Old Saint Davids Church,Cheraw SC 3.46

Books relating to Cheraw and local sources of genealogical information
Research in Cheraw can be difficult because Sherman destroyed the county courthouse in Chesterfield, and the county did not have a public library until 1961. The following may be helpful to Cheraw researchers. Please note: The term “Old Cheraws” referred to a judicial region which covered what is now Chesterfield, Marlboro and Darlington counties - roughly equivalent to its predecessor St. David’s Parish. The county seat is Chesterfield. (15 miles)

*St. David’s Parish, South Carolina Minutes of the Vestry 1768-1832 Parish Register 1819-1924 edited by Brent Holcomb. Valuable resource. The Southern Historical Press, PO Box 738, Easley, South Carolina 29640: this is sometimes available locally, also.

*A History of the Old Cheraws by Alexander Gregg (This is found in many large libraries)
The Reprint Company, PO Box 5401, Spartanburg, SC 29304 (864 579-4433):
All in One Southern Family edited by Adeline Godfrey Pringle Merrill. Articles on Cheraw and the following families Bellinger, Kelsall, Hornby, Godfrey, Auld, Harrington, Powe, and Ellerbe. Privately printed, now out of print: 45 East Battery, Unit C, Charleston, SC 29401. This book is available for research at Mattheson Library.

*The Frontier in the Colonial South South Carolina Backcountry, 1736-1800 by George Lloyd Johnson, Jr. Deals mostly with the Old Cheraws (upper Pee Dee Region); valuable resource.
Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut: 1-800-225-5800 ISBN 0-313-30179-4

The First United Methodist, *First Baptist and First Presbyterian Churches all have short histories that mention families and individuals by name. (Mattheson Library has copies)

*The old cemeteries in Cheraw are Old St. David’s (white) and Foundry Hill (African-American). James Pigg has catalogued the graves at St. David’s. James Pigg has a number of abstracts and cemetery surveys for Chesterfield County, including the census records. These are available for research at Mattheson Library or from Mr. Pigg at 23033 Point Clear Drive, Tega Cay, SC 29715 (803 802-2583)

For colonial records, look in the Kershaw family papers at the SC Historical Society, at Historic Camden or the Camden Archives. There are mentions of Cheraw residents in the account books.

Ron Bridwell’s two books on the port of Georgetown have Cheraw shipping information.

The Sanborn insurance maps have information on buildings in Cheraw after about 1870.

Mill’s Atlas of 1825 shows dwellings of individuals in the country, churches, taverns and mills.
An 1854 Map of Cheraw shows individual residences in the town. (A framed copy is at the library)
Mattheson Library has copies of the Pee Dee Gazette in the mid 1850’s. The Chesterfield County Library has some copies of the Cheraw Chronicle on micro film from the 20th century and a few others from an earlier period. Charleston and other area newspapers may also have Cheraw news.

Sherman’s March through the Upper Pee Dee Region of South Carolina by Larry E. Nelson R.L. Bryan Co. 2001. Available for research at Mattheson Library.

Sherman in Cheraw and the Aftermath, Adeline Godfrey Merrill.2014, available on Amazon.