If your Ancestors were from South Carolina . . .a lucky new find for genealogists
In Colonial days, very few marriages were recorded at courthouses. The reason is that the Law only required marriages to be recorded at local courthouses after 1900. This fact is also a fact for other States as well.
There is some good news for South Carolina!
However, I found Marriage Settlements in the State records dating from 1775 to 1834. This was a huge find! This information should take you back to about 1750 on the ancestral chart.
This exciting discovery of marriage settlements will enable you to search through the old wills, estates, guardianships, and affidavits dating back to 1670, and make family connections!
Marriage Settlements 1774–1834
All records were scanned. This will enable the reader to acquire the full intent of the settlement, and thus gain other family data and lineages.
These marriage settlements were essentially prenuptial agreements between persons intending to marry or remarry and refer to property proposals, concessions, and distributions. The researcher must realize that the lifespan of the participants was shorter than today and that, to protect and raise young orphaned children, the mother would remarry soon after the death of her husband. Considering the property and estates of the bereaved widow, potential bridegrooms would begin courtship almost immediately. These agreements contain a wealth of information that is quite useful to the genealogist.
There is simply a whirlwind of information! The marriage settlements cover families before the American Revolutionary War! Another means of finding those ancestors.
Genealogy Tips: Do not forget to search county records in Charleston, South Carolina. (then begin ca 1640). This was a major port city with many tradesmen and settlers passing through. The images of Charleston’s oldest records are available online to members of southcarolinapioneers.net
