Bamberg County, South Carolina Genealogy
Guide to Bamberg County, South Carolina Genealogy ancestry, family history and genealogy court records, deeds, maps, immigration, maps, military records, newspapers, obituaries, plantations, probate records, slaves, local archives, libraries, museums, churches, cemeteries, and Civil War records.
| Bamberg County, South Carolina | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of South Carolina, United States Genealogy | |
 Location of South Carolina in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | February 25, 1897 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Bamberg |
| Courthouse | |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 Bamberg County, South Carolina Record Dates
- 3 County Courthouse
- 4 History
- 5 Places / Localities
- 6 Resources
- 7 Archives, Libraries, and Museums
- 8 Societies - Genealogical, Historical, Lineage
- 9 Family History Centers
- 10 Websites
- 11 References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for General Francis Marion Bamberg. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.[1]
Bamberg County, South Carolina Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1915 | 1911 | 1915 | 1897 | 1897 | 1897 | 1790 |
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Bamberg County Courthouse
P.O. Box 150
Bamberg, SC 29003-0150
Phone: 803-245-2025
On Main Street
Bamberg County Probate Judge
Phone: 803-245-3008
Email: bambergcountysc.gov Contacts - Probate Judge
Marriage and Probate records
Bamberg County Register of Deeds
P.O. Box 150
Bamberg, SC 29003
Phone: 803-245-3025
Bamberg County Clerk of Court
Phone: 803-245-3025
Email: bambergcountysc.gov Contacts - Clerk of Court
Does not provide research of any kind (research checks)
Hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
History[edit | edit source]
Bamberg County was named for members of the Bamberg Family, who founded the county seat (also named Bamberg). Bamberg is primarily agricultural and its towns are built along the South Carolina Railroad.[3] Learn more about the history of Bamberg County from the South Carolina State Library or from Carolana.com.
Parent County/Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
- 1897 - Bamberg was created from Barnwell County.
- 1919 - Bamberg gained from Colleton County.
- 1920 - Bamberg gained from Colleton County.
For more information as well as maps of Bamberg County through time, see the South Carolina State Archives or For animated maps illustrating South Carolina county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation South Carolina County Boundary Maps" (1682-1987) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.
County Seat[edit | edit source]
The county seat of Bamberg County is Bamberg.
County Pronunciation[edit | edit source]
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places / Localities[edit | edit source]
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[5]
| Cities | ||
| Towns | ||
Resources[edit | edit source]
Research Guide[edit | edit source]
- South Carolina Archives Summary Guide: Bamberg County, available online, courtesy: South Carolina Department of Archives and History.
African Americans[edit | edit source]
- Vandervelde, Isabel. Other Free People in Early Barnwell District. Newberry, S.C.: Art Studio Press, 2001. FHL Book 929.273 G139v
Known plantations South Carolina Plantations:
- Broxton Bridge - Ehrhardt
- Halfmoon
- Little Swamp - historically in Colleton County but has been annexed into Bamberg County
- Mountain Home - Govan - also called Hartzog
- Woodlands - Midway
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
| Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
| Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
| SCGenWeb | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
| Tombstone Project | FamilySearch Places | |
| Billion Graves | ||
| See South Carolina Cemeteries for more information. | ||
- To view a list, see Bamberg County, South Carolina Cemeteries.
- National Cemetery Administration
Census[edit | edit source]
- 1829-1920 - South Carolina, State and Territorial Censuses, 1829-1920 at FamilySearch — index and images
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1900 | 17,296 | — |
| 1910 | 18,544 | 7.2% |
| 1920 | 20,962 | 13.0% |
| 1930 | 19,410 | −7.4% |
| 1940 | 18,643 | −4.0% |
| 1950 | 17,533 | −6.0% |
| 1960 | 16,274 | −7.2% |
| 1970 | 15,950 | −2.0% |
| 1980 | 18,118 | 13.6% |
| 1990 | 16,902 | −6.7% |
| 2000 | 16,658 | −1.4% |
| 2010 | 15,987 | −4.0% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Bamberg County are available online. For tips on accessing census records online, see South Carolina Census. If you're having trouble finding your ancestors in online indexes, try checking printed indexes. Created by local experts familiar with the area's families, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than online nationwide indexes.
See South Carolina Population Schedule Indexes: Fiche, Film, or Book for more information about statewide printed indexes.
1790 (parent county)
- Jarrell, Lawrence E. Early Orangeburgh, South Carolina Census: Complete Transcription of the Federal Census Records for the Orangeburgh District, South Carolina; 1790 Orangeburgh Census (Current Counties of Barnwell, Bamberg, Calhoun, Lexington, Orangeburg and [cont. with note below]. High Point, N.C.: Alligator Creek Genealogy Publications, 1998. FHL 975.779 X2ja
Church[edit | edit source]
Bamberg County Churches identifies dozens of churches in the area, courtesy: South Carolina Genealogical Society.
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court[edit | edit source]
DNA[edit | edit source]
Family Histories[edit | edit source]
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:
- Locate publications about direct ancestors
- Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
- Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors)
General
As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Bamberg, South Carolina at World Connect, results in more than 2,000 entries.
Surname indexes to Leonardo Andrea's Files | Folders | Resources are available online, courtesy: The Andrea Files: South Carolina Genealogical Research. 
Learn more.
- Brabham, M.M. and W.C. Kirkland. A Family Sketch and Else; or, Buford's Bridge and Its People. Columbia, S.C.: The State Co., 1923. FHL 164
Message Boards
- Bamberg County, SC Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
- Bamberg County, SC Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
Bibliography
Land[edit | edit source]
Because of South Carolina’s history as an agricultural state many residents owned land. For more information about types of land records see South Carolina Land and Property.
Tracing records through South Carolina county and district changes can be difficult. In general, for earliest records begin by searching the Charleston District, then your ancestor’s residential district, then neighboring districts, then the residential county, then neighboring counties. Not all districts and counties kept records. The following chart show where you may best expect to find land records for Bamberg County:
| Date | Government Office |
| 1897-Present | Bamberg County |
| 1868-1897 | Barnwell County |
| 1800-1868 | Barnwell District |
| 1791-1799 | Records Lost* |
| 1786-1791 | Winton County" |
| 1769-1786 | Records Lost"* |
| 1719-1769 | Charleston District |
| 1710-1719 | Proprietary Land Grants |
*Orangeburg District records destroyed by fire
Plats For State Land Grants 1784-1868
- Plats For State Land Grants 1784-1868 For information about the State Land Grants, see State Land Grants
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Maps[edit | edit source]
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
for more resources
Migration[edit | edit source]
Early migration routes to and from Bamberg County for European settlers included:[7]
- Fort Moore-Charleston Trail about 1716
Military[edit | edit source]
Civil War[edit | edit source]
Online Records
- 1861-1865 - South Carolina Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
- 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
- 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
Bamberg County was created between 1897 and 1920 after the Civil War from the counties of Barnwell and Colleton. During the Civil War, men from the area of Bamberg County mostly would have served in various regiments recruited in those counties. Counties were called districts during the Civil War.
Civil War Battles[edit | edit source]
The following Civil War Battles were fought in Bamberg County:
- February 3, 1865 = Rivers’ Bridge[8] also known as Salkehatchie River, Hickory Hill, Owens’ Crossroads, Lawtonville, Duck Creek
- One battle was fought in the area of present day Bamberg County, on February 3, 1865 at Rivers' Bridge. This was also known as the battle of Owens' Crossroads. For additional information,see Battles in South Carolina.
- Map showing Civil War battles in South Carolina
- Map showing Civil War battles in South Carolina
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Historic
The Library of Congress has identified the following historic newspapers for Bamberg County, South Carolina on their Chronicling America website. For publication details, including dates of publication, frequency, preceding and succeeding titles, and to find out which libraries have holdings, click on the newspaper title.
- Bamberg County Times (Bamberg, S.C.) 1888-1944.
- The Advertizer (Bamberg, S.C.) 1967-1972.
- The Advertizer-Herald (Bamberg, S.C.) 1972-current.
- The Bamberg Herald (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972.
- The Edisto News (Denmark, S.C.) 1921-1944.
- The Edisto News (Bamberg, S.C.) 1959-1969.
- The Ehrhardt Echo (Ehrhardt, S.C.) 1934-19??.
Current
Periodicals[edit | edit source]
Tap into the minds of local experts. Editors of genealogical periodicals publish unique sources that researchers new to their area may not encounter. Periodicals at various levels (county, region, and state) may carry articles useful to research in this area. For this county, see:
Probate[edit | edit source]
Probate is the “court procedure by which a will is proved to be valid or invalid” and encompasses “all matters and proceedings pertaining to the administration of estates, guardianships, etc.”[9] Various types of records are created throughout the probate process. These may include, wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. For further information see probate records in South Carolina.
Online Probate Indexes and Records
- 1670-1980 - South Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1670-1980 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
- 1671-1977 - South Carolina Carolina Probate Records, Bound Volumes 1671-1977 at FamilySearch — images
- 1732-1964 - South Carolina Probate Records, Files and Loose Papers 1732-1964 at FamilySearch — images
- 1782-1866 - South Carolina, Will Transcripts 1782-1866 at findmypast — $, index
Taxation[edit | edit source]
Tax-related records are kept by the offices of the county Assessor, Auditor, Sheriff, and Treasurer. Taxes were levied on real and personal property and can help establish ages, residences, relationships, and the year an individual died or left the area. They can be used as substitutes for missing or destroyed land and census records.
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Birth, marriage, and death records were not recorded by South Carolina until the 1900s, thus leaving a lack of vital records. Substitute records, when available, are used to obtain this information. These substitute records including newspapers, court records have been added to this section, when applicable.
Birth[edit | edit source]
State-wide birth registration began in 1915. For a copy of a birth from 1915 or later, contact the South Carolina Department of Health. The Bamberg County Health Department also has copies but they provide only an abbreviated form with limited information. For more information, see the South Carolina Vital Records page.
- 1766 - 1900 - South Carolina, Delayed Birth Certificates, 1766-1900 at FamilySearch — images
Marriage[edit | edit source]
In South Carolina, marriage licenses were not required by local governments until 1 July 1911. However, in the 1700s, the Church of England parish churches were required to record all marriages - even if the couple were not members of the denomination. Not all churches recorded these marriages and some have not survived. See South Carolina Vital Records for more information.
The Bamberg County probate court holds marriage licenses issued from 1 July 1911 to the present. Statewide registration of marriages began in July 1950 and the South Carolina Division of Vital Records has copies of licenses issued after 1 July 1950 through November 2009.
Newspapers are used as a substitute to locate marriage information. See South Carolina Newspapers.
Marriages - Indexes
- There are several online marriage indexes containing miscellaneous marriage records found in some counties of South Carolina listed on the South Carolina Vital Records page.
Death
[edit | edit source]
State-wide death registration began in 1915. For a copy of the death certificates from 1915 or later, contact the South Carolina Department of Health. The Bamberg County Health Department only has copies for deaths occurring in the last 5 years. For more information, see the South Carolina Vital Records page.
Deaths - Indexes and Records
- 1816-1990 - South Carolina Deaths and Burials, 1816-1990 at FamilySearch — index
- 1915-1965 - South Carolina Deaths, 1915-1965 at FamilySearch — index and images
- State-wide South Carolina Death Indexes. There are several online death indexes covering all of South Carolina listed on the South Carolina Vital Records page.
Archives, Libraries, and Museums[edit | edit source]
- Bamberg County Public Library
Address:
3156 Railroad Avenue
Bamberg, SC 29003
Phone: (803) 245-3022
Hours of Operation: Monday to Wednesday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m., Sunday Closed
The Bramberg County Library is part of the ABBE Regional Library System listed below.
You can subscribe to an email newsletter and select to receive information from the Barnwell branch among other places and subjects. To subscribe Click Here.
Other Bamberg County Libraries
- Denmark Branch Library Click the Link to learn more about this branch, its location, hours, and services.
- ABBE Regional Library System
A.B.B.E. Regional Library System (The Aiken-Bamberg-Barnwell-Edgefield Regional Library System) is headquaterred in Aiken county and serves the four South Carolina counties named in its title. It has 14 brances and a bookmobile. One of those branches is the Barnwell County Library.
Societies - Genealogical, Historical, Lineage[edit | edit source]
The Historic Society of Bamberg County SC
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
- Family History Centers in South Carolina
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Bamberg County, SC History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
- Bamberg County, SCGenWeb
- FamilySearch Catalog
- Bamberg County, South Carolina Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Bamberg County, South Carolina" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamberg_County,_South_Carolina." accessed on the 3/27/2019
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Bamberg County, South Carolina. Page 611-615 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 607-608.
- ↑ South Carolina State Library, "Bamberg County". Also,"List of counties in South Carolina," Wikipedia.
- ↑ Voice of Phillip Stalvey, resident of Myrtle Beach, S.C. (2011).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Bamberg County, South Carolina," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamberg_County,_South_Carolina, accessed 20 December 2019.
- ↑ Schweitzer, George K. , South Carolina Genealogical Research (Knoxville, Tennessee: s.p. 1985), 39-42, FHL book 975.7 D27s
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 847-61. (FHL Book 973 D27e 2002) WorldCat entry., and William E. Myer, Indian Trails of the Southeast. (Nashville, Tenn.: Blue and Gray Press, 1971), 12-14, and the book's pocket map "The Trail System of the Southeastern United States in the early Colonial Period" (1923). (FHL Book 970.1 M992i) WorldCat entry.
- ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State,
- ↑ Henry Campbell Black, Black's Law Dictionary, 5th ed. (St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Co., 1979), 1081, "probate."
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