Williamsburg County Death Records
Williamsburg County death records are held by state and local offices in and around the county seat of Kingstree. The county was incorporated in 1804 from the Georgetown District and has a population of roughly 30,000. Williamsburg County's probate records stretch back to 1802, giving researchers a long documentary record for tracing family deaths well before mandatory state registration began in 1915. This guide covers every office, database, and historical source available for finding Williamsburg County death records.
Williamsburg County Quick Facts
Williamsburg County Death Certificates
Certified Williamsburg County death certificates are issued by the South Carolina Department of Public Health Vital Records office. The state began mandatory death registration on January 1, 1915. All Williamsburg County deaths from that date are on file at the main state office at 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201, phone (803) 898-3630. Full ordering details are available at dph.sc.gov/public/vital-records/death-certificates.
Local vital records inquiries for Williamsburg County can be directed to the county health department at 147 W. Main Street, Kingstree, SC 29556, phone (843) 355-9321. The county health department follows SC DPH guidelines for all vital records requests. Staff can advise on the correct process for your specific request and help you understand which documents you need to provide.
Mail requests to the state office cost $12 per certificate and take approximately four weeks. Online orders through VitalChek cost $17 and are processed in five to seven business days. Each additional certified copy ordered at the same time is $3. Certified copies for deaths recorded within the past 50 years are limited to immediate family and legal representatives under South Carolina law.
Note: The state Vital Records office can search for records by name and date of death when the exact certificate number is not known.
Williamsburg County Probate Court and Historical Death Records
The Williamsburg County Probate Court at 147 W. Main Street, Kingstree, SC 29556, phone (843) 355-9321, holds one of the longer-running records collections in the state. Probate records at this court date back to 1802, more than a century before mandatory death registration began. Will books, estate papers, and guardianship records from the nineteenth century regularly contain death dates, names of heirs, and family relationship information that can substitute for missing death certificates.
Marriage licenses at the Probate Court run from 1911 to present. Will Transcripts for Williamsburg County covering 1782 to 1868 are a particularly valuable resource for early research. These transcripts have been published and are accessible through genealogical libraries and online. Researchers tracing ancestors who died in colonial or antebellum Williamsburg County will find this collection an important starting point.
FamilySearch has digitized portions of the Williamsburg County historical probate collection. The statewide collection "South Carolina Wills and Probate Records, 1670-1980" on familysearch.org includes Williamsburg County materials. Searching this collection by county can quickly surface estate records for ancestors who died in the county before 1915.
William Willis Boddie's 1923 book "History of Williamsburg" documented the county's early records in detail. Boddie noted that Judge of Probate W. E. Snowden and Clerk John D. Britton were especially helpful to historical researchers of that era. This volume, available in many South Carolina genealogical libraries, contains transcribed records and family histories that reference Williamsburg County deaths spanning the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Searching Williamsburg County Death Records Online
The SC Courts Public Index for Williamsburg County at publicindex.sccourts.org/williamsburg/publicindex/ provides free access to court filings. This tool is searchable by party name and returns case types, filing dates, and docket numbers. Probate cases filed after a death often confirm the decedent's name and open date, which corresponds closely to the death date.
The image below is sourced from the Williamsburg County Public Index website and shows the court records search tool used for locating probate filings and other Williamsburg County death-related records.
Probate case filings in Williamsburg County go back many years and are increasingly indexed online. Older cases may require an in-person visit to the Clerk of Court to access the full file, but the online index can confirm whether a case exists before you make the trip to Kingstree.
scprobate.net aggregates South Carolina probate data statewide and includes Williamsburg County. The SC Department of Archives and History holds microfilm of Williamsburg County court records dating from 1806 to 1909 and land records from 1806 to 1929. These older records can confirm deaths and help establish property succession after a death in the county.
Williamsburg County Government Resources
The Williamsburg County government website at williamsburgsc.com provides a central directory for all county offices and contact information. All Williamsburg County offices, including the Health Department, Probate Court, Clerk of Court, and Coroner, are located at or near 147 W. Main Street, Kingstree, SC 29556, phone (843) 355-9321. This consolidated location makes in-person records research straightforward for those who can visit Kingstree.
The image below is sourced from the Williamsburg County government website and shows the county's official web presence, which serves as the directory for Williamsburg County death records offices and related public services.
The county website lists phone numbers and office hours for all departments. Before making an in-person visit to request Williamsburg County death records, checking the website for current hours and any procedural updates is recommended. Staff at the county offices can advise on what identification and documentation to bring for your specific request.
The Clerk of Court at the same address holds court records from 1806 to 1909 and land records from 1806 to 1929. Divorce records from 1948 to present are also on file. These records can help researchers reconstruct family histories when death certificates are restricted or unavailable for the time period in question.
Williamsburg County Coroner Records
The Williamsburg County Coroner's office is at 147 W. Main Street, Kingstree, SC 29556, phone (843) 355-9321. The coroner investigates deaths that are sudden, violent, suspicious, or occur outside of medical care. When a Williamsburg County death falls under coroner jurisdiction, the investigation findings are submitted to the state vital records system. The manner of death determined by the coroner is incorporated into the official death certificate.
Coroner case files are separate from the death certificate. These files can include autopsy reports, scene investigation notes, and toxicology findings. Immediate family members and legal representatives may request these files from the Coroner's Office. Requests should be submitted in writing and include proof of relationship to the decedent. Response times depend on the age of the case and current office workload.
Note: When a death in Williamsburg County is under coroner investigation, the official death certificate may be delayed until the coroner submits findings to the state Vital Records office.
Historical Research in Williamsburg County Death Records
Williamsburg County's long records history makes it a rich destination for genealogical research. The county was carved from the Georgetown District in 1804, and its official records have been maintained with relative continuity since that time. Researchers tracing family lines through this part of South Carolina's Lowcountry and Pee Dee region often find records that survive from the early nineteenth century.
The South Carolina Department of Archives and History at scdah.sc.gov holds microfilm of Williamsburg County court and land records predating 1930. For deaths between 1915 and 1963, the SCDAH holds state death record microfilm that can be viewed in person in Columbia. The SCDAH is a key resource for Williamsburg County researchers who need records outside of the time periods currently digitized online.
Church records are another important source for pre-1915 Williamsburg County deaths. The county has a significant Presbyterian heritage, and many historic churches maintained burial and death registers. The SC Room at the State Library and local libraries hold microfilm and transcripts from some of these collections. Newspaper archives from Kingstree-area papers are also searchable at the State Library and provide obituary information going back to the late nineteenth century.
South Carolina Vital Records Law and Williamsburg County
South Carolina Title 44, Chapter 63 governs the filing, access, and correction of Williamsburg County death records. Section 44-63-74 requires the attending physician, or the coroner when no physician attended, to file the death certificate within five days. South Carolina moved to mandatory electronic filing in 2022, which applies to all counties including Williamsburg. The electronic process has streamlined registration and reduced the number of incomplete certificates reaching the state file.
Section 44-63-84 limits access to certified copies of death records less than 50 years old. Only a spouse, parent, child, sibling, or grandparent of the decedent may obtain a full certified copy. After 50 years, the record is publicly accessible to any requester. Section 44-63-150 provides the correction process for errors on filed death certificates, requiring documentary support for any proposed change. Section 44-63-161 makes fraudulent use or alteration of a vital record a felony under state law. The full statute is at scstatehouse.gov/code/t44c063.php.
The image below is sourced from the SC State Library genealogy guide page and illustrates the statewide research tools available for Williamsburg County death records research including indexes, microfilm guides, and digital collections.
The State Library genealogy guide at guides.statelibrary.sc.gov/genealogy covers county-specific resources throughout South Carolina. The Williamsburg County section links to probate records, microfilm collections, and historical society materials. Researchers new to Williamsburg County death records will find this guide a helpful orientation to the available sources.
Nearby Counties
Williamsburg County borders several South Carolina counties in the Lowcountry and Pee Dee regions. Families in this area often moved between Williamsburg, Georgetown, Florence, and Marion counties. Researchers may find relevant death records in any of these neighboring jurisdictions.