The latest installment of our running series of re-capping the posts made to the BDC's Facebook page during the previous month. As per usual, we omit most references to past programs or events. I have decided to return to grouping posts by major theme. As you may notice, some posts refer to more than one theme. - gmc
April 1 - Monthly Overview
This Week in the BDC posts:
April 26 - "This Week in the BDC" we celebrate Preservation Week, though we have no "specials" planned to accompany our commemoration other than a few posts here on Facebook re: preservation tips and disaster preparedness. Cassandra prepared the display case on the topic. You can read the virtual exhibit narrative on Connections.
Independence (Mon)Day posts:
April 6 - Independence (Mon)Day : If you want to understand why the War for Independence was won in the South, you really should read Walter Edgar's Partisans & Redcoats: The Southern Conflict that Turned the Tide of the American Revolution.
According to Amazon: "In 1779, Britain strategised a war to finally subdue the rebellious American colonies with a minimum of additional time, effort, and blood. Setting sail from New York harbour with 8,500 ground troops, a powerful British fleet swung south towards South Carolina. One year later, Charleston fell. And as King George′s forces pushed inland and upward, it appeared the six-year-old colonial rebellion was doomed to defeat. In a stunning work on forgotten history, acclaimed historian Walter Edgar takes the American Revolution far beyond Lexington and Concord to re-create the pivotal months in a nation′s savage struggle for freedom. It is a story of military brilliance and devastating human blunders - and the courage of an impossibly outnumbered force of demoralised patriots who suffered terribly at the hands of a merciless enemy, yet slowly gained confidence through a series of small triumphs that convinced them their war could be won. Alive with incident and colour." [Can you tell that the reviewer was British?]
The BCL and SLCENDS consortium have many copies of this important title to share. (It's also pretty short as histories go, only 197 pages, title page to chronology to glossary to biographical information to notes to index. It has illustrations and maps, too.)
April 13 - Independence (Mon)Day : The Loyalists were not the only partisans to find their estates confiscated at some point during the American Revolution. British General Lord Cornwallis made it clear that real and personal property (including enslaved persons) of Patriots were to be used for the benefit of the Crown. John Cruden, a Charleston merchant, was appointed Commissioner to execute the orders - which ended up causing him extreme distress. Our copy is fragile and may have contain heavy metals so we suggest that you look at the digital version on the Hathitrust website instead.
April 20 - Independence (Mon)Day : Following the Revolutionary War, South Carolina punished Loyalists through a combination of property confiscation, forced fines (amercement), and banishment, aiming to neutralize them politically and economically. The 1782 Jacksonborough Assembly identified hundreds for punishment, though many later received pardons. Punishments included confiscation of estates, and for some, forced exile. Kathy Roe Coker, one of my former supervisors while I was interning at the SC Dept. of Archives and History when I was in Library school in the early 1980s, wrote her dissertation on The Punishment of Revolutionary War Loyalists in South Carolina. We have it on microfiche in the Research Room.
April 27 - Independence (Mon)Day : Colonel William Harden: South Carolina's Unheralded Partisan Commander by Dik Daso, 2025. Though Harden's efforts are often overlooked when recounting the Revolution, he led partisan operations through the marshes and swamps of the Lowcountry against Loyalist forces. We'll be happy to have this book waiting for you in the public area of the Research Room: 843-255-6468; bdc@bcgov.net.
68 days left until July 4, 2026 and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Revealing the Revolution Challenge posts:
April 14 - Revealing the Revolution : Beaufort District's most infamous Loyalist, Andrew DeVeaux gathered 220 men at his own expense to go adventuring after he had lost his area properties. His stated goal was to restore the inhabitants of the Bahamas "to the blessings of a free government." DeVeaux's band arrived at Providence on 14 April 1783. Within four days they had captured two forts with nearly 100 cannon, driven off 7 Spanish naval vessels and defeated 600 regular Spanish troops. His real purpose was to improve his own lot in life after the American Revolution.
Don't forget to pick up a "Library Quiz" or the tri-fold game sheet for our Revealing the Revolution project. Complete to win prizes! The challenge ends July 2.
National Library Week posts:
April 19 - "This Week in the BDC": It's National Library Week! We have two programs scheduled relating to "Finding Your Joy: The BDC Online" on Wednesday afternoon at 5:30 in the BDC and we continue Cassi's series of Archives Adventures - this time at the Hilton Head Branch Library highlighting BDC collections relating to Hilton Head Island on Thursday morning at 11.
Please note: The Library staff will be in training on Tuesday, April 21 so all our locations will be closed. Regular hours resume on Wednesday, April 22.
In honor of National Library Week, I'd like to share a "Library Poem" by Julia Donaldson with you:
Everyone is welcome to walk through the door.
It really doesn't matter if you're rich or poor.
There are books in boxes and books on shelves.
They're free for you to borrow, so help yourselves.
Come and meet your heroes, old and new,
From William the Conqueror to Winnie the Pooh.
You can look into the Mirror or read The Times,
Or bring along a toddler to chant some rhymes.
The librarian's a friend who loves to lend,
So see if there's a book that she can recommend.
Read that book, and if you're bitten
You can borrow all the other ones the author's written.
Are you into battles or biography?
Are you keen on gerbils or geography?
Gardening or ghosts? Sharks or science fiction?
There's something here for everyone, whatever your addiction.
There are students revising, deep in concentration,
And school kids doing projects, finding inspiration.
Over in the corner there's a table with seating.
So come along and join in the Book Club meeting.
Yes, come to the library! Browse and borrow,
And help make sure it'll still be here tomorrow.
April 25 - End your observance of National Library Week 2026 by visiting the local history sections in the Branch Libraries. You just might find some historical joy! waiting there for you. Addresses and times of operation are online.
Finding Aids Friday posts:
April 10 - [Finding Aid Friday:] Flowers are in bloom everywhere - which puts me in mind of garden clubs - which puts me in mind to share that we are the caretakers of the records of a number of local garden clubs. The oldest is the Beaufort Garden Club founded in 1934.
April 17 - Finding Aid Friday: The Camellia Garden Club was established in 1939 in Beaufort, South Carolina. The collection includes yearbooks, scrapbooks, photographs, and other materials which document the club’s history and activities.
April 24 - Finding Aid Friday: The Mossy Oaks Garden Club, founded in1959, aims to encourage community pride through beautification efforts of private and public property. The small collection contains photographs, pamphlets, organizational records, and materials from a dismantled scrapbook.
National Poetry Month posts (Grace on "Black History Note" Wednesdays; all the rest were by Sydney):
There are many trees
Over which the moss does spread
But there is only one
To whom the moss is wed.
It is the live oak
That the moss does cloak
With its creeping love.
The moss is the boss
Of the oak tree's life
The moss is the husband
The tree his wife
Together they live in harmony
Together they conquer strife.
Theirs is a union
Made for life.
April 7 - National Poetry Month: From Beloved Low Country by Marie E. Reddy (1973) we have “Island Home.” Beloved Low Country is a collection of poems about the beauty of the Lowcountry’s landscape with hand drawn illustrations from Lois Gilbert and Sarah Compton.
The place on the creek we call home.
On its five wooded acres -
There’s jungle of southern undergrowth
Where oaks, pines and sweetgum grow.
Here jessamine abundantly covers
Fences, bushes and undergrowth rank,
And climbs to meet the festoons of moss
That drape in grandeur the ancient trees.
We love the tang of the brown-green marsh
That stretches from creek to river beyond,
Forever we’ll hear the lap of water
Against bateau and palmetto logs.
We see jumping fish and porpoise schools
Pass in the river out yonder.
Not even the zoom of the passing planes
Disturb the tranquility of our island home.
- Marie E. Reddy, Beloved Low Country (1973).
April 8 - "Black History Note in National Poetry Month:" Wilhelmina Mitchell poetry anthology "Along the Way" includes a poem "We are Family."
Measure not the nearest of kin.
For are we not of the common root?
From the lowest branch
To the tender leaf toward the sky?
From the root we are nourished
Of the communal sap --
We are family!
We are seeds of our tenacious tree.
Tho' we are akin to life's forest,
We draw from the same wind and rain --
The solar life.
We are family!
April 14 - National Poetry Month: From Realities and Imaginations... a Poem by Robert Woodward Barnwell, Sr. (1938) we have “To Beaufort—A Plea.” In this titles preface, Robert Woodward Barnwell, Sr. explains that all 265 pages constitute one poem, consisting of one prelude, six cantos, and one finale. Some pieces do have their own distinct titles; Barnwell, Sr. says to think of these titled poems as “beads strung onto a wire of untitled connectives.” This is such an interesting collection of poetry that holds almost an entire section dedicated to Beaufort District.
O, ebbing tide! O, flight of time!
O, little town, my strength is spent!
My silver hair shows wintry rime!
To you I come with spirit rent.
The flood! The flood! My youth and flood!
O, little town, flood tide and thee!
A new strength races in my blood,
And joy unlooked for comes to me.
Old town, you know both flood and fall;
And winds from sea that rise and fail;
There are no tides that you appal:
No gales could ever make you quail.
Then teach me no swift ebb to fear!
Teach me to trust the years of time!
Show me again how stars appear,
To make the dark of night sublime!
- Robert Woodward Barnwell, Sr., Realities and Imaginations... a Poem (1938).
April 15 - "Black History Note in National Poetry Month:" Walter Dennis wrote many poetry anthologies. His poem "Ode to the Drifter" is in his little booklet Ask Me, I Might, (1985):
Distant are the shores of the soul
Distant are the dreams of the wanderer
Simple music plays among the mind ...
Harmonizing with the soul.
Drifting upon the airstreams of life
Drifting, whispering with the wind
And the by-ways of the night ...
The pollen of youth goes forth
... a new life, visions of love,
Are the secrets of the drifter ...
Drifting upon the airstreams of life
... Free!
April 16 - National Poetry Month: From The Palmetto Poet: Samuel Henry Rodgers by Walter Ioor Rodgers, Sr. (1985) we have “-The Better Land- Port Royal-.” This title is a collection of Samuel Henry Rodgers' life's work. Known locally as the Palmetto Poet, Rodgers was always writing and reading poetry and prose. From his personal diaries and papers to his published works in newspapers and personal words of wisdom, The Palmetto Poet: Samuel Henry Rodgers (1985) is a gateway into the mind of a Victorian Era poet in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
-The Better Land- Port Royal-
I hear thee speak of a better land,
Thou call’est its chances supremely grand,
Happy! Oh, where’s this saintly spot?
Can it be Charleston? Or it not?
Not there? Not there! My child!
Is it a harbor with scarce a bar?
Alive with vessels from near and far,
Crowned with prosperity--clothed in gold-
That is Savannah, so I’ve been told-
Not there! Not there! My child!
The promised land is no dream, my boy,
No vague, delirious glimpse of joy,
No, fears dispelled and regained,
With triumph rules, where chaos reigned
It is there! It is there! My child!
Secure at the ocean gates, she mocks,
While commerce of worlds bestrew her docks,
No other port sees ships so fine,
As those of the famous PORT ROYAL LINE-
It is there! It is there! My child!
April 23 - National Poetry Month: From A Patchwork of Poems About South Carolina by Edith Bannister Dowling (1970) we have “For a Live-Oak Planting in Beaufort, S.C. Arbor Day (1965).”
Tomorrow, April 24th, is Arbor Day. What better way is there to celebrate during poetry month than to share an Arbor Day poem from our collection?!
Edith Bannister Dowling created a collection — or patchwork, if you will — of poems about South Carolina, with many drawing inspirations from our very own beautiful Beaufort. In this specific poem, Dowling describes the delicate details of the town's graceful greenery on this delightful day of growth.
For a Live-Oak Planting in Beaufort, S.C. Arbor Day (1965)
‘A green thought in a green shade,’
A long-ago poet wrote down,
And Marvell’s ‘green thought’ again is made
A fact, in this southern town:
Today we are adding one more green tree
To our bounty - - an evergreen,
With shadowing grace, over land and sea,
And a haven for birds who preen
In its moss-boughs, gray in sun, green in rain:
By the Inland Waterway
It shall grow in glory, with might and main
This tree, from this Arbor Day.
- Edith Bannister Dowling, A Patchwork of Poems About South Carolina (1970).
April 29 - "Black History Note in National Poetry Month:" Bessie M. Greene wrote of "The Rain" in her book of poems and stories, Heart to Heart (2014).
It rained last night
Sounded like buckets of water lashing down
Was it a washing of all things wrong
Or all things getting clean
The sun is out spreading its light
Everything is beautiful and bright
Nature is wearing her crown
Leaves and grass are green and not brown
It rained last night
Gave the trees their nourishment
Washed all the dust and grime away
The sun is drying everything and leaving a
sparkling shine
The rain washed the wrong away
Gave the earth a new birth
Flowers are blooming and smelling sweet
All because it rained last night
Upcoming Programs (that are still upcoming in May) posts:
April 16 - Please pencil Eric Ellis' talk about "A Party Divided: Political Divisions of the Beaufort Republican Party During Reconstruction" in to your calendars for Thursday, May 14 at 11 AM. The Beaufort County Historical Society and the BDC hope to see you at Beaufort Branch, 311 Scott Street that morning.
April 21 - Pencil this into your calendars: Dr. Randy James (AKA "Dr. Dirt") will share the forgotten history of a colonial industry: the harvesting of cochineal insects on Hunting Island. Bet that has you wondering why anyone would want to grow bugs. Join us on Tuesday, May 19 at the St. Helena Branch Library at 2 PM to find out. BTW: This local history program is co-sponsored by the Beaufort History Museum.
April 28 - One month to "The Pardo Trail and Santa Elena" with archaeologist Dr. David Moore. He will explain how Fort San Juan is linked to Beaufort's Santa Elena, once the capital of Spain's La Florida. Please note: This "Historically Speaking" series session with the Beaufort County Historical Society will be held at the Coastal Discovery Museum, 70 Honey Horn Drive on Hilton Head Island on Thursday, May 28 beginning at 11 AM.
Preservation Week, 2026 (April 26 - May 2) posts (by Cassandra):
April 27 - Happy Preservation Week! To celebrate, the BDC will be offering at-home preservation tips each day this week.
Today’s BDC Preservation Tip: Find a safe place with the right “climate” to safely store your personal collections!
It is best to store materials somewhere with stable temperature and humidity levels and away from potential sources of water or pest damage. Ideally, collections should be kept in an environment that is between 50° and 77° F. If your HVAC system allows for it, keep the relative humidity below 65% to prevent mold from growing on your treasured documents and photographs. We do not recommend storing items in attics, basements, sheds, and garages, nor on the floor. Keep items out of direct sunlight, too.
April 28 - Happy Preservation Week! To celebrate, the BDC will be offering at-home preservation tips each day this week.
Today’s BDC Preservation Tip: Little things can make a difference in preserving your family heirlooms! As they often say, “the devil is in the details,” and in preservation, we often see small, common-place things that cause a world of hurt for family treasures.
- Remove staples and paper clips from documents before storing them, as they will eventually rust and stain the pages.
- Unfold paper items before storage. Folding and unfolding can cause documents and letters to tear along the folds.
- Don’t use tape to make repairs or adhere items to scrapbook pages. The acidic adhesive in tape can eat away at the material, and it is difficult to remove tape from items once it has been stuck on.
April 29 - Happy Preservation Week! To celebrate, the BDC will be offering at-home preservation tips each day this week.
Today’s BDC Preservation Tip: Photographs need special treatment!
- Photos should be stored in P.A.T. approved sleeves and boxes.
- While white cotton gloves aren’t required to hold most items (despite the professional stereotype!), it is best to wear nitrile gloves when handling photographs so oils from your hands don’t transfer to the emulsion.
- Be sure to label your photos on the back with pencil. This ensures that the subject’s names won’t be lost to time.
April 30 - Happy Preservation Week! To celebrate, the BDC will be offering at-home preservation tips each day this week.
Today’s BDC Preservation Tip: Handle your books with care!
- Make sure your hands are clean before holding items from your collection. Wash your hands with soap and water, then dry them thoroughly. Do not use hand sanitizer or lotion before handling your materials, as the chemicals and oils in these are known to cause damage.
- When grabbing books from a shelf, do not pull from the top of the spine as that frequently causes tearing and separating of the spine from the book plates. Instead, pull from the middle of the spine.
- When putting books away, you should either shelve them upright with bookends for support or store them flat in stacks no more than 3 books high.
Just Because ... posts
April 4 - From the Culp Collection: Two of the dresses worn by the models in the Schein's Department Store fashion show of 1960 seem to have crinoline underskirts - which I recall with zero fondness from my 1960s childhood. Geez! how I hated crinoline underskirts.
Dayby%20Sydney.jpg "Independence (Mon)Day logo by Sydney Whiteside")
