Book Overview
SOUTH CAROLINA 1731 JURY LIST This book contains 1764 entries. It lists the locality of every person.South Carolina has a remarkable series of records that makes it unique for the Colonial period. These are the "Jury Lists" compiled by the government to function as a list of names from which members of a jury could be assigned. They cover the period 1720-1783 and, according to the act in 1731, were compiled from tax lists of the preceding year (which unfortunately no longer exist), listing every person who paid a tax of twenty shillings or more. Those who paid five pounds, or more were listed as grand jurors. The poorer class of people would not be listed. While not a complete list of the heads of household, they represent a sizeable proportion. They serve as a census during a period of growth, migration, and war. Usually only the name and residence is given (the 1720 list does not give residence), but sometimes an occupation or name of the father is listed, etc. Many names are on more than one list for a particular year.Unfortunately, about 10% of the names in the existing manuscript were illegible in whole or in part.South Carolina State Motto(s): Dum spiro spero (Latin, 'While I breathe, I hope') Animis opibusque parati (Latin, 'Prepared in mind and resources')
