South Carolina Archives
Series Description

Plat Collection of John McCrady, ca. 1680-1929  

CREATOR: Charleston County (S.C.). Register of Mesne Conveyances.

TITLE: Plat collection of John McCrady

DATE: ca. 1680-1929; (bulk 1731-1929)

VOLUME: 28.00 microfilm reels

ARRANGEMENT: Series arranged by number assigned by the repository when it restored, microfilmed, and indexed the collection in the mid to late 1970s. There are also three separate rolls of retakes of plats that were illegible, missing, or had undiscovered material on their backs when the main sequence was filmed by the repository. Old arrangement and designations of the plats are depicted on earlier film made by the Southern Microfilming Company.

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE: John McCrady (May 8, 1883-April 21, 1955) was president of McCrady Brothers and Cheves, Civil Engineers. He collected plats both professionally and as a hobby. In the 1930s, he gave the collection to the county for general use.

SUMMARY SCOPE NOTE: This series contains plats made by or purchased by the firm of McCrady Brothers and Cheves, land surveyors and civil engineers. The collection includes the office copies of earlier firms and surveyors, including those of Joseph Purcell (1750-1807). The plats primarily depict land in the city and county of Charleston and the counties of Berkeley and Colleton. Plats generally show the shape and quantity of the land, usually to scale, listing all neighboring landholders. Many plats also show creeks, roads, rivers, and other information.

INDEX/FINDING AID: All personal names, including the names of surveyors, and geographic locations and features on the plats are included in the repository's On-line Combined Index to Multiple Record Series, 1675-1929. Names of firms (for example, American Tea Growing Company), names of plantations (for example, Fawn-Hill Plantation) and names of baronies (for example, Wragg Barony) are included among topics. Tract names (for example, Welch Tract) are included among the locations. These access terms are also available on a three-roll computer output microfilm (COM) index to the series produced by the repository in 1979 and in the Combined Alphabetical Index available on computer output microfilm produced by this repository in 1991.  The alpha-numeric code B1AC 900 was used to designate this series in the computer output microfilm indexes. 

The document descriptions in these indexes include the old designations at the end of the description. These designations can be used to access the images on the older Southern Microfilm Company film. Index to the collection as it was arranged when it was filmed by the Southern Microfilming Company in 1948 is also available on microfilm produced by the Southern Microfilming Company. A conversion table from old references to new numbers and lists of the numbers of the plats depicted on the retake reels are also available in the repository.

REPRODUCTION NOTE: Entire series available only in microfilm produced by this repository and on earlier film produced in 1948 by Southern Microfilming Company of Columbia, South Carolina.

LOCATION OF ORIGINALS: Originals held by the Register of Mesne Conveyances, Charleston, S.C.

ASSOCIATED MATERIALS: More than 600 additional plats collected by McCrady were given to the South Carolina Historical Society by Mrs. Charlotte L. McCrady in 2002. A detailed finding aid for most of them that are cataloged as John McCrady Plat Collection, 1696-1924 (SCHS 510.00) is available on the society's website. A less descriptive list of 70 other items is available under John McCrady Plats and Deeds Collection (SCHS 546.00).

GENERAL NOTE: Plats indexed by the repository to microfilm reels 16, 17, and 18 refer to retake reels C3195 (16), C4427 (17), and C4428 (18).

HIERARCHICAL NOTE: Forms part of the records of the Register of Mesne Conveyances for Charleston County.