New (and New to Us) Materials in the Research Room, May 2022 - August 2022

In spite of my prolonged absences this calendar year due to the final illness of my husband and my own knee replacement surgery, the Research Room continues to add items to our holdings for permanent retention. Most have been gifts. Of the six items shown in this first photograph, I only bought one. 

Fifteen Hurricanes of the Carolinas by Jay Barnes was a gift of the author because he used a few of our hurricane images in his book. More copies are on the way for you to borrow from the local history section at your nearest branch library. 

Similarly, the BDC Research Room received were two copies of the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina's Summer 2022 magazine issue that covers the Jewish Community in Beaufort. The JHSSC also used some visual materials from our holdings in the article.  

Not shown but received from Robert Hall were some relevant Southern Exposure magazine issues with Beaufort District related articles. 

The 1990 SCAIA Review of Architecture that has the Port Royal observation tower on the cover came from a donation to the Friends of the Beaufort Library who in turn let me have it. 

We actually added two issues of the Islander annual of the Beaufort Junior High School, 1976 and 1977. The 1977 annual is not shown in the photograph. We also received and cataloged the 1980 and 1981 Talon annuals for Battery Creek High School. The Islander and Talon annuals came from Misty Barton.  The 1950 Beaufortonian from Beaufort High School along with 2nd copies of the BHS annuals for 1951, 1952, and 1953 (not shown in the photograph) were donated by Henry Jackson.

American Conquistador: An Action-Adventure that is more Robin Hood than Robin Hood. And the Story is True! by Daryl Arden Ferguson covers the early Spanish and French settlements in our area. There are also copies of this title that you can borrow from the Local History sections at the branch libraries. 

It may seem odd to some that I would allow shelf space for a 1995 Profile & Business Catalogue of Hilton Head Island but these sorts of directories can be invaluable to those doing family history in the future. 

I bought volume 7 of the Short Story America series to add to the ones we already have. 

Shelf three of the display bookcases has two items about the Marine environment: Southern Flounder: Natural History and Fishing Techniques in South Carolina by Dr. Charlie Wenner and John Archambault, a SC Department of Natural Resources publication from 2005 and the Guide to South Carolina Marine Artificial Reefs from 2006. Horticulturally speaking I added The Lowcountry Gardener from the Beaufort Council of Garden Clubs of 2016 to our other editions of this "basic guide to garden planning for every season." All three of the items were gifts from the Friends of the Beaufort Library. 

Habersham Entertains (2018) is primarily promoting a leisure lifestyle through a cookbook.  It is divided into the four seasons and thence by theme. For example, the section on Autumn has the following menus with accompanying recipes: 

"Harvest Festival; An Autumn Feast; Farmer's Table Dinner; Wine List & Finger Foods; and Chili Cook-off." The Spring section includes "Bottles & Barrels; Coastal Living's A Table for 20; Porch Parties; Appetizers Made Easy; BTR [short for Beaufort Twilight Run] and Oyster Roast; [and]  Retreatables" for informal gatherings to watch the sunset from the community's River Retreat Pavilion. 

I donated an extra copy I had at home of the Lowcountry Phone Directory: Beaufort, Jasper & Hampton Counties for 2021. Phone books can be invaluable for title researchers and family historians.  

Burnt Church Road: Unraveling the Story Behind the Name by Genevieve Reilly Secchi with Melanie Beal Marks (2020) explains the history of how this particular thoroughfare in Bluffton got its name. The research was commissioned by the owner of the Burnt Church Whiskey Distillery. Families connected to the history of the area include Seabrook, Kirk, Martin and Cram. We got this title from Doug Rooney of Sun City who sent it to me via the Bookmobile South staff. 

I added an older technology, that of the cassette tape, when I accessioned Luke Gullah: De Good Nyews Bout Jedus Christ Wa Luke Write by the Sea Island Translation and Literary Project (1995) in which one can hear this book of the Gospel read in the Gullah Language. We have a cassette player in the Research Room for our customers to use. 

Please contact me at least a few days in advance of your proposed visit to our Research Room: gracec@bcgov.net or 843-255-6468. 

Season 6 of the BHM-BCL Local History Series Roster

With the cooperation of the Beaufort History Museum, I am proud to announce the roster for Season 6 of our joint Local History series. Programs will be in-person only and registration is required. Our roster covers the 17th - early 21st centuries: Proprietary period, Civil War era, a local seafood industry, and drug smuggling. In other words, there is something for everyone! Please take particular note of the location in which program will be held. Sometimes we will be at Beaufort Branch Library and sometimes we will be at St. Helena Branch Library.

1. Tuesday, October 4, 2022 @ Beaufort Branch Library | 2 PM – Jackson Canady re: 11^th South Carolina Volunteers CSA | Registration opens: September 20th on the BHM website

Learn about the history of Beaufort’s Civil War era 11th South Carolina Volunteers Confederate regiment.. Canady will cover  the local men who served, the battles they fought, and the struggles they encountered.                  

Jackson Canaday is a resident of the city of Beaufort. He grew up in Beaufort learning about his many local Confederate ancestors, which instilled a fascination for historical research-primarily of the 11th South Carolina Volunteers.  In these efforts, he has read many soldiers' personal letters and records, tracked their individual journeys throughout the war, and located and cleaned numerous final resting places of men within his ancestors' unit.

Registration opens September 20, 2022 at https://beauforthistorymuseum.wildapricot.org/event-4884467. 

2. Tuesday, December 6, 2022 @ St. Helena Branch Library | 2 PM – John Warley re: Tuscarora Jack Barnwell | Registration opens: November 22^nd on the BHM website 

Learn about Colonel John “Tuscarora Jack” Barnwell (1671-1724) whose contribution to the survival of Beaufort and the other English settlements in both North and South Carolina has not been fully appreciated.  Both the Yamasee and Tuscarora Indians made concerted efforts to drive the colonists into the Atlantic, and both failed largely due to Tuscarora Jack’s courage, skill and determination. And when it came time for South Carolina to free itself from the clutches of the Lords Proprietors, there was only one man to send to London to make the case: Colonel Barnwell.

The lecturer, John Warley, is the grandson of Colonel Barnwell seven generations removed and is currently at work on a biography of his famous ancestor.  He is the author of five works of fiction and one history of his undergraduate alma mater: Stand Forever, Yielding Never, The Citadel in the 21st Century. John lives in Beaufort and currently serves as vice-president of the Beaufort History Museum. 

Registration will open for this local history program on November 22, 2022 at https://beauforthistorymuseum.wildapricot.org/event-4884890. 

3. Tuesday, March 21, 2023 @ St. Helena Branch Library | 2 PM – Beverly Jennings about her book Shrimp Tales: Small Bites of History | Registration opens: March 7^th on the BHM website 

Shrimping is a tough, messy business full of physical risks and economic hardships. Beverly Jennings interviewed over 65 fishermen, marine biologists and others to explore the commercial shrimping life along the southeastern coast to create an exhibit for the Sharon and Dick Stewart Maritime Center - which in turn led to the publication of her book Shrimp Tales: Small Bites of History in 2020.  

The book explores the trade that started in Florida and eventually found its way up to Georgetown, SC. There are lots of photographs, illustrations, quotes from shrimpers and even some recipes you can cook at home after the program.

Beverly Bowers Jennings has loved the sea since age 6 when her father built a white rowboat named Little Fish for her. A Master Naturalist, Jennings has designed exhibits for the Port Royal Sound Maritime Center and Coastal Discovery Museum.  She has been featured on Walter Edgar’s Journal,  Local Life magazine, and SCETV’s By The River series. 

Registration will open for this local history program on March 7, 2023 at https://beauforthistorymuseum.wildapricot.org/event-4962919.

4. Tuesday, May 2, 2023 @ Beaufort Branch Library | 2 PM – Jason Ryan about his book Jackpot: High Times, High Seas and the Sting that Launched the War on Drugs  | Registration opens: April 18^th on the BHM website | 

Topographically speaking, if smuggling is on your mind, then our county's waterways are just about perfect! 

For centuries a variety of outlaws have used the twisting waterways of the South Carolina Lowcountry to conceal illegal activity. Pirates found refuge in Carolina creeks, Civil War blockade runners sneaked supplies past a naval blockade, and rumrunners imported alcohol in the midst of Prohibition. 

But perhaps more exciting than all of those historic misdeeds are the escapades of South Carolina’s “gentlemen” marijuana smugglers, who sailed nearly $1 billion worth of pot into Southern marshes during the 1970s and ‘80s. Come learn how a group of fun-loving college dropouts from the Palmetto State made it big in the world of marijuana trafficking before losing it all at the hands of federal investigation Operation Jackpot.

Jason Ryan is a nonfiction author and journalist in Charleston. His books include the marijuana smuggling tale Jackpot: High Times, High Seas and the Sting that Launched the War on Drugs, the true crime thriller Hell-Bent: One Man’s Crusade to Crush the Hawaiian Mob, and the early aviation account Race to Hawaii: The 1927 Dole Derby and the Thrilling First Flights That Opened the Pacific. He is a former reporter for The Beaufort Gazette and The State newspaper and is currently at work on a book about the Murdaugh family of South Carolina.

Registration for this local history program will open on April 18, 2023 at https://beauforthistorymuseum.wildapricot.org/event-4962913. 

A word about registration: When we opened registration a month ahead of program date, we had a lot of no-shows. We learned by trial and error that the 2 weeks window for registration resulted in getting the most butts in seats. We are pleased that our programs have been quite popular in the past, often "selling out" all seats. However, even with the shorter registration period, we may have no-shows. Therefore, we decided that a reservation holds a seat for you up to 1:54 pm the day of the program. Any seats vacant at 1:55 pm are offered to others on stand-by to enter the session until room capacity is reached. 

Tips: 

1. Don't be late if you have a reservation. 

2. It's best not to rely on showing up at the last minute in hopes that a seat might be empty. Oftentimes there isn't one left at 1:55 pm the day of.

Diversify Your Reading Challenge: Literary Fiction

The "Diversify Your Reading Challenge: Literary Fiction" choice this month is an easy slam dunk. Who better to represent September's category of Literary Fiction than Pat Conroy? 

The Beaufort County Library has a long standing interest in documenting the life and career of author Pat Conroy. 

Almost from the moment Pat Conroy arrived in Beaufort as a teenaged military dependent, he embraced the community as his own. It was a sometime contentious relationship as matters seldom were simple in his life. During the course of his writing career, he became internationally recognized as one of the best and best-selling authors of Southern literature.

Visit the BDCBCL: Links, Lists, and Finding Aids blog to explore all that the Beaufort County Library and its special collections and archives unit, the Beaufort District Collection, offers about this man and his work. 

I put in active links so that you can go straight into the SCLENDS catalog to borrow most of the items, provided, of course, that you have a valid Beaufort County Library card. 

Seeing as how September is always Library Card Sign-up Month, there's no better time to apply! 

August 2022 Posts to the BDC's Facebook Page

In keeping with my 2022 - 2023 performance evaluation goal of "Social media posts will be reduced by 66% to free up time for preservation and archival projects," and the fact that I was out for 5 weeks recovering from surgery, I didn't make all that many Facebook posts in August. Most were related to the "Materials Monday" and "Black History Note Wednesday" series as you can see ...    

August 1, 2022 - "50 Shades of Beige: Materials Monday:" William Elliott's Carolina Sports by Land and Water is considered a sports literature classic. It has stayed in print since 1846. The USC Press reprint of 1994 with a new introduction by Theodore Rosengarten (author of Tombee) has a beige, brown and red cover - which is way I am featuring it here today.

The BDC has a first edition copy and several other reprint editions in the Research Room. We also share more recent reprint editions through the Local History sections at the Branch Libraries. In other words, there is no reason at all why you shouldn't check out "Carolina Sports".

August 8, 2022 - "50 Shades of Beige: Materials Monday": In Seth Rockman's review of Making a Slave State: Political Development in Early South Carolina by Ryan A. Quintana (2018) he opines that the Quintana "makes the social history of enslaved people central to the processes of state building and the political economy of capitalism. Indeed, the book's great value is its recognition of enslaved people as crucial historical actors whose everyday lives created the infrastructures of the state."

August 15, 2022 - "50 Shades of Beige: Materials Monday": A great many people are interested in family history - particularly if someone else does the work for them and all they have to do is listen to the stories compiled from the researcher's work.

(I too am guilty of this. Most of what I know about my ancestors comes from compiled genealogies written by others.)

Among the genealogical books held in the Research Room for family historians to use as a reference is Abigail's Story, Tides at the Doorstep: The Mackays, LaRoches, Jenkinses, and Chisolms of Low Country South Carolina, 1671-1897 compiled by William Greer Albergotti, III (1999), a tome of 566 pages. The index is 55 pages worth of 4 column entries of names, averaging 75 entries per column, a lot of those using the same first -often common - name (or first and second - often common - names) over several generations. There is no way that I would be able to equitably unravel these multiple Richards or Thomases or Sarahs or Elizabeths in the time I have left on this earth - much less in the time I have left in the employ of the Beaufort County Council.

Therefore, the best that I can do for those who do not undertake the work themselves is to send a few cellphone photos of a family history book's index as I did a few months ago for a woman who lives in Nebraska but who had South Carolina ancestors. She was not able to visit the Research Room to review this title in person.

JSYK: We have approximately 15 linear feet worth of compiled family histories directly relating to families that lived for two generations or more in Beaufort District for our Research Room customers to use.

August 22, 2022 - Today is a great day for a 2-fer-1 deal: I have a "50 Shades of Beige" selection for my choice for August's Diversify Your Reading Challenge. Learn more about Ann Head's life, career and her best known title, Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones that is credited as kicking off the Young Adult literary genre in Connections.

August 29, 2022 - Materials Monday: "50 Shades of Beige:" The Rev. Archibald Simpson kept manuscript journals of his life from 1748 until 1784 that have been edited down by Peter N. Moore to 2 beige colored volumes of material. References to Simpson's preaching and ministry in Beaufort can be found in volume 1 on pages xvi, 97, 278, and 288n53 and in volume 2 on pages 2-4, 9, 12, 21, 170, and 230. He also wrote about his time in Indian Land and the people he served and observed therein - which in his case means the people and environs of Prince William's Parish and its Stoney Creek Independent Church. The journals would be virtually unintelligible is not for Moore's annotations and explanations of the interrelationships between many of Simpson's flock. Part 2 recounts the many unsuccessful pursuits the widower made among the area's women between 1765 and his ignominious return to Scotland in 1772 having failed to secure a second wife.

Rev. Simpson would return to South Carolina 1783 and would write of the Revolution's aftermath in Beaufort District: "The British & the American armies having carried off all my fine breed of horses, and Several hundred head of cattle ... Was all day entertained with the account of the most horrid transactions of the British Army & the Loyalists, during the war." (Extract of diary entries of Tuesday, November 4, 1783)

You can make an appointment to read Rev. Simpson's diaries in the Research Room: bdc@bcgov.net or 843-255-6468.

August 3, 2022 - "Black History Note:" A more contemporary version of the Trial of Sundry Negroes ... mentioned here on 13 July is Designs Against Charleston by Edward Pearson (1999). On July 2, 1822, officials in Charleston, South Carolina, executed a free black carpenter named Denmark Vesey for planning what would have been the most extensive slave revolt in U.S. history. Pearson provides a fascinating and comprehensive account of the Vesey conspiracy that uses both primary and secondary sources including the words of the accused.

August 10, 2022 - "Black History Note:" Black Majority : Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 through the Stono Rebellion by Peter H. Wood (1996, 1975) was a groundbreaking thesis in 1972; an important book of 1975; and has remained in print since. Wood explored the consequences of importing the largest single group of non-English-speaking migrants to the North American colonies on United States history through a thorough and penetrating case study of the Palmetto State during the period. The BDC has a copy but there are also plenty of copies that you can check out through the SCLENDS consortium.

August 17, 2022 - "Black History Note:" The Risen Phoenix : Black Politics in the post-Civil War South by Luis-Alejandro Dinnella-Borrego highlights the careers of six African American legislators, our own Robert Smalls included. The book argues that African American congressmen effectively served their constituents' interests while also navigating their way through a tumultuous post-Civil War Southern political environment. Black congressmen represented their constituents by advancing a policy agenda encompassing strong civil rights protections, economic modernization, and expanded access to education. As these black leaders searched for effective ways to respond to white supremacy, disenfranchisement, segregation, and lynching, they challenged the barriers of prejudice, paving the way for future black struggles for equality in the twentieth century. The BDC has a reference copy in the Research Room but there are two copies that you can borrow from other parts of the BCL.

August 24, 2022 - "Black History Note:" One of my favorite books in the Research Room is Camera Man's Journey: Julian Dimock's South edited by Thomas Johnson and Nina Root (2002). The photographs compiled here are of African Americans taken around Columbia and Beaufort, S.C. between 1904 and 1911.

There are plenty of copies in the local history sections at the Branch Libraries to borrow as well.

BTW: The American Museum of Natural History has the originals of these and about 3300 more images taken by Julian Dimock in its collection.

August 31, 2022 - "Local History Red Letter Day" and "Black History Note" are rolled up in one: Find out why frightened people white and colored fell to their knees singing and praying 136 years ago today in the latest Connections blogpost.

A couple of posts referred to the "Tide of Death" local history program I did at Bluffton Branch on Saturday, August 27th - which had 27 people in attendance. 27 people is a very satisfactory turnout for a local history program on a Saturday morning south of the Broad River.

August 25, 2022 - The 1950 Census Indexing update: It is fully indexed on the Ancestry Library Edition website - and in record time. The downside is that access to Ancestry Library Edition has returned to its pre-Covid state, that is, one must use it on one of the Library's public computers.

FamilySearch.org's 1950 Census project remains underway "indexed by computers, reviewed by people" with 80% of the states and territories all done. South Carolina's returns are completely indexed.