Books by Brent Holcomb

Newberry County was formed in 1785 and became Newberry District in 1800. Prior to the border surveys of 1764 and 1772, the area was included in Anson, Mecklenburg, and Tryon Counties, North Carolina. For this reason, a few grants and deeds from North Carolina are referenced in the Newberry County deeds. Early settlers of Newberry County, as indicated in these deeds, included Quakers, German Protestant immigrants, Germans from Pennsylvania, and Irish Protestant immigrants. There were also settlers from North Carolina. Migration from Newberry County to other areas of South Carolina is also indicated in the deeds.The deeds in this volume were recorded for 1794 to 1800; however, the earliest deed included in this work dates from September 1765. The instruments in this volume have been abstracted from LDS microfilm and South Carolina microfilm, using the original deed books in Newberry when necessary. A full-name index and a place index add to the value of this work.

Laurens County, South Carolina, was formed in 1785 as a county of Ninety Six District. Laurens County bordered on the counties of Spartanburg, Union, Newberry, Abbeville, Greenville, and Edgefield. A small portion of Laurens County was annexed to Greenville County in 1793.It is very unusual for a record, such as these minutes of the county court for Laurens County, to surface after being lost for so many years. While this volume is not complete, missing the first fifty-four pages, pages 103-126, and an unknown number of pages at the end of the volume, it is still an exciting and significant find.Within the pages of these court minutes are small court cases, lists of deeds presented to be recorded, applications for administrations on estates and wills proved (beginning in 1787), jury lists, petitions of various kinds, appointments for various offices, apprenticeships, estray animals tolled, and other items. Larger court cases were heard in the district courts. Occasionally, one can infer a relationship of a plaintiff or defendant to a juror.Maps and an index to names, places and subjects add to the value of this work

This work is not a genealogy of a wealthy low-country plantation family, nor that of an up-country gentleman farmer, but a genealogy of the descendants of a poor German protestant who settled in the midlands of South Carolina. Variations of the name in America include: Bidenbach, Peterbox, Peterbaugh, Bedenbaugh, Betenbaugh, etc. The author's goal in this volume is to provide information whereby any Bedenbaugh descendant can find his or her own lineage with a minimum of research of the direct lineage. With a little research into death certificates and census reports, any descendants of Adam Bedenbaugh or John Uriah Beatenbaugh should be able to trace his or her lineage using the information in this volume.This volume is organized in the New England Register Method (with some modifications). The lineage in Germany to the immigrant is presented in this format, but the individuals are not numbered, except the direct lineage and that by upper case letters. The American lineage is organized by generations in each section, each person being assigned a number. (The immigrant Johann Michael Bedenbaugh, is number 1.) Where there is information on an individual or his/her descendants further in the volume, the number is preceded by a plus sign (+). Where there is little or no information other than names and dates, several generations may be listed together in outline form.Chapters include: The Lineage in Germany; Johann Michael Bidenbach, the Immigrant; Descendants of Adam Bedenbaugh; Descendants of John Uriah Beatenbaugh; and, Notes and References. A map of South Carolina (1853) and a full-name index add to the value of this book.

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 (F-4 through X-4) were recorded between 1773 and 1778, within these deed books are instruments dating from a much earlier time, some as early as 1706. 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.

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.

The single most important record for any North Carolina county is the minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions. The court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions is the lowest court of record for the county. It was where the business of the county was carried on. As the title of the court suggests, the court met four times a year, or quarterly. From a genealogical point of view, the names of more people will appear in this court record than in any other body of county records. In fact, the only place where some names will be found is within such court minutes. Lists of deeds proved and recorded are found in the court minutes, as well as lists of wills proved or administrations on intestate estates taken out. The construction of roads and the road juries (sometimes called road gangs) who were to lay out and maintain the roads are spelled out in these records. Civil suits involving less than $150 (usually over debt), minor criminal cases, depositions, jury lists, tax officials' names with their districts, tavern licenses and tavern rates, and care of the poor of the county are among the many kinds of records included in the court minutes. The records in this volume were extracted from the microfilm copy (produced by the North Carolina Department of Archives and History) of the Tryon County Court Minutes (C.094.30001).Tryon County was abolished in 1779 to form Lincoln and Rutherford Counties. Of the four counties involved in the North Carolina-South Carolina border problem in the colonial period (Tryon, Mecklenburg, Anson, and Bladen), Tryon County is the only one which has extant court minutes for the period prior to the border surveys of 1772.A map of Tryon County at the time of its formation, a map of North Carolina in 1775, a full-name index, and a place name index add to the value of this work.

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 (Y-4 through H-5) were recorded between 1776 and 1783, within these deed books are instruments dating from a much earlier time, some as early as 1722. 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.

Union County was formed in 1785; in 1800 it became Union District. In the colonial period, the area of Union County was considered part of Craven County or Berkeley County, South Carolina. Prior to the border surveys of 1764 and 1772, the area was included in the North Carolina counties of Anson, Mecklenburg, and Tryon. For this reason, many grants and deeds from North Carolina are referenced in the Union County deeds. Union County bordered on the counties of Spartanburg, Laurens, Newberry, Fairfield, York, and Chester. Little changes in its boundaries occurred until 1897 when a portion of Union County was taken, with portions of Spartanburg and York Counties, to form Cherokee County.The deeds in this volume appear to have been recorded between 1785 and 1800, though recording dates are absent from the first deeds in Book A. As is common, there are deeds recorded from a much earlier time period. The earliest deed included in this work dates from 30 May 1752. The deeds in this volume have been abstracted from South Carolina Archives microfilm, Rolls C2204, C2205 and C2206. References within the deed to recordings in the Secretary's office and the Auditor's office refer to the royal grants and land memorials respectively.Abstracts typically include: deed book and page number(s), date of sale/lease, name of grantor/lessor, name of grantee/lessee, the grantee/lessee's county and/or district of residence, amount charged and/or paid, number of acres and location of property (in a few cases the property is a slave rather than land), names of witnesses, name of justice of the peace and/or other official approving deed, date approved, and date recorded. A map of Union District (1822), a full-name index, and a place index add to the value of this work.