Marlboro County, South Carolina Genealogical Records Information

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Marlboro County History and Information

County History & Facts l Court Records l Vital Records l Census Records l Tax Records l
Military Records l County Maps & Atlases l Genealogy Addresses l Church & Cemetery Records l
Extended History l Family Trees & Other Genealogy Related Sites l

Marlboro County Facts

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The County of Marlboro was established on March 2, 1785 and originally called Marlboro District. Marlboro County was named for John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722). The county name was originally spelled Marlborough, but it was later shortened. The county was created in 1785 as a part of Cheraws District, and the county seat is Bennettsville. Welsh Baptists from Delaware settled in an area of the county known as Welsh Neck around 1737, and they were later joined by English and Scotch-Irish settlers. Cotton growing made this a wealthy part of the state prior to the Civil War. The town of Blenheim was also known for its mineral springs. General Sherman's troops passed through the county in 1865, briefly occupying the town of Bennettsville. Some famous Marlboro County natives are United States Congressman and diplomat Robert Blair Campbell (1791-1862), United States and Confederate Congressman John McQueen (1804-1867), and children's advocate Marian Wright Edelman. (Source: South Carolina State Library) See also Extended History for mre details...

For information on early counties and districts, consult The Formation of Counties in South Carolina. The Official County Website is located at http://www.marlborocounty.sc.gov/ . Marlboro County, South Carolina History Books at Amazon.com.

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Marlboro County Court Records

See Also South Carolina Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

Marlboro County Clerk of Court has Court Records from 1785 and is located at P.O. Drawer 996, Bennettsville, SC, 29512; 843-479-5613 . The Clerk of Court consist of The Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions. The Court of Common Pleas is the court of general jurisdiction over civil cases in Marlboro County, excepting those cases in which the amount or value of property in dispute is less than $7,500. Cases involving money or property totaling less than $7,500 are heard in Small Claims Magistrates' Courts. The Court of General Sessions is the court of general jurisdiction over criminal cases in Marlboro County, excepting most misdemeanor cases, which are usually adjudicated in the Magistrates' Courts.

Marlboro County Clerk of Probate Court has Marriage Records from 1788 , Probate Records from 1787 and is located at P.O. Drawer 455, Bennettsville, SC, 29512; 843-479-5610
Probate estate records and marriage licenses up to 1950 are on microfilm at the Marlboro County Public Library for genealogy research and public viewing. We recommend using the library due to little space to work in the vault at the Probate Judge's Office. Probate Court has original jurisdiction over actions concerning the issuance of marriage licenses, the estate of a deceased person, the will of an individual, the estate of a minor or incapacitated person, trusts, and involuntary commitments.
South Carolina had no law requiring marriage licenses or registration until 1 July 1911. Licenses are on file with the judge of probate in each county. Prior to 1911, marriages were legal if performed according to canonical law; common law marriages also were recognized. Many churches recorded marriages, but when compared with the vast number of marriages that took place, the number of documented marriages is small. Marriage settlements, made by a widow and her second husband to protect the heirs of her first husband, and pre-marital agreements, not necessarily involving widows, were popular for a while. These records date from about 1760 to about 1890 and may be found in county conveyance books or the South Carolina Department of Archives and History and on microfilm at the FHL. Newspapers accounts of marriages from 1732 to the present are a primary source of marriage documentation (see Newspapers).

Marlboro County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1786 and is located at P.O. Drawer 996, Bennettsville, SC, 29512; 843-479-5613 . The Register Of Deeds Office records land titles, leins and other documents related to property transaction in Marlboro County. The Register Of Deeds Office must assure that all recorded documents comply with the requirements of federal and state recording statutes and are available for public review.

There are a few online marriage databases which include: South Carolina Marriages, 1641-1965; South Carolina Marriage Notices, 1732-1801; South Carolina Baptist Marriages, 1835-65, and South Carolina Baptist Deaths and Marriages, 1866-87.

Click Here to Search South Carolina Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Below is a list of online resources for Marlboro County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Marlboro County Court Records by clicking the link below:

Marlboro County, South Carolina Court Books at Amazon.com
South Carolina Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
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Marlboro County Vital Records

PLEASE READ!! There were no South Carolina birth or Death certificates before January 01, 1915

Click Here to Search South Carolina Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.

Some documents are just too important to wait six weeks for. With VitalChek Express Certificate Service you won’t have to. Birth, Marriage, Divorce & Death Certificates Signed. Sealed. Delivered. Often in as few as three business days!

Marlboro County Health Department has vital records and is located at 711 Parsonage Street Ext.
Bennettsville, S.C. 29512, Phone: (843) 479-6801. This office can search for birth and death records from January 01, 1915. Marriage records prior to 1950 may be available from the Probate Judge in the county where the license was issued. Divorce records since April 1949 should be available from the County Clerk in the county where the petition was filed (See Marlboro County Court Records for Address and Phone number)

South Carolina DHEC, Division of Vital Records is located at 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201;
telephone # (803) 898-3630, fax #: (803) 799-0301. The fee to search for a birth, Marriage or Death certificate is $12.00, which includes one certified copy of the certificate or a "Certificate of Failure to Find."
There were no South Carolina birth or Death "certificates" before January 01, 1915.

For each additional copy of the certificate ordered at the same time, the fee is $3.00. Checks or Money Orders should be made payable to "S.C. DHEC, Division of Vital Records." Please do not send cash. Fees are non refundable. Additional fees of $5.00 are required for expedited service. The expedite fee guarantees a response leaving the Division of Vital Records within three (3) working days. A response can be in the form of a letter, a telephone call, or a certification being mailed.

Mail all Applications to: S.C. DHEC, Division of Vital Records is located at 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201. You can download an application online for Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates or Death Certificates. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates much quicker by ordering HERE. Click Here to Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE

There are a few online vital record databases which include: South Carolina Baptist Deaths and Marriages, 1866-87 and South Carolina Baptist Marriages and Deaths, 1835-65 which are a collection of marriage and death notices is derived from Baptist newspapers in South Carolina. Also there is the South Carolina Death Index, 1915-1949 & 1850-52 from the South Carolina DHEC.

Below is a list of online resources for Marlboro County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Marlboro County Vital Records by clicking the link below:

Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE
Marlboro County, South Carolina Birth, Marriage & Death Books at Amazon.com
South Carolina Marriages, 1641-1965, these sources include newspapers, church records, and pension applications
South Carolina Newspaper Marriage Notices, 1732-1801, from one of the first newspapers in the state, the South Carolina Gazette.
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Marlboro County Census Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

With the exception of a single tax list from 1733 and occasional lists of tax collectors, no colonial tax records of South Carolina have survived. Parishes and townships functioned as tax districts until 1800; circuit court districts and their counties also functioned as tax districts from 1785–1800. Many of these tax lists are incomplete, the known tax lists, 1783–99, are as follows:

Christ Church Parish, 1784, 1786, 1788, and 1793–99
Prince Frederick's Parish, 1784 and 1786
Prince George's Parish, 1786–87
Prince William's Parish, 1798
St. Andrew's Parish, 1784–85, 1787, 1789, 1791, and 1795
St. Bartholomew's Parish, 1783–87 and 1798
St. Helena's Parish, 1798
St. James Goose Creek, 1796
St. John's Berkeley Parish, 1793
St. Luke's Parish, 1798–99
St. Paul's Parish, 1783, 1785–96, and 1798–99
Ninety-Six District, 1787
OrangeburghDistrict, 1787
Lancaster County in Camden District, 1797
Lexington County in Orangeburgh District, 1788.

Directories for the city of Charleston date from 1782. These directories may help locate a Charleston ancestor who does not appear in other records. They are housed at the Charleston Library Society

Jury List - The jury lists include men eligible to serve on juries and were compiled from tax lists. The Jury Lists of South Carolina, 1778–1779 is accepted as proof of the identity of Revolutionary War patriots. The best available substitutes for colonial tax lists are jury lists.
Voter Registration Lists - Voter registration lists, 1867, 1868, and 1898 are another valuable substitute for tax records. The lists from 1867 and 1868 are particularly useful for Black American research because the newly freed slaves registered to vote; many blacks make their first appearance in the voter registration lists. Although voter registration was conducted by counties, the originals of the 1867, 1868, and 1898 lists are at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History; counties maintained copies for their records.

Most districts/counties have some tax records dating from 1800 to the present, with the majority of tax records dating from 1865. A fairly complete series from 1824, mostly of the Low Country districts, is available at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has originals of most extant tax lists, and microfilmed copies of county tax records are available at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History and the FHL.

Below is a list of online resources for Marlboro County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Marlboro County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

Marlboro County Genealogical Addresses

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Marlboro County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Marlboro County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Marlborough Historical Society and Historical Museum
123 S Marlboro Str, Bennetsville, SC 29512-4031; 803-479-5624
Pee Dee Chapter South Carolina Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 1428, Marion, SC 290571
Local South Carolina Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
South Carolina Archives & History Center, 8301 Parklane Road; Columbia, SC 29223; Tele: (803) 896-6100, Fax: (803) 896-619
SC State Library - South Carolina Reference Room
The South Carolina Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 492, Columbia, SC 29202-0492
The South Carolina Historical Society, The Fireproof Building, 100 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401; Phone 843.723.3225, fax 843.723.8584
South Carolina Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
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Marlboro County Church & Cemeteries

Click Here to Search South Carolina Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

The WPA and the DAR have compiled major collections of South Carolina tombstone inscriptions. Most South Carolina counties have historical or genealogical societies that have compiled cemetery records. See addresses for local historical and genealogical societies. Cemetery records are frequently published in the major genealogical periodicals of South Carolina

There are many churches and cemeteries in Marlboro County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Marlboro County Tombstone Transcription Project (Coming Soon). The South Carolina Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches and cemeteries free for viewing or download here.

Below is a list of online resources for Marlboro County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Marlboro County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Click Here to Search South Carolina Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Marlboro County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Marlboro County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

Marlboro County, South Carolina Family Books at Amazon.com
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Search the Family Tree DNA Project- Use DNA testing to break through your genealogical barriers!
Sites on USGenweb: [ Marlboro County ] [ South Carolina ] [ Main Page ]
[GenForum Message Boards] [Rootsweb Message Boards]
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Meet your ancestors. Learn their stories. Start your FREE family tree.
South Carolina Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
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Extended History

The County of Marlboro was established on March 2, 1785 and originally called Marlboro District. It was named for John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, whose Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England, was a gift to him from Queen Anne. Marlboro District was carved from Cheraw District. Later Marlboro, Chesterfield, and Darlington Districts became Counties.

When Marlboro District was created, legislation required that each district select a site and erect a courthouse and jail. The site chosen for Marlboro's first courthouse was on the banks of the Great Pee Dee River near Gardner's Bluff. A few years later, it was moved a short distance inland and near the north bank of Crooked Creek where it crossed the old River Road. The county's first town named either Carlisle or Winnfieldville was developed. Its presence is no longer noticeable except for a granite marker denoting the location of the first courthouse as being at that location.

As the county's population grew away from the river, settlers requested that a more central location for the courthouse and jail be secured. In December of 1819, the S.C. General Assembly authorized the removal of the courthouse from the river to a more central location along the old stagecoach road. This was on a high bluff above Crooked Creek. That location was the beginning of our current county seat, Bennettsville.

During the mid-19th Century, communities throughout the county began around churches, principal roads, and at the county's most famous mineral springs, Blenheim. Planters and farmers continued to find Marlboro County's loamy soils excellent for farming.

As the Civil War was waning, Marlboro County was host to every unit of General William T. Sherman's Union Army when it left Cheraw, crossed the Great Pee Dee River, and traveled through this county in route to its final engagement in North Carolina.

Bennettsville was captured March 6, 1865, by Major General Frank P. Blair, commanding general of the Union Army's 17th Corps. While here, General Blair used the historic Jennings-Brown House as his headquarters. Today, this home is part of the Marlboro County Historical Museum complex.

Although some frame buildings, warehouses, and a few downtown structures were burned, Marlboro County's courthouse was spared, giving this county one of the state's oldest complete set of county records.

D.D. McColl brought the first railroad to the county during the 1870s, the first bank during the 1880s, and cotton mills to McColl and Bennettsville during the 1890s and early years of the 20th Century. The arrival of the railroad did a great deal to lead development of the county as it made it possible to transport Marlboro-grown cotton to markets and mills far from her borders.

During this time, McColl, Clio, Tatum, Blenheim and Bennettsville grew with mercantile stores, doctors' offices, and grocery stores. Postal service improved drastically and schools were built all across the county.

During the first quarter of the 20th Century, more growth occurred as the national and state economies blossomed. Marlboro sent her sons to fight both World War I and World War II. As World War II loomed, a primary flight training base, Palmer Field, was built and opened just west of Bennettsville. Cadets from across the nation came and obtained their primary flight training here.

In later years the base was converted into the home of Powell Manufacturing Co., Inc., an internationally-known leader in manufacturing of farming equipment, tobacco harvesting, and bulk curing equipment. Powell remained in operation until 2002.

Adjacent to Powell in 1989 the state built a minimum-maximum security prison, Evans Correctional Institution, home of 1200 inmates. The institution was named for U.S. Senator Josiah J. Evans of Society Hill, who was born in Marlboro County.

During the 1940s, 1950s, and the 1960s, Marlboro County attracted numerous industries giving employment to farm workers being idled by mechanized and scientific farming methods.

During the 1950s, Crooked Creek was dammed on the northern edges of Bennettsville to form Lake Paul A. Wallace. This lake is divided into three parts: a swimming and boating side with a one mile skiing channel, grassy sunning terraces and white sandy beaches for swimming. Across a diversion dike is the larger fishing and sailing portion which is stocked with fish and fertilized and managed by S.C. Wildlife Department. It is said to be the world's largest man-made controlled fishing lake. The third portion of the lake lies north of Beauty Spot Road and is the reservoir for the City of Bennettsville's water system as well as a waterfowl refuge with Canada Geese, ducks, coots, mergansers and herons in residence. A three-mile walking trail is located around the eastern shore and across the diversion dike of the Lake.

Marlboro County currently operates under a Council/Administrator form of government divided into eight separate districts. Each district is represented by a Council member elected by the citizens of that district. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman are elected each January by the Council members from the eight districts. The Chairman has full voting rights. Regular Council meetings are held the second Thursday of each month.

County History

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