Effective: 22 Aug 2008

Colleton County was named for one of the Lords Proprietors, Sir John Colleton (1608-1666). The county was first created in 1682 under the proprietary government, but the designation was seldom used in the colonial period. Instead, the area was known by its parish names: St. Bartholomew, St. Paul, and St. George Dorchester. In 1769 these parishes became part of Charleston District, where they remained until Colleton District was formed in 1800. The county seat is Walterboro. A portion of the county was removed in 1897 to form Dorchester County. Several Revolutionary War skirmishes took place in Colleton County, and the state legislature met in the town of Jacksonboro in 1782 while Charleston was occupied by the British. In 1828 the first nullification meeting in the state was held in Walterboro. This part of the low country was known for its extensive rice and cotton plantations. Many of the old plantations were bought by Northerners after the Civil War for use as hunting preserves; some of those lands are now being incorporated into the ACE Basin, a nature preserve bounded by the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto rivers. The Revolutionary War hero Isaac Hayne (1745-1781) was a Colleton resident, as were politicians Rawlins Lowndes (1721-1800) and William Lowndes (1782-1822).  (Submitted by: SC State Library / Mary Morgan, 31-Mar-2008)

Research Tips:

If your searching for an individual or have a specific question regarding a cemetery, it's suggested that you try using the following Help Links. 

• Post a Query on the County Forum Board at http://genforum.genealogy.com/

• Post a Query on the County Message Board at http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.southcarolina.counties/mb.ashx

• Visit SC Genealogical Society Chapter's Website at http://www.scgen.org/link.htm.

• Visit SC Genealogical Society's Website at http://www.scgen.org/

• Visit SCGenWeb Tombstone Project at http://usgwtombstones.org/southcarolina/scarolina.html

• Visit SCGenWeb County Project at http://sciway3.net/scgenweb/sc_counties.html

Research Notes:

Info Portal Link     X Link     SC Genealogical Society Chapter Link     Survey Book Purchasing Link

• GPS with Lower-Case Letters = Estimated GPS.  Example: n34 55.222 , w82 18.888

• GPS with Upper-Case Letters = Recorded GPS.   Example: N34 55.222 , W82 18.888

• GPS Mapping values should normally place you within eye-sight of the cemetery.

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  Cemetery Survey Book Surname Indexes  Use to determine which books contain what surnames [  Purchasing Link  ]

  Book 1	Information	Cemeteries	Surnames
  Book 2	Information	Cemeteries	Surnames
  Book 3	Information	Cemeteries	Surnames 1	Surnames 2	Surnames 3	Surnames 4