Re-cap of BDC Facebook Posts in June 2026

As is my established practice, events that have taken place are omitted. Sydney contributed some of the Revealing the Revolution related Facebook posts during June - and there were a lot of Revealing the Revolution in June. - gmc

Because of how the first of June fell on a Monday, I decided to post the Monthly overview on Sunday night.

May 31 - PM - Monthly Overview of June 2026: The Library system begins its Summer Reading Program which features dinosaurs and archaeology tomorrow. The BDC doesn't have much about dinosaurs but we do have a lot of archaeological reports you'll read about soon. BDC staff will be out and about promoting our project with the Beaufort County Historical Society "Revealing the Revolution" at 7 locations and one community event between June 1 - June 10. We host the Wright-Campbell cadre from HBCUs on June 11. The Library will be closed on June 19 for Juneteenth. I'll talk about colonial period British resources in the Research Room on the evening of June 22 at Beaufort Branch. One cannot talk about the colonial period in SC without acknowledging the role the Caribbean had on its history so expect to see some references to Caribbean-American Heritage Month here. The BDC crew will orient new Library employees to the system's special local history collection and archives unit on June 24. On June 27, we'll be at Bluffton Branch to conduct the trivia contest on their Liberty & Legacy Day - with a rinse and repeat (of sorts) for Beaufort Branch's Liberty & Legacy Day on July 1. (I'll finally get to use the inauthentic colonial outfit I bought for Halloween at work! Yes!!)

June 1 - PM - Independence (Mon)Day - One of my favorite Archaeology Month posters is the one from 2003: "Rediscovering the American Revolution in South Carolina, 1775-1782." There's a lot of the expected red, white and blue graphics but one is drawn to the yellow "Don't Tread on Me" emblem, portraits of key military figures, maps and illustrations of some battles, and flags. Though the verso features archaeological work done at Camden, Ninety-Six Historic Site, and Fort Moultrie, the introduction "The Revolutionary War in South Carolina" by Carl P. Borick includes several paragraphs about what happened in Beaufort District. You can of course come visit the Research Room to see SC POSTER 35 for yourself. Give us a heads up just to make sure someone will be here to assist you: bdc@bgov.net ; 843-255-6468. If you'd like to access the poster online, you can see a copy (and download a PDF) in USC's Scholar Commons.

June 2 - AM - Thanks to Bluffton Today for highlighting our "Revealing the Revolution" challenge! There's still time for you to participate too. "It's fun! It's free!! It's all about history!!!"

June 2 - PM - Speaking of archaeology and rediscovery, a SCLENDS catalog search reminded me that sometimes the posters in the BDC's poster collection were created by me for BDC local history programs marketing.

For example SC POSTER 146 is for a series of four programs about the "South Carolina Caribbean Connection" in October 2006 (SC's Archaeology Month). Beaufort County Planning Department's Ian Hill, the Historic Beaufort Foundation's Elizabeth Garrett, Dr. Wise over at Parris Island Museum and I teamed up to co-sponsor Dr. Bryan Howard's lecture about "The South Carolina Caribbean Connection during the American Revolution;" Dr. Larry Rowland spoke about "The Origin of Sea Island Cotton;" architectural historian Colin Brooker spoke about his research on "The Southern Diaspora: Loyalist Planters and their Slaves in the Bahamas, 1780 - 1835;" and we concluded the series with Ervena Faulkner discussing "Food as a Cultural Connector" and a taste-testing at the Arsenal.

It was a good series in the years that Ian Hill and I collaborated on for Archaeology Month. I just wish that I had included the year in the text on the poster. I used the backfiles of Connections to confirm the year. BTW: The BDC definitely adds the year in all our "stuff" as it minimizes research time in preparation for getting posters cataloged.

June 3 - "Black History Note Wednesday" - One of my favorite books on the topic of Black history in South Carolina is Yes, Lord, I Know the Road by former USCB Professor Dr. J. Brent Morris (USC Press, 2017). The archivist in me loves documents; the librarian in me loves the breadth and scope of his comprehensive 500 year survey of the African-American experience in this state. Since we have been emphasizing all things American Revolution as part of the Library's "Relive the Revolution" project recently, chapters 1 - 3 of this book has documents from colonial times through the Revolutionary War period. The Library has lots of copies the title to share with you.

BTW: I get 4 points for this choice because it is about Black history, archaeology, archives and relates to the American Revolutionary period.

June 4 - AM - At our local history program last week, Dr. Moore explored Juan Pardo and his expeditions into the hinterland. We have a list of suggestions on how you can learn more about "The Spanish Legacy in Beaufort District History" and dig deeper into this area's 16th century history.

June 4 - PM - "It's fun! It's free!! It's all about history!!!" Join the "Revealing the Revolution" Challenge brought to you by the BDC, Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort County 250th Committee. Earn fabulous limited-edition prizes ... while supplies last. The challenge ends July 2.

June 5 - Finding Aid Friday - In honor of the anniversary of the establishment of St. Helena Parish on June 7, 1712 by the colonial Assembly, today's featured archival collection is St. Helena Episcopal Church Collection Circa 1912 – 1994. It documents the church's history through pamphlets and materials from the 20th century collected by library staff.

June 6 - I'm going to be at USCB's "South Carolina and the Road to Independence" this afternoon promoting the BDC, BCHS, BC250's "Revealing the Revolution" challenge. But since it just so happens to be National Trails Day, you may like to learn about some of the trails related materials we share through the BDC Research Room.

June 7 - "This Week in the BDC:" We are looking forward to hosting the 2026 cadre of the Wright-Campbell Internship Program for students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities on Thursday. We'll talk about our Gullah related collections and give them a behind-the-scenes tour of our archives.

June 8 - Independence (Mon)Day: Jonathan Mercantini researched the question "Who shall rule at home?" to find the roots of South Carolinian rebellion against British authority during the American Revolution in the evolution of the political culture of the colony's elite. He argues that in a series of constitutional and political conflicts between 1748 and 1776, South Carolinians zealously fought to protect and expand their political rights and privileges against outside imperial control, viewing them as inalienable rights akin to the "rights of Englishmen." They fought for these rights and privileges, centering on local control of elections, representation, finances, and taxation, with a politics of brinksmanship that saw such conflicts as a zero-sum game and provided the grounding for the eventual independence bid.

June 9 - Have you been to one of the Library's "Revolutionary Roots" sessions yet? Or do you plan to go later this month? Keep in mind that the BDC has some specific Revolutionary War era genealogy sources that might help - if your ancestor was in South Carolina back then. We can help you "Unearth a Story" about your Patriot or Loyalist ancestor. Read more in Connections.

June 10 - AM - "Black History Note:" Chapter 3 "Carolina's African American Majority" of Uncommon Ground : Archaeology and Early African America, 1650-1800 by Leland Ferguson (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992) concentrates on archaeological and historical evidence of African-style, clay-walled houses for the enslaved on some lowcountry plantations around the time of the War for Independence. Gen. Francis Marion wrote a letter to Gen. Nathanael Greene that Gen. Thomas Sumter reported he "Determined to Attack the Enemy posted in houses with Clay Walls which was very Difficult to penetrate without a field piece." It seems that the British had taken cover inside some of the enslaved persons' homes on Quinby Plantation. Clay-walled houses have several advantages: Readily available materials nearby to quickly build or rebuild the structure as needed; and comfortable in hot climates - and an advantage of defense in case someone - in this case a Patriot - decided to shoot at you with a gun. Roll up the cannons, men!

The BDC has a copy of this title but so do many of the SCLENDS libraries. This means you can come read ours or simply borrow a copy from another unit with your library card.

BTW: I get triple points for this choice because it is about Black history, archaeology and relates to the American Revolutionary period.

June 10 - PM - Looking for a fun way to get out and about this summer? Check out the Revealing the Revolution Historical Marker Scavenger Hunt brought to you by the BDC, the Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort County 250th Committee! Please be aware of your surroundings as some of the markers may be near busy streets.

Today, we visited the Beaufort Arsenal marker located at 713 Craven Street. The marker is right on the sidewalk with street parking available nearby, or less than a minute away is the Beaufort County Library where you could park and also check out the Library Quest!

Learn more about Beaufort District's vital role in the Revolutionary War while working your way to earning limited edition prizes; including a car sticker, a commemorative coin, and an entry into a grand prize drawing for a framed replica of the Robert Mills 1825 map of Beaufort District.

Visit your closest library branch to pick up your brochure today!

P.S. There is even a mini scavenger hunt inside of the branches if you prefer to stay in the A.C!

June 11 - First American Victory of the British Southern Campaign, February 3, 1779 Battle of Beaufort (38BU22336), Beaufort County, South Carolina is an archaeological study of a Revolutionary War engagement (also known as the Battle of Port Royal Island or the Battle of Gray's Hill) written by Daniel Battle and his wife, Daphne Owens Battle. Daniel Battle also gave us a framed print of the painting "In the Glorious Cause of Liberty" by Jeff Trexler that he commissioned about the Battle of Beaufort to hang in our Research Room.

June 12 - Finding Aid Friday: In honor of National Movie Night, we highlight the Paul Siegmund Collection a small archival collection that documents the World Premiere of Pat Conroy’s the "Great Santini" movie held at the Beaufort Plaza Twin Theatres on 19 October 1979.

June 13 - Bluffton Branch's Angie Brown pulled out all the stops with the "Revealing the Revolution" table she designed. (Thanks, Angie). Don't delay, pick up your game sheet and play - today! "It's fun! It's free!! It's all about history!!!" This challenge brought to you by the BDC, Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort County 250th Committee ends on July 2.

June 14 - Happy Flag Day! The delegates to the 2nd Continental Congress decided on June 14, 1777 to select and standardize a flag to indicate the new nation. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson commemorated that decision by declaring June 14th of each year "Flag Day."

An interesting (to me, at least) historical fact : There have been 27 official versions of the United States stars-and-stripes flag since 1777.

June 15 - AM - Independence (Mon)Day - The Library is highlighting memoirs this month. We have General William Moultrie's Memoirs of the American Revolution as a reprint of 2 volumes first published in 1802. It contains personal anecdotes, first-hand observations, and an extensive collection of letters between civil and military officers, including some about the battles of Port Royal Island and Purisburgh, the spiking of the guns at Fort Lyttelton, and the occupation of Beaufort by the British. There's a lot about what's going on in other parts of the lowcountry too.

In addition to our Research Room copy, you can borrow the title from other members libraries in the SCLENDS consortium. Or you can access a digital copy of the original texts through Archive.org.

June 16 - Looking for a fun way to get out and about this summer? Check out the Revealing the Revolution Historical Marker Scavenger Hunt brought to you by the BDC, the Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort County 250th Committee! Please stay aware of your surroundings as you explore Beaufort District's American Revolutionary history.

Today, we visited the St. Helena's Church marker which is located at 505 Church Street. Be sure to check the other side of the marker to learn what the British forces used the church for.

Learn more about Beaufort District's vital role in the Revolutionary War while working your way to earning limited edition prizes; including a car sticker, a commemorative coin, and an entry into a grand prize drawing for a framed replica of the Robert Mills 1825 map of Beaufort District.

Visit your closest library branch to pick up your brochure today!

P.S. There is even a mini scavenger hunt inside of the branches if you prefer to stay in the A.C! #RevealingtheRevolution2026

June 17 - "Black History Note:" One cannot fully comprehend the European colonial experience in the Americas without understanding its African counterpart. "I, Too, Am America": Archaeological Studies of African-America Life edited by Theresa A. Singleton (University Press of Virginia, 1999) addresses this challenge. It is an anthology of articles written by skilled archaeologists who "study the distinctive character of the African presence, the level and domains of cultural autonomy and creativity, the degree of suppression and censorship, the forgotten or unacknowledged sources of the colonial life that seek to explain the character and presence of Africanisms."

This title is a "uniquely BDC" one. Come "unearth a story" about the vestiges of African culture in the United States. It's a good idea to contact us before you arrive at our door to make certain a staff member is available to assist you: 843-255-6468; bdc@bcgov.net

June 18 - Marine archaeology is done in this area on a fairly regular basis on account of all the shipwrecks through the years. Poster #210 is our copy of the 2012 SC Archaeology Month poster. You'll notice references to Port Royal Sound, the Floating Machine Shop at Station Creek, and the USS George Washington - all of which relate to Civil War era Beaufort District. You can download your own copy from the University of South Carolina's Scholar Commons website.

June 20 - Looking for a fun way to get out and about this summer? Check out the Revealing the Revolution Historical Marker Scavenger Hunt brought to you by the BDC, the Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort County 250th Committee!

Today, we visited the Beaufort County historical marker located at the West entrance to the Beaufort Waterfront Park (near the Marina). Visit this marker to learn what year the British occupation of Beaufort began!

Learn more about Beaufort District's vital role in the Revolutionary War while working your way to earning limited edition prizes; including a car sticker, a commemorative coin, and an entry into a grand prize drawing for a framed replica of the Robert Mills 1825 map of Beaufort District.

Visit your closest library branch to pick up your brochure today!

P.S. There is even a mini scavenger hunt inside of the branches if you prefer to stay in the A.C.

June 21 - "This Week in the BDC:" We're quite busy being out and about. Tomorrow evening, I present "Brits in the BDC." On Wednesday afternoon, we host the latest group of new Library employees. On Saturday, we'll be running a trivia contest about the American Revolution at Bluffton Branch as part of their "Liberty & Legacy" celebration. (Tip: If you've read this page, attended a BDC local history program about the War for Independence in the past, and/or participated in the Revealing the Revolution Challenge, you'll be in a solid position to do well in the Trivia sessions.)

June 22 - Independence (Mon)Day - The best yet most concise discussion of "Beaufort and the British During the Era of the American Revolution" was made by historian Robert M. Weir before the Beaufort County Historical Society on May 18, 1976. Fortunately, we have a transcript in the Research Room for any who would like to read it. He writes about Beaufort's role in the creation of reason 4 for independence (viz., He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures); key local events and personnel such as Lafayette, Andrew DeVeaux, etc.; naval considerations related to St. Helena Sound; and demographic information about the area from 1770 - 1790.

This is one of the "uniquely BDC" items so please contact us to make an appointment to read the 18 page document: bdc@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468.

It's crunch time. Get out there to explore the history of the American Revolution in Beaufort District via our "Revealing the Revolution" historic marker challenge with the Beaufort County Historical Society.

June 23 - AM - Looking for a fun summer activity but wish to stay in the cool A.C.? Check out the Revealing the Revolution Historical Marker Library Quest brought to you by the BDC, the Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort County 250th Committee; available at all branches and bookmobiles in the Beaufort County Library System!

Learn more about Beaufort District's vital role in the Revolutionary War while working your way to earning a limited edition car sticker. Search for five historical marker placards hidden among the stacks of the library that contain the answers to the questions inside of your brochure.

Visit any library branch or bookmobile to pick up your brochure and begin your quest today!

June 23 - PM - Breaking News!!! We have decided to extend the deadline for the Library Quest and Historic Marker challenges until July 31. But here's the rub: If you want to get entered for the Grand Prize drawing, you must return that game sheet by July 2nd. Please note: Those who turn in completed game sheets July 3 - 31 will be eligible only for the car sticker and challenge coin prizes.

June 24 - "Black History Note:" In the antebellum South Back of the Big House (1993) there existed a different world, socially and architecturally, where slaves lived and worked. Professor of American Studies and Anthropology John Michael Vlach explores the structures and spaces that formed the slaves' environment. Through photographs and the words of former slaves, he portrays the plantation landscape from the slaves' own point of view. Read this book to "unearth a story" of how the enslaved imbued the plantation landscape with their own meanings and acts of slave resistance to become a locus for the formation of a distinctive African American culture in the South.

June 25 - Looking for a fun way to get out and about this summer? Check out the Revealing the Revolution Historical Marker Scavenger Hunt brought to you by the BDC, the Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufo#revealingtherevolution2026! Please take care and mind your surroundings as you participate. Some of the markers are along busy roads.

Today, we visited the Lafayette's Tour marker located at 801 Bay Street, also known as the John Mark Verdier House. Check out the marker to learn when General Lafayette visited Beaufort.

Learn more about Beaufort District's vital role in the Revolutionary War while working your way to earning limited edition prizes; including a car sticker, a commemorative coin, and an entry into a grand prize drawing for a framed replica of the Robert Mills 1825 map of Beaufort District.

Visit your closest library branch to pick up your brochure today!

P.S. There is even a mini scavenger hunt inside of the branches if you prefer to stay in the A.C! #RevealingtheRevolution2026

June 26 - Update on the Online Obituary Index: Our OOI indexer Kathy Mitchell finished adding another 1518 published obituary records from the Beaufort Catalyst, Beaufort Gazette, and Island Packet newspapers for the year 2000. The project will end when we run out of newspaper issues on microfilm on 31 March 2015.

June 28 - This Week in the BDC: We are doing a rinse-and-repeat of the BDC designed Revolutionary Trivia session at 11:30 AM on Wednesday at Beaufort Branch. You may see a famous American if you come an hour earlier as Ben Franklin will be in the house.

Reminders: Though our Revealing the Revolution Challenge with the BCHS and the Beaufort County 250th Committee has been extended until July 31, if you want to be entered into our Grand Prize drawing you must return your 15-item completed game sheet on or before July 2. Be safe as you go about our roadways and sidewalks in search of the historic markers.

The Beaufort County Library will be closed Friday, July 3 and Saturday, July 4 for the holidays.

June 29 - "Independence (Mon)Day" - The Jasper County 250 Committee recently sponsored an archaeological investigation of Old House Plantation, 2,115 acres rice plantation established by Daniel Heyward, father of Beaufort District's Signer of the Declaration, Thomas Heyward, Jr. in 1743. This study included the role of persons of African-American descent in the war as well as support and promotion of research and cultural heritage tourism by telling SC's stories from varying points of view.

As of this writing, the BDC is the only library in the SCLENDS consortium to have a copy of Rice, Rebellion, and Revelations : 2024 Archaeology at the Old House Plantation by Rita Folse Elliott, 2025.

You've got only a few days left to be eligible for the "Revealing the Revolution" Grand Prize. Don't delay, participate today. Game sheets are available at all library locations. Please note: Game sheets returned July 3 - 31 are eligible for the limited-edition car stickers and challenge coins - while supplies last.

June 30 - AM - Still looking for a fun summer activity to get your family out and about? Revealing the Revolution Historical Marker Scavenger Hunt brought to you by the BDC, the Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort County 250th Committee is the perfect activity- but if you want a chance at that framed (reproduction) Mills Atlas Beaufort District map, these are the final days for you to enter! If you are pressed to get in those last few markers, Downtown Beaufort is the place to go!

Today, we visited the Beaufort Tricentennial Plaque 4 marker located at Beaufort's Waterfront Park. The marker is behind both Saltus River Grille and the waterfront playground and is located at ground level.

Learn more about Beaufort District's vital role in the Revolutionary War while working your way to earning limited edition prizes; including a car sticker, a commemorative coin, and an entry into a grand prize drawing for a framed replica of the Robert Mills 1825 map of Beaufort District. Visit your closest library branch to pick up your brochure today! P.S. There is even a mini scavenger hunt inside of the branches if you prefer to stay in the A.C! #RevealingtheRevolution2026 

June 30, 2026 - PM - I barely made it to my self-imposed deadline to highlight a murder trial, an investigation into a suicide, and the trials of Beaufort County Treasurer, George Holmes and the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners from 150 years ago on Connections before this month's end. June 1876 was a month full of sensational events in Beaufort County that got well covered in state and national newspapers.

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.