10 May 2021 - United States Navy Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson wrote letters to his family about his experiences while stationed in coastal South Carolina during the Civil War. One particular event is very important in the course of the conduct of the war - and included the actions of a very important man in the course of Beaufort District's later history. More information is available in Connections.
17 May 2021 - The BDC's collection development policy allows materials written by or about people who were born or spent the majority of their youth or a significant portion of their adult lives within the borders of Beaufort District to be added to our holdings. Well before I arrived, the Library owned a copy of The Life and Letters of M.P. O'Connor written and edited by his daughter, Mary Doline O'Connor (New York: Dempsey & Carroll, 1893). It dates from our predecessor institution, the Beaufort Township Library.
Michael Patrick O'Connor was the second son of Irish immigrant Michael O'Connor from Charleville, County Cork and his Beaufort resident wife, Mary Lake. Born on 29 September 1831, he was first educated in Mr. and Mrs. David Wilson's school then had a private tutor before entering Beaufort College. At age 13 he matriculated into the Jesuit led Fordham College and graduated in 1849. Upon his return to Beaufort from Fordham, he delivered the annual Fourth of July Address, a high honor of the times. Shortly thereafter he goes to Charleston to read law with Yeadon & MacBeth. He was admitted to the Charleston Bar in 1854.
Though his youth was spent in Beaufort District, his adult life was concentrated in Charleston and Columbia. Unfortunately, none of the letters included in the volume directly comment on Beaufort events or people of his times. Many of his letters discuss the state of South Carolina and National politics during Reconstruction. You can read a digital copy of the book on the Hathitrust website as our copy is quite fragile.
24 May 2021 - Andre Michaux: Journals and Letters, 1785 - 1797 edited by Charlie Williams, E.M. Norman and Walter Kingsley Taylor (2020) is the first English translation of this naturalist's personal journals and correspondence written from America. King Louis XVI sent him on nine journeys to identify unknown plant species that might improve French forestry, agriculture and horticulture. Two of those journeys crossed into Beaufort District.
If you're into botany, you will find "Michx." at the end of more than 700 plant names in his honor. Unfortunately, none of his letters directly commented on species he discovered within our historic borders. But the book is just beautiful and chocked full of primary source documentation. I can see this volume being useful item for research 25, 50 or even 100 years from now.
The BDC has the only copy of this title within the SCLENDS consortium. Heads up: The Library will be closed next Monday for the Memorial Day Holiday so I get to skip a "Letters" entry for 5/31/2021.
May 3 "Materials Monday: Letters" was a double-up, covering a letter on a postcard:
3 May 2021 - Because it's National Postcard Week, today's entry is a "letter" that an unnamed and unsigned Mother tried to put fit on a postcard way back in December 1949. The postage was 1 cent to send the postcard to Mrs. Franklin Geo. Dunham, Jr. of 1100 - 15th Road South in Arlington, Virginia. Here's what I can make out from the text and non-standard punctuation:
Your galavanting old Ma has neglected you - but loves you all just the same. At Davis tonight. Your letter so lovely. M. ill with cold. Took them door decorations. All gifts now mailed - cards to do. 70 [degrees] here -- [Alsons?] here last even. In town most of Sun. Only 10 more days. Love.[and then from the front of the postcard on the right edge] tire chains make me gasp--watch that other driver - ! [along the bottom] Whats a roach? [Along the left edge] Save this card for our collection of Beaufort views_
The image is of the Carnegie Library building [soon to have an historic marker coordinated by the Beaufort County Historical Society] is labelled in white on the postcard as "City Library, Beaufort, S.C." Often the caption on real photo postcards is hand written - or in this case appears to have been typed in block letters -- and white in color because captions were marked or scratched into the negative.
JSYK: The official name of the library was "Beaufort Township Library."
Another JSYK: I'd say about 30 - 45% of the postcards in the four collections that we share inside the Research Room have correspondence on them. Some messages - like this one - end up occupying the defined correspondence space on the verso and then even more space on the image side of the postcard.
Other National Postcard Week posts were:
2 May 2021 - I begin National Postcard Week with a poem by Mary Lee Cox:
Honor the Old, The New! The Sleek.
In May it's National Postcard Week.
Once just one cent, not thirty-two.
We still collect the scenic view,
Real People, Motels, dogs and art.
Keep this for Posterity.
It's a Start.
BTW: The 2021 rate to mail a postcard is 36 cents - provided of course that you can find one to mail.
4 May 2021 - Scenic views of sunrise, sunset, natural vistas and water views are common throughout all periods of postcard production. Here's a scenic view of Fripp Island from our Arnsberger Collection hosted by the Lowcountry Digital Library. You can see golfers in the background hard at play.
6 May 2021 - Boarding houses, hotels and restaurants were popular themes on postcards. A lot of these buildings and businesses are gone now. I love the over-the-top colors of the Combahee Court. This motel promoted its wall-to-wall carpeting, circulating ice water and “delicious home cooked food in our restaurant.” You can see this, and about 350 other postcards in our Arnsberger Collection hosted by the Lowcountry Digital Library.
7 May 2021 - The poem about postcards that I shared on Sunday mentioned art. We have a postcard of a Sidewalk Art Show probably held during the early 1960s based on the attire of the people in the postcard. You can see the postcard at online.
I know from an undated typed document with lots of hand-written edits from the "Beaufort Art Association" vertical file that the first sidewalk art sale was held in 1956 "in the roped off Parking area between the Wallace & Danner store and the Yacht Club, utilizing the walls of the buildings for hanging. ... All of the outdoor exhibits have been held in the same area, all have been increasingly patronized and successful, and have proven a worthwhile addition to Beaufort life."
JSYK: The Beaufort Art Association donated their records to the BDC and we have vertical files and a number of their exhibit posters to share inside the Research Room.
Make an appointment to come see for yourself: email bdc@bcgov.net or call 843-255-6446 to make the necessary arrangements to visit the BDC Research Room.
8 May 2021 - I end National Postcard Week with a face only a Mother - or a Marine - could love. SC Parks, Recreation, and Tourism agency took this photograph of the "Mascot of the Fighting Leathernecks" circa 2000.
You may have noticed that 5 May 2021 hasn't been covered yet. Well, it's another two-fer-one deal, this time as a "Black History Note" Wednesday post:
5 May 2021 - "Black History Note" in National Postcard Week: Schools and public buildings are other popular topics for postcard collectors. The Mather School was founded in 1868 by Rachel Mather of Boston. The school offered young black women instruction in the arts of home-making, teaching, and gardening. The school grew to a 12-building complex with the status of a junior college before it closed in 1968 when the board gave it to the state of South Carolina “for the educational benefit of all races.” There’s a Mather School Museum on TCL’s recently renamed Beaufort Mather Campus. The postcard is hosted by the Lowcountry Digital Library website.
Preparing social media posts gives one an incentive to do some quality control. For example, why, I wondered was the text mirrored? I checked the original and it goes left to right as it should. The caption is "The Mather School, Box 230, Beaufort, South Carolina, Student Prayer Group After Class and in blue ink "Margaret Stevens". Looks like I'll need to do some editing....
12 May 2021 - "Black History Note:" Today is a noteworthy date in African-American history. Beaufort’s own Robert Smalls bravely piloted a stolen Confederate steamer into Union lines. Learn more in Connections. Then learn about the range of library and online materials about arguably the most famous of Beaufort’s native born sons in the WordPress blog.
19 May 2021 - "Black History Note:" "The Origin and Development of Christianity on St. Helena Island, South Carolina Amongst the Gullah People" by Frank E. Glover is a dissertation submitted last year to the Dallas Theological Seminary. Dr. Glover discusses the African roots of the dispersal of Christianity in the Ancient World dating from the time of Pentecost up through the enslavement of people on St. Helena Island in the 17th and 18th centuries. He argues that Christianity was not a "foreign religion that was thrust upon enslaved Africans by their White slave masters" but that "the major doctrines of the Christian faith were hammered out in Africa" even before Rome accepted Christianity. The BDC is the only SCLENDS consortium member to hold this title. We thank Dr. Glover for giving us a copy for permanent retention.
26 May 2021 - "Black History Note Wednesday:" "Never Too Late" by native Beaufortonian Rosalie F. Pazant is an autobiographical account of the author’s life, experiences and accomplishments. Pazant was a teacher, education administrator, and president & co-founder of the Gullah Festival, a project that has received national and international attention. To learn more about this accomplished woman and the history of the Gullah Festival, visit the BDC to review the contents of the Pazant and Gullah Festival vertical files.
I also covered a bit of Gullah culture with a Facebook post about "Praise Houses":
27 May 2021 - In "Before Covid-Times," the Gullah Festival would be underway over the Memorial Day weekend. Though a WordPress post is no replacement for a live Festival, perhaps you can learn a bit about the role of the Praise House in Gullah culture over the weekend. The post features several videos.
16 May 2021 - Today happens to be "National Biographies Day." The BDC has a biography section containing biographies of more than 200 past or present Beaufort District residents. Because May happens to be the Jewish American Heritage Month, I will highlight an autobiography by Sheldon Feinberg entitled "With My Head in the Clouds ... and Feet on the Ground!" (2007) Feinberg, his wife Selma, and son Jeremy moved to Beaufort in 1999. For a time he served as the cantor at Beth Israel Synagogue on Scott's Street in Beaufort. He was a champion of the song "Hava Nagila" and took a musical show on the road to celebrate it's 100th anniversary. Feinberg died on June 13, 2009 in Port Royal.
18 May 2021 - During the early 20th into mid-1970s there were a number of Jewish owned businesses along Bay Street. Joe Lipsitz shared his life's story and how his family came to own and operate the Lipsitz Department store for more than a century in Bay Street Boy, 1920 - 2004. He even includes a paragraph or two about Lippy, the Mynah bird that his wife, Lucille, had won in a drawing. The booklet was printed in very limited quantities so I remain grateful that Miss Lucille gave us one for permanent retention here in the Research Room.
21 May 2021 - Attorney Julian S. Levin descended from Jewish immigrant grandparents who settled and became merchants along Bay Street in the early years of the 20th century. Before his death at age 94 in 2014, his family captured some of his stories for a very limited edition book of My Memoirs. He covers his youthful times as a boy in Beaufort, his time in the Pacific with the US Navy during World War II, returning to Law School and building a family with his beautiful bride, Renee, post-1951. I am grateful that his widow gave us a copy of it for permanent retention here in the Research Room.
25 May 2021 - From the earliest days of the colony, people were granted liberty of conscience with "Jews, heathens, and dissenters" expressly mentioned in the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina (1669) by John Locke. The experience of Jewish people in the South is documented in the Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities. It includes a brief history of the Jewish communities in South Carolina, the oldest community of Jews in the South. A separate article covers Beaufort's Jewish community.
13 May 2021 - Given that it's Police Week, now is an appropriate time to suggest that one look at the historical precedents of policing, particularly in the South. One book that does so is Slave Patrols. Slave patrols were a critical third party in the institution and practice of slavery. Slavery could not have endured for so long without the coercive power of the state enforcing control over the enslaved.
This book completes the grim picture of slavery by showing us the origins, the nature, and the extent of slave patrols in Virginia and the Carolinas from the late seventeenth century through the end of the Civil War. Here we see how the patrols, formed by county courts and state militias, were the closest enforcers of codes governing slaves throughout the South.
Mining a variety of sources, Sally Hadden presents the views of both patrollers and slaves as she depicts the patrols, composed of "respectable" members of society as well as poor whites, often mounted and armed with whips and guns, exerting a brutal and archaic brand of racial control inextricably linked to post-Civil War vigilantism and the Ku Klux Klan.
City councils also used patrollers before the war, and police forces afterward, to impose their version of race relations across the South, making the entire region, not just plantations, an armed camp where slave workers were controlled through terror and brutality.
The book - and several others about slave patrols - is in the BDC but there are several copies that you can check out through the SCLENDs catalog.
Related titles in the BDC are Slave Law and the Politics of Resistance in the Early Atlantic World and The Police Control of the Slave in South Carolina.
15 May 2021 - Today is Peace Officers Memorial Day. Read Connections to learn more about the local law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty during the 20th and 21st centuries.
In past years, I have devoted more text to "National [Historic] Preservation Month but because I highlighted it so strongly in 2020, I decided to limit my FB posts to only two this year:
9 May 2021 - @SavingPlaces As hubs for community engagement, social service programs, and the arts, historic houses of worship are vital to human belonging. Yet though the structures are considered icons of stability, today congregations of every faith face challenges in stewarding these sacred places.
Get out and walk in any hamlet to urban center and you are sure to come across at least one house of worship, which may - or may not - be in sound structural condition.
Locally, Beaufort District is full of houses of worship, many of them in need of structural bolstering. A number of these local houses of worship are featured in our Arnsberger Postcard collection online.
There's even a special National Historic Preservation Trust fund devoted to shoring up these bedrocks of American culture.
21 May 2021 - May is "National Preservation Month" for buildings. Take this fun quiz about architecture sponsored by the Nation Trust for Historic Preservation to celebrate.
May is Military Appreciation Month as well. Two posts touched on that topic:
12 May 2021 - In honor of May being Military Appreciation Month, Communications and Broadcast Services teamed up to create the video [embedded on the FB page] below. Thank you to all our servicemen and women—active duty, retired, and those who died in service to our country. We are grateful for your service. Thank you and we hope you enjoy the video, [Signed] Communications and Broadcast Services
18 May 2021 - Military Appreciation Month is a good time to remind all local veterans that if you're looking for a place to print out or read your military records on microfiche, the BDC can help. Contact me 843-255-6446 OR gracec@bcgov.net to make the necessary arrangements in advance.
One-offs for May included:
A) the annual MayDay commemoration, archives style;
B) a reminder to the BDC's Facebook followers that the Connections blog contains lots of local history content;
C) an alert about the latest video series from one of my favorite organizations;
D) the Beaufort County Historical Society Papers housed in the Research Room;
E) frustrations with equipment and with Facebook, and a posting boo-boo;
F) an almost obligatory genealogy related post;
F) a reminder that while the BDC has some really neat stuff to share, so do other institutions; and,
G)notices about the history of and Library closing for Memorial Day.
1 May 2021 - The end of Preservation Week this year just so happens to fall quite appropriately on MayDay this year. Hurricanes are always a threat to life, property and limb in coastal South Carolina and one must always be mindful that residents may be asked to move out of the way of an impending one. Therefore, I suggest that for the year 2021 your "Do One Thing for Emergency Preparedness" activity is to decide TODAY what particularly precious "family treasures" need to go along with you during an hurricane evacuation.
There is never enough room to transport every special item or document. If you are a Marie Kondo fan and have pared your personal possessions to only those which give you joy, now it's time to consider which of the items are both transportable on short notice, provide you joy, and whose loss will thrust you into despair. The list on the image is provided to jump start your decision-making process.
On the professional side of things, I am enrolled in the South Carolina State Library's NEDCC-sponsored "South Carolina Regional Emergency Prep Course." It's always good to get a refresher course about what - and what not - to do when it comes to emergency preparation of cultural heritage collections. It's an integral facet of good stewardship.
Of course, the BDC is way down in the hierarchy of library and County services and operations so policies enacted above my pay grade prevail. Even so, there's always a bit of wiggle room to protect the many rare and some unique items here in the BDC Research Room.
The latest class assignment requires that I revisit the Library's policy, the BDC's document, and edit as appropriate for the BDC's current purposes, add current contact information, and submit the revised 2 page plan for critique in a few weeks.
I learned in the last session that the State Library will be issuing a guidance document for public libraries emergency preparation as well that our Library Board of Trustees will most likely take into consideration at the appropriate time.
23 May 2021 - It's been a busy month on Connections, the BDC's blog that's been running since April 2008. There are almost 1600 posts about the people, places, events, and themes of Beaufort District history, library and archival matters, genealogy and preservation tips, and posts about materials in the Research Room - and another new post went up earlier today. Perhaps you'll find something that will be of interest or help you in pursuing your interests.
22 May 2021 - The American Battlefield Trust has a new video series, "How We Became America: The Untold History". The story is told in 15-part segments of approximately 2 minutes worth of animation with just a tad of attitude.... (JSYK: While I haven't seen anything specifically "Beaufort District" related yet - I've watched 5 videos so far - I do expect something to come up before ABT posts the final video around July 4th.) Perhaps you'll enjoy the videos, too.
22 May 2021 - The American Battlefield Trust has a new video series, "How We Became America: The Untold History". The story is told in 15-part segments of approximately 2 minutes worth of animation with just a tad of attitude.... (JSYK: While I haven't seen anything specifically "Beaufort District" related yet - I've watched 5 videos so far - I do expect something to come up before ABT posts the final video around July 4th.) Perhaps you'll enjoy the videos, too.
Full disclosure: I am a fan of ABT, attended last year's Virtual Teacher's Institute (librarians are welcomed), have signed up to attend this year's Virtual Teacher's Institute, and support its affiliate the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust.
23 May 2021 - Besides being a repository of printed published material, the BDC has some unique unpublished items to share through the Research Room. A case in point: the Beaufort County Historical Society Papers.
Almost from its founding, the BCHS began sharing copies of the presentations made at its meetings with the Beaufort Township Library. Through the years the Beaufort Township Library grew to be the Beaufort County Library and a considerable number of BCHS presentations were amassed. Preservation of the BCHS Papers became a concern. Microfilming was chosen as the medium for preserving the content for the future.
We have two copies of the presentation papers on microfilm, covering 64 papers presented from 1939 to 1985. In addition, we have BCHS #65 about "The Point" by Marion D. Jones (1986); BCHS #66 "Cities in the Wilderness" by Roger Smith (no date); BCHS #67 "Beaufort and the Sea Islands by Dr. John A. Johnson, presented by Howard Danner" (no date); BCHS #68 "Port Royal Military History" by Stephen R. Wise (1987) and BCHS #69 "Major John LaBoularderie deTreville Fought for American Independence" by Gerhard Spieler and Ruth deTreville Spieler (2000) only in hard copy.
In the interim between presenting the papers beginning in 1939 and microfilming the papers in the mid-1980s, some of the presentation papers have disappeared. At least three presentations are known to have disappeared before the mid-1980s and unfortunately do not appear on the microfilmed reels. These were BCHS #8 "Beaufort's Battles" by Frank H. Ramsay; BCHS #34 "Grahamville and its People" by John Webb Howard; and BCHS #44 "Beaufort from Secession to its Capture and Occupation by the Federals" by James W. Busch. One presentation, #4 "Beaufort in the Civil War" presented by Howard E. Danner on June 30, 1960, appears to have been lost after it was microfilmed.
A complete list of the BCHS Papers is available inside the Research Room. OR You can put "Beaufort County Historical Society Paper" as a keyword in an SCLENDS search to find the titles and some particulars about each of the 69 Papers we have on file in the Research Room.
Please note: Access to the Research Room continues to be by advance appointment only. Contact 843-255-6446 or email gracec@bcgov.net to make the necessary arrangements. No walk-ins.
Heads up: The Library will not be open on Memorial Day, May 31st.
20 May 2021 - Every time Facebook decides to "switch things up", something on the BDC FB page goes awry. If you actually saw this particular post in its original form, then you may get the idea that some posts are generated far in advance of the proposed date of publication. Case in point, I am already thinking of what to post for Oct. 31, 2021 but with the latest iteration FB posted some entries well before they were ready for syndication.
20 May 2021 - I had to troubleshoot our microfilm reader recently so I grabbed a reel at random from the cabinet to test equipment operation. On page 11-A of the May 20, 1971 issue of the Beaufort Gazette newspaper I found this savings rate ad from a local bank. I think that you'll agree it's been quite some time - though not 50 years - since a passbook account got so much return.
If you'd like to walk down memory lane and see old issues of the Beaufort Gazette, Island Packet and other local newspapers on microfilm, contact me for an appointment.
The boo-boo was a post that I had queued up to appear in October because if I don't make the posts when I run across a significant date, I will most definitely forget. You will see this one again in about 5 months:
20 May 2021 - October 14th 1780, General Nathanael Greene is named commander of the southern Continental Army. Greene was essential to the American cause, achieving victory after previous generals had failed. Greene Street in downtown Beaufort is named in his honor.
No month goes by without at least one reference to genealogy:
14 May 2021 - For those of you who do family research, I recently stumbled across a link to National Archives Genealogy Fair online offerings for May and June 2021. Session descriptions, videos, handouts, and participation instructions are included or linked from the landing page.
14 May 2021 - For those of you who do family research, I recently stumbled across a link to National Archives Genealogy Fair online offerings for May and June 2021. Session descriptions, videos, handouts, and participation instructions are included or linked from the landing page.
IMNSHO: Key pluses about the series sessions:
* No reservations are required
* Watch the broadcasts via YouTube - You don't have to be a member of Facebook or download software to watch, participate, or learn
* You can ask questions via chat during the scheduled broadcasts
* After the scheduled broadcasts, video recordings and presentation materials will be available online - so you can watch and learn on your own schedule.
Towards the bottom of the webpage, one can access sessions that date all the way back to 2013.
14 May 2021 - One of the Beaufort District related treasures owned and cared for by the South Carolina Historical Society is The Rose Hill Plantation Time Books kept in 1878.The time books document the names of formerly enslaved men and women working on the Bluffton area plantation and their jobs working with rice production, carpentry and plantation construction. Figures related to pay for working these tasks are also noted in the time books. You can see the three journals in their entirety on the Lowcountry Digital Library website.
I made two posts about Memorial Day and my work schedule over the holiday:
28 May 2021 - Memorial Day, initially referred to as Decoration Day, began as a way to honor those who died in the Civil War. Some 200,000 Black soldiers and sailors served in the Union forces. Learn more about them in the BDC's WordPress blog.
28 May 2021 - Have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day. The BDC continues limited access through advance appointment only. I will not be monitoring any incoming emails, phone calls or Facebook messages until next month. (That is Tuesday, June 1st. How quickly time flies!).
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