Wills, Estate & Probate Records
by Victoria Proctor
Wills Prior to Establishment of Marion Courthouse
(earliest - c. 1800)
FILED AT CHARLESTON
Prior to 1785, all Wills in South Carolina were filed at Charleston, regardless
of where an individual lived. The South Carolina
Department of Archives and History (SCDAH) in
Columbia holds these earliest documents in two formats: microfilm
and typescripts.
Generally speaking, you will want to look for Wills marked
"Craven County" and/or Georgetown District.
Be aware, however, that Craven County was a HUGE area to the north of Charleston and covered
nearly half the state. In other words, if a "Charleston Will" specifies only "Craven County",
you will need to rely on geographic clues for property holdings and / or other documents
to determine if the deceased resided in Marion, or even in the Pee Dee area.
Some of these earliest Wills have been transcribed and may be found on the
Craven County Wills page.
FILED AT GEORGETOWN
For a relatively brief period between 1785 and 1800, documents for Marion residents were filed at
the courthouse in Georgetown, and those documents were lost when the Georgetown courthouse
was burned.
FILED AT MARION
Wills Held at Marion County Courthouse
Copies of early (1800-c.1900) Wills and Estate may be ordered from
- Marion County Archives and History Center
101 N. Main St.
Marion SC 29571
(843) 431-5024
You can order copies of later (after c. 1900) Marion County, SC Wills and Estate
records filed at the
county courthouse by writing to:
- Judge of Probate
201 Court Street
Marion, S.C. 29571
Tel: (843) 423-8244
If you have done a transcription of any Marion County Wills, Estate or Probate
records, please consider sharing with your fellow researchers by
sending a copy
for posting. Please be careful to cite your source so that others may consult the original.
Speaking of which, what you really want is a copy of the ORIGINAL Will located in the Probate Records
and not a copy of the clerk's recording of the Will (which is what the Index points to). Be sure to ask for
any Estate Records when ordering a copy of a Will. I've added a column
for the Probate Roll Number but I have few of those. If you can help...
REMINDER: While every effort is made to present accurate data on this web site, we're
all human and errors are always possible. Always, always, ALWAYS consult the
original document before including data in your genealogy.
Wills, Estate and Probate Records On This Site:
- Early Wills - South Carolina ( - 1785)
These Wills and estate records would have been filed in Charleston, and many of
those for our area would have been designated as "Craven County".
- 1785 - c. 1800
Wills for this period were filed at the courthouse in Georgetown.
NOTE: Burned county. (See above.)
- Marion County Will Books 1 and 2 (1796-1855)
Thanks to a wonderful group of volunteers who participated in a Wills Project during 2000 and 2001, we
have ALL the Wills transcribed for Will Books 1 and 2.
These pages also include a number of probate records, nuncupative Wills, and a few Wills for former
Marion residents.
- Minute Book of the Ordinary
- Marion County Will Books 1856-1900s
- Selected Wills from other States
Most Wills and Estate records in this group will be for individuals with known
Marion County connections -- either ancestors of early settlers, or former residents who
migrated south and west.
Copyright © 1996-2014 Victoria Proctor. All rights reserved.
