South Carolina Genealogy
Guide to Ancestry and Family Tree Records

South Carolina is one of the first states to join the Union. In fact, in 1788 it became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. It’s governmental seat was originally Charleston, but Columbia became the new governmental seat in 1790.

The first attempts at colonization of what is now South Carolina started in 1526. At that time, Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon came to the area from Hispaniola with 500 colonists aboard his 6 ships. Of those colonists, only about 150 survived and later went back to Hispaniola. Later, in 1562, a group of Huguenots came to the area. They were led by Jean Ribault. They founded Charlesfort and also named Port Royal. Jean Ribault went back to France to get supplies and his men mutinied. They constructed their own ship and used it to sail back to France. After 1570, there were no major attempts at settling South Carolina for almost 100 years.

The State of South Carolina was created as the 8th state on May 23, 1788. It has 46Counties. The State of South Carolina is is bordered by Georgia and North Carolina. The capital is Columbia and the official state website is www.sc.gov/.

Select a South Carolina county to view information & records pertaining to each County