BDC Closed April 1, 2, and 3

The BDC will be closed on Wednesday, April 1; Thursday, April 2; and Friday, April 3 for inventory.

Beaufort County Library is inventorying all library materials in all our locations for a new cataloging system. The branch libraries will be performing the inventory on a rotating basis so that you can use one of our other Branch Libraries while your closest branch library is closed. Check our Library homepage for the scheduled closings and for updates about the inventory process, the migration process, and the new catalog.

Beaufort Branch Library and the Beaufort District Collection are the first locations to perform the inventory. Thus, Beaufort Branch and Beaufort District Collection will be closed Wed., April 1, Thurs., April 2, and Fri., April 3 for inventory.

Spring has sprung in Beautiful Beaufort by the Bay

The Lady's Island Garden Club has produced a self-guided tour of significant trees throughout downtown Beaufort. A couple of stops include botanical specimens in the gardens around the Library facility at 311 Scott Street including the Library's Bradford Pear trees as one enters the Beaufort Branch building. Here's what The Beaufort Tree Walk has to say about Pyrus calleryana 'Bradford':"

When in full flower in the spring, it looks like clouds of white...

I could not agree more. Seeing it in full bloom, reminds me that the world is a beautiful place and all our problems minute in comparison to the magnificence of our natural environment. Just seeing it in full flower made me glad that Beaufort is my home.

The Lady's Island Garden Club has put some copies of the booklet in the brochure rack near the Circulation desk for you to walk around out lovely town looking at trees, while breathing in the jessamine, horse manure, and pluff mud scented air. (Where else is there such nectar for the nostrils?) Copies of the book are available while supplies last...

Charmaine Seabrook joins the BDC!

Charmaine Seabrook has joined the staff of the Beaufort District Collection. Hurray!

The County's Hiring Freeze allows current employees to transfer between departments if the departments can agree that a transfer is in the best interests of all parties.

As you may have read in the newspaper, the financial crisis has seriously hampered the real estate market, which has in turn lessened the work load of the Beaufort County Register of Deeds Office. On the other hand, the Beaufort County Library has experienced a 25% increase of customers. When my former Preservation Associate relocated, the BDC took a 50% reduction in personnel. (It has been a very tough 2 months for me since Amber left). The Division heads, the department heads, and Charmaine and I agreed that it would be a very good thing for Charmaine to use her considerable skills in the Library's "Forever Collection." Thus, Charmaine has transferred from the Beaufort County Register of Deeds office to the Library effective March 23rd. 2nd Hurray!

Most of Charmaine's time over the course of the next several months will be spent learning about preservation of photographic archives as we work the SC SHRAB re-grant for the Lucille Hasell Culp Collection, and helping me ready the BDC for the long awaited relocation to the 2nd floor of the Library facility at 311 Scott Street. Perhaps her biggest challenge will be getting used to working with me and how I do what I do and why I do what it is we do, etc. -- God help her!

I look forward having her working with me as we strive to be the best local history and special reference collection in the Southeastern United States. When you visit, be sure to say hello.

Adjustment to Library Hours

All Beaufort County Library locations will be closed Wed., March 25th. The BDC will be closed on Wed., March 25, for Library Staff Training. Library staff will be learning new ways to serve you better!

On Thursday, March 26th, please visit the BDC between 10 am and 2 pm. I will be teaching Library employees about the "Wonders of the BDC" for the rest of Thursday afternoon. The BDC will be closed from 2 pm until 5 pm on March 26th.

The following week, the Beaufort County Library will begin rotating through all our branches to inventory all the materials we have in all our locations for a new cataloging system. Taking an inventory of materials is a standard practice in libraries throughout the world. While it might seem to some of you that we've done it recently, in fact, we last did a complete library materials inventory in Spring 2001. That's eight years, folks. It's well past time to update our records.

The branch libraries will be performing the inventory on a rotating basis so that you can use one of our other Branch Libraries while your closest branch library is closed. Check our Library homepage for the scheduled closings and for updates about the inventory process, the migration process, and the new catalog.

The facility at 311 Scott Street in Downtown Beaufort is the first location to perform the inventory. Beaufort Branch and Beaufort District Collection will be closed Wed., April 1, Thurs., April 2, and Fri., April 3 for inventory.

March 19 is Poultry Day

I'll just bet you didn't expect to find "Turkeys and Chickens" at Beaufort County Library, but you can!

Just take a peek in "Phosphate, Farms, and Family: The Donner Collection," a collaboration with the SC Digital Library partially funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). There are 548 images relating to life in Northern Beaufort County 100 years ago within this our first digital collection.

To celebrate all things poultry, I suggest these websites:
Poultry Breeds
Everyday Cooking Poultry Recipes
How to Deep Fry a Turkey

Unraveling the Irish: Was Ellen Driscoll Irish born or 1st generation Irish-American?

Yesterday, I mentioned how one had to gather additional evidence to prove genealogical facts. I am going to re-visit the trail of "Ellen Driscoll." She gives her birthplace as "Ireland" in the 1870 and 1880 Federal Censuses. Her husband, Dennis, also lists his birthplace as "Ireland" in these censuses. He works as a "Boat builder" on St. Helena Island in 1870 and a ship's carpenter in Beaufort in 1880. The family's surname is given as "Odriscol" but indexed as "Oduscol." Variations in spelling are always a concern.

I find Ellen and her daughter, Annie, running a boarding house on Charles Street in the 1920 Federal Census. I can't find Ellen (working backwards through time as a good genealogical researcher should do) in 1910 or 1900. The 1890 Federal census was burned so it no longer exists for South Carolina. And, I've already told you I found her living in Beaufort County in 1870 and 1880.

I am going to make an assumption that the length of her residency in Beaufort as reported in her Beaufort Gazette obituary is more or less correct. 65 years is a long time to stay in one place. Furthermore, I am going to start with the assumption that like many older people of the early 20th century, she probably stayed pretty close to her children and/or longterm residence.

Because Ellen is listed as "Head" in 1920 and her daughter, Annie, lives with her -- and not the other way around -- I am going to read the image sheets of the 1910 census for the Beaufort Township hoping to find Ellen on Charles Street again. Some of the census takers were nice and put down the street names in the margin. There are 8079 names listed in the Beaufort Township, Beaufort County, South Carolina portion of the 1910 Census. When I narrow the search to "Ellen", I find that there are 40 "Ellen"s living in town in 1910. According to the index, none of the possible "Ellen"s were born in the 1840s.

A page by page search is tedious, but is necessary when the index fails to work and there is fairly firm evidence that a particular person is in a particular place for a particular length of time.

So, what did I find in the 1910 Census? I find Ellen's daughter, Annie Driscoll, aged 34, boarding with Gretta Levin, aged 48, a Beaufort merchant, and Gretta's two sons, Alexander and Samuel. Mrs. Levin's store and living quarters is on Bay Street. But, I can't find Annie's mother, Ellen Driscoll, in the page by page review of all 8079 names. Drat!

South Carolina started requiring death certificates in 1915. Ellen Driscoll died in 1926. Can I find her death certificate? Yes, because recently ALE has added images of the SC Death Certificates to its 4000+ databases. The informant, her daughter Annie Driscoll, gives Ellen's birthplace as "New York City." Ellen's parents are M. Driscoll and Ellen Mahany, both of whom were born in Ireland. Ellen Driscoll was 86 years old and "lived until vital powers failed." Her birthdate was given as June 16, 1840. You can see the image of Ellen's Death Certificate from the ALE database at the top of this entry.

But the 1880 census and the 1920 census records I found for Ellen indicate that she was born in 1843 or 1844. Which information is correct? 1840 as on her death certificate and tombstone or the deduced birth years of 1843,1844, or 1845? We must search for additional evidence.

If we knew Ellen Driscoll's maiden name, we could follow up and try to find a birth or marriage certificate which might clear up the discrepancy. Take a closer look at Ellen Driscoll's SC Death Certificate above. We do know her father's name -- or at least a part of it: "M. Driscoll." Her mother's maiden name was "Ellen Mahany." Was our Ellen a "double-Driscoll?" Was her maiden name Driscoll and then she married another Driscoll, Dennis Driscoll? A shared surname isn't uncommon in some ethnicities or areas.

Within ALE there are several New York State birth and Roman Catholic baptismal databases. Might I find our Ellen Driscoll in there? Yes. Ellen is buried in a Roman Catholic cemetery so it is likely that she was a Roman Catholic. Is everyone in a Catholic cemetery, a Catholic? Not necessarily, but this is another place the researcher can assume that burial in a Catholic cemetery tends to indicate that the deceased was a member of the Catholic Church or that her husband or parents were Roman Catholic. Unfortunately, I didn't find any leads. Does this mean that Ellen's trail is gone? No. It just means that ALE doesn't include a database with our Ellen in it -- yet. And, then there are plenty of potential genealogical reference sources that are not online!

According to her obituary, Ellen Driscoll was a resident since "soon after her marriage" and had been in Beaufort for 65 years! Doing the math, then, she comes to Beaufort around age 21 with Dennis Driscoll @ 1861 - 1865, the Civil War era. So, we now have other avenues to tred:

When and where did Ellen marry Dennis?
Why did they choose Beaufort?
Was Dennis a Federal soldier?

ALE provides marriage databases and if I were so inclined, I'd probably start with the New York State and New York City marriage databases to see what else I could find out. And there are always military records to weed through. But, I'm getting tired of thinking about dead Irishmen and/or Irish-Americans now. It is hard work gathering, evaluating, and reasoning out what you find and forming the right questions to ask and locating the right sources to help you find out more information. But thinking of dead people makes me think of final resting places which leads me to another resource in the BDC, Inscriptions on Gravestones in Cemeteries: Beaufort County.

Ellen "O'Driscoll" lies next to her daughter, Annie "O'Driscoll" in Section C of the original chapel for St. Peter's Church on Carteret Street quite near to the O'Dell plot. The final resting place of Ellen's husband, Dennis, is unknown. When Mary Ellen Marcil compiled the section on St. Peter's Church gravestones, she did not include a tombstone for Dennis.

When did they add the "O'" back in?
When did they take away the "O'"? Still more ground to uncover.

Was "Ellen Driscoll" a native born Irish woman? Alas, the evidence seems to be leaning towards her being of Irish ancestry, a first generation Irish-American. But, there is nothing conclusive since I did not find a registered birth certificate for her in my rather limited search. And, is being even partially Irish such a bad thing on March 17th?

So today, on the day when everyone almost everyone wants to be Irish, I salute the "Born and Bred Real Irish of Beaufort County" with whom I have a personal acquaintance: my husband, Noel of County Offaly; Connie of County Clare; and Meg and Joe of County Kerry. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

How to Find Irish People in Beaufort District, 1850 - 1950

Note: I re-worked and supplemented the original post. Latest revision: 8 March 2024 - Grace Cordial

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I am going to tell you how to find the Real Irish in Beaufort District from 1850 to 1950 using the Library's subscription to Ancestry Library Edition inside our library buildings.   

Start by coming to one of our Branch Libraries and log onto Ancestry Library Edition (ALE). You can get access to the US Federal Censuses, 1790 - 1950 via ALE. In the main search screen under the "Search Tab", choose "Census & Voter Lists." 

Now start to narrow down your search by selecting U.S. Federal Census Collection list from the "Narrow by Category" box to the right. 

Pick a census year between 1850 and 1950 to search more thoroughly.  The 1850 Federal census was the first census to include where a free person was born so if the answer is "Ireland," Bingo, you have a Real Irish person! -- Maybe. Genealogical data gathering is all about securing documentation to prove a person's identity and relationships. It is a rare family historian who never ever finds conflicting information and/or documents! That written, though, the census can provide you with a clue that someone may have been born in Ireland or that their parents were Irish-born. 

Now it's time to hone in on Irish nativity and residency in Beaufort County, SC. You do that by typing in "Ireland" as the Birth location; and "Beaufort County, South Carolina, USA" as the Lived In Location for each of the decennial censuses: 1850; 1860; 1870; 1880; the 1890 census was destroyed by fire so skip that one; 1900; 1910; 1920; 1930; 1940; and 1950. [The 1960 census won't be released until April 1, 2032.] 

In 1850, there were 38 Beaufort District residents who had been born in Ireland. Surnames represented include: Butler, Cardwell, Connolly, Dailey, Doyle, Dwyre, Kennedy, McCarty, McElheran, O'Conner, and Morris. In 1860, the number of Irish born residents had dwindled down to 28.

Thomas Catherwood was a clerk; Catherine Early, a ship captain's wife; Pat Kennedy, a drayman, Miss M. Cunningham and Margretta A. Clarke, teachers and Harriet Butler was a governess to planter John E. Frampton's 9 children aged 17 years to 6 months old. Ann Hanrahan was a child's nurse. Irish born William Bennett and his South Carolina bride were lighthouse keepers. Richard Egar and James Egar worked on the Light ship. John Gelston was a tailor while Thomas Rooney and William Cullens were painters. Rooney's wife, Mary, had also been born in Ireland. Michael Doyle age 36 and his apprentice William, age 19, were coachmakers. Thomas Rout was an overseer. John Noonan and Francis Cassidy were listed as farmers. The economic well-being of those described as laborers varied. Thomas Winn, a day laborer, had $300 worth of personal property; William O'Bryant, $500; while there was no indication of the value of the personal property owned by Charles Hurley, Patrick Corcoran, or Edmund Fitts. The woman who resided in Patrick Corcoran's household, Agnes, was a nurse. There were no occupations given for Ellen Wallace nor Charles Brown in the 1860 census. 

The only Irish person on both the 1850 and 1860 censuses is "Francis Cassady," 60, a farmer who owned $6000 worth of real estate and $14,500 worth of personal property, including 15 slaves. He lived with his South Carolina born wife, Mary, in the Whippy Swamp area of the District. 

The 1870 Federal Census lists 34 Irish born residents of Beaufort District, but none of the Irish males listed on the 1860 census re-appear on the 1870 census. It's harder to tell about the female Irish because upon marriage women dropped their maiden names. The census takers didn't care what a woman's maiden name was. Interestingly, one Irish born man, by the name of Thomas Farrigan, a Mariner living on Hilton Head, Beaufort is listed as a "Mulatto" in the transcription of the census record. I think, though, that the transcriptionist got it wrong. The family group, Thomas, aged 33 Anna, "Keeping House" aged 42 [also born in Ireland], and John, age 9, born in South Carolina, had "B" assigned to their "Race." The census taker had sort of scratchy handwriting and appears to have replaced the "B" with a scratchy "W" that the transcriptionist interpreted as a "M." 

Tip: Always consult the original image or document. The occupations of Irish born residents of 1870 St. Luke's Parish were laborer, farmer, seaman, carpenter, merchant, and one "Agt. McLeod Bros." 

One of the few Irish people to permanently settle in Beaufort was Ellen Driscoll (variant spellings Oduscol, Driscol, Bliss). Her obituary from the September 9, 1926 Beaufort Gazette, is headlined: "Mrs. Ellen Driscoll Passed Away Tuesday. For Over Sixty-Five Years a Resident of Beaufort -- Loved by All Who Knew Her." The content indicates that she had been born in "New York City." Yet, both she and her husband Dennis, a ship's carpenter, are listed in the 1880 Federal Census as having been born in Ireland. She was a Roman Catholic whose funeral was presided over by Father F. Murphy of St. Peter's Church. Her bones lie in the St. Peter's Catholic Graveyard on Carteret Street. 

The 1890 Federal Census was destroyed by fire so there isn't a quick check to finding out what Irish born people were here in 1890. 

The census for 1900 includes some soldiers stationed at Fort Fremont who had been born in Ireland: Lawrence Sloan; Patrick Gallagher; John Parker and Peter Lynch and some men connected to the Disciplinary Barracks and training school on Parris Island: Joseph McNulty and John Maguire. Irish born residents included Stephen Duane, Patrick Sullivan, Joseph Nevaham; Harry Belcher, Johanna Talbird, Jane Lucas, Mary Lucas, Ellen Bliss, Susie von Harten, Katie Santos, Mick Mehan, Bridget Bero, John Mahony, Timothy Mahony, Anna Nelso, P.J. Keating, James Ward, and Alice F. Odell. 

In 1900 Alice F. Odell, the daughter of Irish immigrants, but herself born in Maine, is working as a Confectioner and her husband James as a baker. However, their daughter, Matilda's parentage is given as "Place of Birth of the FATHER of this person" is given as "New York" but the "Place of Birth of the MOTHER of this person" says "Ireland." How can Alice be born in both "Maine" and "Ireland?"  Another discrepancy that deserves investigation at some point, but not right now. Alice Odell would go on to be the proprietress of the Sea Island Hotel for almost 40 years according to her obituary published in the Beaufort Gazette in 1921. Matilda (aka "Tillie" AKA  Maude O'dell Doremus) would go on to become a famous Broadway actress. 

Men working at the Marine School on Parris Island in 1910 comprise the bulk of the Irish contingent in Beaufort County that census year: Martin Haney, Alexander Henry, Daniel McHenry, Dennis F. Doherty, Michael Powers and John Riordan are all stationed there. Michael and Patrick Gallagher are not connected to military services.  Women in the County stating that they were born in Ireland were Carroll Santos, Mary Leno, Susie M. von Harten, Annie Gray, and Mary McIntyre (?) [Her name is difficult to decipher on the original record.] 

Of the dozen Irish born residents, Catherine Paul, Alice Odell, and Annie Gray appear on more than one census. In 1920 they are joined by Margarete Brown, Anne Cronin, and Peter O'Neill. Counted out on  Parris Island are John J. Fooley, Josephine Pate, William Howard, Nicholas J. Dillon, John Fitzpatrick and Edward A. Mullen.

The Irish born population of Beaufort County shrinks down to nine people in the 1930 census: Katherine Paul, Carl J. Laine, John Murphy, Patrick J. Kehoe, John Mahoney, Mary Brosseau, Annie B. Gray, Margaret Murphy and John J. Murphy. 

It shrinks even further in 1940. Annie Gray is still here but Jeremiah S. Hayes, Patrick J. McAleavey, George J. Hyland, John Kelly, Mary Kelly and Elizabeth Jennings seem to be newcomers or temporary residents at best. 

By 1950 Katherine Paul and Elizabeth Jennings are the only Irish born hold-over residents from 1940. They are joined by Irish born Josephine P. Farthing, her husband James W. Farthing, Ellen C. Harter, Aleck Dever; and Katherine Butler. 

For additional guidance on how to Find Your Ancestors From the United Kingdom and Ireland and Finding Your Irish Ancestors download the ALE flyers. 

If you want to work from home, sign up for a free subscription to the FamilySearch.org genealogy database. The process will be somewhat similar but not identical even though the source data, the US Federal Censuses will be the same.

Midwife Display at Penn Center, March 15 - April 25

Penn Center opens the “Birthing a Community: Fairfield County Midwives” exhibit on Sunday. The exhibit is shown in partnership with the Fairfield County Museum. The exhibit will run March 15th to April 25th in the York W. Bailey Museum.

According to Rosalyn Browne, this is the first exhibition on the history of midwifery and the Penn School Midwives Training School. The Midwives School was certified by the state of South Carolina. From the early 1920's, midwives from Penn School provided prenatal care and birthing assistance for hundreds of women and children.

“Birthing a Community” is about the history of midwifery in Fairfield and Beaufort Counties from slavery to the twentieth century. On display are unusual tools of the trade, such as a birthing chair dating back to the 1800’s, historical photographs of midwives in training at Benedict College and Penn School, herbal remedies used in childbirth, and medical items.

The exhibition will open on Sunday, March 15, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. with a reception and lecture by the curator of the exhibit, Michaela Pilar Brown from the Fairfield County Museum. A Community Sing program will follow in the Frissell Community House during which Rebecca Jackson, the last of a generation of midwives still living today on St. Helena Island, SC., will receive the Agnes Sherman Award.

For ticket prices and additional information, please contact Rosalyn Browne, Director of History and Culture, Penn Center at (843) 838-2474.

Beaufort County Historical Resources Consortium

I'll bet that you have no idea about the number of cultural heritage organizations within Beaufort County that provide some sort of public access to historical materials, services, and/or collections. As of last count, there are more than one dozen! Each organization has its own mission, goals, and service philosophy. Each one determines who has access to their holdings and under what terms of service. Each one contributes in its own way to the wealth of information and resources about the history, culture, and environment of this area.

While we may at times seem to compete -- and we do in some respects -- our urge to share our respective historical and cultural heritage holdings with residents and visitors underlines what we have in common: a love of and feeling of responsibility towards this most wonderful place where we live as shown through our stewardship of its cultural heritage resources.

Over the next several months, expect to read more about the Beaufort County Historical Resources Consortium members.

Data Rot. So what?

The digital age brings its own problems about data integrity and permanence for those of us who work in the library/archives field.

CBS's "Sunday Morning," ran a package about "Data Rot" on March 1st that I like very much -- so much that I learned how to embed a video feed into this blog to share it with you. [ Thank you, Amanda, one of the American Library Association's, "Emerging Leaders," and Beaufort County Library's own!]

What is Data Rot? “Data that is lost due to the age or neglect of the medium on which it is stored.” Simply speaking, data may become so old that there is no longer any viable equipment to read it because the technology that reads the data has become obsolete or abandoned.

Think about this: When was the last time you were able to insert a 5 1/4" floppy disk into a computer? How many of us still have a computer able to read a 5 1/4" floppy? In fact, I doubt that many of us still own a computer that can read a 3 1/2" storage disk. Storage devices for electronic data change all the time; software to create and read electronic data changes all the time. If we're re-formatting or creating only digital data, what do we have to do to insure that we'll be able to use that data in the future?

"Data Rot" is something to think about -- particularly if some of your precious documents and images are only in digital form. The CBS package runs about 8 minutes but I believe that it is a great way to learn about an issue that tends to fly under the radar. Enduring about 15 seconds of commercial to get to the meat of the package is worth it.


Watch CBS Videos Online

BDC Open 1pm -5pm Today

We are trying our best to minimize the impact of the hiring freeze policy of Beaufort County Council on our customers but it is causing some discomfort in our usual schedule. Unfortunately, today we have no trained docents to supervise the use of the Beaufort District Collection and its materials while I participate in a regularly scheduled Beaufort County Library meeting at Hilton Head Branch Library. Thus, the Beaufort District Collection will only be open for customers 1 pm - 5 pm today.

To minimize our collective pain:

We recommend customers call 470-6525 before making a special trip to visit the Beaufort District Collection!

Check the BDC homepage and this blog for schedule updates.

Please ask the Beaufort Branch Reference Librarians for help using Local History resources and the Virtual BDC on the web.

March is American Red Cross Month

President Obama signed a proclamation making March American Red Cross Month today as has each president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the special commemoration in 1943.

Given that Clara Barton was the founder of the American Red Cross and that she worked in our area during the Civil War and again after the Great Sea Island Hurricane of 1893, here are a few links to additional information about Barton and the Red Cross that the Library has posted to the web:

Our Information Services Coordinator and "Answer Man" newspaper columnist, Dennis Adams, MA, MLS, wrote a fictional interview with Ms. Barton, about her service after the destruction caused in late August 1893.

The BDC staff prepared a short list of materials about Clara Barton found within our Library's holdings.