ON-LINE RECORDS INDEX at SCDAH (Click on image). |
There is a scavenger hunt going on at the South Carolina Genealogy Research Community on Facebook for Abbeville County, South Carolina. Well if you are on a scavenger hunt for records, it would help to know how to use the Online Index at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History:
This is how the records are grouped:
See: http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/
Go to ON-LINE RECORDS INDEX enter the name of your ancestor first, put a comma, then begin to enter the last name. You will see suggestions pop up, and you may recognize some of the names that come up.
For example, I entered the name "Waller, John" and several choices came up. Let's say the John Waller I was looking for lived in Abbeville prior to 1868. Prior to 1868 we would be looking for records in Abbeville District. It was renamed Abbeville County in 1868. I entered Abbeville District and clicked search. That brought me to seven records. Some are even online.
I chose to look at this record:
Search for John Waller at ON-LINE RECORDS INDEX (Click on image). |
This is how the records are grouped:
Records of Confederate Veterans 1909 - 1973 | 10,756 items |
Criminal Court Records | 4,144 items |
Index to Multiple Record Series ca. 1675 -1929 | 173,216 items |
Legislative Papers 1782 - 1866 | 53,489 items |
National Register of Historic Places | 1,415 items |
Plats for State Land Grants 1784 - 1868 | 51,809 items |
School Insurance Photographs 1935 - 1952 | 2,662 items |
Will Transcripts 1782 - 1855 | 11,059 items |
TOTAL: | 308,580 items |
See: http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/
Go to ON-LINE RECORDS INDEX enter the name of your ancestor first, put a comma, then begin to enter the last name. You will see suggestions pop up, and you may recognize some of the names that come up.
For example, I entered the name "Waller, John" and several choices came up. Let's say the John Waller I was looking for lived in Abbeville prior to 1868. Prior to 1868 we would be looking for records in Abbeville District. It was renamed Abbeville County in 1868. I entered Abbeville District and clicked search. That brought me to seven records. Some are even online.
Seven results for John Waller on the ON-LINE RECORDS INDEX at SCDAH (Click on image). |
I chose to look at this record:
Series: S108093 Reel: 0002 Frame: 00332 Item: 000 Record 3 of 7 records | WALLER, JOHN N. OF ABBEVILLE DISTRICT, WILL TYPESCRIPT (MSS WILL: ESTATE RECORD BOOK 1, PAGE 269; ESTATE PACKET: BOX 98, PKG 2398) (2 FRAMES). View all index terms | 1802 | Online images available |
If the image was not available online, I would go the the archives with the above information and locate the records on microfilm. If I lived too far, I could contact them and request a photocopy.
Click here to view the image for yourself. Now try it out yourself.
If you find an ancestor, post the good news here: