Last updated: October 8, 2021
Article
Districts to Counties
Mouzon, H. & Robert Sayer And John Bennett. (1775); Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.
From the early colonial period till 1916 South Carolina went through many changes. The colony was first divided by parishes. It was then divided by counties and districts. Sometime all three were used at the same time. These fluctuations can often cause confusion and uncertainty, especially when trying to decipher locations referenced in historic document or events. This is a common occurrence when attempting genealogical research, especially at Ninety Six. But armed with a little knowledge of the past, finding these locations can become a little easier.
The earliest division of the colony was in 1682. The Lords Proprietors created three counties in the coastal area. By 1706 the Church Act was passed, establishing the Anglican Church Parish system. There were 10 parishes, each associated with the corresponding church. These churches played important roles in society. They cared for the poor and orphaned and provided medical care and education for their parish.[i] By 1716 these parishes had also become electoral districts. As the number of settlers increased more parishes were added and by 1770 there were 24. During this time the backcountry population expanded. The backcountry ran 50 miles from the coast and stretching to the Cherokee Territory. Yet, only three of the parishes were for the backcountry and they were badly defined. In theory every South Carolinian lived in a parish, meaning those eligible could vote for their representative to the Commons House.[ii] But because of ill-defined parishes it could be hard for residents to know which parish they lived in.[iii] If they were able to discover their parish, often voting locations were far from home.[iv]
By the 1750s other problems with the parish setup had begun to show. Around 1752, backcountry residents were already petitioning for better representation, courts, and schools.[v] In 1754 Governor James Glen asked for more courts as did Lieutenant Governor William Bull, Jr. in 1765.[vi] Neither one was successful. With no added courts, all legal matters were handled in Charleston. From property claims to theft and murder trials, those who lived in the Ninety Six area had to make a long trip - at least 6 days by horseback, one way.[vii] To make matters worse, there was no law enforcement for the region.
In 1764 the Provost Marshal, the man responsible for law enforcement for the colony, did not even live in America, but in England.[viii] He hired a deputy, but this deputy did not care to split any fees he was able to collect so never hired sheriffs.[ix] It did not take long for the backcountry to become home to gangs of outlaws. But it was not only South Carolina that faced such problems. There were similar crises running from the backcountry of Pennsylvania to Georgia.[x] The outlaws were not only thieves, but often tortured their victims. They used hot irons, pokers, and other methods[1] to force people to tell them where they kept their money.[xi]
Finally, residents were able to capture some of these outlaws. They sent them to Charleston for trial. Six were convicted, but the governor pardoned five of them.[xii] This act did not sit well with the citizens of the backcountry, who decided that if the government would not protect them, they would take matters into their own hands.[xiii] In 1767 they formed a vigilante group that became known as the Regulators. They began arresting, chasing out, and punishing the outlaws. The Regulators were active until 1769, when the Circuit Court Act passed.
This important act authorized the formation of seven judicial districts, three in the low country and four in the backcountry. Money was also approved for the purchasing of land and the building of courthouses and jails.[xiv] Each district would get one of each. The most western district was the Ninety Six District. The Cherokee territory bordered it on the west. To the north it bordered North Carolina to the Broad River. It followed the Broad south then headed toward the Georgia line below Augusta. The town of Ninety Six became the district seat, and the jail and courthouse were built there. The other districts were Georgetown, Charleston, Beaufort, Cheraw, Camden, and Orangeburg. The courts did not go into effect until the jails and courthouses were finished. The first court at Ninety Six held in 1772.[xv]
In 1785 each district remained intact. At the same time 20 counties were created for small claims courts.[xvi] The Ninety Six District counties were Abbeville, Edgefield, Newberry, Laurens, Union, and Spartanburg.[xvii] In 1791 two new districts were formed. The Ninety Six District lost two counties, Union and York, to the new Pinckney District.[xviii] 1800 brought big change. The state dissolved the larger districts and renamed the counties districts.[xix] The town of Ninety Six fell within the new Abbeville District. In 1868 the districts changed back to counties.[xx] Between 1868 and 1916 new counties emerged by splitting existing counties. After 1916 all the current South Carolina counties were in existence.[xxi] The original Ninety Six District now includes Abbeville, McCormick, Edgefield, Saluda, Greenwood, Laurens, Union, and Spartanburg. It also includes most of Cherokee and Newberry and small sections of Aiken and Greenville.
With such a large area and so many changes it is understandable why finding old locations can be hard. But, knowing the dates of documents and the changes made to the state can help narrow the search. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has several very helpful resources, including online maps showing the changes to the state mentioned above.
[1] One gang burned Charles Kitchen and beat out his wife’s eye. Another tied up a man and tortured him with hot irons before setting his house on fire.
[i] Dennis Lambries, “Counties, districts, and parishes,” South Carolina Encyclopedia, University of South Carolina, Institute of Southern Studies, last modified May 18, 2016. http://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/counties-districts-and-parishes.
[ii] John Richard Alden, The South in The Revolution 1763-1789, 3rd ed. (Louisiana State University Press, 1969), 146
[iii] Alden, The South in the Revolution, 146.
[iv] Ibid., 146.
[v] Ibid., 148.
[vi] Ibid., 148
[vii] Jerome Greene, Historic Resource Study and Historic Structure Report, Ninety Six: a Historic Narrative, (Denver: Denver Service Center, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1979), 46.
[viii] Alden, The South in the Revolution, 148.
[ix] Ibid., 148
[x] Walter Edger, South Carolina: A History, (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1998), 212.
[xi] Rachel N. Klein, “Ordering the Backcountry: The South Carolina Regulators,” The William and Mary Quarterly 58, no.4 (1981): 673, http://jstore.org.
[xii] Edger, South Carolina, 212.
[xiii] Ibid., 212.
[xiv] Ibid., 215.
[xv] Greene, Historic Narrative, 51.
[xvi] Lambries, ”Counties, districts, and parishes”.
[xvii] “Districts and Counties, 1785,” South Carolina Department of Archives and History, accessed September 1, 2021. http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/guide/CountyRecords/1785.htm.
[xviii] “Districts and Counties, 1791-1799,” South Carolina Department of Archives and History, accessed September 1, 2021. http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/guide/CountyRecords/1791.htm.
[xix] “Districts, 1800-1814,” South Carolina Department of Archives and History, accessed September 1, 2021. http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/guide/CountyRecords/1800.htm.
[xx] “Counties, 1868-1870,” South Carolina Department of Archives and History, accessed September 1, 2021. http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/guide/CountyRecords/1868.htm.
[xxi] “Counties, 1916-Present,” South Carolina Department of Archives and History, accessed August 29, 2021. http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/guide/CountyRecords/co1693.htm.