Famous Beaufortonians: Joe Frazier

We mention the "Local History and Nature" pages regularly to highlight that aspect of our "Virtual BDC" services. In honor of Black History Month, we draw your attention to Beaufort's African American native sons and daughters who found prominence on a local, state, national, and international scene:

Joseph "Joe" Frazier (born in Beaufort, 1944 - died in Philadelphia, 2011): Frazier became a professional boxer after winning a heavyweight division gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. In 1968, he beat Buster Mathis to win the New York State Athletic Commission world heavyweight championship. Frazier fought Muhammad Ali three times, winning only the the first match. He retired from the ring in 1976 with a career record of thirty-two wins, four losses and one draw. He lived most of his adult life in Philadelphia, PA, dying there after a short bout with liver cancer on November 7, 2011. (updated 1.20.2012-gmc)

For a retrospective of his career, including links to videos of his fights with Ali, click here.

Hulu is running "Joe Frazier: When the Smoke Clears" at http://www.hulu.com/watch/322857/joe-frazier-when-the-smoke-clears. The documentary runs 1:11:26.

Most of the entries in the Local History and Nature pages were written by Dennis Adams, Information Services Coordinator, (Retired) between 1997 and 2011. 

Can You Help Identify These Church Women?

Women's Group,1st  African Baptist Church

 To honor "Black Women in American Culture and History," we are asking for your help in identifying the people in this photograph from the Lucille Hasell Culp Collection. 

Church women have always been more powerful than society often credits them.  Sometimes women are the "true movers and shakers" within a religious organization.  We would like to know more about these women (and the men) and their respective roles at First African Baptist Church in order to share the information with the rest of the world.  

I am truly hoping that someone will be able to identify one of these women as Mrs. Eliza Middleton Washington, widow of Julius I. Washington, subject of a Connections post a few days ago.

What do we know about and from the photograph? 

• It's a formal photograph taken on the porch of the First African Baptist Church. 
• Everyone appears to be in their "Sunday clothes."
• We do not have an exact date the image was taken by Lucille Hasell Culp of Palmetto Studios but given the attire of the people in the photograph we estimate that it was taken during the 1950s or early 1960s. 
  
  
  • Seven of the women are wearing a ribbon above their right breast.  The woman at F4 is blocking the right breast area of the woman at B4 so we cannot know for certain that each of the eight women are wearing a ribbon.  However, neither man is wearing a ribbon.  
  
  

What we cannot tell from the image or Mrs. Culp's notations are the answers to these questions:

1.      Does the ribbon represent membership in a specific church group?

2.      What are the names of the individuals in this photograph?  

3.      What was the occasion or event?

4.      What was the date this image was taken? 

  
But you might know.   If you do know, please let us know!  How?  Click on the permalink to get to this image hosted by the Lowcountry Digital Library. From that permalink you can zoom in on the individuals to see if you recognize anyone.  If you do, please, please, please "Add a Comment" in the Comment section towards the bottom of the page under the image.  


About the people in the photograph:  It would be very helpful to us if you use this code to indicate who you've recognized.   Going left to right:

Front Row:  F1. Man with double-breasted suit coat  F2. Woman wearing glasses and a corsage  F3. Woman wearing a pearl necklace and two bracelets   F4. Thin Woman with a floral belt at her waist   F5. Woman with a banded hat

Back Row:  B1. Woman with glasses, white hair, print dress with white collar             B2. Woman wearing dress with lace collar and a brooch with hat   B3. Woman with greying hair, glasses and cutwork collared dress   B4. Woman in a print dress with a beret   B5. Man wearing glasses and a striped shirt in a single-breasted suit coat

As an example, let's say that the woman in the back row at position 4 described as "Woman in a print dress with a beret" is actually your great-aunt Jane Doe.  In your comment write:  "B4 is Jane Doe." 

If you'd like to share more information about her, your relationship to her, or her role at the First African Baptist Church, please do.  Just be aware that everything you write may be visible to rest of the world.  So if she was an old scold, you may want to keep that to yourself.  But if she was a Church mother from 1932 until her death in 1978, we would be glad to have that information in our permanent description of the photographic negative. 

Thompson to Speak Feb. 27th

Evan Thompson

“Old Fields, New Plough: The Preservation of Northern Beaufort County’s Rural Heritage” will be the topic of Historic Beaufort Foundation's February’s "Dinner and a Lecture" at the Verdier House, February 27^th at 5:30 p.m.  

Evan Thompson, executive director of the Preservation Society of Charleston and formerly executive director at Historic Beaufort Foundation, 2004 -2010, will offer a new look at historic structures and preservation issues relating to Beaufort's agricultural economic heritage, particularly after the Civil War era.  He'll address historic resources relating to truck farming, tenant farm housing, and country stores in our rural areas. Fee. Reservations: 379-3331.

Librarians: The Original Search Engine

Special collections and archives assist researchers on a daily basis, in a variety of ways, via a variety of means.  We can share who has benefited from our resources once the research is presented in a public forum or published.  Otherwise, we must stay mum regarding who is investigating what topic.

For example, we had two out-of-state University researchers working on dissertations during January.  Until they publish or share the products of their research via some publicly accessible format or event,  I cannot divulge who they were or what their topics were. Protecting library customer privacy is extremely important to librarians!

However, I am proud to say that the notice for the 2012 Annual Meeting of the South Carolina Historical Association which came out on February 1st includes a session by a BDC customer on Robert Shaw Wilkinson, the second President of South Carolina State College.  The BDC researcher, Jean Weingarth, visited our facility two summers ago, used some of our resources, and picked my brain, as she tracked down primary sources to document the story of his very considerable contribution to the field of education.  There isn't usually a quick turn-around in the field of academic research.  

“Will the real Robert Shaw Wilkinson (1865- 1932) please stand up?” The Role of Primary sources in debunking the myth surrounding one of South Carolina’s Leading Black educators by  Jean L. Weingarth, USC-Columbia Ph.D.  Sat., March 3rd - 1:45 pm

As the button states, librarians are the original search engines.  We are in the information gathering, analysis and sharing business - which means that there is far more media to consult than just books and materials listed within our library system catalog.  We can do a better job for our customers when we get a little advance notice. When it comes to projects, the more prepared we can be before your arrival, the quicker you can get to work upon your arrival.  

Just like Ms. Weingarth, you, too, can pick my brain about what the Beaufort District Collection might have to help you pursue your own research interests relating to our local history, culture, and natural environment, 10,000 B.C.E. to 1962.  I schedule research consultation appointments during our regular hours of operation.  I can tell you about our holdings and discuss possible research strategies one-on-one with you.  Call me at 843-255-6446 or e-mail me at gracec@bcgov.net to start the consultation process. 

Famous Beaufortonians: J. I. Washington

Latest update: 14 December 2021 - gmc

Julius I. Washington (1864-1938)

Transcription of his obituary published in the Beaufort Gazette on January 17, 1938:

DEATH OF ATTORNEY J. I. WASHINGTON Buried Last Thursday after Being Confined to his Home Several Years
 
Simple, but impressive, funeral services for the late J. I. Washington, Sr., who entered into eternal rest Jan. 18, 1938 at 9:24 p. m., were held at three o'c[l]ock Thursday afternoon, January 20, from First African Baptist Church, in which he had served as church clerk and superintendent of the Sunday School for over forty years. The quiet dignity, which he exemplified throughout his life, characterized the brief services. The invocation was asked by Reverend W. F. McBrown, the Scripture lesson, the 23rd Psalm, was read by the Rev. Robert F. Harrington, R. W. McGirt gave the obituary, and H. G. Fisher spoke briefly on the deceased service to his church. The Rev. W. W. Wharthen delivered the eulogy. Music during the services included two of the late attorney's favorites, "I Surrender All" and "Just As I Am, " and "Steal Away"; the latter being rendered by the Penn School Quartet.

He was born December 20, 1866. [sic] His parents were Richard and Catherine Washington. Coming of school age just after the Civil War he entered the public schools of Beaufort and when ready for college attended South Carolina College, now the University of South Carolina; later reading law under General W. J. Whipper. He was admitted to the Bar in December 1878.

From that time, with the exception of the years that he held political positions under the state and federal governments, he was engaged in the active and successful practice of the law until his retirement in 1934. For several years prior to 1902 he was associated with former Congressman Thomas E. Miller under the firm name of Miller & Washington. In 1924 he and his son, Charles E. Washington, formed the law partnership of Washington & Washington, enjoying a successful practice.

Many high political positions of honor and trust were held by him. For many years he was an associate of General Robert Smalls in politics, serving with him in the Customs House and as confidential adviser. In 1886 he was elected to the State Legislature from Beaufort County. Prior to this he had served as customs clerk at Beaufort. He also served as special employee of the Treasury Department under the Special Inspector for Georgetown, Charleston and Savannah. In 1890 he resigned his seat in the legislature and moved to Charleston to accept appointment as Coastwise Clerk in the Charleston Customs House, which position he held for four years. In 1902 has [he] was made Special Deputy Collector for the Port of Beaufort, serving in this capacity for eleven years.

He took an active interest in the civic affairs of his home town, serving as chairman of the Citizens' Committee for many years. He was largely instrumental, after many years of untiring effort, in having the Colored Branch of the City Library established.

In his fraternal affiliations he was loyal and efficient in the discharge of his duties. He was a member of the Grand Chapter of the Eastern Star, attorney for the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, and in 1928 was made Grand Master of the Masonic lodge of South Carolina in which capacity he served until declining health forced the relinquishment of his duties in 1934.

In October 1860 he was married to Carrie Kinlaugh, who died in 1885. On June 14, 1890 he was married to Eliza Middleton who survives him.

The deceased bore his long illness with unusual patience, cheerfulness and Christian fortitude.

The universal esteem and respect in which he was held occasioned visits by friends to him from all walks of life, white and colored, during his illness; and the large attendance at the funeral services, including city and county officials! the many floral tributes and numerous telegrams from this and other states. Those who gathered to pay their last tribute of respect included: President M. F. Whittaker and Profesors [sic] Harry Daniels, George Daniels, W. C. Lewis, W. W. Williams, W. T. Cahoun, Clarence Clinkscale, Charles E. Watermann, Sr., Forella Fordam, of State College; Louise Bing and Thos. Cohen of Allendale; Helen Middleton, Inez Thomas, Rev. Charles Levy and Ducan of Charleston; representatives from Penn School, Mather School, Beaufort Training School, Robert Smalls School; Allendale County Training School, and others whose names were not obtained.

Due to inaccuracies in telegraphic communications, representatives from the Masonic Grand Lodge, Grand Master Stanback and Grand Secretary J. E. Dickson, were unavoidably absent, but telegraphed their regrets to the family.

Remains were interred with Masonic Honors in Charity Cemetery, Beaufort, with the following members of the craft acting as pall bearers: Dr. M. P. Kennedy, Albert Dingle, Proctor Glover, Phelix Powell, William Mitchell, and Edward Roache.

He leaves to mourn his passing a devoted widow, Eliza M. Washington; three sons: Thomas W. of Pensacola, Florida; J. Irwin, State College, Orangeburg; Charles E., of Beaufort; three daughters: Sadye W. Rice, Allendale; Adele W. Fleming, Beaufort; and Etta M. Washington, Beaufort; and an adopted daughter, Mamie Bryan, Beaufort; fourteen grandchildren; a niece, Ella Crawford, Washington, D. C., two nephews, Joseph Washington and Fred Moore, New York; other relatives and a host of friends.

Servant of God well done
Rest from thy loved employ.
The battle fought, the victory won,
Enter thy Masters joy.
(Contributed)

__________________

The Editor of The Gazette had known J. I. Washington for the past fourteen years and always found him to be fair and honest in all his dealings and was a leader among his race and had the highest respect of both white and colored people throughout Beaufort, which has lost of one of its leading colored citizens. 

Discussion about the transcript and some of the historical discrepancies: 

Q: Did you notice the obvious error in the obituary? It states that he was born on December 20, 1866 but married in 1860!   According to the obituary, he was married before he was born.  This cannot be true - which gives us a genealogical quandry to investigate.

Q:  What types of documents could help us prove the 1) date of his birth and 2) date of his marriage to Carrie Kinlaugh? 

 a. Birth Certificate - South Carolina, similar to most Southern states, did not require registrations of birth until 1915.  Furthermore, as an African American, the birth of an enslaved person may not have been noted at all.  There is no indication that his parents, Richard (or Dick) and Catherine had been freed by enumeration day in 1860.  If they had been free Black persons, they should have been listed in the US Federal Census of 1860. 

b. Marriage Certificate - South Carolina, similar to most Southern states, did not require registrations of marriage until July 1, 1911. If he married Carrie before 1911, any record of that marriage would have to appear in subsidiary records.

Q: What types of subsidiary records might help us? 

a. Newspaper notices - Aye, but here's the rub: In 1860 Beaufort didn't have a local newspaper.  In 1866, the year he was supposedly born, birth announcements were very rarely published in a newspaper.  

Sometimes religious denominations published newspapers which would include marriage and death announcements. We have a few reference books about marriages and ALE carries a few for South Carolina, but I found no record of Washington marrying Carrie Kinlaugh. 

b. Religious organizations sometimes keep marriage records - but we'd 1) need to know which church 2) the church would have to still have the record book.  In any case, it's not research I can do here inside the Library's BDC Research Room.

c. Freedmen's Bureau records can sometimes indicate marital status and dates of marriages. Unfortunately for us those records end in 1872 before he likely married his first wife.

d. The death of his first wife Carrie Kinlaugh (even using alternate spellings and forms of her name) does not appear in our Online Obituary Index - which means that our docents never saw an entry in our local newspapers on microfilm for her.  His obituary says that Carrie Kinlaugh died in 1885.  Because South Carolina did not require death certificates until January 1, 1915, she did not die during a Federal Mortality Schedule period, and her name is not listed in our OOI, I cannot confirm her year of death.

e. Federal Census records - (I used our Ancestry Library Edition database to do the bulk of the following research): 

1.  Does Julius appear in the 1870 Census? Yes, he does.  

2. If so, how old is he? 12 years old, which would put his birth as sometime between June 1, 1859 to May 31, 1860.  (In 1860 - 1900, the enumeration date, that is, the date upon which the count for the census occurred, was June 1st.)

3.  Does Julius appear in the 1880 Census?  Yes. 

4. If so, how old is he? 22 years old.  

5.  Is his age consistent between censuses? Yes.  He's 10 years older.

6. What is his marital status?  Single.

The 1890 Census was destroyed by a fire in the Smithsonian Institution in 1920. (There's a whole other story there that I might write about in Connections in the future.)  

7. I find that in the 1900 census, J.I. Washington, aged 40, is listed as married to Eliza for 10 years, and all the children in their household are hers (5 living children for 5 pregnancies).  

This offers corroborating evidence that Washington's first marriage was of short duration and likely produced no children as well as that the Washington married Eliza on or around June 14, 1890. 

• His age should be 42 rather than 40 years old but what's a year or two off? 

1910: I continue tracking his age and marital status: Enumeration date changes to April 15th.  He's 51, which would make his birth date fall somewhere between April 16, 1859 to April 14, 1860.  He's still a lawyer, and has been married for 20 years. 

1920: He's 53, a lawyer who owns his own home on Prince Street and is living with his wife, Eliza, aged 52.  There's also a male boarder, aged 14 years in the household.

• It's a very clear "53."  In 10 years, he's aged 2 years! (We should all be so lucky).

1930 census:  Washington is 69, married to Eliza, aged 65, and their daughter, Eva, now aged 32 is living with them in their house on Prince Street, valued at $6000. Washington gives his age at his first marriage as "30;" Eliza says she was "26."  Washington worked the previous day to the enumeration [that is, on April 30th, 1930] as a lawyer. [BTW, Eva was a schoolteacher.]  

Doing the math for Eliza's age and her wedding date, I get 1890/1891. Enumeration day was May 1st in 1930.  This offers corroborating evidence that Washington and Eliza married around the date given in the obituary.  

I read Eliza's obituary as published on December 27, 1962 in the Beaufort Gazette. She died on "Christmas night at the age of 99" which corroborates her birth year as 1861.  Eliza Washington was quite a woman, very involved at her church First African Baptist for 85 years, PTA President at Robert Smalls Elementary and High Schools and "the last surviving charter member of the Mizpah Chapter of Eastern Star."  Her address is given as 601 Prince Street. 
 
J. I. Washington's death certificate gives his birthday as Dec. 12, 1860 rather than December 20th, 1860 (as in the obituary) and his age at death as 77.  The informant for his death certificate was his son, J. I. Washington, Jr.  

Q: What are my conclusions?  His obituary contains some inconsistencies in light of other records.  We cannot truly be sure of his actual birth date.  He was likely born in the month of December, perhaps on the 12th or the 20th, probably between 1858 - 1860.  He was not born in 1866.  He was born before the Civil War began, likely to enslaved parents.  I am positive that he didn't marry Carrie Kinlaugh in 1860!  My hunch is that he married her after June 1, 1880 and the newspaper made a typographical error. 

Discrepancies across records is not uncommon.  Family historians usually have to deal with inconsistencies in the records they amass on a particular individual or family.  I hope that you'll agree that my reasoning is sound for the conclusions I have reached.

In 2013, I received a comment to the original version of this post: "I'm the great grandson of Julius Irwin Washington, Sr. and yes there are many mistakes in the dates and timelines. He did have two children with his first marriage."

The image is from the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of South Carolina website.

Gullah History for Black History Month

As you well know by now, February is Black History Month.

Consider honoring the history of the Gullah people by listening to local attorney Scott Graber's preview and introduction to Black Yeomanry: Life on St. Helena Island by Thomas Jackson Woofter via the CityTrex podcast page. He reviewed the book as part of the 2011 Books-Sandwiched-In series. Scroll down to the bottom to find the his podcast.

Similar books that are about Gullah life in the Sea Islands that we recommend are:

975.799 JOH A social history of the Sea Islands : with special reference to St. Helena Island, South Carolina by Guion Griffis Johnson (BEA, BLU)

SC 398 JOH Folk culture on St. Helena Island, South Carolina by Guy B. Johnson. (BDC, HHI)

Just a reminder:  The Gullah Celebration continues on Hilton Head Island.  Why not go check out the food, festivities and fun while learning more about Native Islander and Gullah culture? 

Speak Up for Museums on Feb. 28th

Today's entry is about advocating for museums based upon information provided by the American Association of Museums.  Museums, like libraries and archives, are under duress.  Perhaps you will feel moved to help.      

Over the Christmas holidays, our home had a revolving door and was occupied by a mobile and ever changing set of people.  We hosted out-of-town family members and beaus of our children.  What did we do for entertainment and enlightenment? 1) Went to the Parris Island Museum, twice. 2) Went to the Kazoo Museum and factory, made our own kazoo - and had a ball.  3) Saw the "New Harmonies: Roots of American Music" Exhibit at the Beaufort Branch Library three times.  4) Visited the Hunting Island Lighthouse complex.  So for my family, the ability to visit local museums with high standards is a crucial factor in why we continue to live here in Beaufort.   

What is a museum? There are many definitions. Among those with currency today are, in no particular order, pillars in our educational infrastructure, protectors and interpreters of our historical, scientific and cultural heritages and bastions of authenticity in an increasingly virtual world. Yet in a stubbornly stagnant economy, museums can be seen as crucial economic cogs for communities, large and small, all across America.

These days, museums are serving what is perhaps an unexpected function for U.S. communities, but a role our institutions have served for decades: as economic engines, creating jobs and generating business for companies large and small, but particularly small, in communities everywhere.

In direct expenditures alone, museums annually inject more than $20 billion into the U.S. economy. America’s estimated 17,500 museums employ more than 400,000 individuals. And perhaps most compelling in these times of tightening local budgets – and the slash and burn approach to budgeting at the federal level -- was a recent U.S. Council of Mayors study that found that, for every $1 invested in cultural institutions (including museums), municipalities saw $7 in tax revenues come into their coffers. That’s a rate of return that would make even Warren Buffett swoon.

And that astounding return is due to the thriving cultural tourism industry in our country. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, cultural tourism accounts for $192 billion in economic activity annually. And many of those monies are spent with the local eateries, the local bed and breakfast, or the local gift shops in communities across the country.

And museums have long been cultural destinations in and of themselves. Trips including cultural and heritage activities comprise one of the most popular and significant segments of the travel industry, accounting for 23% of domestic trips. And clearly those trips generate economic activity for local businesses. Visitors to historic sites and cultural attractions, including museums, stay 53% longer and spend 36% more money than other kinds of tourists.

One need look no further than Beaufort County to see the impact our museums have on our economy. 

• Parris Island Museum
• Coastal Discovery Museum
• Verdier House Museum
• Heyward House Museum
• Penn Center Museum 
• Gullah Museum
• Daufuskie Island Museum
• The soon to open Beaufort History Museum
• Hunting Island Lighthouse complex
• ... And, I may have left out some others

Hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors go to one or more of these local institutions each year.  Along the way, they spend dollars in our local community for food, gas, lodging, tours, and souvenirs. 

How do museums generate such economic benefits? The enduring popularity of museums is a major factor. Nationwide, there are an estimated 850 million museum visits each year – that’s more than attendance at all professional sporting events and theme parks combined. Witness the fact that the Smithsonian Institution alone attracts 30 million visits each year.

Our own "New Harmonies: Roots of American Music" exhibit had 5,000 visitors from Dec. 17 through Feb. 4th - and that's excluding Sundays - a very busy "Let's visit a museum" day. 

All of this is to share the value museums bring to our communities every day, as economic sparks, as pillars of our education system, and as major contributors to the overall quality of life here in America. 

If you value our local museums, we urge you to visit the American Association of Museums website (www.speakupformuseums.org) for action points.  

Museums are vital to our communities and their economies. Help us keep our museums ─ and our communities ─ strong by lending your voice to ours, ensuring that the cause of museums is heard on February 28.

"Spirituals"

Latest update: 14 September 2023

Enslaved Africans of Beaufort District (and other parts of the South, of course) contributed the "spiritual" musical form to the our canon.   The Spiritual was, is, and will remain, a monumental African-American contribution to the world's musical heritage.  Thus, during Black History Month 2012, we have put some  "Spirituals" related materials from our holdings on display in the Research Room. 

The formal collection of spirituals for publication began with William Francis Allen and his Slave Songs of the United States printed in 1867.  In his introduction to the book, Allen wrote: “It will be noticed that we have spoken chiefly of the negroes [sic] of the Port Royal islands, where most of our observations were made, and most of our materials collected.”  (Dr. Rowland says "All American history begins in Beaufort."  Is it too much to write that "All African -American musical history begins in Beaufort," too?)

According to Saddler Taylor, "One of the primary features of spirituals … [is] an emphasis on group participation and improvisation…. An improvisational form of music, call and response involves one person ‘calling’ a verse, with the remainder of the choir repeating the line in unison.” (South Carolina Encyclopedia, 2006)

 

Since 1867, a number of composers have used spiritual melodies to create their versions of the songs that they have heard.  Among the best known are H. T. Burleigh, John Rosamund Johnson (who composed the music to "Lift Every Voice and Sing,") and Thomas Andrew Dorsey.  However, you may not know about a native daughter who transcribed the spirituals she heard sung on the Sea Islands into written music by combining melody with African rhythm as James Weldon Johnson defined the "spiritual" music form. (Aside: James Weldon Johnson was John Rosamund Johnson's brother). 

Marguerite Crofut, "Rita" for short, was born in Beaufort to Capt. George A. Crofut and his wife, Elizabeth Onthank. She died at age 90 on December 28, 1974, precisely 50 years to the day after her father.  According to the Clover Club Memorial Page dedicated to her (Clover Club album #1, BDC Archives):

From the Gray/Broz Collection in the BDC

It is not often that a personality like that of Miss Marguerite Crofut spans for almost a century of life of a community. ... 

She had a Bachelor of Music Degree, American Conservatory of Music, Chicago; was a student at the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston; a graduate of the Institute of Music Pedagogy, Skidmore College, New York; had a certificate in Conducting, Julliard Institute.  She studied violin under Felix Winternitz, Daniel Kuntz, Reber Johnson and Jacques Gordon.  She was awarded the Paganini Gold Medal, American Conservatory in 1928.  

For many years she was a successful teacher of violin and conductor of college orchestras in the South and in Chicago, Illinois.  For over 50 years she taught violin and piano in Beaufort; her records show that she had taught over 1200 individual pupils.

... In Clover minutes her first program was January 10, 1899.  Numerous programs are listed in which she participated.  In one of these she rendered "Sea Island Lullaby" which she had composed.  In the early twenties she arranged two Sea Island Spirituals: "Sometime Muh Trubble Mek Me Trimble, Trimble, Trimble," and "Study War No Mo'." (Pictured above; donated to the Beaufort District Collection by her niece Marguerite Crofut Broz and grandniece, Molly Hoyler Gray).

Crofut's obituary in the Beaufort Gazette issue of December 30, 1974 states that "Six of her former violin students served as pallbearers at her funeral services today.  They were Charles Webb, Reeves Sams, W. Brantley Harvey, Jr., William Scheper III, Marion Jones and Charles Aimar." 

You can check out Slave Songs of the United States compiled by William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison and Gullah Spirituals: The Sound of Freedom and Protest in the South Carolina Sea Islands by musicologist and historian, Eric Crawford from our Local History sections at the branch libraries.  

Famous Beaufortonians: Thomas E. Miller

In honor of Black History Month, we draw your attention to one of Beaufort District's African American native sons who found prominence on the state and national scene. 

Last update: 28 January 2020

Thomas Ezekiel Miller (1849-1938):

Miller was born to free black parents in Ferrebeeville, S. C., near present-day Ridgeland. As a youth, Miller attended schools for free African-Americans in Charleston although such schools were prohibited by state law at the time. He studied for the bar in Columbia, S. C. after his graduation from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in 1872. It was in the course of his law studies that Miller’s involvement in the Beaufort County Republican Party began.

His first public office was that of Beaufort school commissioner (1872), and in 1874 he was elected as representative to the state General Assembly. Miller served in the U. S. House (having successfully contested the election of William Elliott) from 1890-1891 upon successfully contesting the election of William Elliott. However his term was plagued by contests from the opposing Democrats. He lost the next election and returned to Beaufort before he served again in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1894 to 1896.

Miller joined with Robert Smalls to block legislation at the state Constitutional Convention of 1895 that would disfranchise black male citizens. They failed. At this same convention, Miller expressed his support for women’s suffrage. More successful was Miller’s efforts to found a state-supported college for African-Americans, the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural and Mechanical College in Orangeburg, now known as South Carolina State University. SCSU is the only public, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina. Miller became the college’s first president in 1896 and served until 1911 when he was forced to resign by Governor Coleman Blease.

He died in Charleston, where his epitaph reads, "Not having loved the white man less, but having felt the Negro needed more."

Additional information about Miller: 

Another image of Miller
    
"Miller, Thomas E. (1849-1938)" Online Encyclopedia of Significant People and Places in African American History

"Thomas E. Miller, 19^th Century Politician” in the African American Registry 

“Miller, Thomas Ezekial,” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

"Miller, Thomas Ezekiel," History, Art and Archives: United States House of Representatives website

This post is based substantively on the work of Dennis Adams, BCL's former Information Services Coordinator (now retired) prepared for the Library's pre-2016 website.

ALE is a crowd-pleaser

The Librarians Best Database List of 2011 highlighted as Ancestry Library Edition as the "Patrons’ favorite." Just search on the term "Ancestry Library Edition" in the left column to find the other 22 entries I've written since April 2008 on this database. It is the most used database that the Beaufort County Library provides - and it has to be used inside our facilities, on our machines. In some ways, I find that an incredible statistic.

Ancestry.com Library Edition is purchased through a subscription from ProQuest. Although ALE doesn't provide all the resources or functionality in the individual subscription Ancestry.com database, it still provides a whollop of genealogical resources and databases to a researcher's fingertips - for free and provides access to a historical newspapers database that can prove very fruitful to research. (Please note: You will have to pay for any copies you make. If you don't have a valid Beaufort County Library card, you may have to pay to use our computers).

ALE is the the library-oriented product that provides access to U.S., U.K., and Canadian census rec­ords from 1790 through 1930. Also readily searchable are immigration lists; European and North American birth, marriage, military, and parish records; and a raft of digitized documents and photographs. Barb Kundanis calls ALE the widely recognized “first stop” in genealogical research, citing the database’s billions of records as its principal strength.

We'll be offering introduction workshops on how to use Ancestry Library Edition within weeks of the completion of the index to the 1940 census. [The 1940 Census will be released on April 2, at 9:00 am. We'll be hosting some workshops in mid-May.] Our ALE workshops are free and open to anyone over age 12 interested in using ALE to uncover their roots. Stay tuned for details.

Civil War Topics at BCHS and Penn Center on Thursday

Beaufort County Historical Society presents Joseph McGill, a Civil War re-enactor with Company "I" of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry,  at Noon on Thursday, Feb 9th. All meetings are held at noon at the Beaufort Yacht & Sailing Club, Meridian Rd., Beaufort, SC.  The public is welcome and encouraged to attend at no charge.  This event is in partnership with the SC Humanities Council.

The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was the regiment portrayed in the award-winning movie Glory. As a Civil War re-enactor, Mr. McGill participates in parades, living history presentations, lectures, and battle reenactments.

Mr. McGill is a member of the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission, the African American Historical Alliance, and a Program Officer for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Please RSVP to Pamela Ovens 843-785-2767 by Feb. 6th at 5 pm for a $10 optional light lunch catered by Debbi Covington served at 11:30 prior to the meeting.    

The Library has a lot of information about the United States Colored Troops.  Last year for Black History Month, we compiled a list of materials that we had on the role of African-Americans during the Civil War.  Click here to see the extensive list.(Some of the items are available on the web!) 

In addition, Joseph McGill will participate that evening in a Civil War Symposium being held at Penn Center: 

• These lectures will be held on Thursday, February 9, 2012 from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm in Darrah Hall. The Penn Center, 16 Penn Center Circle W. St. Helena, SC

Dr. Eric Emerson: "The Ordinance of Secession"

Dr. Abel Bartley: "The Causes of the War"

Nicole Green: "Slavery in South Carolina"

Rosalyn Brown: "The Port Royal Experiment"

www.penncenter.com