As has become customary, here are all the posts that I wrote for the BDC's Facebook page in January 2022. The Library was closed January 1 and January 2 because New Years Day happened to fall on a Saturday this time, on January 17 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and from Noon on January 21 due to inclement weather. Otherwise you'll find entries - and sometimes two entries - for each day of the month about various people, places, and themes in Beaufort District's long and storied history. -- Grace Cordial
January 3: First Monday in a new year means it's time for a new "Materials Monday" theme. How I came to choose "50 Shades of Beige" as this year's theme is laid out in Connections, the BDC's longest running blog.
January 10: "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige" Today's selection was selected by Cassi as one of her "Favorite Things" in Connections last month. As it turns out, the anniversary of this event is nigh so I borrow her assessment:
"Deadly Censorship is both a fascinating court-room drama and an eye-opening piece on the history of press freedom and oppression in South Carolina. The book centers around the events leading to and the aftermath of the murder of journalist Narciso C. Gonzalez by Lieutenant Governor James H. Tillman in front of the South Carolina Statehouse on January 15, 1903. The book argues that Tillman and the rest of South Carolinian society was struggling to overcome the idea that an injury to one’s honor was so severe that violence was a just form of restitution, even when freedom of the press was a First Amendment right and dueling had fallen out of fashion and was illegal."
This is me again: My favorite feature of the book cover is the gunshot hole that serves as the "o" in the word "Censorship."
In case you're wondering about the Beaufort District connection of Gonzalez: His mother was a Beaufort Elliott. When Harriet Rutledge Elliott Gonzalez died of yellow fever on 17 September 1869, her sister Emily helped rear the children - and expected their father, Ambrosio, to marry her. She was sadly disappointed. Cuban Confederate Colonel by Antonio Rafael de la Cova (2003) covers the travails of the Elliott-Gonzalez family in case you're interested. (Unfortunately for this series, that cover is in shades of blue-ish gray.) - gmc
January 24: "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige" : The Story of Sea Island Cotton by Richard D. Porcher and Sarah Fick (2010) is both a botanical and land genealogy of an agricultural product unique to this local area. The Beaufort District plantations included are Laurel Bay, Old Fort (AKA Smith's), Tombee, Coffin Point, Myrtle Bush, Coggins Point, Mary Jenkins, Seaside, Woodward, Fish Hall (AKA Fish Haul), Tom Fripp, Oakley Hall (AKA Bloody Point), Melrose (AKA Salt Pond), William J. Jenkins, The Oaks, and Rose Hill. Some of the slave-owning plantation families mentioned are Pope, Green, Barnwell, Chaplin, Jenkins, Smith, and Fripp. Copies are available through the Local History sections as well.
January 31: "Materials Monday : 50 Shades of Beige" Today's item is a prominent feature on the walls of the Research Room. It is one of the BDC's true treasures. The Mills Atlas map of Beaufort District circa 1825 was given in memory of James O. Cook around 2000. Mr. Cook was a beloved history teacher in the local public high schools. With money donated to the Library in his memory, the map was located, purchased and framed in archival quality housing for safe-keeping and preservation purposes.
Black History Note Wednesdays:
January 5: "Black History Note Wednesday:" Voices of Black South Carolina by Damon Fordham includes the stories of some of the Palmetto State's most significant residents, including Beaufort's own Robert Smalls. In fact, Robert Smalls is on the cover. You can borrow a print copy from SCLENDS or download a copy on Hoopla - as long as you have a valid Beaufort County Library card.
January 12: "Black History Note Wednesday" : Joe Frazier was born 78 years ago today. Learn about the life of one of Beaufort County's most celebrated native son's today in the BDC's WordPress blog.
January 19: "Black History Note: Wednesday" and a "Red Letter Day" in Beaufort County History": The Beaufort Fire of January 19, 1907 was the most disastrous fire to date. When the embers cooled, 40 structures were damaged or destroyed, William Bennett lay dead, and racial tensions were high. Read the "Fire of 1907" series posted in the BDC's WordPress blog to learn more.
January 26: "Black History Note" Wednesday : "Free African Americans of North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina, from the Colonial Period to about 1820" by Paul Heinegg, 6th edition, 3 volumes (2021) has over 1500 pages worth of detailed genealogies of hundreds of free black families. The compiler has spent more than 40 years researching colonial and early national period tax records, colonial parish registers, 1790 - 1810 census records, wills, deeds, Revolutionary War pension files, newspapers and more to document these people. We also have the 5th edition that was published in 2005.
January 3: A shout out to these most faithful BDC FB page followers and commenters: Mary Lou Brewton; Julia Vaughan; Bill Jirousek; Kathy McKenna Kirkland; Geni Flowers; Anne Starr Hughes; Ruth Rawls; and Katie Epps. Thank you for offering encouragement to this "sharing local history" service provided by the BDC. Some of you I know in person, some of you I only "know" via your participation on this page. But we share a love for and appreciation of the long and storied history of this part of the Lowcountry. I'll do my best to keep the page fresh but educational and informative for all who follow or stumble across or see a "share" from this page.
January 4: Here's a bit of trivia for you on this National Trivia Day.
First the Marines, then the Mounted Beach Patrol of the Coast Guard ran Camp McDougall on Hilton Head Island as the image from [page 29] of Feldman and Tolpa's "Hilton Head Island : Tidbits & Trivia" booklet shows. Although we have 2 copies in the BDC, there are a couple of copies that you can borrow from the Local History sections too.
BTW: The BDC has 21 issues of the MBP's Hoof Prints magazine from the war years of 1943-1944 [in our archives section.] There you'll find news stories, life tips, bits about boxing, stories written by the MBP's officers, and jokes (many of which are quite politically incorrect for the 21st century). We'll be happy to set up an appointment for you to review the Hoof Prints magazine issues that we have in our Research Room: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net.
January 5: Celebrate National Bird Day by checking out Birds of the Carolinas : Field Guide. We have a copy that must be used inside our Research Room but there are others that circulate within the SCLENDS consortium.
January 6: The Friends of the Beaufort Library begin the 2022 Books Sandwiched In series on January 10 - in person and on Zoom. Details [Update: The FOBL decided to move the series completely online beginning January 24th. There will be no further in person book reviews this season.]
The only book with a tangential relationship to the BDC's mission is the historical novel Trouble the Water by Rebecca Dwight Bruff that is on the schedule for 7 February. I'll post more about that book in February.
January 7: January has an "r" which by tradition means that one can enjoy eating our local oysters. Watch and listen as Coastal Discovery Museum's Natalie Hefter shares the "Beaufort County History Moments" about the role of oysters in our local history and culture.
BTW: BCL circulates copies of this and other items through other units of the Library system.
January 11: My favorite history teacher of all time was Mary Suber McKinney and her favorite historical personage was Alexander Hamilton - and today is his birthday. Old Alexander is but one degree of separation away in Beaufort's long and storied history.
Alexander Hamilton's half brother, Peter Lavien, lived in Beaufort. They shared a mother, Rachel Faucette but had different fathers. Peter Lavien was a successful Beaufort merchant in partnership with John Kean (for which Kean's Neck Road is named). Lavien served as a church warden for the Parish Church of St. Helena in 1768 which back in those days had governmental functions too. Rachel left her first husband, John Michael Lavien and her four-year old son, Peter, for another man. Her Hamilton sons were estranged from her eldest son.
A letter written by Hamilton in 1800 tells more about the family dynamic.
January 11: I'm pretty sure that I can recommend materials in the BDC and/or local history sections for most of these monthly themes offered by the Diversify Your Reading FB page led by Kelly Mongan. At least, January 2022 is easy. The BDC has a lot of memoirs to share inside the Research Room and local history sections - so many in fact that I made a flyer of some of the possibilities. But trust me, there are more!
January 13: Heirs property is an long-standing and current issue in this County and state, oftentimes with roots going back into the Reconstruction Era or before. Connections has a post written by Cassi that discusses how to get started and at what points in the process that we can help.
January 13: The award-winning, and locally produced "By the River" SCETV book-based show features Ryan Copeland talking about his memoir, Waking Up Dead, with host Holly Bounds Jackson tonight at 8:30 PM on WJWJ.
This book is one of Cassi's "Favorite Things." She says: "In Waking Up Dead, Mr. Copeland writes about being raised by a funeral director and coroner. His detailed account balances both the humor and grief embedded in the occupation and the way it effects an entire family. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in morbid things, Beaufort-related anecdotes, or those of you who are also seeking answers after having a conversation with Mr. Copeland’s delightfully precocious son."
So far, the Beaufort County Library holds the only copies of this particular title in the SCLENDS consortium.
January 14: Today's the final day in National Letter Writing Week. How long has it been since you took a physical pen or pencil to a physical piece of paper to share the events of your day, register a complaint, or communicate with your loved ones?
Share the choice that best describes where you are on the continuum:
A) It's been years (and years and perhaps even more years) since I wrote a hand-written letter.
B) I wrote a personal letter just yesterday to my friend or parent or progeny.
C) Does hand-signing my holiday cards after Thanksgiving 2021 count?
D) I enjoy writing letters and do so often.
E) Let me think about that for a bit. I'll get back to you.
[Alas, no one participated. Sigh!].
January 15: Martin Luther King, Jr. (15 January 1929 - 4 April 1968) once found solace at Penn Center. Heads up: All units of the Library system, including the BDC, will be observing Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday on Monday, January 17th. Regular hours resume on Tuesday, January 18th.
January 16: Beaufort County Closings for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
In observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, all Beaufort County government buildings will be closed Monday, January 17. They will reopen Tuesday, January 18.
Convenience Centers in Beaufort County will be closed Monday, January 17, and will resume their regular schedules Tuesday, January 18.
Operations at the Hilton Head Island Airport and Beaufort Executive Airport will remain available during the holiday.
Emergency services and law enforcement personnel will remain available.
January 18: Recently added to Hoopla Digital, the Library's e-book, audio-book, tv show, movies, and music streaming service is the latest book from the South Carolina Historical Society's Processing Archivist Karen Stokes is South Carolina in 1865. I mention it because Stokes' introduction includes part of a letter that Mrs. Mary Maxcy Leverett, wife of the former minister of St. Helena's Episcopal Church in Beaufort, wrote. The Leveretts had relocated inland when the Federal occupied the seaward facing parts of Beaufort District in 1861. Mrs. Leverett watched Columbia burn from her house just outside the city. The Leverett home in exile was ransacked by Union soldiers that same date.
Want to read more by, about, and from the Leveretts? We share copies of Leverett Letters: Correspondence of a South Carolina Family, 1851 - 1865 edited by Frances Wallace Taylor, Catherine Taylor Matthews and J. Tracy Power (2000) in our Research Room. You can check out copies from the Local History sections of the Branch Libraries too.
January 18: I shared the BDC's FB page statistics for all of 2021 with Library Administration earlier this month. According to the year-end statistics, the BDC Facebook page's reach increased by 54.5% over 2020. Facebook defines “reach” this way: "The number refers to people who saw any content from your Page or about your Page, including posts, stories, ads, social information from people who interact with your Page and more. Reach is different from impressions, which may include multiple views of your posts by the same people." So I thank all of you who shared a post from this page with others. You are the reason that the BDC's "reach" grew during 2021.
Just in case you're wondering: The post with the greatest “reach” of 2021 (1.6K) was made on 18 May 2021 and concerned Joe Lipsitz’s memoir, Memories of "The Bay Street Boy" in His Own Words". The BDC is the only holder of this title within the SCLENDS consortium. The second largest “reach” last year (1.2K) came after I posted a flyer of local history materials that we have and share about “The History of Bluffton, SC”.
January 20: Heads up: We're going to re-start BDC with BHM and/or BCHS in person programs next month. First on the agenda: An Historically Speaking lecture about the Grand Army of the Republic and its Hall up on Newcastle Street on 17 February. We join with the Beaufort History Museum to kick off the introductory lecture "The Battle of Purysburg" on 11 March as part of their Revolutionary War Encampment set for the following day.
January 20: JSYK: The BDC has almost 100 books, government documents, and clippings etc. about the history, cultivation, and harvesting of the oyster from area waters. We even have a vertical file on the Beaufort Area Hospitality Association founded in 2018 that is the lead sponsor for the current Oyster Festival that ends this weekend. As long as there is a BDC, Library cardholders and visitors will be able to see the materials collected in the past 130 years about these and other local history related topics. That after all is the main purpose of a special local history collection and archives - to make materials from the past and present available now and in the future.
January 21: A blast from the past: The January 21, 1932 issue of the Beaufort Gazette reported that City police and street employees had agreed to taking a 20% cut in pay though they "assure the citizens of Beaufort that they will continue to render courteous, prompt and efficient service as heretofore." The next paragraph talks about the Beaufort zoo: "Most of the animals have been sent back to their owners and others will be sold or given to some one who will give them a home." (p. 1) There's more in "The Zoo is Gone" article shown (p. 4).
If anyone has memories, memorabilia, or photographs of the zoo or its animals from the 1930s, we surely would love to know about them.
January 21: Reminder - The closure on Friday means that the BDC staff go home at 12 o'clock today. Give us a call before noon today to get on our schedule for next week: 843-255-6464
January 22: A somewhat hidden figure in Beaufort County's long and storied history is Leon Keyserling who was born 114 years ago today. What is his claim to fame? Read the BDC's recently updated WordPress blog post about him to find out.
January 23: A shout out to the BDC's Beloved Docents, Peggy, Joe, Laura, Kathy and former docent Sam, for giving the BDC a total of 328.75 hours of their time and talents during 2021. It takes special people to work in and with special local history collections. And we are fortunate indeed to have incredibly dedicated people currently working on the BDC's digital, transcriptions, and indexing projects.
January 25: If you've been around for a few years, then you know that I am a fan of Toni Carrier, who has done - and I hope will again do - some live in-person programming with the BDC. But in the meantime: The International African American Museum is offering a free online series of four Zoom meetings on the Saturdays in February 2022 to help you learn how to do family history research. Registration and details
January 25: As frequent visitors to this page know, the BDC doesn't "do" Charleston but sometimes other units of the Library system offer programs that might be of interest to those that don't define "local" as tightly as the BDC does. For example, the Book Club led by Brenda Beasley-Forrest at Beaufort Branch has chosen the book All That She Carried by Tiya Miles, a 2021 National Book Award for Non-fiction winner as one of their 2022 selections. Presenter Janet McCauley will lead the discussion about the book on Thursday, February 17 at 4:30 downstairs in the Beaufort Branch Library.
The selection list gave this blurb: In 1850s South Carolina, just before nine-year-old Ashley was sold, her mother Rose gave her a sack filled with just a few things as a token of her love. Decades later, Ashley's granddaughter Ruth embroidered this history on the bag--including Rose's message that 'It be filled with my Love always.' Historian Tiya Miles carefully follows faint archival traces back to Charleston to find Rose in the kitchen where she may have packed the sack for Ashley. From Rose's last resourceful gift to her daughter, Miles then follows the paths their lives and the lives of so many like them took to write a unique, innovative history of the lived experience of slavery in the United States. Contains much local history and connections to our roots in the Lowcountry, with ties to Middleton Plantation and the new African American History and Culture Museum in Charleston.
This book club - like all of the Library's book clubs - are open to all who would like to participate. Contact Beaufort Branch if you want more information: 843-255-6456 (Like I wrote, the BDC doesn't "do" Charleston, or Walterboro, or Savannah, etc.)
January 27: When researchers contact us ahead of time for appointments, sometimes I am made aware of potential topics for the BDC's Connections blog. Case in point: "Little Known Proprietary Era Materials in the BDC" was mostly done in response to a customer's inquiry about some of South Carolina's founding families - and one cannot properly address the founding families without consideration of the period, 1663 - 1731. The earliest English settlement and settlers arrived while the colony was a private venture of the eight Lords Proprietors and their heirs and assigns. Charles II gave them the land as a form of payment for their support of his claims of the English throne. His successors George I and George II would finalize the transformation of Carolina into South Carolina as a royal colony. If you want to nerd out, read Connections today.
January 28: Whip out your Beaufort manufactured "National Kazoo Day" instrument and hum for National "Fun at Work" Day! Note: See last year's 28 January FB post for more about kazoos, a local businessman and politician, and America's ONLY plastic kazoo factory - right here in Beaufort County, South Carolina!
January 28: PSA [Public Service Announcement] for the Library system: The Beaufort County Library system is looking for members of the public to be part of its "Human Library Book" cadre. Deadline to apply: 18 February 2022.
January 29: Pop Quiz: How many local obituaries were published in Beaufort County newspapers in 1985?
We know that the correct answers are: 885 for the Beaufort Gazette - due to the work of docent Kathy Mitchell and 240 in the Island Packet due to the work of former docent Nelson Brown. So the correct answer is 1,125. These figures were the highest tally of published obituaries per year per local newspaper to date - and who knows? It might be the highest tally ever when the project concludes. After all, there's only another 28 years worth of newspaper microfilm to get indexed by dedicated volunteers who can methodically read, cite, and enter the metadata into the spreadsheet that then uploads into the Online Obituary Index on the Library's website. Please note: The index is online; the actual obituaries are on the microfilm.
We had to abandon the print-out, cut-and-paste, adhere to recycled catalog cards, cite properly, type the citations physical reproductions several years ago due to labor and time limitations and the number of non-locals (people resident in Beaufort County less than ten years) with very lengthy paid published obituaries. It took way too many 4 X 6 cards to cover 6 inches worth of printed obituary per person. Rest assured that the old style obituary cards created with the tedious process remain in the Obituary card drawers. ( Throwing "stuff" away is not in my nature.) It's just that no more are being created.
January 30: Notice: I updated and posted the Finding Aid for the Thomas Heyward Jr. Chapter, DAR Scrapbooks in the BDC's WordPress blog earlier this month. We thank the chapter for donating the materials to the Library for safekeeping and sharing with others. Some of the scrapbooks were already in the Library when I came to work in 1999; a few arrived in 2008; and the final installment came in 2021.
Let me know if you'd like to set up an appointment to review the content of this archival collection: bdc@bcgov.net or 843-255-6446. Please allow up to 72 hours for a response.
January 31: PSA [Another Public Service Announcement]: AARP and VITA tax help has returned to select locations. Details are on the Library's website under the "Services" tab, select "Tax Help" or save a few seconds by going directly to the Tax help page.
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