BDC Program @ Hilton Head Branch on Wednesday

Hope that you'll be able to join me for this special presentation!

Women of Character, Courage, and Commitment

From the Billy Rose Theatre Collection, NYPL

Maude O'Dell Doremus is Beaufort's best known actress to date. She was highly committed to her Broadway career, having discovered fairly early on that she was not cut-out to be a schoolmarm in Port Royal. A short biographical sketch written by Dennis Adams is posted in our Local History and Nature web pages. For a much more detailed examination of her long Broadway career and how she grew younger as the years went by, visit this 2011 Connections post about her. She is buried in family plot at the Historic St. Peter's Church cemetery on Carteret Street. We have a vertical file of newspaper articles about her in the Research Room.  Come visit us, Mondays through Fridays, 10 am - 5 pm. This image of Maude O'Dell (ID: TH-41099 ) comes from the On Stage and Screen: The Billy Rose Theatre Collection in the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery.

 

Reminder:  Queen Quet discusses what the civil rights movement meant to the Gullah Woman, Wed., March 12th at the St. Helena Branch Library beginning at 6 :00 pm.  The presentation is free and open to ages 11+. Directions. Details: mbenac@bcgov.net; 255-6486.

Gullah Women of Character, Courage and Commitment

The Created Equal film and discussion series ends with a session devoted to the significance of Gullah/Geechee women upon our nation's history.  The enstooled head of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, Queen Quet, discusses the documentary "De Gullah/Geechee Ooman an De Right Ta Freedum!" on Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 6:00pm in the St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Rd. The presentation is free and open to the public.  Details: (843)255-6540, mbenac@bcgov.net

 

Created Equal: America's Civil Rights Struggle series is a National Film project by the National Endowment for the Humanities, as part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, in partnership with  the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.  South Carolina based partners helping to bring the series to Beaufort County are South Carolina State University and Penn Center.  

Women of Character, Courage and Commitment: Grimke Sisters

Angelina Grimke Weld and Sarah Grimke

The abolitionist ranks were populated with women of character, courage, and commitment.  Two of the most dedicated women to the cause of freeing the enslaved were Angelina Grimke Weld and Sarah Grimke who had connections to Beaufort District. Their brother Thomas J. Grimke practiced law at the Beaufort District Court in Coosawhatchie with his partner Robert W. Barnwell.  Some of the Grimke family properties were located in the upper reaches of the St. Peter's Parish straddling the boundaries of Beaufort and Barnwell Districts.

On March 5th, as part of the Created Equal film series, Penn Center is showing the documentary "Abolitionists" at 11 am in Frissell Hall.  That evening, meet Clelia Peronneau McGowan, abolitionist and suffragist, as she is brought to life by her descendant, Kelly McGowan at St. Helena Branch Library at 6 pm. 
 
On Thurs., March 20th, 2014, the Beaufort County Historical Society is hosting Dr. Amy Thompson McCandless, Dean of the Graduate School at the College of Charleston who will speak about these unlikely Charleston-born and reared sisters who became staunch advocates for abolition, civil rights, and women's rights. The lecture will occur at the Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club, 30 Yacht Club Drive in Beaufort.  A light lunch ($) will be served at 11:30 am.  RSVP for the lunch to Linda Hoffman, 843-524-3942 or hoffman@earthlink.net. The free lecture is open to the public and will begin at Noon.  

BTW: Author Thomas O. Lawton,Jr. who was born on the Grimke Plantation devotes a chapter of Upper St. Peter's Parish and Environs to its history. We have copies to share in the local history sections and in the Research Room.     

Celebrating Women of Character, Courage, and Commitment

For much of recorded history, recognition of distaff contributions to human endeavor were ignored.  In 1978 the Education Task Force of Sonoma County California initiated a Women's history week in the local schools.  The week was such a success that within two years President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8th 1980 as National Women's History Week. In 1987, Congress declared March as National Women's History Month in perpetuity. A special Presidential Proclamation is issued every year on March 1st which honors the extraordinary achievements of American women.

Although none of the official 2014 Honorees have direct connections to Beaufort District history, we have plenty "Women of Character, Courage and Commitment" to celebrate this month through this blog and our Facebook page. Stay tuned.