I know, I am usually extolling the amazing records for the northeastern states, or sometimes the location of their transplanted descendants, California.
Well. I am also enthusiastic about records for the southern states, especially since history has not always preserved those records very well.
One site that is beyond compare is South Carolina Department of Archives and History. The searchable database is not easy to find, even when you find the main website. So I am giving you the direct url to the part that you need :link
Once into the database, enter your search terms, usually by last name, and choose "or" not "and" for the counterpart, so that you will actually see some results. The results are indexes of archived material, with names that tell many stories (lists on slave transfers, on land deals, and so on). The great finds are the "online images available" results. One click and you see a scan of an original plat map, with boundaries, names, original longhand.
From before 1700 on--and as long as you like history, you don't even need to find someone in your family tree to get a kick out of the excellent documents. And if you are looking in South Carolina for someone from the distant past, this is a site to put in your radar.
Image source: surveyhistory.org
No comments:
Post a Comment