Register for these Upcoming Programs Today!

For the most part, programs held inside library buildings are free of charge and often are "First come; First seated" programs. However, when library staff make presentations outside the library buildings or co-sponsors a community event, there may be advance registration and fees assessed by our co-sponsors. Sometimes programs inside our buildings require registration because we only have so many computers or so many seats and expect good turnouts. Thus, it can get somewhat confusing so here are the programs in January, February and one in March that require registration and/or payment of a fee to attend. Don't delay register today or risk all the seats being taken!   


Coming up on Thursday, January 31, 2019 - Lecture at Coastal Discovery Museum

Coosawhatchie. Pocataligo. Combahee. These words can be difficult for newcomers, or even old-timers, to pronounce. Join us to learn how to properly pronounce local family and place names the way native South Carolinians do while also picking up some local history tidbits. Beaufort District Collection manager, and South Carolina native, Grace Cordial will share fascinating stories of our local history, places, and families - and the correct way to mispronounce them!

Correct Mispronunciations of Some South Carolina Names with Grace Cordial
BDC@ Coastal Discovery Museum, 70 Honey Horn Drive, Hilton Head Island
January 31 at 3 pm. Cost is $7 per person and reservations are required by continuing online to https://www.coastaldiscovery.org/event-registration/?ee=12625 or by calling 843-689-6767 ext. 223.
The lecture will be closed when capacity is reached.


Coming up on Saturday, February 2, 2019  - FREE Family History Workshop at St. Helena Branch Library

PLEASE NOTE: Wait List started on 15 January 2019. We may be able to offer this workshop again. So please get your name on the Wait List.

We had such a great experience working with Toni Carrier of the International African American Museum and the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission in October 2018 that we are jointly offering a follow-up genealogy workshop about how to use Freedmen's Bureau Records.

Family Search has posted most of these Federal records online. The Freedmen's Bureau records that Family Search has made into a digital collection consists of an index and images of records relating to census lists, arrival and departure registers, transportation records,  and some birth, death and burial records. Field Office records from the following states are represented: Alabama (M1900), District of Columbia (M1902), Georgia (M1903), Louisiana (M1905), Maryland and Delaware (M1906),Mississippi (M1907), North Carolina (M1909), South Carolina (M1910), Texas (M1912), Virginia (M1913). [The (M####) indicates that the records were taken from National Archives microfilm series]. 


The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedmen’s Bureau) was created in 1865 at the end of the American Civil War to supervise relief efforts including education, health care, food and clothing, refugee camps, legalization of marriages, employment, labor contracts, and securing back pay, bounty payments and pensions. The collection covers the years 1865 to 1872. As such, Freedmen’s Bureau records are a major source of genealogical information about post Civil War African Americans.

There are three ways to get on the wait list: Call 843- 818 - 4587; or register through the GGCHCC's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/336240036925392 or send an e-mail to info@gullahgeecheecorridor.org.

 Coming up on Thursday, February 7, 2019 - Lecture at Tabernacle Baptist Church

The Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort History Museum celebrate their 80th anniversaries with a special lecture sponsored by the BCHS, BHM, Tabernacle Baptist Church in cooperation with the Beaufort District Collection. The BDC's role is to share images of materials from our holdings about the history of those august institutions, these two lawyers, and the Reconstruction period during the celebratory reception.

Prof. W. Lewis Burke

William J. Whipper and Jonathan Jasper Wright: Beaufort's and South Carolina's First Civil Rights Lawyers presented by Distinguished Professor Emeritus W. Lewis Burke of the School of Law, University of South Carolina.
Thurs., February 7, 2019, 6:00 - 7:30 PM
BDC@ Tabernacle Baptist Church, 901 Craven Street, Beaufort
$ charged by partners
Details and registration: https://beauforthistorymuseum.wildapricot.org/event-3119022

Seats are limited.


The Beaufort District Collection is partnering with the Pat Conroy Literary Center to bring a very special world premiere program about Beaufort's Forgotten Author, Ann Head and her influence on Beaufort's best known author, Pat Conroy. The program is free though space is limited. Registration has opened: http://bit.ly/2Ddyda6

A word to the wise:

Don't delay registering if you're interested in the programs and workshops. Many of our program opportunities "sell out" in advance of the program date.