November 1 - Expect posts about Native Americans and the upcoming holidays to be featured here this month along with the usual "Letters" and "Black History Note" themed entries. We're hosting Dr. Eric Plaag in a live streamed Author Book Talk on November 15th (more details to come) with our friends in the Beaufort County Historical Society and at Carolina Historical Consulting, LLC. And don't forget the Friends of the Beaufort Library Annual Book Sale, Nov. 5 -7! Go ahead and mark your calendars: The Beaufort County Library will be closed on November 11, 25, and 26.
Materials Monday: Letters
November 1 - "Materials Monday: Letters" In his regular life, Thomas W. Higginson, was a literary editor. In a letter to his mother Louisa Storrow Higginson, dated December 19, 1863 he wrote: " Our attractive little Quadroon, Charlotte Forten, has written an account of her experiences here which is to appear in the March Atlantic. I read it & passed calmly over all the puffs of myself assuring her that Fields would discreetly pare them all down, as he did E. L. Pierce's." You can read those articles - and other of Forten's writings - through the BDC's WordPress blog post about her.
November 8 - "Materials Monday: Letters" Artie Heape wrote this letter to his sister Sadie before he was shipped out to France to fight in the Great War.
Camp Stuart, VAJuly 13, 1918Dear SisterWill drop you a few lines to let you hear from me once more. Would have written before, but have been moving and did not have time to write and did not know where I was going. I am at Camp Stuart near Newport News Va. It is the point of imbarcation. If you will write to me at once I might be here to get it. If I am gone before I hear from you I will write to you all later on.I am O.K. and getting along fine. Don't worry about me for I am happy and you can bet there is no German going to get me either.Be careful what you write to me in line of military. I mean questions or anything about movements. You can cuss the Kaiser as much as you please. Time to tell you good by. Kiss all the family for me.Your loving bro.,(Corp.) Artie M. HeapeBattery F 61st CavCamp Stuart Va.
Heape saw action in France and in Russia before being discharged for the first time from the Army. He would serve again reaching the rank of Lt. Colonel in World War II. From 1946 - 1948, he was the Chief of Police for the city of Beaufort. In 1948 he rejoined the Army for the third time serving in the Philippines, the Korean War, and Texas. He resigned from the Army in 1955 and returned to Beaufort where he lived out the rest of his 95 years.
The BDC has the only copy of this biography in the entire SCLENDS consortium. It was written by Heape's granddaughter, Arlene Heape Hull in 2011.
November 15 - "Materials Monday: Letters" Petitions are letters written to a person in authority or the head of an organization, requesting immediate action or a solution for a certain cause.
The Blackswamp Baptist Church petitioned the South Carolina General Assembly for articles of incorporation in 1831 and again in 1852.
Representatives of the Congregation petitioned for the Church's charter to be renewed in 1852. That petition is transcribed below:
To The Honorable the Senate & House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina the Petition of the Undersigned Sheweth,That the Blackswamp Baptist Church in Beaufort District & state aforesaid, was constituted in the year Seventeen hundred & eighty six, & has regularly existed as a Christian Church ever Since & the worship of God has been conducted in it according to the Custom of the Baptist Denomination. It is now a flourishing Church with over three hundred members. This church has been incorporated by the Legislature at different times for limited periods and the last act being about to expire by a resolution of the Church we were enjoined to have the act of incorporation renewed.We therefore, as Deacons of said Church, at its request pray that you will renew the act of incorporation of the same & extend its operation to the longest period to which such acts are extended, & giving the said Blackswamp Baptist Church the right to hold property to the Value of Twenty-five thousand dollars.And your petitioners will ever prayAlex[ande]r J. Lawton Deacons of B. SwampB. R. Bostick Bapt. ChurchRobertville, S.C.11 Dec[embe]r 1862
Both petitions are part of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History's series 165015 "Petitions to the General Assembly."
November 22 - "Materials Monday: Letters" Pithy letters can be put on postcards. You could join the Marine Corps at age 16 when this postcard from the BDC's own Postcard Collection was sent during World War I. The verso is postmarked July 11, 1917:
“Hello Dad. How are you. I am giting along fine Why don’t you all write to me an let me know how you are and send me something to eat Okay”
Some things never change: young men are always hungry for food and excitement.
For more postcards, check out our Arnsberger Postcard Collection hosted on the Lowcountry Digital Library website.
November 29 - "Materials Monday: Letters" Alexander Campbell, (Sandy) a member of the 79th New York Highlanders, was part of the Union Expeditionary force sent to capture Port Royal Sound. He was stationed in Beaufort until late July 1862. Letter 30 in "Him on the One Side and Me on the Other" was written by Sandy in Beaufort to his wife, Jane Ralston Campbell. Here is an extract. The creative spelling is by Campbell.
Beaufort, S.C.May 12, 1862My Dear WifeI am most happy now because I heard from you. I thought you had forgot to write me altogether. I received your Letter of the 2d in dew time and was glad to hear you and the two boys was in such good health for thats the greatest blessing we can have. I only wish I was home so that I could feel happy. I know you would. But I am mostly shure it wont be a great while now. Thats the general opinion here and I trust in god that it will be so.Jane its 12 mounths tomorrow since we swore in to go to the war. If I had thought then it would Last the one half of that time there would have been no swearing in of me. You may bet your Life it will be the Last war that I will go to. Its not because I am afraid but because I have too good a wife to Leave and two nise Little boys also....
Sandy would fight in the Battle of Port Royal Ferry, the Battle of Secessionville and the Battle of Chantilly where he was wounded. He was discharged from the Army in mid May 1863.
The entire letter with notes is posted in Connections.
Make plans to attend the Beaufort History Museum's Civil War Encampment of the 79th New York Highlanders re-enactment group on Saturday, December 4, 2021.
Black History Notes: November 3 - "Black History Note:" South Carolina’s Blacks and Native Americans, 1776 - 1976 by Marianna W. Davis and the Bicentennial Project Editorial Board (Columbia, SC : State Human Affairs Commission, 1976) is an overview of the contributions made by African Americans and Native peoples upon the state's political, religious, educational, artistic, occupational, sports and community history to honor of the nation's 200th birthday. Raymond H. Williams of Beaufort was on the State Human Affairs Commission led by James E. Clyburn at the time the book was published. You can check out a copy from one of our partners in the SCLENDS consortium or you can set up an appointment to visit the Research Room to read this book: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net
November 10 - "Black History Note:" In Three Peoples, One King author Jim Piecuch explores how the British cause during the American Revolution benefited from the support of Loyalists, their Indian allies and the enslaved. These groups would pay a heavy price.
November 17 - "Black History Note:" The Research Room contains a fair amount of materials related to local religious expression, including a few that you might not expect.
For example, Dr. Frank E. Glover gave us a printed copy of his The Origin and Development of Christianity on St. Helena Island, South Carolina Amongst the Gullah People dissertation submitted last year to the Dallas Theological Seminary for our holdings. In it he 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.
November 23 - "Black History Note:" Dr. Plaag's Author Book Talk brought to mind Slave Missions and the Black Church in the Antebellum South by Janet Duitsman Cornelius (1999).
Cornelius concentrates on the fruitful period in the 1840s and 1850s when evangelization efforts among the enslaved allowed Black people to recreate Western Christianity in such a way that African ritual and practices, European rites, Holy Scripture, and musical forms became distinctly the foundation of the Black Church that endures to this day. She mentions Robertville's Black Swamp Baptist Church AKA Robertville Baptist Church, Tabernacle Baptist Church, Grace AME Church, and Brick Church in her narrative.
November is Native American Heritage Month:
November 5 - Take a visit Altamaha Town Heritage Preserve near Old Baileys Road during this Native American Heritage Month. Named for a Yamasee chief, the Preserve protects the main town of the Lower Yamasee.
This 100-acre oak-hickory forested gem along the Okatie and Colleton Rivers contains historical remnants of a Yamasee village and Colonial-era cemetery.
The Preserve's greatest attribute is its ability to provide archaeological data that has direct bearing on interpretation of the effects of European contact on Native Americans. Important questions regarding the effects of acculturation and migration upon late 17th and early 18th Century Native American life can be answered from data resting just beneath the ground.
Please do not plunder the site or disturb the land. Anyone wishing to conduct any research or collection activities should contact the State Department of Natural Resources, Heritage Trust Program, at longb@dnr.sc.gov.
The Preserve is open dawn to dusk for picnicking, hiking and wildlife viewing.
The map is from "South Carolina Indian Lore" edited by Bert W. Bierer (1972), p. 139. We also have a WordPress blog post about Dr. Woodward http://bit.ly/2IpteDb in case you'd like to know more about this intrepid man.
November 12 - From "5 Clues You May Have Native American Ancestry" By Diane Haddad from Family Tree Magazine
1. An I or In designation appears in the “race” columns for an ancestor in the 1860 and later US censuses.2. A proven blood relative is named on an Indian reservation census or a tribal enrollment.3. A genetic genealogy test indicates you have DNA markers associated with American Indian ancestry.4. Family stories and papers tell of American Indian ancestry, and your ancestors lived in areas where they would’ve come into contact with Indians.5. An ancestor lived in Indian Territory by 1900.
November 16 - I think that this is my very most favorite book title and cover in the entire Research Room. There're are also copies that you can check out from the local history sections of the branch libraries.
Learn even more about materials we share about the Yamasee War on our WordPress blog.
November 19 - There's a post about "Native Americans in Beaufort District" in the Connections blog. Check it out!
November 23 - Honestly I get a little annoyed with folks who want to quibble about how place names, surnames, proper names, etc. are spelled. Just look at the reasonable variations of the Beaufort County unincorporated section we call "Okatie" over the past 350 years or so. Always, always, always think of how a name sounds and the various ways one might have used letters to represent those sounds in text during your research.
November 30 - Let's end Native American Heritage Month with BDC Map 726. It shows lands from North Carolina west to the Mississippi River down to North Florida and the Upper Gulf of Mexico west to New Orleans that once belonged to the indigenious people of what became the southeastern United States. The pink section in South Carolina is dominated by the Cusabo groups. Look closely and you'll see references to the Yamasee.
Local History Programs:
November 4 - I'm looking forward to the BDC's first ever live streamed Author Book Talk - and one that Carolina Historical Consulting, LLC and the Beaufort County Historical Society are co-sponsoring with the BDC. I hope that you get on my Grace.Notes list to receive the link.
November 9 - Don't miss out on the announcements and links to the BDC's local history programs. Get your email and name on the BDC's email distribution list. Begin at https://www.beaufortcountylibrary.org/subscribe, fill in your email, name, and check the "Beaufort District Collection" box.
November 13 - Coming Monday on Zoom!: "The Means of Grace: A History of Robertville Baptist Church" with author and historian, Dr. Eric Plaag. This live streamed program is co-sponsored by Carolina Historical Consulting, LLC, Beaufort County Historical Society and the BDC.
November 15 - The Zoom room is now open for "The Means of Grace". If you're not able to join us for the live stream on Zoom, we are making a recording. That link will be released in a few days.
Wonderful talk—think I’ll ride up to Robertville and revisit w new information—thank you Grace and Eric
November 16 - Thomas Schotter of the Library's Marketing and Communications department has already posted the recording of Dr. Plaag's most excellent program about the fascinating history of the Robertville Baptist Church of Jasper County to the Library's YouTube Channel. Please view it at your leisure.
November 20 - Here's the link to Dr. Eric Plaag's most excellent Author Book Talk about The Means of Grace. Please be sure to watch it. It's ever so much more than just a boring church history.
November 24 - Means of Grace by Dr. Eric Plaag is the most recent church history arrival in our Research Room. But there are plenty more. Check out the Connections blog for the details.
November 28 - Be sure to drop by the Arsenal on Saturday and visit with Cassi. She'll have lots of Civil War and Reconstruction related handouts to share with you - while supplies last - during the Beaufort History Museum's encampment event.
November 30 - I like it when I learn new stuff about old topics. Case in point: The Means of Grace Author Book Talk. Listen, watch and learn more about the fascinating and complex history of a beautiful rural church and its congregation with Dr. Eric Plaag on the Library's YouTube Channel.
Miscellaneous Posts and Significant Dates:
November 2 - It's an off-off year election day with some issues on the ballot - which I decided was a great day to share this recent National Archives post about the origins of the phrase "government red tape." As an aside, I once literally cut the red tape on a stack of documents held at NARA Southeast in 2004 - in hopes of finding a customs document with the signature of Robert Smalls. Alas, I did not. But it was surely fun to see and cut through the "red tape!"
November 7 - Today is a Local History Red Letter Day. The Battle of Port Royal Sound was one of the earliest naval operations of the Civil War. On November 7, 1861, a massive U.S. Naval fleet and U.S. Army expeditionary force sailed into Port Royal Sound and captured Fort Walker on Hilton Head and Fort Beauregard on Bay Point/St. Helena Island, SC. Beaufort was among the first southern towns to fall into Union hands. The Federal occupation changed the course of Beaufort District history thenceforth so of course we have materials to share with you about this event.
November 10 - Honor all those who have served by searching for military records on Ancestry Library Edition on Veterans Day. Please note: The Library resumes regular operations Friday, November 12th.
November 12 - IMLS Study Released: Understanding the Social Wellbeing Impacts of the Nation's Libraries and Museums (2021) found that the presence and usage of public libraries and museums to be positively associated with community health, school effectiveness, institutional connection, and cultural opportunity. Here at BCL, for example, meeting spaces have been used to sign up folks for COVID rent assistance and DHEC used the library as a distribution site for self-test COVID kits.
“This study reveals the deeper, more significant roles that museums and libraries play in communities—that which go far beyond art hanging on walls and books lining shelves,” said Don Hinkle-Brown, President & CEO of Reinvestment Fund. “They are trusted institutions, safe spaces, and a place to access critical public health, social services, and technology resources. They are a reflection of what happens when inclusion and belonging are prioritized. Museums and libraries are indispensable connective tissue that keeps healthy communities together.”
November 17 - Trying to find the petition I wrote about on Monday led me to write about the issues I encountered while searching for items in the SCDAH's Records Online Index. That post is now on Connections. If you are are records nerd, check it out!
November 21 - On this International Day of the Bible, which happens to land this year during the week of Thanksgiving Day in the United States, I share a verse from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 as translated into Gullah:
Rejaice all de time. Neba stop da pray. Ain mek no nebamind wa happen, oona mus tell God tankya fa ebryting. Cause dat how God wahn oona fa lib, oona wa done come fa be one een Jedus Christ.
Copies of "De Nyew Testament: The New Testament in Gullah Sea Island Creole with marginal text of the King James Version" (2005) is available in the Research Room. We also have copies in the Local History sections at the Branch Libraries that can be checked out.
November 27 - Here are a few turkeys and chickens from the Library's first digital collection.
Friends Book Sale:
November 2 - Only a few more days to the biggest Book Sale of the year! ... and a few other very noteworthy events. We hope that you turn out to support the Friends of the Beaufort Library which helps the BDC (and a few other worthy units of the Beaufort County Library).
November 6 - How appropriate it is for the Friends of the Beaufort Library's Annual Book Sale to fall on National "Book Lovers Day!" Be sure to drop by the Waterfront Park to browse and purchase in order to help them help us.
November 7 - There's still time for you to get to the Friends of the Beaufort Library book sale at the Waterfront Park. It closes at 4 pm today... and speaking of closures, the Library will be closed on November 11, 2021 for Veterans Day.
Schedule Adjustments:
November 8 - Heads up: The Library will be closed on Veterans Day.
November 14 - Heads up: The BDC is accessible only by advance appointment as of the COVID-shutdown in March 2020. Details are on the image.
November 18 - Heads up: The Thanksgiving holidays are almost upon us. The Library - and the BDC - will be closed a few days next week.
November 24 - May your hearts swell with gratitude for all that is good in your life over the coming holidays. Cassi and I will be back in the office on Monday, November 29th ready to greet those who already booked research appointments with us.
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