Horry County Probate Records

Horry County (pronounced O-REE), once called Kingston, was originally part of the Georgetown District. It did not become its own county until 1801 when Conway was made the county seat. It wasnamed for Revolutionary War hero Peter Horry (1743-1815). Horry is actually an island surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Little Pee Dee River, and the Waccawmaw River. Because of is geographical isolation, it was once referred to as "the Independent Republic of Horry". The region was first inhabited by the Pee Dee, the Chicora and the Chicora-Waccamaw Indians. In 1526 the Spanish arrived on the shores of Cape Fear River in North Carolina and later moved their settlement further southward along the South Carolina coast to found a colony at the southern tip of Horry County.In 1663, South Carolina was given to nine powerful Englishmen known as the Lords Proprietors by King Charles the II of England who sold that portion known as South Carolina in 1729. George II later dispatched surveyors to lay out townships.

Indexes to Deed and Estates Records

• Deed Book 1842 to 1873
• Estates 1842 to 1872

Books

• Horry County. Conway, SC