Anderson County, SC

County Name: 
Anderson
State: 
South Carolina

Total population (1850): 32,318
Enslaved population (1850): 19,262
Percent enslaved: 60%
Extant nineteenth-century inquests: 153
Date range: 1830-1883
Percentage of violent crimes in county sample: 32% (49/153)

Anderson County was named for Robert Anderson, a Revolutionary War hero who helped wrest the land away from the Cherokee in 1777. The resulting cession was then broken into Pickens and Anderson Counties (technically Pickens and Anderson Districts) in 1826. Lacking a central county seat, Anderson Courthouse was built, which gradually became the town of Anderson, now known as 'The Electricity City' because it was the first in the country to have continuous power thanks to a water mill located in the high shoals. Like many counties in the area, Anderson became heavily invested in cotton and textile mills as the nineteenth century progressed.

Anderson County, SC Inquests

Displaying 1 - 50 of 153
Name Deceased Description Date Inquest Location Death Typesort descending Death Method
Caroline A. Kinnan January 13, 1872 at L. C. Neals[?] Unknown arsenic
John H. Megill September 22, 1867 at J. D. Tucker's Unknown
Meredith Crawford July 3, 1861 At the residence of Meredith Crawford Unknown
Franklin A. Ragsdale July 23, 1867 at the house of Franklin A. Ragsdale Unknown
Mary Waters March 20, 1883 at or near the residence of Thomas J. Reynolds Unknown
Mary Magdalene Saxton December 6, 1876 at the house of Enoch Saxton Unknown
male infant slave male infant slave July 10, 1851 at Jacob Pickle's Unknown
infant March 30, 1874 at Silas Kay's Unknown
Eli David Junkins July 24, 1871 at or near the hosue of John Martin (colored) near Richard Robinson Mill Accident shotgun
Jefferson Kitsinger June 17, 1876 at Broadway trestle on the line of the Greenville and Columbia Railroad Accident train
Mary Thompson June 12, 1878 Accident
Henry Davis October 30, 1857 at Anderson Courthouse Accident
Samuel McCulley December 29, 1839 in Broadway Creek Accident
Peter Knox July 23, 1878 near Calrandellers[?] Ferry on Tugalo River Accident
George Hammond June 24, 1871 at Provosts Mill Pond Accident
Willis Watson June 14, 1876 at the river bank on Saulda one mile above Gambell old Bridge Accident
Edward Lawrence March 29, 1856 at Pendleton village Accident wagon
Smith June 9, 1876 near R. H. Anderson's Tanyard Accident
Hewlet Swangum July 21, 1883 at Pelzer, SC Accident
Sloan freedman November 19, 1866 At Williamston Accident
Major Crawford July 21, 1880 at Anderson Court House Accident
David McClellan November 27, 1857 at residence of David McClellan Accident
Jack slave [runaway] November 21, 1835 at Andersonville Accident
Sam Burton December 9, 1876 Accident laudanum
Aaron Hardin June 24, 1845 at plantation of Mr. Moses Chambles Accident
Minnie Cason June 9, 1883 at Williamston Accident
Thomas Dalton February 8, 1882 at Williamston Accident
Thomas D. Cook April 10, 1854 at Stover's Ferry on Savannah River Accident
colored colored April 24, 1874 at Dr. J. A. Todd's Accident
Thomas J. Geer November 23, 1860 Thomas J. Geer's residence Accident
Jim Mason free man of color January 9, 1850 near the residence of William Poole Accident
T. J. Blaydon November 30, 1878 at or near Hugh Mahaffey's on the Greenville and Columbia Rail Road about two miles below Williamston Accident train
John Vandiver March 28, 1845 at residence of Daniel Gentry Accident horse
Sarah McCulley wife of Barney McCulley September 1, 1841 at the house of Barney McCulley Accident
Anna G. Goodrich November 10, 1881 at Pelzer, SC Accident train
Lena Hutchinson October 20, 1873 Accident
William Roberts April 11, 1883 at Belton in Anderson County Accident train
James Jenkins May 30, 1875 at Robert Spence's [?] Mill Accident
Unknown April 15, 1861 At Pendleton Accident laudanum
John Maddox June 15, 1881 at Williamston Accident
Robert Brownlee July 26, 1883 at Seneca River Accident
William McCode January 20, 1870 at Luke McCoy's [?] Accident
Henry Thompson June 17, 1876 at Broadway trestle on the line of the Greenville and Columbia Railroad Accident train
Anthony slave July 2, 1853 at Samuel J. Hannond's plantation Accident
N. T. Hooper November 7, 1881 n.a. Accident train
Allen Johnson June 17, 1876 at Broadway trestle on the line of the Greenville and Columbia Railroad Accident train
John Dean December 29, 1848 on the publick [sic] road leading from William McMurry's, Esq to J. L. Kenedy's Accident
Samuel Negro Man Accident
Jacob Cromer December 4, 1867 at the residence of Jacob Cromer Accident mule
Henry slave December 25, 1830 on public highway from Pendleton to Pickensville [modern-day Easley] Accident

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