South Carolina Deed Abstracts, 1783-1788, Books I-5 through Z-5

This volume is a continuation of the abstracts prepared under Clara Langley of the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s. Until the establishment of county courts in South Carolina in 1785, all deeds were recorded in Charleston. The original deed books remain in the Office of the Register of Mesne Conveyance in Charleston County Court House. While the deeds in these deed books (I-5 through Z-5) were recorded between 1783 and 1788, within these deed books are instruments dating from a much earlier time, some as early as 1703. There are often several books containing deeds recorded in the same year. There are also occasional notations, especially in the case of mortgages, dated later than the recording dates of the deeds or mortgages. After the border surveys between North Carolina and South Carolina in 1764 and 1772, many lands formerly deemed to be North Carolina fell into South Carolina. For that reason, some deeds refer to lands granted by North Carolina, sometimes called “north patents.” For the same reason, some deeds formerly recorded in North Carolina, particularly in Tryon County, were re-recorded in the Charleston deed books. In the Colonial period, South Carolina had only four counties: Granville, Colleton, Berkeley, and Craven; which were further divided into parishes and districts. Maps of the counties, parishes, and districts; and, a full-name index add to the value of this work.