Census Records for South Carolina
This entry was originally written by Johni Cerny and Gareth L. Mark for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
Contents
Federal
Populations Schedules
• Indexed'1790, 1800 (see note below), 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930
• Soundex'1880, 1900, 1910, 1920
Industry and Agriculture Schedules
• 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880
Mortality Schedules
• 1850 (indexed), 1860 (indexed), 1870, 1880
Slave Schedules
• 1850, 1860
Union Veterans
• 1890
The South Carolina Department of Archives and History holds all of the federal census records either in original or microfilm form. Part of the 1800 census for Richland District is missing. The 1850 census of York and Lexington districts indicates county of birth as well as state for each person.
State
South Carolina did not conduct any full colonial censuses; there are fragments of state census returns available at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. The 1829 state census of Fairfield and Laurens districts and the 1839 state census of Kershaw and Chesterfield districts are extant. The population returns for the 1869 state census are complete except for Clarendon, Oconee, and Spartanburg Counties. The 1875 state census returns are available for Clarendon, Newberry, and Marlboro Counties, as are partial returns for Abbeville, Beaufort, Fairfield, Lancaster, and Sumter counties. The original returns are found at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History; some of the returns have been published in South Carolina's historical and genealogical periodicals.
External Links
- South Carolina Census Records - free up-to-date guide to accessing South Carolina census records. Identifies federal, state, and colonial censuses, as well as substitute records (FamilySearch Research Wiki).