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A Little History of Chesterfield County:
Chesterfield County was formed by the County Court Act of 1785, when
Cheraw District was divided in Chesterfield, Darlington, and Marlboro
counties. Textbooks will tell you that Chesterfield County was named after
Lord Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, a close friend of George III;
however, local tradition states that the Craig family, who originally
inhabited the county seat, was influential in naming the county after the
county from which they came, Chesterfield County, Virginia. Population
grew slowly with Welch, French Huegenots, Scotch-Irish, Germans, and
English moving in mostly from other of the colonized areas.
On November 19, 1860, Chesterfield County held the first secession
meeting held in South Carolina. The ensuing war took its toll upon
the state and the county. It is commonly known "that Sherman
expected to exact vengeance from the original secessionists, who, he said,
bore a major share of the blame for the war" (Sherman's March by
Burke Davis, page 141). This he did, and on March 02, 1865, entered
Chesterfield County with a vengeance. In Chesterfield, the county
seat, the courthouse, jail, academy, and other buildings, were burned to
the ground. In Cheraw, the business portion, except for one house,
was also burned down. Cotton, crops, food, and livestock were either
stolen or destroyed. In a letter during reconstruction, "Thomas
Powe of Cheraw to Governor Orr, Powe brought that 'every house in
Chesterfield District, with the exception of two cabins, was visited by
Sherman's soldiers and the bare mention of this fact speaks volumes'
" (Chesterfield County: The Reconstruction Years by Frank
White, Jr.).
This has rendered genealogical research difficult, but not
impossible. It is our intention that this page provide whatever
service necessary to aid you in your search for your Chesterfield County
ancestry. I would highly recommend visiting the GenWeb pages of the
surrounding counties, because the majority of Chesterfield County families
moved into the area after living in Anson County, North Carolina;
Lancaster, Kershaw, and Marlboro Counties, South Carolina. |
