BDC Facebook Posts in March 2023

March 2023 was pretty busy. Here's a re-cap of the posts I wrote for the BDC's Facebook page last month:

March 1, 2023 - BDC Overview for March 2023: We've switched out the hearts for shamrocks. Olivia has selected materials about seafood for the Research Room display case to honor our upcoming local history program at the St. Helena Branch Library. The details will show up in Connections later this month. Now that Olivia has finished the "Basics of Archives" class, she's helping me with doing the work behind the work that makes "Finding Aid Fridays" possible. We honor the local women who are telling the story of this community through time in the Uniquely BDC, Black History Note, and Finding Aids FB during March. Two new BDC docents arrive to join my long-serving, dedicated crew of 4 plus we anticipate the return of a Beloved BDC Docent following an absence of several months. You'll get to hear more about their respective projects in April.

I'm out later today to talk about our postcard collections at the Coastal Discovery Museum. Doing so against the televised and streamed closing arguments in the Murdaugh double-murder trial going on in neighboring Colleton County today is really tough. When this was arranged months and months ago, none of us could anticipate that the criminal case of the 21st century would still be underway - or that the weather would be so unseasonably warm and beautiful. Yet the "BDC's show" must go on....

March 6, 2023 - "Materials Monday: Uniquely BDC:" You'll notice several themes to the Monday posts this month: The theme is items only found in the Research Room about "seafood" that were written wholly or in part by women authors and relate in some fashion to our next Local History program. Giving credit where credit is due, I've borrowed a lot of words from Olivia's upcoming Connections article about the March display case.

In Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold Jack and Anne Rudloe discuss all aspects of the shrimp, from its anatomy to its role in the food chain. They highlight different types of shrimp and the role of shrimp to the human experience. They particularly celebrate the modern shrimper. They discuss techniques, trials, and tribulations these folks go through to ensure that everyone will have food on the table at the next family gathering or dinner outing. Give us a call to make an appointment to review this book: 843-255-6468.

March 13, 2023 - "Materials Monday: Uniquely BDC": De Gullah n de Geechee Seafood Cookbook was inspired by the recipes of Gloria Haynes Polke’s family, whom she says, “learned to cook without measuring our ingredients.” In an effort to share her culture’s food with others, she began writing down recipes and measurements, which date all the way back to her enslaved ancestors and ancestors of Native American heritage. In this cookbook, the author dedicates each chapter to a specific type of seafood: fish, scallops, lobsters, shrimp, crabs, oysters, and clams, respectfully, with a few miscellaneous recipes included at the end as well. Full of delicious ingredients and straightforward instruction, Polke’s book is only available for viewing here at the BDC.

March 20, 2023 - "Materials Monday: Uniquely BDC:" Serving not only as a cookbook, but as a resource for the history of seafood and cooking in the South, Shrimp, Collards and Grits by Pat Branning (2011) introduces readers to the wonders of Southern cuisine. Divided into appetizers (or what the author calls ‘Gracious Begginings’), ‘Breads and Brunches,’ ‘Hot from the Oven Entrees,’ ‘From the Garden,’ ‘Sensational Seafood,’ ‘Gullah Fixin’s,’ and ‘Sweet Splurges,’ this cookbook compiles a vast number of recipes in a way that is easy to follow and visually appealing. Originally from Georgia, the book is her love letter to Southern cooking. Make an appointment to come read it here in the Research Room: bdc@bcgov.net ; 843-255-6468

March 27, 2023 - "Materials Monday: Uniquely BDC:" An Oral History Project by former Beaufort County Councilwoman Laura von Harten is today's selection as an item found only in the BDC Research Room - and also just so happens to cover an aspect of our most recent local history program. Her Oral History Project is a collection of von Harten's newspaper articles about local shrimpers and the challenges of selling one's catch at a profit. Most of the articles were published in the Beaufort Gazette during the 1990s and early 2000s. The booklet also includes some poems composed by her. Laura died in 2019. The volume was compiled and donated to the Research Room by her mother, Pat von Harten, in early 2021.

March 8, 2023 - "Black History Note in Women's History Month:" The first African-American teacher to participate in the Port Royal Experiment, Charlotte Forten taught out at Brick Church for a short period of time during the Civil War. She was a member of an illustrious free Black family from Philadelphia. Her grandfather was a Patriot during the American Revolution. Her father was a prosperous business owner. Though small in stature and often frail in body, she was a cougar for civil rights, literary achievement, and some would say in her romantic life as well. She definitely helped tell the story of Reconstruction in Beaufort District through her journal. The BDC has a bibliography about her posted in our BDCBCL: Links, Lists and Finding Aids blog.

March 15, 2023 - "Black History Note in Women's History Month:" Sometimes women elders tell our story through family oral histories. A book for young readers by local author, Dorothy Holmes-Olenja, Great Grandma Gladys and Her Great Grandsons offers a loving tribute to the significance of the matriarch in Gullah culture. Great Grandma Gladys (AKA Missionary Holmes) teaches five of her great grandsons about having pride in Gullah contributions to American culture and history as well as leading them along the path of spiritual "seeking" for "the greatest gift you can give your family is to teach them to keep a close relationship with the Creator, the source of life and all knowledge." (p. 25) The book is designed for youth with vibrant illustrations provided by Chaveevah Banks Ferguson. JSYK: I could have just as easily used this item as a "Materials Monday" post this month since the BDC is the only holder in the entire SCLENDS consortium of this title. I do so like pointing out just how many of the materials in the Research Room are unique to the SCLENDS consortium.

March 22, 2023 - "Black History Note in Women's History Month:" Perhaps the most influential female voice that tells the story of the Gullah people of the Southeast is Beaufort District's own Marquetta Goodwine, enstooled Queen of the Gullah/Geechee Nation since 2000. We share a number of her written and performed works through the BDC Research Room.

March 29, 2023 - "Black History Note in Women's History Month:" Some women tell stories through images. Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, widow of tennis great Arthur Ashe, did so for Daufuskie Island, first in 1982 and again later in 2007. The 25th Anniversary edition was revised and edited to include 110 photographs, many never before published. Her photographic essay about Daufuskie Island is a clarion call to preserve the remnants of island life and the culture of the rural south. This title is widely held by SCLENDS consortium libraries. We store ours in the BDC and Local History sections at the Branch libraries.

March 3, 2023 - "Finding Aid Friday in Women's History Month:" Because I did a talk about the postcard collections in the BDC at the Coastal Discovery Museum two days ago, postcards are on my mind. Former Beaufort County Library employee Maisie Pugh compiled a homage to her adopted hometown of Beaufort, SC with photocopies of postcard and photographic images and brief historical texts. She wanted to "tell the story" of how she saw the town before her arrival during World War II and after her departure in 1987. I revised the finding aid written by Samantha Perkins in 2019 late in February to highlight here today. The link to the Amalie Pugh Scrapbook Beaufort, SC: Now and Then, 2002 is https://bdcbcl.wordpress.com/2023/02/23/amalia-pugh-scrapbook-beaufort-s-c-now-and-then-2002/.

March 10, 2023 - "Finding Aid Friday in Women's History Month:" Byrne Miller came to Beaufort, South Carolina in 1969 and immediately enhanced the community with her love of modern dance and the joy she found in teaching dance. The bulk of the collection directly relates to her dance activities and contribution to the arts. Her papers indicate her involvement as a caregiver to family members with mental illness, the tragic death of an adult child, and the ravages of Alzheimer Disease which led her to participate in and become an advocate for experimental medical treatments for that disease. The direct link to the Finding Aid is https://bdcbcl.wordpress.com/2022/11/17/byrne-miller-papers-1932-2003-bulk-1969-1995-finding-aid/.

March 17, 2023 - "Finding Aid Friday in National Women's History Month:" I had to go with the most Irish sounding name I could: Murray in honor of the day. Things are a bit complicated in that Madame Murray's maiden name was Despard - a surname of Huguenot in origin. The Madame Murray Sketches Collection, 1862 – 1867 consists of a series of drawings made of St. Helena and Lady's Island sites probably done during a visit South to see her daughter Ellen Murray. Ellen Murray had joined Laura Towne at Penn School in 1862. You can read the Finding Aid on the BDC's WordPress blog.

PS: Now I know that some will say that Murray is Scottish but I looked it up. Wikipedia assures me that "Murray (Irish: Ó Muirí) is both a Scottish and an Irish surname with two distinct respective etymologies."

March 24, 2023 - Today's selection for "Finding Aid Friday in National Women's History Month" is significant for several reasons. On a personal level, the Nancy Ann Ciehanski Papers was the very first archival collection that I processed - using money from an SC SHRAB grant. But more importantly, these papers offer us a behind-the-scenes view of politics in Beaufort County from the perspective of one of the key players in the creation of the Town of Hilton Head Island as a limited municipality in 1983.

Various BDC staff have worked on it from time to time since 2005. Most recently Olivia integrated some later additions into the collection. I updated the Finding Aid in the Research Room and have posted it to the BDCBCL: Links, Lists and Finding Aids blog for all to see. Trust me: It will give you a view of the early days of the Hilton Head Town government that you will not find assembled anywhere else. Just be sure to contact us ahead to set up the necessary appointment: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net.

March 31, 2023 - "Finding Aids Friday:" As promised, Olivia and I solved our archival quandry mentioned here on February 24th. Over the past month, we pulled together materials created by or gathered by one of the Library's former assistant directors about topics related to African American history, family history, Robert Smalls, and the Confederate flag issue into one collection, the Hillary Smith Barnwell Research Files collection. Her collection now has a Finding Aid on the BDC's Links, Lists and Finding Aid blog. (If you want to get into the weeds with us, read "Challenges of Archival Processing, Part 1" on our Connections blog.)

Programs Related Posts:

March 2, 2023 - Local History Quiz Time: For a short period, the area roughly from present day Ridgeland to Fairfax was known as "Lincoln County". For whom or what was Lincoln County named?

A. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States

B. General Benjamin Lincoln who surrendered Charleston to the British in 1780

C. Lincoln vehicles that hauled moonshine around the county

(Hint: If you attended the most recent program of the "Historically Speaking" series brought to you by the BDC and the Beaufort County Historical Society, you have a heads up on the correct answer.)

March 7, 2023 & March 16, 2023 - Reminded folks to sign up for the Shrimp Tales local history program.

March 21, 2023 - Today's the day for Shrimp Tales with author Beverly Jennings! Olivia and I look forward to seeing those with reservations at St. Helena Branch Library this afternoon.

March 22, 2023 - I just added some more images from yesterday's Shrimp Tales Author Book Talk. We were just shy of the Fire Marshal's room capacity limit. Everything went along swimmingly thanks to our presenter, Beverly Jennings; our program co-sponsor, the Beaufort History Museum; and the cooperation of the St. Helena Branch Library staff, Viktor Kulik and Candy van Tine.

March 30, 2023 - I was surprised to learn at our local history program last week that shrimp were considered to be worms by the Portuguese and Sicilians when they arrived in Florida in the early 1900's. They thought that eating them was probably not so good of an idea. But, hey, they needed the work - and if other people wanted to chow down - that's okay. Want to learn more about the evolution of shrimp industry along the coast? Shrimp Tales: Small Bites of History by Beverly Jennings gives the history of the people, places and boats as they evolved into the commercial shrimping industry in the Southeast. "Small Bites" include short stories and quotes from the hardworking shrimpers who loved their work, sidebar fun facts, recipes in every chapter, operations in each chapter such as boat building, and illustrations of tools of the trade. The book is available in the Research Room as well as in the local history sections at the Branch Libraries.

Just Because Posts:

March 9, 2023 - Public Service Announcement: As in years past, volunteers are in some of the Library's facilities to help you with tax preparation on certain days at specific times. The Tax Help page on the Library's website points you to the most current and up-to-date information about tax preparation volunteers and services.

March 14, 2023 - “Luck” has nothing to do with getting through this door into the Research Room … Call us: 843-255-6468 or E-mail us: bdc@bcgov.net to make an appointment to use the rainbow of resources in the Special Collections and Archives unit of the Beaufort County Library. Who knows? What you discover may be just the pot of gold you were in search of.

March 15, 2023 - John Jakes loved to write and he loved libraries, particularly the Hilton Head Branch Library during his 32 years of residency. His Bicentennial series, the Kent Family Chronicles, cemented my love of reading historical novels and then fact-checking them when I was teenager. He died yesterday at a hospice facility in Sarasota, Florida. Rest in peace, Mr. Jakes.

March 16, 2023 - Good news! Ancestry Library Edition can now be used over the Beaufort County Library's Wi-Fi on your personal device inside our buildings! It's as easy as 1 - 2 - 3.

1) Bring your device to a BCL location.

2) Access the Library's Wi-Fi network.

3) Search for your people on ALE on the BCL's dime.

March 17, 2023 - Most of the staff present on the 2nd floor added something green on the top or base of their ensemble this morning in honor of St. Patrick's death date of March 17, 461. We may not have reached 40 shades of green, but it looks to me as if we have at least a half a dozen shades covered. Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day - while we work.

March 18, 2023 - Beaufort had a famous international visitor 198 years ago today.

April 1, 2023 -BDC's Monthly Overview for April 2023: April is another busy month in the BDC.

I'm helping out at Lobeco Branch until 5 pm today. Staff shortages within the Library system is an ongoing challenge - No fooling.

I will be at the "Breathing Democracy into Spaces: 1st SC Volunteers of African Descent Symposium" on Saturday, April 8th.

April is National Poetry Month and we celebrate National Library Week and Preservation Week before month's end. Accordingly, I will do my best to highlight these three themes this month.

Join us on Monday, April 17th for the "What's in Your Attic?" program with South Carolina Historical Society's Virginia Ellison - no sign up needed - in honor of Preservation Week.

The next day registration will open for the Operation Jackpot local history program with author Jason Ryan.

I am thrilled that this year the long-delayed "Beloved BDC Docents" get together (originally planned for April 2020) will happen. The docents seldom cross paths with each other, yet their individual projects are critical to the BDC's goal of preparing materials for access.

Just so you know: I won't be writing a "Uniquely BDC" post on Monday, April 3rd nor a "Finding Aid Friday" post on April 7th because I won't be in the office either day. In fact, if you come to any part of the Library system on Good Friday, April 7, 2023 you'll be alone. It's a County holiday and all units of the Library will be closed.

By the way: The correct answer to the Local History Quiz is B. General Benjamin Lincoln who surrendered Charleston to the British in 1780

BDC Facebook Posts in February 2023

Here's a re-cap of all the Facebook posts on the BDC's page during February 2023: 

February 1: Overview of February 2023: We begin the month with two learning opportunities. The Historically Speaking series continues with the "sold out" "The Battle of Port Royal Island, 1779" tomorrow. I hope to see you at the Stuarts Town Symposium on Saturday. Expect to see books and historical tidbits regarding the 2023 Black History Month theme of "Black Resistance." The 30th birthday of this particular Beaufort Branch Library building (1992, 1998) will be on the 11th. All Library units will be closed on February 20th for Presidents Day.

Black History Month 2023 "Black Resistance" Related Posts: 

February 1: "Black History Note Wednesday:" You will notice a theme in my FB posts on Wednesdays this month. First up: Slave Law and the Politics of Resistance in the Early Atlantic World by Edward Rugemer (2018) compares the development of slavery in Jamaica, Barbados and South Carolina and how some individuals resisted the systems used to keep them enslaved. The BDC has a copy in our Research Room and there is one copy you can borrow through the SCLENDS consortium with your library card.

February 3: Today's "Finding Aids Friday" features a small collection of correspondence relating to a bold resister to the South's peculiar institution. I am referring to the man with guts of steel, Robert Smalls. As most of you know Smalls steamed the Planter into the Union's naval line under the nose of the Confederates in Charleston Harbor in 1862. Though the man and his feat were nationally famous during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras, Dorothy Sterling (1913-2008) was the first author in the 20th century to take note of the significance of the act and of the man. She wrote a book for young adults entitled Captain of the Planter: The Story of Robert Smalls (1958). We have letters between Sterling and Beaufort Township Library staff from 1955 to 1956 in the Research Room. Sterling was doing her due diligence trying to separate fact from fiction and reconcile conflicting accounts of some of the details of Smalls' life. Sterling's book was well received. The Research Room and a few other reference collections in the SCLENDS consortium have a copy of her published book. Her book has been reprinted at least twice so far. The Dorothy Sterling Letters Finding Aid is in the BDCBCL: Lists, Links and Finding Aids blog.

February 7: Beaufort County's own Thomas Barnwell of Hilton Head Island is featured as the February 2023 honoree in the SC African American History Calendar. Be sure to watch the video that the calendar has posted about this man who personifies non-violent Black Resistance to economic, political, and social inequities. Long a friend to the special collections department, we have his History in Development, 1972 -- and Wild Horse Court Phase II... that deal with affordable housing on Hilton Head Island; The Fishing Co-op Role in the BASF Conflict and the popular Gullah Days: Hilton Head Island Before the Bridge that he co-wrote with Emory Campbell and Carolyn Grant.

February 8: "Black History Note Wednesday: Black Resistance" - I am allowed to collect materials about broader South Carolina history when I determine that a particular item helps to provide context for Beaufort District's more specific local history. Though the Stono Rebellion occurred in what is now Charleston County, it scared the beejezus out of the planters who owned slaves - and hardened their planters' hearts against any attempts at resistance. The laws governing the enslaved were tightened; the behavior of the whites in charge tightened against Black persons in the state.

Peter H. Wood wrote a groundbreaking thesis in 1972 that was turned into a monograph in 1975 entitled Black Majority : Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 through the Stono Rebellion. It has remained in print ever 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. He ends it with the Stono Rebellion of 1739 and its aftermath. The BDC has a copy but there are also plenty of copies that you can check out through the SCLENDS consortium.

February 13: "Materials Monday : Uniquely BDC" - The Denmark Vesey Affair was an important example of Black Resistance to the shackles of enslavement and Black Codes of the antebellum period. The BDC has the only original published copy of An official report of the trials of sundry Negroes : charged with an attempt to raise an insurrection in the state of South Carolina: preceded by an introduction and narrative; and in an appendix, a report of the trials of four white persons on indictments for attempting to excite slaves to insurrection (1822) in the SCLENDS consortium. (19th century book publishers loved descriptive - and long - title/subtitle combinations.) Learn about the trial and its consequences in our Research Room: bdc@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468.

February 15: "Black History Note Wednesday: Black Resistance" A more contemporary version of the Trial of Sundry Negroes ... mentioned here on Monday 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. Plenty of copies of this title are available for check out from the SCLENDS consortium. If you really want to read up, check out the other items on the flyer too.

February 22: "Black History Note Wednesday: Black Resistance" - Author Robert Olwell examines how colonial slave societies were different than the "Old South" early 19th century one which most of us are more familiar in the aptly titled Masters, Slaves and Subjects. The book jacket states: "In this study of a colonial older South, [he] analyzes the structures and internal dynamics of a world in which both masters and slaves were also imperial subjects. While slavery was peculiar within a democratic republic, it was an integral and seldom questioned part of the eighteenth-century British empire. [Olwell] examines the complex relations among masters, slaves, metropolitan institutions, officials, and ideas in the South Carolina low country from the end of the Stono Rebellion through the chaos of the American Revolution. He details the interstices of power and resistance in four key sites of the colonial social order: the criminal law and the slave court; conversion and communion in the established church; market relations and the marketplace; and patriarchy and the plantation great house." The Research Room has a copy but you can also borrow one from other parts of the SCLENDS consortium.

February 23: Robert Smalls, arguably Beaufort District's most famous native son, died in his sleep at his home at 511 Prince Street in Beaufort on February 23, 1915 according to his death certificate. He was survived by his two daughters, Elizabeth Lydia Smalls Bampfield, Sarah Voorhees Smalls Williams, a son, William Robert Wigg Smalls, and a number of grandchildren.

February 24: "Finding Aid Friday" - Today's selection results from the process of trying to find an appropriate topic for Black History Month and preparing a Finding Aid for it. We have a folder simply labeled in my predecessor's hand "Robert Smalls" that has been stored in Box 2 of the Miscellaneous small collections for some time. I figured since Smalls had died on February 23rd, a Finding Aids post about the contents of the "Robert Smalls" folder in Box 2 of the Miscellaneous collections boxes would be an easy choice for Finding Aid Friday on February 24th. I was wrong. So while there is no actual Finding Aid to share today, in the course of doing the archival processing work, I came across an article that I think may interest you: The Savannah Tribune account of the funeral of Robert Smalls. It was published on page 1 of the newspaper's March 6, 1915 issue.

According to the newspaper article all of Beaufort attended his funeral on Friday, February 26, 1915. Five Black ministers eulogized Smalls. The choir sang "Shall We Meet Beyond the River" as people paid their respects at the last viewing of the body. With the music of the Allen's Brass Band leading the cortege, members of Masonic Lodge, Sons of Beaufort, No. 36 and the Odd Fellows Lodge No. 2211 carried the body through the streets to the Tabernacle Baptist Churchyard where Smalls was laid to rest with "a most impressive Masonic ceremony.... The funeral was the largest ever held in this city." Floral arrangements were numerous but those sent by the City Council and the Grand Army of the Republic were praised in particular. His survivors were listed as daughters Elizabeth Smalls Bampfield of Beaufort and Sarah Smalls Washington of Orangeburg and a son, W. Robert Smalls of Austin, Texas and several grand children.

Olivia and I will be happy to set up an appointment for you to come to review this or other materials in the Research Room: bdc@bcgov.net or 843-255-6468. JSYK: I plan to write a Connections post about the about the challenges of getting intellectual control, making archival collections more accessible, and reuniting disparate deposits into one archival collection. My goal is to write and finalize a Hillary S. Barnwell Research Papers Finding Aid by the end of March - just in time to close out Women's History Month.

February 25: Learn more about this important aid to African American genealogy research in Connections.

February 26: One of the things that I like most about working in the Research Room is learning new "stuff" from BDC customers. One recent inquiry falls into the "Black Resistance" theme for this year's Black History Month celebration. A history professor at a college in Maine had stumbled across a local newspaper article in which an elderly Black woman claimed to be an escaped slave from Beaufort, SC. After sharing what he'd already tried to see if he could document aspects of the article, he asked for some guidance, The rest of the story is in [this] Connections [post].

February 27: "Materials Monday: Uniquely BDC" - The Invisible War: The African American Anti-Slavery Resistance from the Stono Rebellion through the Seminole Wars, edited by Y.N. Kly contains 6 articles that together challenges the notion that there was no collective resistance to slavery among the enslaved peoples. Indeed, the authors contend that the error arises from the lack of awareness of African American who self-liberated southward towards Georgia and Florida. The only copies of this title in the SCLENDS consortium are in the Beaufort County Library's special BDC and Gullah Geechee reference collections.

February 28: Books in the BDC with a "Black Resistance" theme to round out Black History Month posts:

Local History Programs:

February 2 (AM): Olivia and I are looking forward to seeing all those with tickets at the lecture today .... Reservations become null and void at 10:55 AM. We open the empty seats to those who may be standing by at 5 minutes before scheduled program start time.

February 2 (PM): What an excellent "Historically Speaking" program today. Thank you Colonel Baxley for sharing your knowledge of local military history as it relates to the Battle of Port Royal Island. Expect to hear more about the American Revolution in Beaufort District in the coming months and years.

February 3: We booked all seats in advance but because of "no shows" we were able to seat folks on stand by this time. I've just added more photos that Olivia Santos and Mary Lou Brewton took of the "Battle of Port Royal Island, 1779" local history program yesterday. To see all the photos: Select Photos > Albums > Battle of Port Royal Island with Neil Baxley.

February 6: "Materials Monday: Uniquely BDC" - In honor of our most recent "Historically Speaking" series program, today's selection is First American Victory of the British Southern Campaign, February 3, 1779 : Battle of Beaufort (38BU2336), Beaufort County, South Carolina : March 21, 2020. Daniel E. Battle discovered the site in 2016. The report is quite lavishly illustrated with 149 Figures. He also gave us the print of the battle that now hangs in our Research Room. Give us a call or shoot us an email to set up an appointment to make a research visit: bdc@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468.

February 21: One month to the next Beaufort History Museum/Beaufort County Library local history program: Shrimp Tales: Small Bites of History Author Book Talk by Beverly Jennings. Registration will open on March 7th through the Beaufort History Museum's website.

Finding Aids Friday: 

February 10: "Finding Aid Friday" --... and just in time for Valentine's Day! Mae Onthank of Seabrook, SC wrote letters to her fiancée, Billy MacLeod chronicling her life, activities, and plans for their wedding in June 1915. Many of the letters bespeak of matters of the heart such as:

* July 18, 1914 - Darling I love you to death - Crazy 'bout you - Your Maezie

* October 20, 1914 - Dearest Boy: ... You know I love you too much and I think you were made for me and I had never thought that the war would make any difference with our marrying each other. Write and tell me about it. Do you really think it will? I hope and pray it will be best for us to get married in June.

They discussed guest lists, food, venues, honeymoon plans, etc. - all those things that brides and grooms have discussed since weddings became a "thing." The letters end right before their wedding held in the St. Helena Episcopal Church in late June 1915. There's also plenty of information about daily activities, family, friends, business, illnesses, etc. in northern Beaufort County.

The donor of the Onthank Letters collection, Mae and Billy's descendant Douglas C. MacLeod, put together 3 volumes of transcriptions of some of the letters, added family photographs such as the one shown of Mae Onthank, and wrote introductions explaining the family and social relationships. The transcriptions are bound in book form and housed in the shelves with call numbers SC 929.2 ONT vol. 1, SC 929.2 ONT vol. 2, and SC 929.2 ONT vol. 3. Because the letters themselves are rather fragile, customers are encouraged to use the transcriptions whenever possible to minimize further damage to the correspondence originals.

Mae and Billy would rear a family in Lynchburg, VA and remained married until their deaths. He died in 1979; she in 1983. They are buried in the Spring Hill Cemetery there.

February 17: "Finding Aid Friday:" Today's featured archival collection is the Crofut Diaries. Ellen Augusta Chapman Crofut (Mrs. James M. Crofut) kept a daily diary for most of her adult life. She took note of the weather, family news, and social affairs particularly with extended members of the Onthank Family and at the St. Helena Episcopal Church in Beaufort, SC. There are 31 diaries and 1 folder of loose materials, clippings, and items found in the diaries. If you're on the Library's email distribution list, you already know that she wrote about President Grant's visit on New Year's Day 1880. If you've read Connections, then you know that she wrote about the 1886 Earthquake and aftershocks for several weeks. If you've watched my "Tide of Death" presentation, then you know how disappointed I was that she wrote very, very little about the biggest natural disaster to yet befall Beaufort County, the Hurricane of 1893. I am grateful, though, that she kept social and musical programs for souvenirs attached or loose in her diaries. The Finding Aid is posted on the BDCBCL: Lists, Links and Finding Aids blog.

Special Events:

February 4: Stuart's Town Symposium highlights with photos and video

February 11: There's a party going on at Beaufort Branch this morning, 10 am - Noon. I put together a small display in the BDC's Lobby Board downstairs to commemorate the building of the Beaufort Library extension of 1992/1993 that most residents and visitors think of as the "30 year old" Beaufort Branch Library. The "new" 30-year old Beaufort County Library at 311 Scott Street is simply the most recent iteration of library services delivery from the nexus of Carteret, Scott, Craven and Port Republic streets in downtown Beaufort. There's more in the Connections post of 7 February 2023.

February 16: The Beaufort International Film Festival reminds me that folks are always interested in movies made in Beaufort County. Follow the links to get additional information about the feature films.

For the good of the whole:

February 9: Public Service Announcement: As in years past, volunteers are in some of the Library's facilities to help you with tax preparation on certain days at specific times. The Tax Help page on the Library's website points you to the most current and up-to-date information about tax preparation volunteers and services.

Schedule adjustment announcements were made on February 12 and 17.

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.