Materials from the Crypt by Cassandra Knoppel

It's officially the greatest time of year - it's Fall y'all! October brings an amalgam of my personal - and professional - favorite holidays: Halloween, International Archaeology Day, Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Awareness Month, and, of course, American Archives Month. The BDC has lots to acknowledge this month, and it can be hard to find the common ground between all of these different community celebrations. But there is one for-sure connection, the one constant in life...

And that's death!

Unfortunately, we will all experience it. It is a fact of life. "Nothing gold can stay," as Robert Frost once wrote. It is such a constant in the human experience that every culture has their own customs for caring for the dead, for honoring them and supporting their families through grief, as well as ideas for "where we go" in the afterlife. History and cultural heritage preservation is a process that tries to staunch the flow of time and the inevitability of information loss caused by death (of both people and things). 

While death is a constant generally, death feels more present in an archive, as most of our historic material comes from or discusses people who have departed this plane. Deaths show up often in records like diaries and newspapers. Obituary requests are some of our most common reference requests. So, for this month's display, I chose to showcase "Materials from the Crypt" which document funerary and burial history and customs in the Beaufort District. I made sure to pull materials that intersected with the related October holidays and celebrations, too!

Shelf One: The Deceased

Archivists in a history-based collection like the BDC gather and share evidence of both life and death on a daily basis. Evidence of life varies - birth records, marriage records, diaries, deeds, listings in city directories, etc., etc. Evidence of death is a little more cut-and-dry, but it can also come from a variety of sources. In the BDC, death records include:

• Obituaries - The BDC has both a card catalog and Online Obituary Index of more than 24,000 people whose deaths were noted in Beaufort County newspapers from 1862 to approximately 2000.
• Beaufort County Coroner Inquisition Books - These two microfilm reels hold copies of all proceedings at inquests into violent or mysterious deaths held by the coroner for the years 1888-1898, 1932-1951. Information includes names of decedent/witnesses/jurors, circumstances surrounding the death and other evidence, and verdict of the coroner/jury.
• Published indexes of death notices - Similar to the obituary index, these books compile lists of death notices first published in state newspapers in the 18th and 19th centuries.
• Mortality schedules - In the 1850 to 1880 censuses, a mortality schedule was included in which the enumerator recorded persons who had died in the prior year. Information could include name of the deceased, age, sex, race, whether free or enslaved, marital status, place of birth, month of death, cause of death and number of days ill.

Examples of each of these materials can be found on the shelf.

Shelf Two: Beaufort County's Funerary Customs

The prevalence of death and related rituals means that trained funerary professionals are a necessity. This shelf showcases the funeral industry of Beaufort County in (relatively) recent history. 

In the center, we have Waking Up Dead: A Loose Collection of Anecdotes from Life as the Son of a Funeral Director and Coroner, Among Other Things by Ryan Copeland. In his memoir, Copeland writes about being raised by the local funeral director and coroner. The memories he shares balance both the humor and grief of the profession along with the impacts this line of work can have on an entire family.

I pinned copies of ads that ran in the Beaufort Gazette behind it. First is a 1915 ad for "Coffins and Caskets" and "Undertaker Supplies" from Morrall Furniture & Company. I also added a second one (not in the picture) for "James Riley, Undertaker" from 1904. Riley was a "Dealer in coffins, caskets, and funeral supplies" whose office was located at 209 Craven Street, "between Scott and West" streets.

Below the ads on the left is the June 1993 issue of "The Southern Funeral Director" magazine, “the national funeral service journal with a Southern accent since 1919." The cover features a photo of the magazine's new office at 1605 North Street in downtown Beaufort. In her editor's note, Mary Y. Cronley gives part of the reasoning behind the move of their office to Beaufort from Atlanta, stating “To deepen the attraction for this area, my mother’s family is buried on Daufuskie Island .... In a way, I’ve come home.”

The topic of cemeteries on Daufuskie brings me to the next book on the shelf: The Death Care Industry: African American Cemeteries and Funeral Homes by Roberta Hughes Wright and Wilbur B. Hughes III. This book describes the history of burial practices in African American communities across the nation, beginning in slavery and continuing into the present. Chapter 2 of the book is titled “The Sea Islands and Southeast” and leads with descriptions of Gullah funerals and cemeteries on Daufuskie Island. Wright and Hughes included inventories of the graves found in Bloody Point, Cooper River, Haig’s Point, Maryfield, and Webb Tract cemeteries.

Shelf Three: Burials in Beaufort

As I mentioned before, every culture has its own burial customs. One of the most consistent is marking a grave in some fashion with available materials and returning to the site with offerings to show that our loved ones have not been forgotten despite the passage of time.

In Beaufort County, floral arrangements are a common sight at funeral services and graves. However, flowers started going missing from cemeteries in Beaufort in 1897. According to the March 18th Palmetto Post article I pinned to Shelf Three with the bold headline "Desecration," graves were being robbed of flowers and other greenery shortly after funerals. In the broad daylight, just after friends and family had left the cemetery, a mysterious marauder plucked the wreaths and bouquets from the gravesite! The columnist wrote that "it is evident that the vandals are afraid to enter the grounds when darkness covers the earth, and when the poets say the graveyards yawn." I do not know what became of the grave(side) robber - that's research for another day!

Postcards of Beaufort churchyards, which may have once been struck by the caper, are on the shelf below the article. One features the gate and churchyard of St. Helena Episcopal Church, while the other is of the National Cemetery's entrance. A similar postcard to the latter can be found on LCDL.

To fit the theme of cemeteries on this shelf, I added two related titles. The first is “Gone but not forgotten": African American cemeteries on the United States Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina by DePratter, Legg, and South. This is an archaeological study of graves on Parris Island, which was once a working plantation before the Marine base was established. We also have Beaufort County Cemetery Inventory Survey by the Historic Preservation Department of SCAD (1996). This is an incomplete inventory of identified cemeteries in Beaufort County. We have a related collection in the BDC archives featured on the last shelf.

Shelf Four: Death in the Archives

The BDC also holds archival collections that tell the story of burial customs in Beaufort County. Our two most recently processed collections are:

• St. Helena Island Cemetery Survey 
• Bloomsburg University professor Sandra Kehoe-Forutan conducted research on Gullah cemeteries on St. Helena Island (and some adjacent areas), from 2011 to 2014, documenting their locations and conditions. Her collection includes surveys, maps, and notes collected during the course of her research.
• Geneva Betties Collection of Funeral Flyers 
• Geneva “Vernell” Moultrie Betties (1949-2021) was a Gray’s Hill, Beaufort County resident who attended many funerals within her community. She collected the flyers created for these funeral services and donated her collection to the BDC. The collection contains late 20th and early 21st century funeral flyers for African Americans in Northern Beaufort County. These flyers and programs include photographs of the deceased, obituaries, and information on their funeral services. An index of all the flyers is included in the finding aid.

Sydney and I always teased Grace about her "obsession with death," yet here I am having made a whole display with that theme! I hope that this display is not too morbid, but I also don't wish to make light of the seriousness of death. Besides being informative to BDC patrons (my first priority always), this display was also an opportunity for myself to come to a better understanding of death in Beaufort's past and present. I find it comforting that even after so many centuries, great effort is made to honor and remember those who have passed on. I hope that this display and the materials within it informed, and perhaps helped, you all, too.

As always, you are welcome to visit the BDC Research Room to see the display in-person. If you would like conduct research in the BDC, please know that walk-ins are sometimes accepted while appointments are always encouraged. To make an appointment, send an email to bdc@bcgov.net or give us a call at 843-255-6468. We hope to see y'all soon!

October in the Archives - Upcoming BDC Programs

The BDC is busy, busy, busy this fall. But we think it's the "good" kind of busy, as we get to bring a variety of exciting programs to y'all! From archaeology to colonial history to eerie stories, the BDC has something for everyone in October.

At 2:00 PM on Saturday, October 3rd, the BDC and ASSC-HHC will be hosting our "What the Heck is It?" Artifact Identification Session at Hilton Head Branch. Are you curious about the history of something you found in your yard or purchased from an antique shop? Be sure to attend this drop-in session, where Brockington & Associates archaeologist Dr. Eric Poplin will be our Expert Archeologist on hand to analyze, identify and date your artifacts. (No Weapons Permitted!) 

Did Chris Allen's program on 16th Century maps spark your interest in Beaufort District during the "Age of Discovery?" Then you're in luck! Join the BDC and BCHS on October 8th at 11 AM for "16th Century Explorations and Settlements in Port Royal Sound" with Peggy Pickett at Bluffton Branch. Peggy will explain the motivations behind the Spanish and French colonies in the area, along with their reasons for abandoning them!

A reminder: The BDC and BCL will be closed on Monday, October 12th for our Staff Development Day. 

Later in the month, Cassandra will be hosting two ~spooky~ Local History programs. Pick your poison!

• Ghosts of Beaufort's Past - October 19th, 5:30pm @ Port Royal Branch.
• Come hear some spine-chilling tales of spirits and specters that that once stalked the Beaufort District. Be warned! Some of the stories might scare young patrons, so ages 12 and up are invited to attend this hair-raising program. Space is limited, so registration is required. Registration will open on October 1st in the BCL Calendar listing.
• Death in the Archives - October 23rd, 11:00am @ HHI Branch​.
• Deep within our archives, we have found stories of those gone-to-soon, legends of life-after-death, and some strange materials that might lead to our own untimely demise! Come learn about the dark of local history (with a focus on Hilton Head) and how to do your own research on the topic. Due to the subject matter, ages 18 and up are invited to attend this spine-chilling program.

Also, here's a little sneak-peek at what's coming in November!

• "Revolutionary Colonel William Harden," with Dik Daso - Thurs., November 5 @ 11 AM, Beaufort Branch.
• "Historic Black Businesses of Beaufort," with Chanda Powell - Mon., November 16 @ 2 PM, Beaufort Branch.

We can't wait to see y'all there!

Spanish Moss: Myth and Memory by Sydney Whiteside

Hello again, dear friends! As part of the BDC's celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Sydney wanted to write about Spanish moss. While the connection, you'll come to learn, is tenuous, Sydney was diligent in her search within BDC materials to find the "truth" behind the myths. Growing up, I heard many legends of its origin and thought Spanish moss was both ubiquitous and so beautiful. I never understood the spooky, "Southern Gothic" feeling people got from a canopy of oaks with moss. Anyways, I hope you enjoy Sydney's alliterative report on Beaufort's beloved bromeliaceae! - Cassandra

What is Spanish Moss?

Spanish moss is a rootless, flowering, fibrous air plant that hangs from the bountiful branches of live oaks and cypress trees. The non-parasitic plant draws no nutrients from the organism that it lounges on; it relies only on sunlight, minerals from rainwater, and dust particles from the air (Ballantine, 1978). During rainy, high humidity months such as July and August, the plant is able to absorb the most moisture, allowing its gracious green coloring to shine through. When the weather is on the dry side and the plant has utilized the last of its stored moisture, the scales dry out and turn an almost silver-gray color (Ballantine, 1978). Spanish moss is a safe harbor for many animals and insects including birds, frogs, and beetles; but beware of trombiculidae (chiggers,) which will infest Spanish moss that is low hanging or has touched the ground! 

Live Oaks and Spanish Moss.

You can find the plant beginning in coastal Virginia, spanning the Southern coast of the United States, all the way through Central America, and down to Argentina (Ballantine, 1978). The pervasive plant stretches much farther than most people realize, but the Lowcountry is the perfect habitat for Spanish moss. With its jungle gym-esque live oaks, the plant thrives in the Lowcountry's environment. But have no fear, no harm is intentionally brought to the oaks or cypress trees as the plant is non-parasitic. I say "intentionally" because there is still a possibility that the plant could bear too much weight and pull a branch down or block the sun from reaching a tree, stunting the trees growth (Sprunt, 1964).

Nomenclature

Spanish moss has gone by many different names over the last few centuries. It may be referred to as a “moss,” but there are no mosslike qualities to this rootless, stringlike plant. Nor is the plant from Spain; it is native to the Americas and simply bears the “Spanish” name because the texture of the plant reminded early French explorers of the Spaniards' beards (Martinez, n.d.). It has previously been referred to as Dendropogon Usneoides or Renealmia Usneoides, both loosely translating to “tree beard resembling an Usnea lichen.” The current scientific name for Spanish moss is Tillandsia Usneoides (Ouchley, 2010). You may be wondering, why so many name changes? I asked the same question and did a bit of digging:

For many years - hundreds of years, in fact - the perplexing plant could not be placed into one specific genus (the biological classification after family.) It is an epiphytic plant, meaning it latches on to and grows from another plant (such as a live oak.) Epiphytes are commonly known as “air plants” and thrive off the air, minerals, and water surrounding them without bringing harm to their generous host plant (Ballantine, 1978). These specific qualities led scientists to determine that Spanish moss is actually a flowering air plant, placing it in the bromeliaceae family; which oddly enough makes Spanish moss and pineapples essentially cousins (Sprunt, 1964). This is how the “moss” went from Dendropogon to Renealmia, and now dons the name Tillandsia.

Live Oak Avenue, Beaufort, S.C.

Common (and Not so Common) Uses

At a glance, the draping plant does not appear to have any uses other than to laze upon our vivacious oaks. However, Spanish moss has served various roles throughout its time on Earth.

The plant itself is utilized by many different animals. Squirrels and birds use it for nesting and protection. Bats enjoying roosting, or perching, upon a branch covered in Spanish moss for the safety it provides. There are even certain types of birds and jumping spiders that will exclusively live in Spanish moss, refusing to nest in any other material (Ouchley, 2010). Much like these animals, us humans have used Spanish moss for bedding, packing material, blankets, and even insulation. Indigenous tribes of the Lowcountry fashioned the long, threadlike material into clothing while the Acadians of Louisiana combined Spanish moss with mud to make bousillage, a mortar concoction used for insulation (Ouchley, 2010). 

In Hoodoo Medicine: Gullah Herbal Remedies (1999), Faith Mitchell shares multiple ways that Spanish moss has been used by Gullah people over the centuries. In one example, the entire plant was placed into a bath for an invigorating soak. For high blood pressure, the moss was brewed in water and drank as a tea. For sprains, the plant alone was wrapped around the issue area or mixed with clay and vinegar and spread across the sprain.

Materials available in the BDC.

Spanish Moss and the Civil War

While scouring the BDC for Spanish moss-related materials, I stumbled across the most fascinating title: Flora and Fauna of the Civil War: An Environmental Reference Guide by Kelby Ouchley, 2010. That may have been very nerdy of me to say, but I love nature and I love history, so it is intriguing to me! And it provided the perfect amount of information needed for this section!

For many soldiers, orders dispatched during the Civil War may have given them their first reason to journey South, where they encountered many new people, places, and things during their service. Ouchley includes excerpts of diaries, journal entries, and letters written by soldiers seeing Spanish moss for the first time.

Some soldiers incorrectly identified the plant as a parasite; almost all noted its dull coloring and the drab look it gave the atmosphere. On November 28th, 1864, Major James A. Connolly went as far as to say that the moss gave the trees “a gloomy, funeral appearance.” However, the soldiers were greatly appreciative of the comfort that the plant provided. Colonel Thomas W. Higginson (the white officer in charge of the 1st South Carolina Volunteers) described the moss that covered his living space and how it “keeps off the sun, & I have scarcely ever had such comfortable quarters.” Sergeant Taylor Peirce wrote his wife on January 29th, 1865, to say that he’s “got some of the long moss and have just as good a bed as I wish.” Ending his letter with a quip: “You had better think I am enjoying myself to-day.” 

Some soldiers were so fascinated by the plant that they sent cuttings of it home to their loved ones, which did not always go as planned:

“That Moss I sent home was of a bright green color when I pulled it. It may change color.” - Private Isaac Jackson on May 17th, 1864.

BDC Print 82: The Great Oak on Bay Street by George F. Bauman

Legends and Lore

As time has come and gone, stories have been passed down to explain how Spanish moss came to be and its many uses. Some tales are straightforward with simple reasoning for the plant’s appearance, while others can be quite eerie and cause one to gaze upon the trees with terror.

Remember what I said earlier, about how early French explorers saw the dangling plant and it reminded them of Spaniards beards? Well, from our Artificial Postcard Collection, we have a postcard that recounts the story of the bearded Gorez Goz and the creation of Spanish moss:

Postcard from the Artificial Beaufort Postcard Collection, 1900-.

Another postcard from our Artificial Postcard Collection tells a whimsical tale of Santa Claus's visit to the Lowcountry. He traded his sleigh for a plane to bring presents to children who lived in the warmer climate. However, it was a little too warm for the magical figure:

Postcard from the Artificial Beaufort Postcard Collection, 1900-.

According to urban legend, Henry Ford stuffed the seats of early Ford Model T automobiles with Spanish moss for extra padding. Soon after purchase, drivers began to complain of bites from trombiculidae, more commonly known as “chiggers.” Whether the air plant was poorly harvested or the bugs were dormant in the plant, the story tends to change. The detail that consistently remains the same is that this incident led to the first-ever automotive recall. 

As interesting as this story is, I believe it may just be that: a story. I first stumbled across the legend in the 1978 publication of Woodland Walks: Everyman's Guide to the Forestscapes of Hilton Head Island by Todd Ballantine. Next, I took to the internet where I was unable to find any primary resources confirming or denying the claims. Other researchers have done their own investigations, even consulting Ford Motor Company's archivists who were unable to find any mention of such a recall. So, this tale may just have to remain a Lowcountry legend.

BDC's Spanish Moss Vertical File.

Fast Facts

• Spanish moss has a slightly sweet scent that is more noticeable at night (Sprunt, 1964). If you look closely, you will see small flowers blooming from the plant. These flowers serve a very important purpose: They release this scent to attract many different insects such as bees, butterflies, and moths. 

• Under prime conditions, Spanish moss grows at a relatively quick rate. When settlers first acquired land here, they found that their new home was overgrown with the plant. They quickly cleared their land, only to be greatly disappointed when it grew back almost instantly (Sprunt, 1964).

• This plant relies heavily on minerals and nutrients from the air. This means that when an area experiences an overgrowth of Spanish moss, it can be an indicator of good air quality. If there is significant air pollution in the area, the plant will not grow (Ouchley, 2010). Early explorers wrote of the "dreariness" that the plant's growth evoked; if only they knew how good they had it... 

• Below is an engraving by Theodor de Bry titled "The French Left at Fort Charles Suffer from a Scarcity of Provisions." This is a part of a collection of etchings called "Theodor de Bry's Engravings of the Timucua" from the Florida Memory State Library and Archives. The etching depicts present day Parris Island. It is believed to be the first European depiction of an alligator, a palmetto tree, and (most importantly) Spanish moss (Sanders & Anderson, 1999). You can see a tree draped with Spanish moss in the center of the right-side island.

(State Archives of Florida/Bry)

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If you are interested in any of the materials I have shared today or wish to explore our collection for yourself: walk-ins are sometimes accepted, while appointments are always encouraged. To make an appointment, send an email to bdc@bcgov.net or give us a call at 843-255-6468. We hope to hear from you soon! 

Works Cited:

Ballantine, T. (1978). Woodland Walks: Everyman's Guide to the Forestscapes of Hilton Head Island. Island Events. 

Martinez, R. J. (n.d.). The story of Spanish moss: What it is and how it grows. Hope Publications. [In VF SPANISH MOSS, Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library, SC.]

Mitchell, F. (1999). Hoodoo Medicine: Gullah Herbal Remedies. Summerhouse Press. 

Ouchley, K. (2010). Flora and Fauna of the Civil War: An Environmental Reference Guide. Louisiana State University Press. 

Sanders, A. E., & Anderson, W. D. (1999). Natural history investigations in South Carolina: From colonial times to the present. University of South Carolina Press.

Sprunt. A. (1964). Carolina Low Country Impressions. Devin-Adair.