Combs &c. Counties in South Carolina

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The Carolinas were originally one colony - The Carolina Colony, and the majority of the early settlement was in the part that is now South Carolina, centered around present-day Charleston. In 1682, the Carolina Colony was divided into South and North Carolina, with "proprietary" original counties of Berkeley, Colleton and Craven. Early records were maintained, not by the counties, but centrally, and by the Anglican parishes.

The early French settlements in Berkeley were Huguenot settlements. In Charleston, the Huguenots were a significant portion of the population, although not a majority. In fact, there is still a Huguenot parish in downtown Charleston.

While many present day counties of South Carolina were established geographically between 1785 and 1799, the counties created during that time were not the highest level of local government. All South Carolina counties, before 1820, were subdivisions of circuit court districts. In 1868 all South Carolina districts were redesignated as counties.

Combs &c. Research of South Carolina has been minimal thus far, and from whence the earliest Combs came, still remains unknown at this time, although at least some of those found in the counties of Berkeley and Charleston were French Hugenots (although possibly by way of England).

Later Combs to South Carolina, those appearing in the records of South Carolina for the first time closer to the era of the Revolutionary War, may have come primarily from Virginia, possibly Maryland, and generally by way of North Carolina. Some of these latter may have had Tory backgrounds.

Also Note: One proprietor of the Carolinas was John ARCHDALE of the Archdale-Combs Families of England.

Our Special Thanks to Researcher Bess Villeponteaux for background on the early Huguenot Settlements of South Carolina.