Brent Holcomb

Laurens County, South Carolina, was formed in 1785 as a county of Ninety Six District. Laurens County bordered on the counties of Spartanburg, Union, Newberry, Abbeville, Greenville, and Edgefield. A small portion of Laurens County was annexed to Greenville County in 1793. It is very unusual for a record, such as these minutes of the county court for Laurens County, to surface after being lost for so many years. While this volume is not complete, missing the first fifty-four pages, pages 103-126, and an unknown number of pages at the end of the volume, it is still an exciting and significant find. Within the pages of these court minutes are small court cases, lists of deeds presented to be recorded, applications for administrations on estates and wills proved (beginning in 1787), jury lists, petitions of various kinds, appointments for various offices, apprenticeships, estray animals tolled, and other items. Larger court cases were heard in the district courts. Occasionally, one can infer a relationship of a plaintiff or defendant to a juror. Maps and an index to names, places and subjects add to the value of this work

By: Brent Holcomb, Pub, 1978, Reprinted 2017, 120 pages, soft cover, Index, ISBN #0-89308-050-0. These are abstracts of Wills and all Estate Papers for the period 1770-1796. These include the later counties of York, Chester, Fairfield, Richland, Lancaster, Kershaw, Sumter, Claredon, Claremont, Salem and Lee. Heretofore, these records have not been microfilmed and hence have only been available to the genealogists at the Court House in their original packages.

The Southern Christian Advocate was the publication for the Methodist Conferences of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, for the period covered in this volume. It was published in Macon, Georgia, through the issue of May 28, 1878. After a brief hiatus the Southern Christian Advocate was re-established in Columbia, South Carolina, as the publication for the South Carolina Conference. Publication continued in Macon for the Georgia and Florida Conferences, but the title of the newspaper was changed to the Wesleyan Christian Advocate with the issue of June 4, 1878. Marriage notices are included which appeared in the four June 1878 issues of the Wesleyan Christian Advocate, since the South Carolina ministers appear to have been still sending in marriage notices to be published and because these issues are available on the same roll of microfilm. The marriage notices which were published in the Southern Christian Advocate are largely from South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, but there are a significant number of marriage notices from North Carolina and Alabama with a few notices from other states as well. All of the marriage notices are of interest, as a marriage notice might name a parent or another relative of the bride which would not appear on a marriage license. Additionally, there have been relatively few marriage records published for the period covered in this volume. It is not unusual to find notices of couples for which the bride and groom were residents of different counties, especially in Georgia. Since South Carolina did not require marriage licenses until 1911, the notices of South Carolina marriages are very valuable. North Carolina's marriage license law did not take effect until 1868. Therefore, the North Carolina marriage notices are of value as well. A full-name index completes this work.

By: Brent Holcomb, Pub. 1978, reprinted 2022, 104 pages, Index, soft cover, ISBN #0-89308-060-8. This book has been transcribed verbatim from the original 180-page journal from the well-known Lutheran minister who preached in Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg and Edgefield Districts. SC. It contains many baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials, as well as the churches and other places where Drehr preached. Also listed are some occasional private communions administered to sick or elderly persons. This journal is a much-needed reference tool for persons with families in these counties.

This volume represents the last work on a publication done by Mrs. Caroline T. Moore, author of the three volumes of Abstracts of the Wills of the State of South Carolina, a fourth volume Abstracts of the Wills of Charleston District 1783-1800, and an additional volume Abstracts of the Records of the Secretary of the Province 1692-1721, published in the period 1960-1978. The present volume contains information about wills and estates and a list of marriage licenses 1812-1823. With few exceptions, the original loose wills and estates papers for Charleston District did not survive from this period. Therefore, much of the information in this record cannot be found elsewhere. As is the case with many records, there is information included from an earlier time, sometimes many years earlier. A number of soldiers died in 1815, and people from other districts in South Carolina were called on to administer their estates. A full-name index adds to the value of this work.(2002), 2022, 6x9, paper, index, 218 pp.

his volume contains marriage and death notices from the three Baptist newspapers which were published in South Carolina following the Civil War: The South Carolina Baptist (1866-1868) published at Anderson, The Working Christian (1869-1878) published first in Yorkville and later (beginning 19 May 1870) in Charleston, and The Baptist Courier (1878-1887). The notices are from all over South Carolina; however, the lion's share concern the Barnwell County area. In the difficult post-war years many people could not afford to erect tombstones or erected only wooden stones, which have long since weathered away. For some of those interred, an obituary notice may be the only record of their death. Marriage notices are especially important in South Carolina, where there was no state-wide marriage license law until 1 July 1911. A full-name index, prepared by James D. McKain, adds to the value of this work.(1996), 2021, 6x9, paper, index, 360 pp

The minutes begin with the entry of 20 August 1809, when the Lower Fairforest Baptist Church was established as an arm of Padgett's Creek Baptist Church, which had been established in 1784. Some families who belonged to the Fairforest Meeting prior to the Revolution were members of the Padgett's Creek church and later of the Lower Fairforest Church. The author has included the church minutes for 1809-1875 and membership lists from the earliest list to the year 1906. Even the list of 1906 includes later entries concerning deaths and dismissions of members. These minutes cover the usual matters of church membership and discipline. Some dates of death are included within the membership lists. Occasionally, maiden names of married women are indicated. However, Baptist church minutes do not, as a rule, provide records of births, marriages, and deaths. The names of slave members, often noting the names of their owners, are interwoven in the records and are included in membership lists of the Lower Fairforest Baptist Church, providing valuable African-American historical and genealogical information. This compilation will be helpful to historians, genealogists, and descendants of members of this early Union County church.(1997), 2021, 6x9, paper, index, 126 pp

Union County was formed in 1785; in 1800 it became Union District. In the colonial period, the area of Union County was considered part of Craven County or Berkeley County, South Carolina. Prior to the border surveys of 1764 and 1772, the area was included in the North Carolina counties of Anson, Mecklenburg, and Tryon. For this reason, many grants and deeds from North Carolina are referenced in the Union County deeds. Union County bordered on the counties of Spartanburg, Laurens, Newberry, Fairfield, York, and Chester. Little changes in its boundaries occurred until 1897 when a portion of Union County was taken, with portions of Spartanburg and York Counties, to form Cherokee County. The deeds in this volume were recorded between 1811 and 1820. As is common, there are deeds recorded from a much earlier time period. The earliest deed included in this work dates from 9 August 1770. The deeds in this volume have been abstracted from South Carolina Archives microfilm, Rolls C2207, C2208 and C2209. Abstracts typically include: deed book and page number(s), date of sale/lease, name of grantor/lessor, name of grantee/lessee, the grantee/lessee's county and/or district of residence, amount charged and/or paid, number of acres and location of property (in a few cases the property is a slave rather than land), names of witnesses, name of justice of the peace and/or other official approving deed, date approved, and date recorded. A a full-name index and a place index add to the value of this work.

Newberry County was formed in 1785. Deeds show that early settlers of Newberry County included Quakers, German Protestant immigrants, Germans from Pennsylvania, Irish Protestant immigrants, and settlers from North Carolina.

Union County was formed in 1785; in 1800 it became Union District. In the colonial period, the area of Union County was considered part of Craven County or Berkeley County, South Carolina. Prior to the border surveys of 1764 and 1772, the area was included in the North Carolina counties of Anson, Mecklenburg, and Tryon. For this reason, many grants and deeds from North Carolina are referenced in the Union County deeds. Union County bordered on the counties of Spartanburg, Laurens, Newberry, Fairfield, York, and Chester. Little changes in its boundaries occurred until 1897 when a portion of Union County was taken, with portions of Spartanburg and York Counties, to form Cherokee County. The deeds in this volume appear to have been recorded between 1785 and 1800, though recording dates are absent from the first deeds in Book A. As is common, there are deeds recorded from a much earlier time period. The earliest deed included in this work dates from 30 May 1752. The deeds in this volume have been abstracted from South Carolina Archives microfilm, Rolls C2204, C2205 and C2206. References within the deed to recordings in the Secretary's office and the Auditor's office refer to the royal grants and land memorials respectively. Abstracts typically include: deed book and page number(s), date of sale/lease, name of grantor/lessor, name of grantee/lessee, the grantee/lessee's county and/or district of residence, amount charged and/or paid, number of acres and location of property (in a few cases the property is a slave rather than land), names of witnesses, name of justice of the peace and/or other official approving deed, date approved, and date recorded. A map of Union District (1822), a full-name index, and a place index add to the value of this work.

This volume is a continuation of the abstracts prepared under Clara Langley of the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s. Until the establishment of county courts in South Carolina in 1785, all deeds were recorded in Charleston. The original deed books remain in the Office of the Register of Mesne Conveyance in Charleston County Court House. While the deeds in these deed books (Y-4 through H-5) were recorded between 1776 and 1783, within these deed books are instruments dating from a much earlier time, some as early as 1722. There are often several books containing deeds recorded in the same year. There are also occasional notations, especially in the case of mortgages, dated later than the recording dates of the deeds or mortgages. After the border surveys between North Carolina and South Carolina in 1764 and 1772, many lands formerly deemed to be North Carolina fell into South Carolina. For that reason, some deeds refer to lands granted by North Carolina, sometimes called "north patents." For the same reason, some deeds formerly recorded in North Carolina, particularly in Tryon County, were re-recorded in the Charleston deed books. In the Colonial period, South Carolina had only four counties: Granville, Colleton, Berkeley, and Craven; which were further divided into parishes and districts. Maps of the counties, parishes, and districts; and, a full-name index add to the value of this work.

By: Brent Holcomb, Pub. 1979, Reprinted 2018, 88 pages, Index, soft cover, ISBN #0-89308-189-2. At is formation in 1734, Bladen encompassed everything west of the present county. Even though many of Bladen's Deeds were lost in the three court house fires, these abstracts are especially informative, with many long chains of title going back to original grants and many references to bordering Craven County, S. C. This book will provide many links which were formerly thought forever lost.

By: Brent Holcomb, Pub. 1979, Reprinted 2001, 280 pages, soft cover, Index, ISBN #0-89308-108-6. Mecklenburg county was formed in 1763 from Anson County and in turn Tryon county was formed from Mecklenburg in 1769. This book covers the period when Mecklenburg county also included portions of several South Carolina Counties: Cherokee, Chester, Greenville, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Newberry, Spartanburg, Union and York. So not only does this book have great significancy for persons researching in this area of N. C. but also for persons who are looking for relatives in the Up-Country of S. C. during the late 1700's.