South Carolina Genealogy Research Starter Checklist

Free lead magnet from southcarolinagenealogy.org · 2026 edition

How to use this checklist: Work top to bottom. Check off each item. When stuck, open the matching free guide on the site rather than jumping randomly between websites.

1. Gather what you already have

☐ Full name variants (nicknames, middle names, spelling changes)
☐ Approximate birth / marriage / death years and places
☐ Parents, spouses, children (even if incomplete)
☐ Family Bible notes, obituaries, photos with writing on the back
☐ DNA match names that cluster on the SC side of the tree

2. Fix the jurisdiction (the #1 SC brick wall)

☐ Identify the modern county for the place name
☐ Check when that county was formed
☐ List parent district/county for events before formation
☐ Read: Districts & counties guide
☐ Open the county page: /counties

3. Census every decade the family should appear

☐ 1790–1950 federal schedules (as available for SC)
☐ Note neighbors (FAN club) on each page
☐ For 1850–1860 enslaved research: slave schedules + estates
☐ Guide: Census research

4. Land & probate (longest paper trails)

☐ Deeds / ROD / mesne conveyance for the correct county years
☐ Wills, administrations, inventories, equity files
☐ Colonial grants/plats at SCDAH when pre-county
☐ Guides: Land · Probate

5. Vital events without early state certificates

☐ Church / parish registers
☐ Newspapers (marriage notices, obituaries)
☐ Delayed births; 20th-century DHEC records when applicable
☐ Guide: Vital records

6. Place-level research

☐ Identify the town/community page on the site
☐ Search churches, cemeteries, and newspapers under that place name
☐ Browse county town index for neighbors

7. Specialized paths (use when relevant)

☐ African American SC research hub on the site
☐ Indigenous / Catawba research notes
☐ Military (Revolution, Civil War, later wars)
☐ DNA clusters — always anchored to documents

8. Authoritative portals (bookmark these)

☐ SCDAH — scdah.sc.gov
☐ FamilySearch SC Wiki
☐ SC State Library / SC Memory digital collections
☐ Chronicling America newspapers
☐ This site’s guides: southcarolinagenealogy.org/guides

Next step: Pick one ancestor + one county + one record type this week. Depth beats random clicking.