"Black Resistance:" Antebellum Style : Mary Heuston's Story

One of the things that I like most about working in the Research Room is learning new "stuff" from BDC customers. One recent inquiry just so happens to fall into the "Black Resistance" theme for this year's Black History Month celebration.

 
The initial inquiry from Professor Eben Miller came through the Library's general email address in early January and was forwarded to me. That said:

I am a historian (Southern Maine Community College, South Portland, Maine) researching the life of Mary Heuston. She explains in a 1912 interview in a Maine newspaper that she was born into slavery during the 1820s. Her first enslaver was David Turner, of Beaufort, South Carolina. Using digitized resources, including records available through familysearch.org and ancestry.com, I've learned that Turner owned property on St. Helena Island. He was also customs collector and postmaster in Beaufort during the 1830s. He seems to have died in 1845.

Sometime before or after his death, possession of Mary turned over to Turner's daughter, Louisa Tupper. She and her husband, Frederick Tupper, lived in Savannah. In the summer of 1850, the Tuppers brought Mary with them to Bath, Maine. Mary freed herself by escaping with the assistance of Black women and men who lived in the Bath area. She was never recaptured and lived the rest of her life in Maine.

I'm trying to piece together as much of her story as possible. I'm reaching out to you for suggestions for finding any further leads on David Turner available through the library's Beaufort District Collection. I've never conducted research in South Carolina and would be grateful for any guidance.

If you have any thoughts on resources I could utilize, I'd be grateful.

The back-and-forth went on for almost a month. He sent along clippings of the article from the Lewiston [ME] Journal, Illustrated Magazine Section, 23 August 1912, pp. 1-2. [If you want to see the article go to digital page image 18 and digital page image 19 of the online link]. 

Here's the article:  

Very intriguing, isn't it? I was indeed hooked - and very grateful for the clues Mary gave in the newspaper article -  particularly since I already knew what the Black History Month theme for 2023 was [i.e. "Black Resistance"]  and hoped that perhaps I could use research time not only to help the off-site customer, but to help me with social media. So, I did a little research along and along and reported back to him about 10 days later: 

I regret that my investigation into other potential records that might include David Turner had little results. Beaufort is considered a burned county because of the loss of many pre-Civil War era records.

• No mention of David Turner in the indexes to that bible of Beaufort District history, The History of Beaufort County South Carolina, 1514 – 2006 by Lawrence S. Rowland, et al. (3 vols).
• No mention of him in a Sea Island Diary by Edith Dabbs about the history of St. Helena Island.  
• He is not listed in the History of Pharmacy in South Carolina (1951) that covers the colonial period through 1950. [ I looked in here because my NewsBank research in the historic Charleston SC newspapers showed him offering new stocks of drugs and tonics for a number of years on a rather regular basis.] 

Because you thought that David Turner likely died before 1845, I checked Marriage and Death Notices from the Charleston Observer, 1827 – 1845 by Brent Holcomb (1980) and found a marriage notice for Mary and Frederick’s wedding:

Issue of December 7, 1833

    On the 28^th ult. , at Beaufort, S.C., by the Rev. Daniel Bythewood, Frederick A. Tupper, Merchant, Savannah, Ga. , to Miss Louisa W., daughter of David Turner, Esq., Post Master of said place. (p. 79)

There was no further reference to David Turner in this book. However, I knew that Rev. Bythewood was a Baptist minister – and we have a church history, A Lamp Unto the Lowcountry: The Baptist Church of Beaufort 1804-2004 by Annette Milliken Maddox (2004) that I checked for David Turner. All that I gleaned from pages 76, 78-80, 87, and 260 was:

                Turner served on the 1842 building committee as he was among 19 male members of the Church to evaluate the condition of the original tabby church structure and encourage building a new, much larger facility. Turner was Chairman of the building committee. He was thanked for his role during the new Church dedication service in September 1845.  (p. 76 -80, 87)

                Turner paid $25 to rent a pew box on the first row on the north side in the new building. “Turner was an affluent man without slaves, and he chaired the committee to build a new church after first arguing to save the old one.” The configuration inside the church has since changed. (p. 260) – Which sort of begs the question about when and how he may have stopped owning others.

                The author refers to “Church Book C, 1840 - 1911“ from the Baptist Church of Beaufort’s own archive as a key source for these tidbits of information....

He is not listed in Burials in the Baptist Church of Beaufort Cemetery as of 24 March 2003, an unpublished document hand-delivered to me by its compiler in 2004.  

I used my personal State Library library card to gain access to back issues of the Charleston Courier and came across notices that refer to David Turner as the Port Collector to find land for a light house (1837); a runaway slave notice that mentions Jim as a former slave of David Turner of Beaufort (1829); administering estates of others (1810s); and as a wholesale agent for various tonics (1810s-1830s). He lost the 1831 election to the Beaufort Town Council, coming in at #7. There were 6 seats at the time. I found no mention of his death in these back files.

Also, I suggested that the professor contact the Baptist Church regarding “Church Book C” and to check with the Live Oak Public Library’s local history room in Savannah to see what it had about the  Tuppers.

He was not disappointed after all:

My gosh, Grace, I am humbled at your effort to assist me--thank you very much!

Despite Beaufort being in a burned county, I'm intrigued by some of these details you mention, like the description you found of Turner from 1845 as "an affluent man without slaves." My guess is that at some point he gave possession to his daughter(s). Tax records from Savannah, for instance, show that Louisa Tupper (nee Turner) possessed more than a dozen slaves during the 1840s.

From other records, I've learned that Turner was customs collector and postmaster in Beaufort during the Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren presidencies. South Carolina tax records indicate that he owned 300 acres in Prince William Parish, as well as property in St. Helena Parish. But after reading histories of St. Helena Island and not seeing him mentioned, I'm left to wonder if he lived in the city of Beaufort, rather than on a farm/plantation. I've also squinted at this 1825 map of the Beaufort District from the Library of Congress searching without success for "Turner."

If it's no trouble, could you let me know the date of the issue of the Charleston Courier in which you saw a runaway ad for Jim? I'd love to have a copy of this ad. I don't know if I'll be able to track this down through my own local library, but having the specific date from 1829 might be of help in that quest.

Many thanks, again, I'm so appreciative of your assistance! 

I sent him the citation - Charleston Courier, 11 December 1829, p. 1 - and a cellphone picture of the printout I made of the entry. 

About 2 weeks later, the professor sent me an update. He had found - if not a smoking gun, at least a little whiff of smoke in the air towards - confirmation of Mary Heuston's story:

Thanks again for your help, Grace. I've heard back from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History and thought you might appreciate an update. The sole document they could find is a marriage settlement between Louisa Turner and Frederick Tupper. It was photocopied and mailed to me. It's a little difficult to read the handwriting, but I've transcribed it as best I can and have copied below some of the most helpful information. Because Mary Heuston explained in her 1912 interview that she was known as Clara when enslaved, my attention is drawn to the names of three individuals named Clara and can't help but wonder if one of them was her.

whereas Louisa W Turner is entitled unto an estate both real and personal in a moiety of the trust Estate of Eliza and Louisa W Turner children of David and Mary Turner to wit One Home and Lot in the town of Beaufort known on the plot of this said town as number (116) One Hundred sixteen [Batting?] and [B--?] to the north on a lane thirty feet wide, on the east on the lot number (115) one hundred and fifteen on which is erected a place of worship called the Tabernacle on the south by Craven Street and in the west by Charles Street together with the [lot buildings?] Helena state + [--] attached also one tract of land in Prince William Parish containing three hundred and thirty acres more or less bounded on the east by land of the trust estate of Henry J Nichols and Eliza W Nichols formerly belonging to Philip [Givens?] to the west on land of John B. Givens to the North on land of William [Johnson?] and to the south by a small island called B(?) John or Browns Island with all the buildings improvements that houses appertaining + there unto belonging also to forty negroes herein named to wit Jack Amy + Jane(?) also Venus Yellow Jack, Cassandra, Ben Sharper, Alick Hector + Clara also Croessia(?) Thomas Harry Richard Jackson + Ned also old(?) Charlotte, Minty Daphney Tom Charlotte Abram + Jacob also to Clara Joe(?) Saturday Rachel Mariah Mary also [--] Robert Hilliard John Clara Isabella, children of Bets(?) and to the following single negroes Bram Long Peter Abe + [--] together with the increase of the females of the above mentioned negroes

I think that the Professor has a plausible case that one of the three females named Clara might indeed be the woman telling her story of escape from enslavement as one of David Turner's former chattel.  She had made a run for it - and succeeded! 

The BDC also now has two new vertical files: TURNER FAMILY and FUGITIVE SLAVES as a result of my inquiry for present and future customers of the Research Room to consult long after I am no longer in charge. To my way of thinking this inquiry was a win-win all around.   

Just in case you're wondering, I used my customer's name and institution with his expressed permission. The American Library Association Code of Ethics states the values to which we are committed, and embodies the ethical responsibilities of the profession in this changing information environment.  Number 3 is : "We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted." I would have never told you his name or why he contacted the Beaufort County Library otherwise. 

Genealogy Insider: Finding Enslaved Ancestors Using Enslaved.org

Today's post is totally pirated from Family Tree Magazine's Genealogy Insider e-newsletter that arrived in my in-box on 9 February 2023. I have made some minor formatting changes but the content is wholly from Genealogy Insider. When I searched the database on the place "Beaufort" I got 319 hits. This database - to which you can contribute - is another tool in the toolbox for African American ancestral research. -- Grace Cordial

We have more access to records documenting enslaved people than ever before, thanks in large part to digital initiatives like Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade (Enslaved.org). Kristina E. Poznan is the managing editor of Enslaved.org’s Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation, and she was kind enough to shed some light on this impressive resource.

Q: What is Enslaved.org? How does it differ from other sites?

Enslaved.org launched in 2019 and has been serving the needs of genealogists, students, and members of the public interested in named individuals who were part of the historical trade in enslaved people of African descent. Enslaved.org is a discovery hub that helps users to search and find information from a large and growing number of datasets and digital projects simultaneously. There is no fee and no log-in, just a free search tool.

Q: What sources are in Enslaved.org? How are they different from other sites?

The historians, archives, libraries, and museums that submit records about enslaved and emancipated people to Enslaved.org are generally gathering information from records more obscure than those found on other genealogical resource sites. These include probate inventories, runaway advertisements in newspapers, plantation registries, baptisms, coroners’ reports, and sale receipts. Getting information from these kinds of records is time-consuming, but they often provide a greater variety of details than a census.

Q: Why can I only sometimes see the original source?

Access to the original records is through the website of the project or institution that hosts the records. When they are available, we provide links to digitized sources, but in some cases the sources have not been digitized yet.

Q: Does data on Enslaved.org contain other kinds of information, too?

Yes, in addition to information about enslaved and emancipated peoples, Enslaved.org also contains some information about free people of color as well as some slave owners.

Q: How can I contribute information to Enslaved.org?

If you know of an archival record collection in which enslaved people are named and/or otherwise documented, let us know at enslaved.org@gmail.com and we will try to work with that institution to integrate it into our resources.

Kristina E. Poznan, PhD

Clinical Assistant Professor of History at the University of Maryland

Managing Editor of Enslaved.org’s Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation

15 Best Genealogy Books

Family Tree Magazine compiled a list of what it considers as the 15 Best Genealogy books recently. The BDC Research Room has five on our Ready Reference shelves for customers to consult as needed. These five important titles are: Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills; Genealogy Standards by the Board for Certification of Genealogists; Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians by Elizabeth Shown Mills; Mastering Genealogical Proof by Thomas G. Jones; and the Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources by Alice Eichholz. They don't have the sexiest of titles but such handbooks and guides can really help you research efficiently.

Make an appointment to come to our Research Room: bdc@bcgov.net or 843-255-6468 to see these titles and/or to get a little one-on-one help with your genealogical research.

The complete list is:

1. Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills
2. Genealogy Standards by the Board for Certification of Genealogists
3. Evidence! Citation and Analysis for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Shown Mills
4. Professional Genealogy : A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians by Elizabeth Shown Mills
5. Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History by Megan Smolenyak
6. 300 Questions to Ask Your Parents Before It's Too Late by Shannon L. Alder
7. Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case by Christine Rose
8. Unpuzzling Your Past: The Best-Selling Basic Guide to Genealogy by Emily Anne Croom
9. The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy by Val D. Greenwood
10. German-English Genealogical Dictionary by Ernest Thode
11. Mastering Genealogical Proof by Thomas G. Jones
12. Reading Early American Handwriting by Kip Sperry
13. The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy by Blaine T. Betinger
14. The Family Tree Problem Solver: Tried-and-True Tactics for Tracing Elusive Ancestors by Marsha Hoffman Rising
15. The Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources by Alice Eichholz

All 15 titles can be borrowed from other parts of the Beaufort County Library and/or the SCLENDS consortium - as long as you have a valid library card. Probably not all at once but give it a couple of weeks or two or three and you can explode your brain with detailed genealogical research knowledge.

Heads up: All units of the Beaufort County Library will be closed on Monday, February 20, 2023 in honor of all of the United States' past presidents. Regular hours resume on Tuesday, February 21, 2023. If you'd like an appointment February 21 - 24, please contact us before Noon on Friday, February 17th to make those arrangements. That way you'll have the best shot at getting the date and time your prefer. Our phone number is 843-255-6468; our email address is bdc@bcgov.net.

Happy Birthday, Beaufort Branch Library

The Library system decided to "celebrate Library birthdays" as part of a continuing series of events to engage the public and showcase library services. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Pretty much every human alive wants a sugar rush that cake supplies - and to eat some at their local beloved library, super cool, right? Picking a date seems simple enough too: What day did the current Library building begin providing library services to its community? Or perhaps, When was the current Library building dedicated? Hopefully the two dates - dates of service delivery and the dedication date - would be fairly close together. Here's the problem when this principle is applied to the downtown Beaufort Branch Library:

The structure supplying current services was cobbled to an older structure and the 1st and 2nd floors of the new construction were finished years apart. The "new" building was providing services from part of its structure 6 months before the building was dedicated. The day that library service delivery restarted after everything was put on new or relocated shelves in part of the partially completed building - got more text - and a better photo -- in the Beaufort Gazette than coverage of actual the Dedication Ceremony. (Longtime Beaufort Gazette reporter - and longtime Friend of the Beaufort Library supporter - Lolita Huckaby wrote both the re-opening and the dedication articles.)

From reviewing the contents of the Beaufort County Library archive that we have in the Research Room, I learned a few things.

1) There are no BCL photographs of the Dedication ceremonies of 1993. None. Absolutely nada.

2) Library Director Julie Zachowski had a hard slog trying to get a more appropriately sized structure approved, sited, built and opened.

3) The building took a long time to plan, build, and finish -- almost as long as the 9 years and 16 days it took me to get the BDC Research Room moved from the First floor to out of the flood plain on the Second floor of this building at 311 Scott Street.

From the records found in the Research Room, it seems that the Beaufort County Council argued with the Library Board of Trustees, Library Director, and construction entities, etc. for years from the time of official recognition that the 1964 library was no longer suitable for the growing population of the area to walking into a completely finished Library building with an entrance address of 311 Scott Street in 1998.

• To save money, the 1980s-1990s extension connected to the Craven Street Library (built in 1964) on the ground floor. The 1964 library became the Children's services area in 1992.
• Most of the first floor extension was opened to serve the public on August 24, 1992.
• Construction of the first floor was completely finished in October 1992. They waited until the multiple layers of stain on the SC Room shelves finally dried and the landscaping was installed to pronounce the first floor done.
• The Library Board of Trustees and the Friends of the Beaufort Library decided that the formal Dedication ceremony would happen on Valentine's Day, 1993 - hence the source of the "30th Birthday" theme on Saturday at Beaufort Branch.
• Construction on the 2nd floor would be delayed due to cost and political considerations. It was completed in 1998. At that time the second floor was Library Administration offices and a large meeting space.
• In 2009-2010 that large meeting was converted to house the growing the Beaufort District Collection.

Looking ahead: Because the BDC is its own cost center, has its own policies, keeps its own hours, and does "its own thing" in accord with public library and archival principles and practices, the BDC's "Birthday Celebration" will be at the end of September commemorating the move from the vastly overcrowded conditions of the area now occupied by the Beaufort Branch Theresa Dunn Meeting Room to the former Paul S. Siegmund Meeting Room on the second floor. We'll be celebrating 13 years of service from our current location. But as you will learn, what started out as a shelf in the Carnegie Library, grew into a closet, then into a room, and then into a much larger room. Library services related to local history go way further back in time. More details will be announced closer to the BDC's relocation celebration.

The display that I put in the lobby panel near the elevator on the first floor of the Beaufort Branch Library tells the basic story behind this Saturday's "Beaufort Branch 30th Birthday" event. The lobby board features some surrogates of construction photographs, a newspaper image, the dedication invitation, and a slide that summarizes construction costs and size. I added the floating sparkling hearts because it's February and February is Library Lovers Month.

Bottom (and last) line: This Library location has seen a lot of changes in the past 59 years.

Posts Made on the BDC's Facebook Page during January 2023

I changed the theme for "Materials Monday" to "Uniquely BDC" and added a series called "Finding Aids Friday." "Black History Note Wednesday" had no particular theme in January. I acknowledged Martin Luther King, Jr.'s connection to Beaufort District and the life and career of its native son, Joe Frazier. Schedule changes caused by County holidays were several. I promoted [then] upcoming local history programs a number of times.

Materials Monday: Uniquely BDC Posts

January 2 - I'm posting a 2-fer item today to reach my "50 Shades of Beige" theme self-inflicted quota and begin the 2023 "Uniquely BDC" theme. In the course of doing my daily work, I have stumbled across more than enough unique materials to (successfully) argue with a plethora of examples this year that there is considerable value to the community we serve in having a dedicated special collection of local history related materials taken care of by and shared through a public library.

The BDC has the only copy of the Speech of Hon. Wade Hampton, of South Carolina, in the Senate of the United States on Senate Bill No. 398 to Aid in the Establishment ane [sic] Temporary Support of Common Schools delivered on March 27, 1884 in the SCLENDS consortium. The Senator (and former Governor of SC and formerly richest man in the South) saw illiteracy as "the greatest danger threatening the permanency of our institutions." He was requesting Federal financial aid for schools, particularly in South Carolina, that were struggling to fund education for all children, white and Black, even as the state's tax base dwindled and the school-age population surged. On this point, he was in opposition to the views of the other US Senator from South Carolina at the time, Matthew Calbraith Butler. You can read about Sen. Wade Hampton III and Sen. M.C. Butler in the online SC Encyclopedia.

Reminder: The Library is closed today. Regular hours resume tomorrow.

January 9 - "Materials Monday: Uniquely BDC" One of my favorite items in the Research Room is the Southern Auto guide and directory of Beaufort County for 1918-1919. The ads are entertaining; the descriptions of the roads and transportation routes are interesting; and the list of businesses and owners quite useful for genealogical and historical purposes. I am also very fond of the maps included. The BDC is the only unit within the entire SCLENDS consortium to have a copy.

January 23 -  "Materials Monday: Uniquely BDC": The permanent part of the Beaufort County Library, i.e., the BDC Research Room, has the only copy of Bouts of Mania: Ali, Frazier, and Foreman - and an America on the Ropes (2014) by Sports Illustrated writer Richard Hoffer in the entire SCLENDS consortium. The book discusses the three athletic titans who fought five times to be the Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the world in bouts that were "global spectacles that offered brief glimpses of clarity and confidence [that] may have been the only thing that made sense back home during the social and political morass of the 1970s." Make an appointment to review this and other materials about Beaufort County's native son Joe Frazier.

January 30 - "Materials Monday: Uniquely BDC" - I made today's selection on account of the recently well presented and well attended "Civil War Union Bands" local history programs. A History of the Port Royal Bands by John Brookfield (Sam Teddy Publishing, 2015) explores a niche of Civil War military history that is quite fascinating. According to the book's introduction, the US government issued General Order 15 to establish infantry bands of 26 musicians on May 5, 1861. That order was rescinded 14 months later due to cost. However smaller brigade level bands of 16 musicians shared among 4 to 5 regiments were allowed.

By all accounts, two of the finest bands in the Union Army came from New Hampshire, the Third Regiment Band of the New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, and a few months after the Third's dissolution in August 1862, the Band of the Second Brigade, 10th Army Corps, Department of the South, often referred to as the Hilton Head Post Band. Both organizations were stationed near Port Royal, South Carolina, and led by Gustavus W. Ingalls, a native of Bristol, New Hampshire. (p. xii)

Besides being an historical account of Civil War bands, Brookfield researched the individual members of the bands before, during and after the war including as illustrations portraits and gravesites of some of the men, photographs of instruments owned by the men, and even an occasional sheet music cover.

This book was printed in very small numbers. The stars aligned and I was very fortunate to secure one of the last copies available for the Research Room directly from the printer. The BDC is the only library within the SCLENDS consortium to own and share this title.

Interesting to Me ... And I Hope for You as Well Posts

January 3 - We're back! Here's what the BDC has going on in January 2023: A new year brings new opportunities to learn, share, and do necessary behind-the-scenes tasks that make sharing and learning about local history possible for our community.

We're hosting Dr. Michael Johns on the topic of "Civil War Union Bands" at two branch libraries later this month. Registration for the "Bands" program and the "Battle of Port Royal Island, 1779" opens soon. (Stay tuned for details).

Grace continues working with the Beaufort County 250th Committee and fine-tuning metadata for the submission of 2 more digital collections to the Lowcountry Digital Library as well as answering customer questions, writing social media, and providing additional training about special collections and archives work for Olivia - mostly using real life examples as they arise in our daily work flow.

Physical inventory of cataloged items in the BDC and vertical file projects continue with the able assistance of Olivia, Technical Services Val, and volunteer Laura. Docents Joe and Peggy are hard at work on their projects related to the Behan Papers too.

Olivia starts "Basics of Archives" classes in order to be able to help me notch off as much of the archives backlog as possible.

The Library will be closed Monday, January 16 in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Just in case you're wondering: There's never a "not busy" day in the BDC.

January 5 - There's a newly posted Beaufort County History Moment about the Phosphate Industry by Dr. Larry Rowland that includes a lot of images we take care of inside the Research Room. Jan Beaudrie of the County Channel staff discovered the recording in their video archives and asked me about illustrations to include that could polish the talk. Now you can see the completed video - and learn about an industry that few recall.

January 8 - The results are in. You can always read more about my [Diversify Your Reading Challenge] choices and why I made them in the BDC's Connections blog.

January 10 - Beaufort was one of the first cities in the United States to commission a guide for building and restoration in a nationally recognized historic district. Historic Beaufort Foundation's Executive Director Cynthia Jenkins, who worked with Milner architects on the initial project and the update, says that "The original report, with its detailed drawings and its focus on the “Beaufort Style,” became a collector’s item of sorts."

Isn't it a good thing that the BDC specializes in local "collector's item(s) of sorts", i.e., that prior editions of the Beaufort Preservation Manual are here in the Research Room? (That answer is "yes" in case you have any doubts) - and there are even a few circulating copies in the Local History sections at some of our branch libraries as well.

The latest iteration of the Beaufort (SC) Preservation Manual produced by John Milner Architects has been posted to the City of Beaufort's website for ease of use - which is a good thing ... but digital items on government websites tend to come and then disappear. Thus, I am trying to secure a printed copy for permanent retention in the Research Room.

One of the main values of archives is its utility in holding people in power accountable for their actions and decisions. If all other tactics fail, I will download and print out all 344 pages on the office copier so that in 2123 future researchers can decide how the guidelines were - or were not - followed.

January 12 - Happy Birthday (in heaven), Mr. Frazier!

January 16 - Martin Luther King, Jr. used to visit Penn Center on St. Helena Island for respite from his public political activities campaigning for Civil Rights during the 1960s. It is said that he wrote much of his "I Have a Dream" speech there. In honor of his life and work, we recommend I will not be silent and I will be heard: Martin Luther King Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and Penn Center, 1964-1967 by J. Tracy Power. The booklet is in the BDC for permanent retention of course, but there are plenty of print copies to borrow. There’s even a digital copy in the SC State Documents Depository collection online. Reminder: The Library is closed today to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Regular hours resume tomorrow.

January 17 - You've got to read all the way to the end to learn what local history title I selected for the system's "Best Books of 2022". [BTW: My selection was Wild Island Nature: Hunting Island State Park and Saint Phillips Island by Carol Corbin (2021)].

January 19 - Read about some of the musical masterpieces that Olivia found in the Research Room on Connections.

Black History Note Wednesday Posts

January 4 - "Black History Note Wednesday:" Just released: A new and much easier way to search the vast files of the Freedmen's Bureau records for your ancestors courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution's and FamilySearch volunteers! "The portal makes possible for the first time the ability to research multiple sets of Freedmen’s Bureau data in one place, allowing users to search indexed data for specific names, places, and dates and transcribed data for topics, subjects, institutions, and any other words or phrases." Give it a whirl.

January 11 - "Black History Note Wednesday:" South Carolina has always loomed larger in the national imagination, particularly in terms of political and social policy, than its size and population might justify. And South Carolina has always used its passion to influence national debate. The South Carolina Roots of African American Thought, an anthology edited by Rhondda Robinson Thomas and Susanna Ashton, reveals a tradition of national prominence and influence of black intellectuals, educators, journalists, and policy analysts from or adopted by the Palmetto State. Together these thinkers exhibit a coherent legacy of engagement, brought on and nurtured by South Carolina traditions.

The BDC has a permanent copy; there are 2 copies you can borrow with your BCL library card from the other parts of the SCLENDS consortium.

January 18 - "Black History Note Wednesday:" Praised by eminent historian Peter Wood as "A brave and wide-ranging work that synthesizes the increasing knowledge about African and American links and expands that knowledge considerably in new and convincing ways," Frederick C. Knight demonstrates that African knowledge shaped the Americas, particularly in agriculture practices.

I bought it [Working the Diaspora : The Impact of African Labor on the Anglo-American World, 1650-1850] for the Research Room most particularly for the essay "In an ocean of blue : West African indigo workers in the Atlantic world to 1800." Indigo was what fueled Beaufort District's first economic boom and lay the foundation of many a white planter family's wealth.

The Research Room has a copy; the Beaufort County Library is the only SCLENDS Consortium library to hold and share this title.

January 25 - "Black History Note Wednesday:" Beaufort District's own Jonathan Greene did the colorful book cover for Nancy Rhyne's Voices of Carolina Slave Children (1999). Rhyne re-packaged memories gathered in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration of elderly ex-slaves about their childhoods back in the 1840s - 1860s into a concise 109 pages. The formerly enslaved described work, games, food, clothing, thoughts about their situation and the Civil War, and what freedom gave to each one of them. These stories present brief glimpses into the lives and customs of enslaved children on North and South Carolina plantations. Five of the interviewees who shared their memories in this compact book had been enslaved in Beaufort District: Chaney Spell; Phoebe Fawcette; Henry Brown; Sam Mitchell; and Daphney Wright who spent summers with her owners along the river in Bluffton enjoying the products of the environment: mullet; oysters; crabs; and clams.

Though the Research Room has a permanent copy, this title is commonly held in the SCLENDS consortium. You shouldn't have any trouble finding a copy to borrow with your library card.

New Series: Finding Aids Friday

January 6 - I've decided to start a new BDC Facebook series on Fridays. From now until I retire expect to see a "Finding Aid Friday" post that describes one of our archival collections every Friday that the BDC Research Room is open. I reserve the right to not post on Fridays when the Library happens to be closed or I am out of the office (for whatever reasons).

A finding aid is "a description that typically consists of contextual and structural information about an archival resource." In other words, a finding aid is a guide to the contents and history related to a particular set of related items created by a person or entity.

Let's begin with the Charles N. Bayless Photograph Collection Finding Aid since people do love photos. Bayless photographed exteriors and interiors of historic buildings in Georgetown, Charleston, and Beaufort Counties as part of Historic American Buildings Survey funded in part by two National Endowment for the Arts grants during the 1970s. The photographs of Beaufort area structures were taken between 1977 and 1979. He donated the 466 black and white photographic prints relevant Beaufort County to the Beaufort County Library in 1979. I have no plans to digitize this collection during my remaining tenure.

The Charles N. Bayless Photograph Collection Finding Aid is posted online in the BDCBCL: Links, Lists, and Finding Aids WordPress blog. Contact us to schedule the necessary appointment for access to the Research Room: bdc@bcgov.net or 843-255-6468.

January 13 - "Finding Aid Friday:" A senior English class at Beaufort High School created the content for these booklets under the direction of teacher Ms. Lee P. Shaffer in an effort to preserve fading aspects of Beaufort County’s cultural life in 1972. Most of the material was obtained through interviews of elderly citizens. The "Folklore Project at Beaufort High School, 1972 Finding Aid" is posted online in the BDCBCL: Links, Lists, and Finding Aids WordPress blog. Please make an appointment with us to view the in-house only PastPerfect digital version of these three fragile - and uniquely local - documents: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net.

January 20 - "Finding Aid Friday:" Since our last - and next -local history program is about the history of performances of live music, i.e. Civil War era military bands, today's selection also deals with the history of performances of live music - but from a slightly later period. Sisters Elizabeth Crofut Waterhouse and Marguerite Crofut were professional musicians who performed and nurtured the musical talents of Beaufort’s youth in piano, voice, and violin during the first half of the 20th century. They kept clippings and photographs of musical performances of their students as well as of visiting musicians. Both women were members of the Clover Club.

The Elizabeth Crofut Waterhouse & Marguerite Crofut Papers (1891-1971) archival collection is comprised of eleven folders and two scrapbooks, primarily of violin, piano or vocal musical performances held in Beaufort, SC. The scrapbooks contain newspaper and magazine clippings, original photographs, and recital programs attended or presented.

The scrapbooks have been digitized for access only in the Research Room. Please contact us to make an appointment to review these and other materials in the Beaufort District Collection: bdc@bcgov.net ; 843-255-6468.

January 27 - Music was particularly important to the people of mid-nineteenth century America. Sales of sheet music were immensely profitable for the many publishing houses, North and South. When war came, the soldiers and the ones they left behind at home had a common musical foundation of sentimental songs, ballads, comic songs, operatic and patriotic tunes. Today's "Finding Aid Friday" selection is the Sue M. Capehart Collection of Piano Sheet Music. It includes 57 examples of popular sheet music for piano published between 1848 to 1869, including some rare Confederate imprints.

Programs Related Posts

Civil War Union Bands - Two Sessions

I promoted the "Civil War Union Bands" with Dr. Michael Johns sessions held at St. Helena Branch and Hilton Head Branch Libraries with Facebook posts on January 7; 14; 19; 20 and 24th.

I posted photographs from those sessions in Facebook Photo Albums on January 19, 20 and 26 with additions later in the month.

I posted a short video about Dr. Johns' program on January 19: It's not everyday that we get to hear period music on period instruments during a local history program - but we certainly did today! Thank you, Dr. Michael Johns. It was an aural extravaganza with a thorough history of an important facet of warfare - that few of us have ever given much thought. My personal knowledge of the topic exploded as a result of Dr. Johns' presentation. As always this program was successful because we had a willing and knowledgeable speaker who volunteered his time, a helpful branch library staff, and the cooperation of our official partners for this session: Beaufort County Historical Society and Coastal Discovery Museum.

Battle of Port Royal Island, 1779 (Forthcoming)

I encouraged registration for "The Battle of Port Royal Island, 1779" with Neil Baxley on January 20 and 24.

January 26 - As of 5 pm on 1/25/2023: Only a few seats remain for the "Battle of Port Royal Island, 1779" program set for 2 February. Program co-sponsors are the BDC, Beaufort County Historical Society, and the Beaufort County 250th Committee. Registration will close when room capacity is reached.

Stuarts Town Symposium (Forthcoming)

January 3 - Dr. Peter Moore was recently interviewed about his new book "Carolina's Lost Colony: Stuarts Town and the Struggle for Survival in Early South Carolina" by the Dean of South Carolina history, Walter Edgar. The SC Public Radio program will air on all 10 SCPR stations on Friday, Jan 6, 2023 at noon EDT and rebroadcast twice that weekend – on Saturday morning on SCPR's News & Music stations, and on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. on SCPR's News & Talk stations. It will be available for on-demand listening starting January 9, 2023.

January 22 - Be sure to mark your calendars to attend the upcoming Stuarts Town Symposium! You may recall there was a week-long exploratory archaeology dig in The Point neighborhood searching for signs of the Lost 17thC Scottish Colony of Stuarts Town back in August 2022. For the past few months, all material found has been at the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA) at USC in Columbia - being cleaned, examined, and analyzed. As planned, there will be a free, public symposium to review those findings - as well as presentations on the latest scholarship around Stuarts Town history, and that of their allies, the Yamassee Indians on Saturday, February 4, 2023 in the USCB Center for the Arts from 1 to 4 pm.

January 28 - Listen to the recording of Walter Edgar's interview with author Peter Moore about "Carolina's Lost Colony" on demand at the South Carolina Public Radio Network website. Doing so will put you in good stead for the upcoming Saturday, February 4, 2022 Stuarts Town Symposium at the USCB Center for the Arts. The symposium is free. Please note: Lobby doors open to the public at 12:30. Seating begins at 12:45 on a first-come, first-served basis.