Charleston County Register of Deeds: Historical Books

Item

Country

US

Name of institution (official language of the state)

Language of name of institution

eng

Contact information: postal address

101 Meeting Street, Room 200, Charleston, SC 29401

Contact information: phone number

001 (843)958-4800

Contact information: web address

Contact information: email

mtorres@charlestoncounty.org

Title (official language of the state)

Charleston County Register of Deeds: Historical Books

Language of title

eng

Creator / accumulator

Register of Mesne Conveyances

Date(s)

1719/1959

Language(s)

eng

Extent

71 series

Type of material

Textual Material

Scope and content

This collection comprises originals and copies of deeds produced in Charleston County. It includes leases and releases, mortgages, deeds of feoffment, deeds of sale, deeds of gift, and other forms of conveyance, primarily for real property.
Some records relate to Sephardic Jews living in South Carolina, such as the following examples:
Vol. XX, p. 32: Lease for 150 acres of land in Fredericksburgh Township from Isaac da Costa to William Pinckney, July 11, 1761.
Vol. A3, p. 150: Mortgage for eight town lots in Jacksonborough and a slave called Cuffee from Alexander Shwab to Isaac da Costa, July 19, 1763.
Vol. C3, p. 108: Indenture of lease and release of land in Charleston from Isaac da Costa to the Congregation Beth Elohim of Charleston for a burial ground for the use of the Jews residing in the Province of South Carolina.
The indenture is made between Costa and members of the congregations of Charleston, New York, Newport, Savannah, London, Kingston (Jamaica) and Bridgetown (Barbados). A plat is included. March 13, 1764.
Vol. F4, p. 200: Indenture of lease and release of 1638 acres of land above Ninety Six District from Joseph Salvador (attorney Richard Rapley) to Abraham Prado, October 29, 1773.
Vol. B5, pp. 201-205: Indentures of lease and release of a parcel of land in the parish of Saint Philip in Charleston by Patrick Hinds and his wife, Ann, to Isaac da Costa. A plat is included. Sworn on August 9, 1779. The following pages include other deeds involving Isaac da Costa.
Vol. C5, pp. 250-252: Indenture of lease of a land lot in Chambers Alley, Charleston, from Isaac da Costa Junior and Abraham da Costa to Rabone Crinson and Company of Exeter, Great Britain. January 29, 1781.
Vol. C5, pp. 326-328: Mortgage for the sale of nine enslaved people by Joseph de Palacios and Isaac da Costa Junior to William Smith. A bond is included. March 10, 1781
Vol. E5, pp. 424-429: Indenture of release in fee of a moiety of a lot on the Bay of Charleston from Abraham Seixas to William Smith, Lease And Release. May 20, 1782.

Administrative / Biographical history

The Register of Mesne Conveyances (RMC), later the Register of Deeds (ROD), was a title hailed from colonial times. It was a specific position within a government that oversaw the recording of documents which transferred ownership of real property. Charleston is one of only six counties in South Carolina where the position is elected to oversee the office.
The Register of Deeds Office is the county office which provides recorded evidence of who owns the land and where the landlines or boundaries are located. The office records plats, mortgages, leases, assignments, deeds, and other miscellaneous documents. The office, led by the Register of Deeds, maintains these records and transactions for future generations.

Access points: locations

Access points: persons, families

Access points: corporate bodies

Access points: subject terms

Access points: document types

System of arrangement

The collection is arranged into series whose books are identified by characters. Records are arranged chronologically.

Access, restrictions

Digital copies of both original and copy books are available online:

Finding aids

Links to finding aids

Existence and location of copies

Author of the description

Carla Vieira, 2023

Item sets

Linked resources

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Is Version Of
Title Alternate label Class
Conveyance Books, 1719-1776 Existence and location of originals
Conveyance Books, 1776-1785 Existence and location of originals
is part (item) of
Title Alternate label Class
Charleston County Collections (official language of the state)