The BDC's November 2022 Posts on Facebook

November 1: Overview of November 2022 in the BDC: November is Native American Heritage Month so expect to see that theme in Materials Mondays and/or Black History Note Wednesdays posts.

I hope to see you during my volunteer time at the Annual Friends of the Beaufort Library book sale. Help them help the BDC - and other parts of the library system based North of the Broad River.

November has 3 holidays. The Library system will be closed Friday, November 11th for Veterans Day and Thursday, November 24th and 25th for Thanksgiving Day and Heritage Day.

Registration for the next local history program opens November 22nd; program date for "John Barnwell and His Fight to Save the American Colonies" with John Warley is December 6th.

Black History Note Wednesdays

November 2: "Black History Note Wednesday:" At first glance The Yamasee War: A Study of Culture, Economy, and Conflict in the Colonial South by William Ramsay (2008) may not be a good choice for this topical series. However the book reveals the shift in white racial ideology that responded to wartime concerns, including anxieties about a "black majority" in the state. The shift that occurred throughout the American colonies that the word "slave" meant "Black" was absolutely critical to the course of the Palmetto State's history thereafter. The BDC has a permanent copy and the SCLENDS has other copies of this title that one can borrow.

November 9: "Black History Note Wednesday:" The Bluffton News Letter of March 24, 1932 carried these two notices about services at the Black churches in town:

"There will be an Easter program rendered by the St. John Baptist's Colored Church on Sunday at 4:00 o'clock. Our white friends are respectfully invited to attend, and all efforts are being made to provide suitable entertainment: L. Graham, Supt., H. Gadsen, Assistant Supt. [and] There will be a Resurrection Service at Campbell A.M.E. Church Sunday morning at 5:00 o'clock and an Easter program Sunday evening at 6:00 o'clock. Our white friends are cordially invited: Rev. J. M. Glenn."

November 16: "Black History Note:" In Three Peoples, One King: Loyalists, Indians, and Slaves in the Revolutionary South, 1775-1782 author Jim Piecuch (2008) 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 for their support of the King and his government. 

Though the BDC Research Room has the only copy of this title within the Beaufort County Library system, there are plenty of copies that circulate through the SCLENDS consortium to our library cardholders. We - or any BCL staff member - can talk you through over the telephone how to place a "Hold" through the SCLENDS catalog - provided of course, that you have a valid library card with us.

November 23: "Black History Note:" South Carolina’s Blacks and Native Americans, 1776 - 1976 by Marianna W. Davis and the Bicentennial Project Editorial Board (1976) was 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 30: "Black History Note Wednesday:" Not enough available and affordable housing is an enduring issue here. This notice from the December 1, 1864 issue of the Palmetto Herald addresses that challenge during the Federal occupation during the Civil War.

Materials Monday Posts

November 7: "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige" in Native American Heritage Month: The Yamasee Indians : From Florida to South Carolina edited by Denise I. Bossy, 2018 is an anthology of the latest academic research about a local Native American group that once resided in Beaufort District. Archaeologists of South Carolina and Florida and historians of the Native South, Spanish Florida, and British Carolina address elusive questions about Yamasee identity, political and social networks, and the fate of the group. There's a permanent copy of this title in the BDC and some copies that you can borrow through our branch libraries.

November 14: "Materials Monday : 50 Shades of Beige" in Native American Heritage Month: A Colonial Complex: South Carolina’s Frontiers in the Era of the Yamasee War 1680-1730 by Steven J. Oatis, 2004 explains the Yamasee War and other Native American/European conflicts through frontier expansion efforts. JSYK: Oatis shows how Native Americans fought to hold onto their lands and culture - and came quite close to defeating the European settlers.

November 21: "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige" in Native American Heritage Month. This is perhaps my favorite archaeology poster in the Research Room. (I do so love images of vintage maps.) It's from SCIAA's Archaeology Month 2015, the tricentennial year of the uprising. The verso contains - in very small print - boocoodles of military history about the conflict. The image and verso text can be accessed online through the Scholar Commons at the University of South Carolina.

November 28: "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige" in Native American Heritage Month - The Tuscarora War : Indians, Settlers, and the Fight for the Carolina Colonies by David La Vere has a chapter about one of the war's key players "Col. John Barnwell : the opportunist". We know him because of his key role in the founding of Beaufort and by his nickname "Tuscarora Jack."

I do so hope that you have signed up for a seat at our next BHM/BCL local history program! Topic you might ask? Why "Tuscarora Jack Barnwell and His Fight to Save the American Colonies" with his descendant John Warley, of course.

Other Native American History related posts:

November 9: One of the most common statements we hear in the Research Room from beginning family historians is "My [great or some version thereof] grandmother was a Cherokee." But how does one find documents to support that statement? Ancestry Library Edition offers a guide to "Researching Your American Indian Ancestors".

November 12: For a little "Native American Heritage Month" reading, check out Olivia's choices for the BDC's display case.

November 18: Fact: Criteria for membership in a Native American tribal nation is determined by the tribal nation. DNA evidence may or may not affect one's chances for being added to a tribe's rolls. For example, DNA results showing Native American heritage are not accepted as evidence for applications for membership in the largest Native American tribe, the Cherokee Nation. Listen to the NPR interview that Steve Inskeep had with the Cherokee Nation's Secretary of State, Chuck Hoskin or read the full transcript for more details.

This & That:

November 3: Help the Beaufort Friends of the Library help us by spending a few of your hard earned $s at their Book Sale. [The Friends earned approximately $19,000!]

November 4: Mary Ann Browning Ford's bench "Waterfront Park - Then and Now" honors the revitalization of the city that ensued from then Mayor Chambers' vision for a modern park to replace the dilapidated wharves that once lined the water side of Bay Street. Learn about the challenges of realizing the vision. Watch the recording made by Jeff Kidd (BHM) of the BHM/BCL 2.1 session "Reflections on the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park" (2017) of our joint local history series on the Beaufort History Museum's YouTube Channel.

November 7: "Red Letter Local History Day:" The Battle of Port Royal Sound, November 7, 1861

November 13: The Diversify Your Reading Challenge focuses on Non-Fiction materials - and the BDC has a lot! Read more in Connections.

November 14: This is exciting news - particularly in light of the fact that the 250th Anniversary will be here sooner than we expect. I'd bet that the Battle of Camden would be a great topic for the 250th Anniversary program committee to consider for a potential lecture.

November 17: Thanksgiving became a US holiday during the Civil War by proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln. Here's a notice from the Palmetto Herald published for the Union troops during the Federal occupation. Note: All "innocent amusements" were encouraged after prayers at church services and feasting. I guess that meant no drinking and no gambling and no cavorting with women. The notice appeared in the newspaper's 17 November 1864 issue. [Image on right]

November 21: The National Archives (USA) launched its new catalog today. The most useful feature that I see as a reference librarian and as a sometime customer of particular record series there is the yellow box at the top of each hit entry that tells you straight off if the collection is digitized, partly digitized, or as yet to be digitized.

November 22: Registration for John Warley's talk about his very important to - Beaufort District and South Carolina - history ancestor opens today! The registration portal address is: https://beauforthistorymuseum.wildapricot.org/event-4884890. As per usual, when we reach room capacity, registration will close. Hope to see you at the St. Helena Branch Library in 2 weeks for what is certain to be an informative lecture by one of the BDC's good friends.

November 29: To whet your appetite to learn more about John Barnwell at our upcoming BHM/BCL Local History program series, take a look at some of the letters he wrote about his military campaign against the Tuscarora Indians. We have a hardcopy of the 1908 South Carolina Historical and Genealogy Magazine in our Research Room but this article has been digitized and is free to access on JSTOR. If there are any seats left [for the program], you can claim one.

Schedule Announcements were made about Veterans Day, the impending Tropical Storm Nicole and the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas related holidays throughout the month of November.