
Colleton, Dorchester & Bamberg
Counties
, South Carolina
The SCGenWeb Project
With your help and ideas, we can make this a wonderful source of information and a tribute to your African American ancestors. Until we get more information online, be sure to post your queries on the Colleton County and Dorchester County GenConnect Boards. You may also want to join the RootsWeb mailing lists for these counties, as the histories of black and white residents are entwined. You'll see information for mailing lists and message boards on the Colleton County SCGenWeb , Dorchester County SCGenWeb
and Bamberg County SCGenWeb.
Linzay Kelly has an amazing collection of African American portraits, most of them unidentified, which she has found in antique stores and flea markets. Although they are not necessarily of Colleton County families, they are well worth sharing. Thank you Linzay for the contribution!
Surname Registrations
SURNAMES RESEARCHER GENEALOGY WEB PAGE CARTER Melody McGriff - GALASHAW / GALLASHAW, FIGGERS, SIMMONS, TUCKER, CANADAY Steven C. Perkins Thomas Nathan Gallashaw & Mildred Mae CarterGLOVER, GIBSON, GREEN, HILLIARD Harriet J. Cockrel - BROOKS, WINEGLASS, GREEN, HAMILTON, PINCKNEY, SIMMONS Albertha B. Goins - STEPHENS/ STEVENS, PRIMUS, WILKEY, BARNHILL, BROWN, WASHINGTON Yolanda Mitchell LOOKING THROUGH THE MIRROR... SALLEY, KINSEY Lisa Salley - GLOVER, BRAND Our105@aol.com - CEASE CMsbroadus@aol.com - BRITT Michael Gathron - WHEELDON, WHILDEN Carol Warren - SYPHRETT,SYPHRET,SYPRES, SYPRESS Lucy Summey-Greer
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BROWN, JAQUES / JAKES, SCOTT
Bernice Lacy
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GARBON / GARBONNE
Carissa Mann
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Because the families of Bamberg, Colleton & Dorchester Counties, "black" and "white" are interrelated, all
surname registries (including African American) are listed on the appropriated county surname registry here:
Genealogy Mailing List for South Carolina
African American ResearchEnter only the word: subscribe
in the body of your message. You will need to respond to the e-mail confirmation of your subscription.
South Carolina Research and Links Colleton and Dorchester Counties
Dorchester County SCGenWeb (incl. upper Colleton District)
Colleton County
- Diary of David Gavin of St. Georges Parish - Index of Slave Names
- Will of Charles Lowndes, 1763 & Slave Inventory of Charles Lowndes
Census Records - All Available Transcriptions and Indexes
Largest Slave Holders from Colleton's 1860 Slave Census, and Corresponding Surnames
of African Americans - 1870 Census - Tom Blake's site
Miscellaneous Marriages - 1900's
South CarolinaDon't forget to check the more obvious places for information:
- Large Slaveholders of 1860, and African American Surname Matches from 1870 - Tom Blake's Web Site (Many Southeastern Counties!) Remember that parts of Colleton and Barnwell Districts may have ended up in Bamberg and Dorchester Co.
- South Carolina Department of Archives and History - A little tricky to search, but you'll find many indexed documents that include names of free blacks, slaves and mulattos. Also, many photographs of "colored" schools.
- Images of Schools in Colleton, S.C. Dept. of Archives and History (black and white schools)
- Press and Standard Newspaper - Index of notices of births, engagements, marriages, deaths - indexed by Larry Ulmer (not all years available)
- The State Newspaper - Columbia - Articles about SC history
- Largest Slave Holders from Colleton's 1860 Slave Census, and Corresponding Surnames of African Americans - 1870 Census - Tom Blake's site
- GenForum Message Boards - South Carolina Counties
Note: If you post a message to a message board of mailing list, be as specific in your subject line and your message as possible, short of posting your entire family tree (WorldConnect is a good place to upload your GEDCOM). Give names, approximate dates of birth and death, and where you think your family lived. Mention other surnames who intermarried with your family.
- GenForum - Surnames
- RootsWeb Message Boards - S.C. Counties
- RootsWeb Message Boards - Surnames
- RootsWeb WorldConnect
Talk to older living relatives while they are still around. Don't believe everything you hear (it's amazing how family legends "evolve" over the years), but consider every bit of new information to be another piece of the puzzle, or a new clue in the mystery. I don't know of any genealogists who don't regret not taking advantage of this opportunity for information and identification of photographs and memorabilia.
If your ancestors may have been slaves, search everywhere for wills, diaries, bills of sale, that might include the names of your ancestors. Not every researcher posts this information to the Internet, so ASK on message boards and mailing lists. Most people are pleased to be able to help if documentation is available! Don't be shy...you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!
Periodically, check USGenWeb Special Projects and Google for any new web pages regarding your area or surnames of interest. Be sure to POST your own information and documents everywhere you can, to help other researchers! Good Luck!!!
Abbeyville County SCGenWeb
Sumter County SCGenWeb
Allendale County SCGenWebTimeline of African American Heritage in SC
- African American Confederate Pensioners of Sumter, Clarendon & Lee Counties
- Slave Names of Borough House Plantation - Statesburg, SC
- Freedman Contracts - Old Sumter District - 1865-66
Freedmen's Bureau - South Carolina Records
Christina's Links to SC African American Genealogy
African American Census Schedules - SC
Free African Americans (includes SC)
African American Genealogy- a Bibiography for Beginners
Afrigeneas Mailing List for SC Researchers
On Borrowed Ground- an essay about free African Americans in Charleston, 1810-1861
African American History Online- Sponsored by BellSouth
Beaufort, SC African American History
African Americans in the South Carolina Room
54th. Mass. Volunteer Infantry, Co. I
The Gullah Dialect and Sea Island Culture
African Americans and South Carolina - University of South Carolina
Documenting the American South-University of N.C.- Chapel Hill
Sweet Dreams of Freedom: Freedwomen's Reconstruction of Life and Labor in
Lowcountry South Carolina
History of African American Cemeteries in South Carolina
- SCGenWeb African American Links
- African American and Enslavement Queries and Data - SCGenWeb (not recently updated)
SC Slave Data On Personal Genealogy Sites
- Will of Senator Thomas M. Raysor of Colleton and Barnwell Districts - 1856
General Resource Centers for African American
Genealogy Research
Christina's Genealogy Website- African American Genealogy
Cyndi's List- African American Research
AfriGeneas
Freedmen's Bureau
African American Cemeteries Online
Grave Matters- the preservation of African American Cemeteries
African American History Sites
Black History Pages
African American Perspectives - American Memory Library of Congress
American Slave Narratives
United States Colored Troups in the Civil War
African American Warriors (US Wars, including Civil War)
The African American - A Journey From Slavery to Freedom
Slavery FAQ
Green Pond Area
- African American Cemeteries in Colleton County
Rose Hill Cemetery located on the Paul and Dalton Plantation
Zion Baptist Church Cemetery
Hickory Hill Cemetery
DORCHESTER COUNTY
USGENWEB TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION PROJECT
Help! We've got to start somewhere! Here are some other possibilities:
- African American Church Records
- African American Cemeteries (list) or Transcriptions
- Biographies (published or composed by you)
- Family Histories (your family's journey)
- Personal Letters and Diaries - Excerpts
- Family Stories about living in the old Colleton District
- Photographs of African American Churches, Communities, or Cemeteries
- Slave Information (usually found in Wills of slave owners)
Personal Genealogy/History Web Sites
If you have a personal web site featuring your African American family of Colleton, Dorchester, or Bamberg County, or if you know of one, please send me the link!!!
If you know of any other good research sites for South Carolina or general/nationwide research, please let me know! Pat Sabin