Online South Carolina Death Indexes, Records & Obituaries

Online South Carolina Death Indexes and Obituaries

South Carolina Death Certificates and Index, 1915-1969 (at Ancestry/requires payment) includes: digitized statewide death certificates, 1915-1968; Charleston City death records, 1821-1914; Spartanburg City death records, 1895-1897 and 1903-1914; and Union City death records, 1900 and 1913-1914

South Carolina Death Records and Index, 1915-1965 from FamilySearch (free with registration; includes digitized images of the death records)

South Carolina Death Index, 1915-1967 (free)

South Carolina Newspapers Obituaries Archive (recent) (copies of individual obituaries can be obtained online for a fee) includes: Anderson Independent-Mail (1/15/1998-Current); Bluffton Today (7/1/1999-Current); Charleston Post and Courier (12/6/1994-Current); Columbia State (12/15/1987-Current); Greenville News (1/2/1999-Current); Myrtle Beach Sun News (5/1/1996-Current); Rock Hill Herald (5/1/2004-Current); Spartanburg Herald-Journal (1/1/2004-Current); and about 30 more South Carolina newspapers

South Carolina Probate Search for the following counties: Aiken, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Greenwood, Jasper, Kershaw, Marlboro, Newberry, Oconee, and Saluda (also has marriage indexes for Charleston and York Counties)
South Carolina Probate Records, Files and Loose Papers, 1732-1964 from FamilySearch; images only, not searchable by name; most are for the mid-1800s through 1930.
South Carolina Department of Archives and History Database Search includes Will Transcripts, 1782 - circa 1855

South Carolina Death Records Indexes, Obituaries and Cemeteries by County

Anderson County Library System - Local Obituary Index covers 1950-1954, 1980, and 2010-2018
Beaufort County Obituary Index, 1862-c.1992
Charleston County...
- Charleston City Death Records, 1821-1926 at FamilySearch
- Charleston County Probate Court - Estate/Will and Conservatorship/Guardianship Records Search 1983-present
- Index to Wills of Charleston County, South Carolina, 1671-1868 scanned searchable book (requires payment - part of an Ancestry subscription)
- Charleston County: Burial Records for the Evergreen (Grimball) Cemetery, James Island
- Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina Black Deaths, 1871-89 at Ancestry/requires payment; not complete
- For Charleston City death records, 1821-1914 at Ancestry, see the first link above (South Carolina Death Certificates and Index)
Chesterfield County: Cheraw Chronicle & Chesterfield Advertiser Obituary Archive 2003-recent (not complete)
Colleton County: The Press and Standard Newspaper Index, 1873-present Walterboro, SC
Columbia - see Richland County below
Dillon County: Extracts of Obituaries from the Dillon Herald 1931-recent
Edgefield County Will Book Index 1836-1853
Greenville County...
- Greenville News Obituary Index 1907-current from the Greenville County Library
- Greenville County: Springwood and Richland Cemetery Viewer (City of Greenville); includes burials search; requires Flash
- Greenville County Historical Records Search includes some older probate and estate records; also has some marriage license indexes
  - Also: Greenville County Probate Search (recent)
Greenwood County Library Obituary Index for Greenwood, SC Newspapers work in progress
Horry County Historical Society Records includes indexes for death records, wills, obituaries, cemeteries and more
Lexington County Public Library Newspaper Obituary/Death Notice Index
Lexington County Probate Court Indexes includes estate indexes 1865-1994, estate search 1995-present, and some marriage indexes (PDF files)
Richland County...
- Richland County Library Obituary Index - Columbia, SC Newspapers; and Indexes of Local History and Genealogy indexes obituaries and death notices from various local newspapers from 1875 to the present; the "Indexes of Local History and Genealogy" includes South Carolina State Hospital Cemetery Survey Index, and Randolph Cemetery Survey (African American Cemetery in Columbia, South Carolina; also see the next item below)
- Richland County: Randolph Cemetery Burials (African American Cemetery in Columbia)
Spartanburg County Death Registers and Obituaries (roughly 1849-present; some years missing)
Union County: Index of Probate Records 1782-1865
York County Library News and Obituary Index

1870 Census Mortality Schedule for Upstate South Carolina lists people who died in the year prior to the census being taken (June 1, 1869 - May 31, 1870) includes Chester, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg, Union and York Counties
Also see... Census Mortality Schedules 1850-1880

Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina - Cemetery Burials
Southern Christian Advocate and South Carolina United Methodist Advocate Obituaries Index from the Wofford College Sandor Teszler Library
South Carolina State Hospital Cemetery Records
CSI: Dixie - South Carolina Coroners Reports, 1800-1900 has 1,582 digitized coroners reports from Anderson, Edgefield, Greenville, Kershaw, Spartanburg and Union Counties

Ordering South Carolina Vital Records

Order South Carolina Vital Records by Mail (fees and restrictions apply)

Also Helpful...

South Carolina Genealogy Records at Ancestry (requires payment)
includes census records, cemetery burials, military records, vital records and more

Online South Carolina Death Records & Indexes

A Genealogy Records Guide