generally of a compiled nature, may
only indicate that your ancestor was, at some time, a resident of South Carolina.
These are listed under "Statewide", below.
What South Carolina census records are online?
There are two types of records available: census image files, and census transcriptions.
Virtual microfilm...
We are very fortunate to have so many volunteers and contributors helping in our effort to get
census records online for the FREE use of all researchers. A special thanks goes to John Schunk and
S-K Publications for the program they've generously provided
to the USGenWeb Project, and to all the kind souls who have participated in that program so
that we might have freely accessible image files online for South Carolina.
Note that the freely available online "virtual microfilm", will be listed as "Images".
To see what transcriptions and/or image files are currently available for each South
Carolina county, please visit:
South Carolina Census Records by County and Old Districts
Tax lists and other Pre-1790 "census substitutes" are listed as well.
STATE-WIDE FILES AND LISTS:
1716-1783 Early South Carolina Colonists
1770 Tryon County, NC (disputed area between NC and western SC)
1779
Census of Ninety-Six District
1781
Residents of Unknown Counties of SC
1790
Federal Census - All Districts - Index page
1790
Federal Census - All Districts - Image Files
1835
Federal Pensioners Statewide
1840
Federal Census Pensioners Statewide Surnames A-L
1840
Federal Census Pensioners Statewide Surnames M-Z
1870 Federal Census Mortality Schedule - Upcountry
TIPS ON USING/VIEWING OUR CENSUS IMAGE FILES:
When you click on a county/year link, you will see a directory of filenames (such as 0001a.gif,
0001b.gif, etc.). The name of each image file is the page number. (In the
case of 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 census, the file name includes both the
Enumeration District and the sheet number.)
FOR S-K PUBLICATIONS CENSUS IMAGES IN THE SCGENWEB ARCHIVES:
The first file in each ftp
directory is 0000read.htm, which contains information on (1) what page
numbers are included in that county (there are often missing page numbers)
and (2) what districts (or other county subdivisions) are covered by which
page numbers. READING THIS FILE (0000read.htm) CAN ASSIST YOU IN
DETERMINING WHICH PAGES YOU MAY WISH TO VIEW.
After viewing a page, use your Back button to return to the ftp
directory so that you may select another page for viewing.
CENSUS BY COUNTY AND OLD DISTRICTS:
A-C |
D-G |
H-O |
P-Z
|
