Source Material of Special Interest to Genealogists and Historians

All materials are located in the South Carolina Room, located on the 2nd floor of the Main Library.

  1. Transcripts of Charleston County wills, estate inventories, and miscellaneous records prior to 1869. (100 volumes) Indexed in three volumes.
  2. Death Records from the Charleston County Health Department on index cards. These cover the years l819-1926, but are incomplete. (Copies of original ledgers are on microfilm.)
  3. City of Charleston Death Certificates, 1866 to 1914 (incomplete). On microfilm.
  4. Birth Records from the Charleston County Health Department, available for the years l877-1926 (incomplete). On microfilm.
  5. Charleston City Directories. Microfiche: 1782, 1785, 1790, 1794, 1801-1803, 1806,1807, 1809, 1813, 1816, 1819, 1820, 1822, 1824, 1892, 1831, 1835-1838, 1840, 1841, 1849, 1852, 1855, 1856, 1859; Microfilm: l866-l90l (with gaps); Paper copy: l782, l867-1870, l872-l873, l875-l876, l877-l878, l88l - present. The E. L. Polk City Directories for Charleston were not published for the following years: l949, l952, l953, l954, l956, l957, l962, l963, l964, l965, l966, l967.
  6. Charleston Telephone Books from l931 to the present. (missing 1932-33, 1938-39, 1942-1945, 1959.)
  7. Charleston Yearbooks, l880-l951. (Also available on microfiche and microfilm.)
  8. Registers of Signatures of Depositors in Branches of the Freedman's Saving and Trust Company 1864-1874. On microfilm (Charleston and Beaufort, SC branches only. Name index available)
  9. Charleston Orphan House Records, 1790 - 1964. On microfilm, originals in Special Collection.
  10. Local newspapers on microfilm:

    • The Gazette: Jan 8, 1731-Sept 28, 1782 (known under several names during the period; all include word Gazette)

    • Charleston Morning Post: Jan 18, 1796-Oct 17, 1787

    • (Charleston) Times: Oct 6, 1800-July 24, 1816

    • Charleston Courier: Jan 10, 1803-June 30, 1852

    • L'Oracle, Francais-American: Jan 1, 1807-Dec 8, 1807

    • Southern Patriot: Jan 22, 1818-Dec 31, 1846

    • Charleston Daily Courier: July 1, 1852-April5, 1873

    • Charleston Mercury: Jan 1, 1822-Nov 16, 1868

    • Deutsche Zietung: Oct 4, 1853-Dec 29, 1917

    • Confederate Baptist (Columbia): Oct 1, 1862 - Jan 25, 1865

    • Charleston Daily News: Sept 8, 1866-April 5, 1873

    • Charleston News: Jan 1, 1873-April 5, 1873

    • News and Courier: April 6, 1873-Sept 30, 1991

    • World and Sunday Budget: April 9, 1881-Oct 7, 1891

    • Charleston American: August 26, 1916-Sept 29, 1923

    • Charleston Evening Post: Oct 10, 1924-Sept 30, 1991

    • The Star: Dec 1, 1935-Dec 31, 1936

    • Coastal Times: Jan 29, 1986 - June 24, 1998

    • Post and Courier: Oct 1, 1991-present

    • Miscellaneous Early SC: Scattered issues are newspapers.

    • Newspapers: Primarily from Charleston in the 1800s.

    • Miscellaneous Negro Newspapers: Includes 9 SC newspapers, scattered issues, no complete runs.