Olivia Santos' "Favorites" Display: Part Two

Before Olivia moves, I asked her to create another Favorites display of materials she has discovered in the Research Room during her stay.  She told me that she used the marine life cloth as background because it was the liveliest one that I have stockpiled here - and that most of the book covers of her favorites were not particularly lively. She was looking for some contrast to catch the eyes of our in-room researchers and you readers of Connections. Here are the explanations of why she choose what she choose. -- gmc 

June is finally here, and it is once again time to test my Midwestern blood against the heat and humidity of a South Carolina summer. I’d like to say I’ve gotten used to it, but to tell you the truth I don’t think I ever will. However, I will definitely miss those warm winters as I pack up and head back to Illinois.

With my partner getting out of the Navy and starting school, we are moving back to the Midwest come July (or at least that’s the plan). Grace and I are both sad that I’m leaving, and I have been lucky to meet so many lovely folks during my time here, both within the BDC and outside of it. So, as a follow-up to my December [2022] post about my favorite books in our collection, this post will be a part two that includes my favorites, as well as materials we have that I simply think are interesting and worth talking about with you all.

I actually did have some sort of planning in terms of organization this time, although Shelf 1 is the only shelf that doesn’t have much of a theme beyond ‘general history that I find interesting.’ I chose to include The Death Care Industry: African American Cemeteries and Funeral Homes by Roberta Hughes Wright and Wilbur B. Hughes III (2007) and Carolina’s Lost Colony: Stuarts Town and the Struggle for Survival in Early South Carolina by Peter N. Moore (2022).

The Death Care Industry, being over 600 pages long, has a lot to say. Focusing on a variety of locations in South Carolina and beyond, the book discusses specific cemeteries that many locals are familiar with, such as Beaufort National Cemetery and Coffin Point Cemetery. Besides discussing the general history, this book goes a step further by highlighting burial practices, folktales, cemetery preservation and restoration, as well as discussing the impact slavery has had on these industries. Overall, this book has a wide scope with helpful and informational content. We often get questions about cemeteries with folks doing genealogical research, so I like to refer back to this book every once in a while. It may be weird to some people that this was my first pick for my ‘favorites’ list, as it can be a bit of a morbid topic, but I’ve always been fascinated by the death care industry and cemeteries as a whole, and this book continued to pique my interest. The BDC currently houses the only copy of this book within the Beaufort County Library system and SCLENDS.

Carolina’s Lost Colony is one of our newer books, coming to the research room right around the time of the Stuarts Town symposium hosted at USCB back in February, although there are now multiple copies available for checkout within the SCLENDS consortium. Examining the Scottish and Yamasee habitation of Port Royal in the 17^th century, this book gives a great run down of early colonial history in South Carolina among both its native peoples and the colonizers who later came to this land. We were waiting for this book to hit our shelves for a while in anticipation of the symposium, which brought in a lot of people also interested in the topic and the dig being done to find evidence of Stuarts Town’s location. Carolina’s Lost Colony is also special to me in the sense that one of the archeologists working on the Stuarts Town dig, who also spoke at the symposium, allowed me to come with her on a dig back in March to learn the ropes and help out with her graduate school research out at Mackey Point Plantation.

If you’re interested in learning more about her work, check out her profile on the University of Michigan’s website.

Shelf 2 is dedicated to school annuals. Yearbooks might seem like a random choice, but to me they are some of the most interesting materials we have in our collection. Many people may not realize this, but a majority of our collection has been donated to us by various persons and organizations over the years. We do buy plenty of our own books, of course, but yearbooks are special in that they can only be procured by donation; the schools do not send us a free copy every year or anything like that. So, I decided to showcase our oldest and most recent annuals from Beaufort High School: 1921, 1937, and 2007. Many of our yearbooks contain signatures, handwritten notes, drawings, and the like, which adds a personal touch to these materials and gives those of the modern age a better sense of the lives and times of these teenagers that were sitting in classrooms over 15 years ago as well as over 100 years ago. Naturally, we are the only institution within the consortium or library system that houses these materials.

Shelf 3 features stories of inspiring women, particularly during the Civil War era: The Journals of Charlotte Forten Grimke by Charlotte L. Forten (1988) and A Woman Doctor’s Civil War: The Diary of Esther Hill Hawks by Esther Hill Hawks (1984).

Taking place over the course of ten years before and during the height of the Civil War, Charlotte Forten’s journals serve as a snapshot of America’s past. A Black woman growing up in a prominent anti-slavery household in Philadelphia, she spent much of her life during the years this journal was written teaching freed people in South Carolina, particularly at the Penn School as its first Black teacher. The contents of her journals are similar to a book I featured in my last ‘favorite things’ post in December: A Black Woman’s Civil War Memoirs by Susie King Taylor (1988). But while Taylor only touches on the discrimination and racism she experienced minutely towards the end of her book, Grimke expands on the subject and her own personal experiences much more. Oftentimes, the accounts we have of this time period lean heavily toward the stories of the white men in high society. It’s not only valuable to have Grimke’s own personal accounts for history’s sake, but also because she provides a point of view that is rare from this time period, as she was both Black and a woman. And if you ever come into the research room asking for materials on Reconstruction, more than likely I’ll end up bringing out both Grimke’s and Hawks’ books.

Unlike Grimke, Esther Hill Hawks was a white woman who came to the South as a physician during the Civil War. Written between 1862 and 1866, her diaries cover her times in the sea islands, as well as in Charleston and Florida. Like Grimke, she also taught freedmen, and talks in great detail about her travels to educate and treat folks affected by the Civil War. Grimke and Hawks break from the status quo for women of the time period by advocating for and supporting those being oppressed by the institution of slavery that was so prevalent during this time, and as a result cared for and educated countless folks who otherwise would have continued to be ignored.

Both books can be found throughout the SCLENDS consortium or are available inside the BDC.

Shelf 4 showcases some of the collections of stories and legends I’ve come across in our collection: More Tales of the South Carolina Lowcountry by Nancy Rhyne (1984), Gullah Animal Tales from Daufuskie Island, South Carolina by Albert H. Stoddard (1995) and Betty Stringfellow’s Stories and Legends of John’s Island, South Carolina by Elizabeth H. Stringfellow (2004). From ghost stories to tales and legends, all three books are a bit more lighthearted than the others featured in this case. Many are oral histories that have been passed down among families and communities that have finally been written down, although occasionally with a supernatural twist. I find books like these a nice break in the sometimes dense and technical language our books can have, taking a more lighthearted approach to real world people and events (or not real). I also think stories and legends are a great way to get a closer look at a community or culture, such as how Gullah Animal Tales features the stories in their native Gullah tongue, as well as translations in standard English. Betty Stringfellow’s book is only available for viewing here at the BDC, but Gullah Animal Tales and More Tales of the South Carolina Lowcountry are available for checkout in a variety of locations within our library system and SCLENDS.

This is Grace again. I will offer that should you like "To Read About the Lowcountry" (column 2; line 5) for the Library system's "All Together Now" Summer Reading Program 2023 that most of the titles Olivia has written about would be excellent choices. I don't think that "reading" a high school annual would qualify - but hey, that's just a personal opinion.  

PS: You can read all about the Summer Reading Program on the Library's website and download a game card to participate. You could also double-down - read one book and count it towards both the Library's official SRP 2023 and use it for the American Historical Association's 2023 Summer Reading Challenge as well. I am. I think getting to "use" something more than once is a highly efficient way to read or create.