Genealogy Travel: York Co., South Carolina

138 E Black St, Rock Hill SC

Travel has become my middle name since I have retired from teaching and since my children have all moved to different states. Recently I drove to South Carolina, visiting one of our daughters and our son along the way. I was very excited to see ‘the kids’.

As I looked at maps and the calendar my thoughts turned to genealogy. My father’s family has southern roots. As long as I was there, I was sure I could fit in some time for research. Between my son’s place in North Carolina and my destination in South Carolina, I would be driving through York County, SC where my Brumfield ancestors lived.

John& Margaret (Kelly) Brumfield were married in Wake, North Carolina in 1788. Eleven of their thirteen children were born in York County, South Carolina between 1790 – 1811. I checked on line & found the York County Library at 138 East Black Street, Rock Hill, SC not far off Interstate 77.

The York Co. Library website lists these resources:

§ Indexes of 1790 - 1870 census
§ Microfilm of 1790 - 1930 census
§ Soundex microfilm of 1880 and 1900 - 1930 census
§ Soundex reference guide
§ Family histories (published and manuscripts)
§ Church, cemetery, land, military, will, and estate records of York County residents
§ Index of tomb information for some area church and family cemeteries
§ Marriage and death notices (indexed from local newspapers, 1823 - 1918)
§ Local newspapers on microfilm
§ Rock Hill city and telephone directories
§ Catawba Indian Nation information

I easily found the library and the reference librarian showed me materials that might be helpful. There were no family histories for the Brumfield family. I looked through many materials. In The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research did find a reference to Charles Brumfield in Oct 1802. However I did books on the history of the county which is always helpful in understanding the lives of our ancestors.

· Shankman, Arnold, E. Thomas Crowson, C. Jack Tucker, and Joel Nichols. York County South Carolina; Its People and Its Heritage. Norfolk, Virginia: The Donning Company, 1983.

· Wilkerson, John S. York County Yesterday & Today 1500 to 2005.

I copied pages about the years that relate to my Brumfields.

Browsing the shelves, I found history books from other SC counties. In those books I did find my family: The Ott family from Orangeburgh.

· Culler, Daniel Marchant. Orangeburgh District 1768 - 1868; History and Records. Spartanburg, South Carolina: The Reprint Company Publishers, 1995.

· Salley, Jr., A. S. The History of Orangeburg County, South Carolina; From Its Settlement to the Close of the Revolutionary War. Reprint. Greenville, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1994.

In general, my stop at the York County Library was good. I  did find the history of the area the Brumfields lived and I did find my Ott family. The library was pleasant with a 15 cent per page photocopier and a helpful librarian.