If you are looking for Powells in South Carolina you might want to check the South Carolina Archives On-Line Records Index at http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/ . Click on "Search Page" in the lower right hand corner. The following is an example of a plat record: Series Number: S213190 Volume: 0015 Page: 00165 Item: 00 Date: 1784/08/08 Description: POWELL, ANN, PLAT FOR 640 ACRES ON WATERS OF RAFTERS CREEK, CAMDEN DISTRICT, SURVEYED BY ISHAM MOORE. Names Indexed: POWELL, ANN/MOORE, ISHAM/MATHIS, JANE/COOK, BENJAMIN/ Locations: CAMDEN DISTRICT/RAFTING CREEK Type: PLAT/ The first four items are required by the archives to identify the record you are interested in if you want a copy of the document. "Date" and "Description" are just that. "Names Indexed" includes the name of the person the plat was surveyed for, the name of the person making the survey, and based on the plats I have ordered, the names of the people who have land that joins the described property. In this case Jane Mathis and Benjamin Cook. Several other types of records are indexed including wills. The records date from 1675 to 1952. Most of the records are from 1782 to 1868 Jim Barrett Bedford, TX parino@flash.net Barrett Surname DNA Project - http://www.flash.net/~parino/barrett-family-dna-project.htm Powell Surname DNA Project - http://www.flash.net/~parino/powell-surname-dna-project.htm