The BDC's Facebook Posts for October 2022

Here's a recap of the social media posts I made last month of Facebook. The biggest news was that the BDC has its first fulltime assistant since May 2020 - definitely a movement in the right direction at long last! The BDC celebrated Archives Month, Archaeology Month, National Newspaper Week, and Halloween during October 2022. We hosted one local history program with our partner the Beaufort History Museum. JSYK: I edited a few posts for ease of reading and/or added links to additional information in the posts re-capped below.

October 16 - If you happen to stop by the research room anytime soon for an appointment, you may see a new face among the stacks! To give myself a quick introduction, hi! My name is Olivia Santos, and I’m Grace’s new assistant (or “victim,” as she likes to call me) in the BDC. I’m excited to meet you all when you come in for appointments, while we talk over the phone, or at an upcoming event.

The Materials Mondays posts in October all related to archival materials that we hold about the topic of the War of the Rebellion, which as you may already know is the official name of the American Civil War.

October 3 - "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige" posts this month will highlight some of our Civil War related archival collections because October is Archives Month and the BHM/BCL 6.1 session opens with a session by Jackson Canaday about the history of a Civil War unit from Beaufort. (I love 2-fer deals, just in case you didn't already know that.) First up is the R. L. Johnson Medical Record Book, 1863 – 1864, 1867-1883, a primary source document offering insight into Civil War era treatment of wounds and maladies, Reconstruction era obstetrics, and cotton farming using freed labor. This journal is significant because Johnson’s depictions give a firsthand view of medical practices during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras when prescribing whiskey, eggs, and opium were standard treatments. The medical cases and farm accounts typically include the names of the individuals involved and thus may be useful for genealogical purposes. The direct link to the digital journal is bit.ly/2UKZxm3. The Finding Aid to this collection is in the BDCBCL blog.

October 10 - "50 Shades of Beige: Materials Monday" in Archives Month: Another Civil War archival collection that shows the evolving sentiment for secession, Confederate service of local men, and the consequences of the Civil War on a prominent Beaufort family is the Reeves Collection of Stuart Family Papers. Claudia Smith Stuart (Mrs. John Allan Stuart), sister of fire-eater Robert Barnwell Rhett, kept up an active correspondence with her children about family, local and national events. There's a Connections blog post https://bit.ly/3s2bK8R about letters in Folders 9 and 10. The Finding Aid https://bit.ly/3rKRRTy goes into much more detail about the scope of the collection and highlights significant items in each of the folders. Questions? Contact us: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net

October 17 - "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige": The Civil War archival collections include the L.A. Hall Civil War Stereoscope Collection that was donated by postmaster Leamonde Avery Hall to the Beaufort Township Library in 1944. The originals are in the Research Room but to minimize the wear and tear caused by physical handling of the 150+ years old images we digitized them for the Lowcountry Digital Library in 2018. The direct link to the digital collection is http://bit.ly/2B8qacS. The image is of Captain Low and his family in 1865.

October 24 - "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige" The BDC has a small collection of original Civil War era newspapers. There are 43 individual issues printed between 1860 and 1865, mostly of New York newspapers, in the Research Room. All are in very fragile condition so I handle them very infrequently. Many are available over the internet in newspaper databases - and we insist that you use those rather than our quite brittle ones. The difference in paper quality between the Northern newspapers and the two printed under Confederate government is striking. The original newspapers were last on display as part of the Library's rather extensive "One County Reads the Civil War" project in 2013. Keeping them stored well in acid-free boxes, protected from ultraviolet light, and with minimal handling should extend their survival at least for another 50 to 100 years.

October 31 - Today's "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige" selection is a Civil War era pay receipt that is part of the Beaufort County Historical Society archive that we share through the Research Room. Learn more about the document and the Connecticut First Light Battery in Connections.

Also related to Archives Month:

October 21 - Explore at least some of what's in our manuscript collections using our online finding aids. Finding aids are inventories created by archival and manuscript repositories to provide information about specific collections and are used by researchers to determine whether materials within a collection may be relevant to their research.

October 24 - Example of the value of archives in establishing the historic record. [We now know the date of the first copyrighted motion picture.]

October 29 - Now that Olivia is here fulltime, I decided to work a bit on the Finding Aids backlog as a nod to Archives Month. The Materials Mondays post for December 12th will tell you all about what was lost and now is found - courtesy of some concentrated time for research.

There was no overall theme to the posts about Black History this month.

October 12 - "Black History Note Wednesday:" The 31 March 1932 issue of the Bluffton Newsletter carried this "Announcement: There will be a moving picture exhibition at the Campbell A.M.E. Church, 8 P. M. Monday, April 4th. High Power Electric Light Plant showing the life of our Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, the life of Moses, Judgment of King Solomon and Jepthta's daughter, and the poetic vision of the Sinner's Life beyond the Grave."

October 26 - "Black History Note Wednesday:" The 1st South Carolina Volunteers, later the 33rd United States Colored Troops, were the first black unit of the Civil War. Preceding the famous 54th Massachusetts—seen in the film Glory—by one year, these South Carolina slaves turned soldiers were noted for their courage, discipline, and pride, continuing to serve the Union cause even while temporarily disbanded. They fought for years with little or no pay, poor equipment, and constant pressure and abuse from both North and South. This brief history is told mostly through the letters and journals of their commanding officer Lt. Col. Charles T. Trowbridge [in the book Nineteenth Century Freedom Fighters]. The BDC has a copy, there are multiple copies available through the BCL's local history sections at the branch libraries, and there's even an e-book copy on Hoopla that you can read on your personal communication device. In other words, there is no reason - other than the lack of a valid BCL library card - that you cannot learn more about this important locally raised Civil War Union unit.

About Poisoned Books, Spectral Matters and Halloween:

October 11 - Since we're in the month of Eerie, here's a project that I learned about very recently. Its name makes it a perfect entry for October: "Poisoned Book Project" at Winterthur Library. Sounds more like a murder mystery title than a preservation issue, don't you think? New task to add to my increasingly long "hope to do before retirement checklist:" "Eyeball the clothbound books in the BDC for green 19th century bindings. If found, devise a preservation and safety handling plan." One of the main reasons I still come to work is because doing so gives me the opportunity to learn something new every day. To always be learning is a very high priority value for me as a person.

October 23 - For those who like to aren't afraid of bumping into some of Beaufort County's spectral spirits - or for those who want to make sure to avoid them: We share a few of the spooky stories about Gauche, the Lovers of Fripp Island , the ever popular Land's End Light and more in this 7-part series.

October 22 - Fun historical fact: Early European Americans carved turnips –not pumpkins–to ward away evil spirits. This oldie but goodie article from The Guardian (UK) explains how the tradition evolved into the pumpkin carving we associate with Halloween today.

October 28 - Here's a vintage way to give yourself - and your grandkids - a unique Halloween treat: try solving some of the All Hallow's Eve themed puzzles from the Chronicling America historic newspapers database.

October 30 - One of my favorite reference questions ever tells an eerie tale... in Connections, the BDC's longest running blog.

Related to Materials in the BDC - apropos the 2017/2018-2020/2021 Strategic Plan Priority 1 Level  Communications Goal: 

October 1 - Celebrate World Postcard Day by enjoying the Russell Arnsberger Postcard Collection that is hosted for us at the Lowcountry Digital Library. The direct link to the 350+ postcards is bit.ly/2q8VS3e. BTW: The Research Room has 3 other major collections of postcards that can only be viewed on site. Make an appointment to come in and see more! bdc@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468

October 7 - If you are (or are not) planning on attending the free The Water is Wide Panel Discussion during the Pat Conroy Literary Festival on October 28th, just know that the BCL has boocoodles of copies (in print, as audio or e-book) of Conroy's teaching memoir to borrow in advance of the discussion.

October 8 - Read about what's "New and (New to Us) in the Research Room."

October 17 - In honor of International Archaeology Day: The BDC contains some 200 archaeological (also spelled archeological) reports about properties in the former Beaufort District. Contact us to learn more about the scope of our collection and the properties studied: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net. 

October 18 - Read about what's currently on display in the Research Room - and why Olivia picked what she did. Stories of the Civil War

October 20 - The Diversify Your Reading Challenge 2022 continues. This month's selection, genre "Historical Romance" is "Beaufort 1849" by Karen Lynn Allen. There's more in the BDC's Connections blog about my choice.

October 26 - Celebrate Beaufort District's most celebrated author [i.e. Pat Conroy] on what would have been his 77th birthday.

October 27 - Interested in local Civil War Confederate troops? Try these titles from the BDC. (A few are also available through the local history sections at the Branch Libraries too.)

Related to Newspaper Week:

October 2 - Today begins National Newspaper Week 2022. The Research Room has some local newspapers on microfilm and some paper copies of a few more recent ones. If you want the full list, just ask bdc@bcgov.net and I shall send it to you.

October 2 - I was recently introduced to Elephind, a search engine for 200 million-plus items from more than 4,300 newspaper titles. Elephind searches big collections (including the aforementioned Chronicling America) as well as small, such as academic archives, and goes overseas to include plenty of Australian papers. I don't see any obvious South Carp;oma related newspapers included - at least not for any of my Beaufort District based 18th - 20th century ancestors - but you might have better luck.

October 5 - "Black History Note Wednesday:" In honor of National Newspaper Week: The Beaufort Tribune of 1874-1876 is considered a Black publication since William J. Whipper was part owner. It is available online through the Chronicling America website. We do not happen to have this particular newspaper on microfilm in the Research Room. [Note: See Stop #4 in the linked Connections article for additional information about Whipper.]

Sharing as Public Service Announcements:

October 13 - The Composting Guide from Beaufort County was selected as a state document of the month for August by the SC State Library. They opined that "The natural color scheme and verbiage inspire even the novice gardener to dig into composting."

October 14 - Heads up: The Fall Staff Development Day for staff falls on Wed., October 19th. We'll be working on the latest suggestions for the Library's next Strategic Plan.

October 14 - Just sharing as a historical and cultural heritage notice - particularly since October is Archaeology Month. The Clotilda was the last known slave ship to sail into the South. The wreck was discovered in the Mobile River in Alabama in 2019. The blurb says "You’ll hear from the archaeologists exploring the shipwreck, the historians researching its history, and the descendants of the people who were brought over on the ship, as they work to preserve the Clotilda and ensure that its legacy and its stories are not forgotten." [Note: This webinar was held in the past.]

October 15 - Thomas E. Miller, one of this area's most prominent Black men during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is the South Carolina African American History Calendar October 2022 honoree.

October 23 - Get your wallet ready ... to purchase lots of good books at the annual Friends of the Beaufort Library (and St. Helena and Lobeco and BDC) Book Sale! I'll be roaming over there myself on Saturday, November 5th so be sure to say "Hey!" if you see me.

October 25 - Just sharing for another local cultural heritage organization: Got Artifacts??? The HHI Archaeology Chapter will hold its annual “What the Heck is It?” program Saturday October 29th, 1:00 to 4:00 PM in the Coastal Discovery Museum, 70 Honey Horn Drive, Hilton Head Island. Drs. Eric Poplin, Vice President Brockington Inc, and Ron Anthony, retired archaeologist at the Charleston Museum, will comprise analyze, identify, and date the artifacts brought to the session. Note: This session had to be rescheduled due to the expected impacts of Hurricane Ian. [Note: This event has happened already.]

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15th. I made one more post about the Hispanic heritage of Beaufort District: 

October 9 - Have you visited the Charlesfort- Santa Elena historic site on Parris Island? The base is now open to the public as long as you follow the rules.

We opened Season 6 of the joint Beaufort History Museum/Beaufort County Library local history series coordinated by the Beaufort District Collection with Jackson Canaday's program about the history of one of our Confederate units. 

October 4 - Today's the day that Season 6 of the Beaufort History Museum - Beaufort County Library local history series opens. I look forward to seeing all registrants at 2 pm this afternoon.

October 6 - Check out a few snaps from our most recent program held with the Beaufort History Museum.

All in all I made a total of 35 Facebook posts in October - which means that I am still doing too many per my Performance Review goal for the period April 1, 2022 - March 31, 2023. Yet there was considerable demand for the Library system to beef up its social media presence per the Strategic Plan focus groups held earlier this year. In other words, I'm in a perpetual state of quandry of "Do I stay the course?" or not.