"Historically Speaking" Series 5.1A & 5.1B: Beaufort District's European Origin Story

Latest update: 20 September 2023 - gmc

We're celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 - October 15 with a program held twice: once North of the Broad River and once South of the Broad River. Both are expected to reach capacity rather quickly. 

                                                                                                   

The Beaufort County Historical Society and the BDC are pleased to host Dr. Larry Rowland and retired Army Colonel and current National Parks Service Ranger Chris Allen in the "Historically Speaking" series Season 5 opening lecture: "Beaufort Before Britain: Our District's European Origin Story." And by the very kind offer of the presenters and due to meeting space availability, this presentation will be done twice to accommodate "local history nerds" on both sides of the Broad River. A word to the wise: I expect that seats will go quickly for both sessions.

A century before the Mayflower made its Plymouth Rock landfall, Spaniards were plying our coastal waters. "Santa Elena", or its English derivation of "Saint Helena", is America's third oldest European place name in continuous use.  In the shadow of Columbus and predating Jamestown by almost 90 years, Larry Rowland frames Beaufort's European origin story.  Col. Allen will underscore Larry's narrative using rare Italian, Spanish, and French charts from the 15th and 16th Century.  Look as hard as you want, but you will not find Boston, New York, Charleston, or Saint Augustine ... but you will see our home prominently annotated.  As "Santa Elena", Beaufort District drove European strategic thinking about the New World during America's First (and Lost) Century. Dr. Rowland is famous for saying "All of American history actually began in Beaufort."  At the talk's conclusion, you will likely agree that if Dr. Rowland exaggerates, it is not by much.

The premiere lecture (5.1A) will be held at Beaufort Branch:

Thursday, September 21, 2023 - "Beaufort Before Britain: Our District's European Origins" with Dr. Larry Rowland & Col. Chris Allen | 11 AM - 12:15 | "Historically Speaking" series 5.1A | Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street | Registration required. Register for the Beaufort Branch session beginning September 7, 2023 through the BCHS website.  If you have any questions, please contact beaufortcountyhistorical@gmail.com. If you don't get into the Beaufort session, perhaps you can register and attend the Bluffton session set for October 5th. 

The reprise lecture (5.1B) will be held at Bluffton Branch two weeks later:  

Thursday, October 5, 2023 - "Beaufort Before Britain: Our District's European Origins" with Dr. Larry Rowland & Col. Chris Allen | 11 AM - 12:15 | "Historically Speaking" series 5.1B | Bluffton Branch Library, 120 Palmetto Way | Registration required. Register for the Bluffton Branch session beginning September 21, 2023 through EventBrite. 

Presenter Biographies

Dr. Lawrence S. Rowland is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of South Carolina Beaufort where he taught for almost 50 years before his retirement. Other roles he performed at that institution were Associate Dean of Academics and Professor of History. He is a past president of the South Carolina Historical Society as well as the local Beaufort County Historical Society. He sits on a number of history related advisory boards. 

His dissertation topic at the University of South Carolina was Eighteenth Century Beaufort: A Study of South Carolina's Southern Parishes to 1800 and the history of Beaufort District has been the major focus of his work ever since. He has authored numerous articles and book reviews relating to the history of this area. I could not work nearly so well if not for his three volume series that I call the "Bible of Beaufort History:" The History of Beaufort County, 1514 - 1861; Rebellion, Reconstruction and Redemption, 1861 - 1893; and Bridging the Sea Islands' Past and Present, 1893 - 2006. Other works include Window on the Atlantic: The Rise and Fall of Santa Elena, South Carolina's Spanish City and The Civil War in South Carolina: Selections from the South Carolina Historical Magazine. He is a very popular lecturer so be sure to sign up as soon as registration opens on September 7, 2023. BTW: The books are available in the Research Room and through the Local History sections of the BCL Branch Libraries. The dissertation is available only inside the BDC Research Room. 

Christopher Allen graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1980. Commissioned in the Infantry, he transitioned to Special Forces in 1985.  He served in Berlin during the Cold War, Gulf War I, the containment of Iraq throughout the 1990’s, the US Embassy Baghdad in 2007 and had multiple Afghanistan and Pakistan tours from 2003 to 2017. He retired as a Colonel.  

Allen earned a Masters of National Security and Strategic Studies from both the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island and from the National War College in Washington, DC.

Though government service impeded his physical presence, Chris committed to making the Low Country his home in 2002.  A student of Steve Wise and a disciple of Larry Rowland, he served as a Beaufort History Museum docent, on the Santa Elena Foundation Board of Directors, and as a National Park Service Ranger at the Reconstruction Era National Park.

Please note: Just don't get your hopes up that every BDC sponsored program can be duplicated North and South of the Broad River as we are the smallest public service unit in the entire Beaufort County Library system and providing and maintaining the Research Room is always and ever shall be priority #1. It's just by happenstance that we are able to do both "Historically Speaking" 5.1 and 5.2 at two locations this Fall. 

Register for Local History Programs Sooner Rather than Later

Latest update: 19 January 2023 3:45 pm

Although it isn't customary to have several local history programs registration processes overlap, we have an exception. 

We have "Civil War Union Bands" at two locations - "Historically Speaking 4.1a and Historically Speaking 4.1b" for which seats may - or may not - still be available and we're opening the registration period for the  "Historically Speaking" 4.2 session today - all through the Beaufort County Historical Society's website.

Usually there is more time between "Historically Speaking" programs but this year we wanted to observe the anniversary of the Battle of Port Royal Island as close to the actual anniversary as possible. And since the Beaufort County Historical Society traditionally meets on Thursdays, we simply moved up the American Revolution military engagement commemoration up by one day. Besides which, the few times that the BDC has held a local history program on a Friday afternoon, turn-out has been poor. We certainly want to have a good crowd to hear about what happened and why what happened was significant to American history.   

Though the British Winter Campaign, 1778-1779 in the Palmetto State had mostly gone in Britain’s favor, South Carolina's first land based engagement between professional British, militia, and Continental forces resulted in a Patriot victory - and it was here in Beaufort County! Come learn about the strategy, tactics and significance of this American Revolution battle fought near the MCAS Air Station 244 years ago from a popular local history presenter, Neil Baxley. 

You'll notice on the flyer that the "Battle of Port Royal Island, 1779" is co-sponsored by the BDC, the Beaufort County Historical Society, and the Beaufort County 250th Committee under the aegis of the South Carolina 250th Commission. We are grateful for the co-sponsorship. 

The direct link to the EventBrite registration form for "Battle of Port Royal Island, 1779" is https://www.eventbrite.com/e/battle-of-port-royal-island-1779-tickets-519230952757. As per usual, space is limited. Registration will close when we reach room capacity. At 5 minutes to program start time, any unoccupied seats will be offered to folks standing by for program entrance. 

A native of North Carolina, Neil Baxley spent 4 years in the Marine Corps before joining the Beaufort County Sheriff's Department more than 35 years ago.  In 2013, Col. Baxley was put in charge of Beaufort County's Emergency Management Division.  In his spare time, he studies and writes history. He's given presentations at the South Carolina Archives and at area museums and libraries. He's authored two Confederate regimental history books, Walk in the Light: The Journey of the 10th and 19th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry (2013) and No Prouder Fate: The Story of the 11th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry (2009) and the foreword to Confederate General Stephen Elliott: Beaufort Legend, Charleston Hero by D. Michael Thomas (2020). 

Check the Beaufort County Historical Society's website for remaining seat availability at each of the "Historically Speaking" presentations. 

Looking ahead: The Stuarts Town Symposium, Saturday, February 4, 2023 at the USCB Center for the Arts, 801 Carteret Street, Beaufort, from 1 - 5 pm. Archaeologist Chester dePratter and his team will reveal the findings and significance from the 117 shovel tests conducted in Beaufort's downtown Point area in hopes of discovering the location of the settlement of Scots that lasted only about 2 years, 1684 - 1686. The program is free and no registration is required.   

Martin Luther King, Jr. at Penn Center

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.

All units of the Beaufort County Library, including the BDC, will be closed on Monday, January 16th for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Regular hours resume on Tuesday, January 17th. 

Reminder: We will keep registration open for the "Civil War Union Bands" program at St. Helena Branch Library on January 19th until we reach room capacity. There will be a repeat of Dr. Johns' program at Hilton Head Island Branch Library on January 24th. Check the Beaufort County Historical Society's  website for seat availability for our co-sponsored "Bands" programs. Also, registration for "The Battle of Port Royal Island, 1779" will open on January 19th for that BDC/BCHS "Historically Speaking" series program.   

"Historically Speaking" Season 4 Begins : Register for "Civil War Bands"

Latest update: 12 January 2023 - gmc

A History of the Port Royal Bands by John Brookfield (Sam Teddy Publishing, 2015) is one of those titles that I learned of because of a customer inquiry - and has led to not one, but two forthcoming local history programs! 

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 refered 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.  

The Beaufort County Historical Society, Coastal Discovery Museum and the BDC are sponsoring programs by Dr. Michael Johns about the role of Civil War bands on Thursday, January 19, 2023  in the St. Helena Branch Library,6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road and on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 in the Hilton Head Island Branch Library, 11 Beach City Road. Program start time at both locations is 11 AM. 

Registration is required for the January 19th session at St. Helena Branch Library. (The "Historically Speaking" series has a lot of groupies North of the Broad River. I expect that we'll "sell out" well before the program date.) Registration is suggested for the January 24th session at Hilton Head Branch Library. (I'm in process building a local history groupies South of the Broad River.) Those with registrations will be seated first beginning 30 minutes ahead of lecture start time. Those without registrations will be seated in any remaining seats at 10:55 AM. 

Michael Johns has spent a lifetime in music, both as a vocation and avocation. A graduate of New England Conservatory and Temple University, he received degrees in French horn performance and music history. He was featured in the April 2018 Beaufort Lifestyle magazine.

Expanding his study of history has provided a stimulating and rewarding encore career in the lowcountry, an area that has provided an outsized array of historically significant, course-changing events. One of the most consequential was its role in the Civil War, serving as a union staging, training, refitting, and recuperation hub. Music was an essential aspect of the soldier's life and bands were essential in defining daily activity, maintaining morale, comforting the wounded, and emboldening the warrior.

“Civil War Union Bands—Members, Duties, Instruments, and Music with special emphasis on Beaufort District” is a presentation about the war-time sounds and instruments heard in camp, during battle, and at social settings. Who were some of the specific bands that came through Beaufort District, what did bandsmen do, how were they treated, why were they integral to the fighting unit, what instruments and music did they play? Multiple recorded examples on period instruments will provide a varied aural sampling of what the soldier would have heard and his reaction to it. 

We hope to see you at one (or both!) of these local history opportunities.

Looking ahead: The next program after Civil War Union Bands sessions is the "Battle of Port Royal Island, 1779" with Neil Baxley on February 2, 2023 at Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street. Registration opens January 19, 2023 on the Beaufort County Historical Society website events page. 

The Library is closed Monday, January 2, 2023. Regular hours resume on Tuesday, January 3. Happy 2023 to you all.

Carolina Day Lecture 2022

The Beaufort County Historical Society and the BDC are absolutely over the Carolina moon to be able to once again host Doug Bostick, Executive Director of the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust for what had become, pre-COVID-19, our annual "Carolina Day" lecture. This will be lecture 4 of the "Historically Speaking" series for 2021-2022. 

Though I usually concentrate on just the Beaufort District side of history, the "Carolina Day" lecture is held in honor of the first decisive American victory of the Revolutionary War on a date that many native South Carolinians consider our state's Independence day. It is significant - to us proud native South Carolinians - that our Independence day pre-dates the Nation's Independence Day! 

On 28 June 1776 nine British naval ships began a bombardment  of Charles Town (Charleston), the fourth largest and by far the wealthiest city in its American colonies. In a battle lasting about 9 hours, a small force of patriots comprised of South and North Carolinians and their Native American allies commanded by Colonel William Moultrie and Colonel William Thomson successfully defended the harbor and town from a sand and palmetto log fort on Sullivan's Island. Using the 31 guns inside the fort to concentrate "hot shot" fire on the British's two largest ships, American forces prevented the landing of 2500 British soldiers and marines. Patriot actions that day helped delay British occupation of Charleston for another 4 years.

The anniversary was first observed in 1777 as Fort Moultrie Day eventually becoming known as Carolina Day in 1875. In 1995 the South Carolina State Legislature formally declared June 28th as "Carolina Day". 

Join us on June 28, 2022 to hear Bostick share "The Legacy of Carolina Day" in the Fellowship Hall of the First Presbyterian Church of Beaufort at 11 AM.  Registration opens on June 14, 2022 and is required through the Beaufort County Historical Society's website. Space is limited.

Sold Out! Local History Program about the GAR This Thursday

I hope that you've reserved your seat at this upcoming program already because seats went very, very quickly. All seats were spoken for within a few days

Rev. Dr. Elijah Washington will provide fascinating details of the Grand Army of the Republic, David Hunter Post in Beaufort. The GAR's local post was founded in 1866. Comprised of African-American veterans, mostly formerly enslaved men from Sea Island plantations who had served in the U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War, and White Union soldiers, the GAR served as a fraternal society for veterans of the Union Army. 

Looking ahead: The Library will be closed on Monday, February 21, 2022 in honor of all past and the current Presidents of these United States. This means that the BDC staff won't be able to respond to requests for Research appointments sent after 4 pm on Friday, February 18th until Tuesday, February 22 - all things going as planned. Since it has been my experience that a whole lot of "stuff" hasn't been going as planned for quite some time now, why don't you contact me this week sometime to make the necessary arrangements for a Researcher slot next week sometime? bdc@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468.  

Registration now open for Local History In-Person Program Scheduled for 17 February 2022

Update 8 February 2022:  This proved a very popular lecture. Capacity has been reached. No seats remain. - gmc 

After a delay of 23 months, local history in-person programming returns on February 17, 2022 - barring anything unforeseen and any new or renewed Covid-19 related restrictions.  Though the event will not be held inside a Library building, it will be offered only as an in-person - and masks required - event. Registration is required and space is limited. 

I repeat: The presentation will not be recorded for live streaming or viewing later. Although I wish that such were possible, but given the time, labor and equipment limitations that the BDC operates under each and every day, it is not. When I asked BCHS about what they might be able to do on the recording front, they do not have the capacity to film and record and make that recording available either. 

Rev. Dr. Elijah Washington will provide fascinating details of the Grand Army of the Republic, David Hunter Post in Beaufort. The GAR's local post was founded in 1866. Comprised of African-American veterans, mostly formerly enslaved men from Sea Island plantations who had served in the U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War, and White Union soldiers, the GAR served as a fraternal society for veterans of the Union Army. 

This "Historically Speaking" series lecture is co-sponsored by the Beaufort County Historical Society and the BDC.  Again: Registration required. Online registration opens on 3 February 2022 on the Beaufort County Historical Society's website. Registration will cease when capacity is reached.

Please note these key points:

1) Registrations are required. 

2) Masks properly worn covering both mouth and nose are required at the venue. 

3) The lecture will be in the (Beaufort) First Presbyterian Church’s Fellowship Hall, 1201 North Street.

4) No recording or streaming will be made of the presentation or the tour. 

Even with all those stipulations the BDC and the BCHS hope that you will join us for the lecture and tour. 

"Historically Speaking" Series Reservation

Season 3 of the "Historically Speaking" series opens with Dr. Mollie Barnes’ presentation "Reading Between Lines and Across Rivers: Charlotte Forten and Harriet Tubman, June 1863."

Professor Barnes is Associate Professor of American Literature at USCB. This lecture is sure to be a nice complement to the engaging "Women of Reconstruction" lecture about Laura Towne, Charlotte Forten, and Susie King Taylor that Suzie Parker Devoe did last season.

We are pleased to have the Beaufort County Historical Society and the Institute for the Study of the Reconstruction Era as co-sponsors of this local history program.

Delivery of this session will be unique - and multi-faceted - for BDC Local History groupies! 

1) A few folks will be able to attend the lecture in person. 

2) More folks will be able to live stream the lecture on their personal electronic devices the day of the event.

3) Even more folks will be able to watch the recording later on their personal electronic devices on the day and time most appropriate for them. 

Please note: Limited Reserved Seating Opens at Midnight Thursday, September 30th! 

35 lucky people will get the opportunity to reserve a seat in Room 100, CFA (Center for the Arts), 805 Carteret St, Beaufort for the live presentation set to occur at 11:00 AM on Thursday, October 14th.  Sign up for one of those 35 seats at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reading-between-lines-and-across-rivers-charlotte-forten-harriet-tubman-tickets-176618128577 beginning at midnight on Thursday, September 30th. 

You should get a screen that looks like this: 

If you click the "Remind Me" button shown in red, you can register for a reminder to be sent to your email inbox one hour before registration opens. Reservations will be closed when full. 

But let's just say that you are still a bit leery of in-person events. We have a URL for that, too.

The link is https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/7ed3329806ca4f5cab909350c4f942cf.

But here's the fine print that you must read and understand! That link is not currently active. This is what you will see until 10:30 AM on October 14th (all things going as planned) 

At 10:30 on Thursday, October 14, 2021 (30 minutes before the lecture is set to begin), the link will let people in the room so you can make sure you're connected and happy and ready to tune in. Once you're in the virtual waiting room, you'll be prompted to type your name so that the USCB folks transmitting and recording the session can see who is who and then you can turn your videos/microphones on if you please. But in certain parts of the County (like from my house on Lady's Island) it's usually better to mute your video and mute your audio in order to have sufficient bandwidth to watch Dr. Barnes without aggravating buffering.  

Let's say that for some reason the Live Stream doesn't stream live as planned. There's yet another way to see and learn from Professor Barnes - you will be able to watch a recording of her "Historically Speaking 3.1" lecture once it gets posted within a few days after the live presentation. 

BDC Local History Programs are Evolving ...

Beaufort District Collection Local History Program plans are evolving as we navigate all that COVID-19 and the vaccination controversy have wrought. Please note: Until further notice, all visitors to the Library must be properly masked and socially distance from others. 

As you are likely aware, COVID-19 mitigation efforts have affected Library operations and Library program efforts since mid-March 2020. For example, the Summer Reading Program programs in 2020 and 2021 were held outdoors or were virtual events. In the case of the BDC's programs we had to postpone or cancel programs previously scheduled to be held in April and May 2020. 

Last summer, the Beaufort County Historical Society and the BDC decided to forge ahead with an all virtual Season 2 of the Historically Speaking series, acquiring new skills in the process. The online attendance numbers proved good. More than 800 people viewed the three lectures that we were able to post. One lecture had to be postponed due to scheduling conflicts and staff shortages. At the same time, the Beaufort History Museum and the Library suspended our joint Local History series for the July 2020-June 2021 season by mutual agreement. 

So... yes things have indeed been quite different since the first COVID-19 shutdown in mid-March 2020.

Under normal pre-COVID conditions, the BDC  manages three sets of programs: 1) stand alone BDC local history programs which are generally how-to or instructional in nature (e.g. how to use the "Freedmen's Bureau Records"); 2) the "Historically Speaking" series held with the Beaufort County Historical Society; and 3) the "Local History" series co-sponsored by the Beaufort County Library and the Beaufort History Museum that began in 2016. 

Together and separately each organization has been pondering our respective ways forward to a return on in-person programs since June 2020. Plans were steaming ahead: We had our speakers on topics we felt of interest to our community; We had reserved the rooms for August, September, October and December 2021. Unfortunately, the spread of COVID-19 in Beaufort County has not lessened, indeed it has grown larger which makes it even scarier for us to host in-person events - even if we had done so at a very reduced room capacity standard to observe health and safety protocols. 

This fourth surge has nixed most of those plans. 

The first program affected was "Tide of Death." 

I try to give the "Tide of Death" presentation at least once every three to four years in one or more library locations. 2021 meant that it was about time to do it again. I had planned to do an in-person event on August 27th, the hurricane's anniversary. When it became obvious that  an in-person program could not happen, Thomas Schotter of the Library's Marketing and Communications unit recorded me talking about the biggest, baddest hurricane to strike Beaufort District in its long and storied history. We recorded it on August 20th in the BDC "studio." We posted it on August 27th. Just between us: We probably should have spent a bit more time editing the raw footage but staff shortages and schedules just did not allow either of us that opportunity. The presentation has been running on the Library's YouTube Channel for a couple of weeks now. It will remain available at least to the end of this month. (I do so hope that you watch it and let me know if you came away knowing more about the Great Sea Island Hurricane than when you began.)

There are 4 programs on the calendar between September and December. Due to the surging infection rate in Beaufort County, at least 3 of those programs now require implementation of some on alternate plans of delivery to you. On the plus side, this old dog is having to learn new tricks and acquiring new skills even at this late stage in my professional career.  

September's program is postponed until November. 

I had planned to offer an in-person Author Book Talk with Dr. Eric Plaag about his Means of Grace: A History of the Robertville Baptist Church on September 16th. Then we decided to record his talk while he was going to be in the area. Then his visit to the lowcountry was postponed. Then Dr. Eric Plaag, Thomas Schotter, and I got our thinking caps out again.  Thomas and I tested the technology on September 10th and we think that we'll be able to pull it off come mid-November. (We cannot do it any sooner than that due to conflicting schedules.) That means we're going to try the BDC's first ever LIVE YouTube program about Means of Grace on 15 November. I am grateful for the cooperation of the Beaufort County Historical Society, and Carolina Historical Consulting, LLC in making this happen for us. 

To participate in the LIVE event one will have to get the URL from us. Be sure to sign up for the BDC's e-mail distribution list to get the URL link and notice for the live and virtual event. All other viewers will be able to access the recording through Library's YouTube Channel within a day or two after the live and virtual event. 

Programs planned for October will be delivered remotely, more or less on schedule. 

October had two programs on the calendar: one "Historically Speaking" session with the Beaufort County Historical Society and the Season 5 opener in the Beaufort History Museum/Beaufort County Library series.

Season 3 of the "Historically Speaking" series was set to open with Dr. Molly Barnes of the University of South Carolina Beaufort with "Reading Between Lines and Across Rivers: Charlotte Forten and Harriet Tubman, June 1863." We are in the process of finalizing where, when and how precisely this session co-sponsored by the Beaufort County Historical Society, USCB's Institute for the Study of Reconstruction and the BDC will be shared - but shared it will be. 

Neil Baxley is the featured speaker for the BHM/BCL series a few days later in October. His topic is "Duels in Beaufort District." Just as in the case of Dr. Plaag's and Dr. Barnes' sessions, we spent a lot of time debating what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. We made a decision last week: "Duels in Beaufort District" will be recorded inside the BDC's temporary "studio," edited, and then posted on the Library's YouTube Channel a few weeks later. 

I think that local history program groupies should get a little something extra for your faithfulness.  

One of the things that we have tried to do since having to go virtual with our programs is to let the  membership of the respective sponsoring organizations get the link before we publicize it more broadly on our respective Facebook pages and websites.

If you want to see the program before we make the link open to the general public on the Library's website, here in Connections or on the BDC's Facebook page, you'll need to either already be on the BDC's list or you'll have to subscribe the the BDC's newsletter before early October. Just be sure to check the "Beaufort District Collection" box.

November will now have the program about Means of Grace mentioned above. 

The program scheduled for December is - as of this writing - planning to be held with a live audience assembled in the Beaufort Branch Meeting Room.

Our fingers remain crossed that by December all health concerns related to COVID spread will have abated and we can gather together in the Beaufort Branch Meeting Room for a lecture about the the history of the New York Highlanders during the Civil War with Tom Vaselopulos as part of the Beaufort History Museum's Encampment weekend.  Of course, all of these plans are subject to change as we do not know what further impacts vaccination rates and COVID-19 spread may have on us over the course of the next several months. 

State Legislative Manuals in the Research Room and Online

"The Hidden Senator" local history program reminded me about the Legislative Manuals and the State Government records and materials here in the Research Room and digitally through the South Carolina State Library and the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Take my word for it: together there's a lot! In fact, you can get a rough overview of the range of government records that we have in the Research Room by revisiting a series of Connections posts about municipal, county, state and federal government records that I wrote back in July 2018.

Niels Christensen, Jr. was Beaufort County's state senator for 20 years, 1904 - 1924. While the BDC has plenty of South Carolina Legislative Manuals in the Research Room, we do not have copies for the years that he served in the Senate. Our earliest South Carolina Legislative Manual is dated 1929, then we have four for the 1930s, a solid run 1941 - 1951, and then we start again with 1953 - 2005; 2008 - 2011; 2018 and 2020. Therefore it is quite fortunate that the South Carolina State Library (SCSL) has more years of SC Legislative Manuals in its collection - and in addition to physical copies, SCSL has digitized South Carolina Legislative Manuals from 1917 to the present day and made them available online. 

The annually published manual provides detailed information, including photographs and biographies of officials in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the South Carolina State Government, the South Carolina Congressional Delegation, and State Officers. Additionally, the manual serves as a useful resource for information on State Senate and House of Representatives districts; Rules of the Senate and House of Representatives; State Agencies; State Symbols and Emblems; South Carolina County Officers; United States Government Departments in South Carolina; and historical information on South Carolina Governors, Lieutenant Governors, and Speakers of the House.

From the online files of the Legislative Manuals made by the SCSL, one can follow his tenure in the Senate from 1917 through his retirement in 1924 - as well as the political careers of other elected and appointed officials from 1917 until 2021.

Don't delay, watch the "Historically Speaking" Lecture 3, Season 2 program on the Library's YouTube Channel before it gets taken down on Thursday, April 22nd at 6 pm. You'll learn a lot from Mrs. Pollitzer about early 20th century Beaufort and see some nifty family photographs and items from our own Research Room related to State Senator Niels Christensen, Jr..

A reminder: The Library system will be closed on Wednesday, April 21, 2021 for Staff Development Day. 

Please remember to make arrangements with me in advance to visit the Research Room. Staff shortage and COVID-19 mitigation efforts have limited access to our facility since March 18, 2020. We remain unable to accept walk-in customers at the present time. Contact me: gracec@bcgov.net ; 843-255-6446 during normal and customary Beaufort County government hours. If I am not here to answer your phone call, please leave a message. I will respond to your inquiries during regular business hours as quickly as possible and in the order in which the inquiries were received.

"Historically Speaking" 2.3 Is NOW Online : The Hidden Senator

26 March 2021 Update: "The Hidden Senator" is now showing on demand on the Beaufort County Library's YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/AEkCSOa6wOU. -gmc 

The final lecture for Season 2 of the "Historically Speaking" series brought to you by the Beaufort County Historical Society and the BDC is in post-production! We had to cut out some "sounds of Freedom" overhead. We added in some illustrative materials from our own holdings to enhance the fascinating story of "The Hidden Senator: Niels Christensen, Jr., 1876 - 1939."

 

Anne Christensen Pollitzer will recount the unique family history and contributions to South Carolina made over time by her grandfather, State Senator Neils Christensen, a man whose liberal, progressive views often ran counter to prevailing public sentiment in Beaufort and across the state. She uses family memories, journals and correspondence as her sources and we added in some items from our own collections to flesh out an important figure in the County's early 20th century history.

We created a display in our Research Room highlighting materials that we have by and about the Christensen Family members. You'll see some of the items featured in the recording. You can also come visit us in the Research Room to review the materials in person (by advance appointment.)  

Our goal is to have "The Hidden Senator" up on the Library's YouTube Channel for your edification and enjoyment at noon on the last Thursday in March. We can send the link to your inbox  - when it's ready - if you sign up to receive news and announcements (AKA "Grace Notes") from the Beaufort District Collection. 

We hope to offer "Historically Speaking" Season 3 local history programs as in-person lectures in Fall 2021. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes as planned and we will have put the restrictions instituted by COVID-19 conditions behind us by then.

Circumstances Shape Change in Some BDC Services and Programs

Being a librarian and archivist places my work activities well within the GLAM field, short for Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums. Among the several e-newsletters, blogs and listservs that I subscribe to is Colleen Dilenschneider's "Know Your Bone" blog in which she researches topics and preferences regarding cultural heritage experiences.  A recent article examines the amount of time that the GLAM community's usual visitors now spend online - and the implications for our community. 

It's a lot ... and growing, not only because of COVID-19 mitigation efforts but as part of a decade long trend more people have adopted towards staying home on the weekend and the advent of widespread streaming capabilities on the technology front. When one thinks about it, the Great Recession did keep a lot of us at home and more focused on making home more comfortable. Implication of the research? It may be harder than ever to attract the folks who attended history-related and arts-related in person events before March 2020 back to in-person programs and exhibits in 2021 and likely into 2022.

-- Which is why the Beaufort County Historical Society and the BDC decided to give local history programming online a try. Our first attempt was Suzie Parker Devoe's presentation about the "Women of Reconstruction." There's still time for you to watch it on the Library's YouTube Channel  https://youtu.be/wmsvv0r3Mlc before it goes away on Tuesday night. Initial reactions were so positive that we already have a date for filming the next lecture in the series.  Dr. Brent Morris will be the presenter for the second lecture. 

 

Given the need to limit access to the Research Room because of staff shortages and the small size of the physical space in this time of COVID-19, I have tried to extend the BDC's online offerings in other ways as well. For example, I'm working with Jan Beaudrie of the County Channel on some more "Beaufort County Moment" videos; there are new topics featured in the BDC's WordPress blog; two docents are working to prepare items in our archives for eventual digitization; and I'm doing my best to create interesting social media posts on a regular and recurrent basis at a level 10 - 25% higher than before COVID-19. 

Looking ahead: The Library will be closed Thursday, November 26th and Friday, November 27th for the Thanksgiving holidays.

Where oh Where has the "Historically Speaking" Lecture Series Gone?

It's been a really, really long time since we last gathered at St. Helena Branch Library on March 12th for a BDC Local History program. We had 120 people in attendance at Dr. Rowland's lecture about Kate Gleason that afternoon. (How could it have been otherwise knowing Dr. Rowland?)  In fact, the BDC was well on its way to breaking our previous attendance record for the fiscal year. But then the plague hit. Large gatherings that we had grown accustomed to expect cannot happen right now because of COVID-19 mitigation efforts. For the foreseeable future, all the Library meeting rooms remain closed. 

But ... the BDC wanted to continue offering local history programs ... and individually and organizationally the Library and the Beaufort County Historical Society could make it happen by drawing on the strengths and skills of our respective organizations and a willing South Carolina Humanities scholar, Suzie Parker Devoe. Bottom line: Season 2 opens with the first ever BDC /BCHS virtual lecture! 

A lot of people are making the first virtual lecture happen. The BCHS selected and coordinated the speaker. St. Helena Branch staff, Maria Benac and Andrew Newell, filmed Ms. Devoe's talk in late September. Nancy Gilley, Vice President of the Beaufort County Historical Society, and I were filmed doing our respective introductory remarks by Maria  on October 2nd. Maria has since been editing the recordings into a whole. I sat in two mornings to help Maria. Traci Cox, the Library's webmistress and marketing coordinator, will post the video files to the Library's platform when the editing is complete. Leah Roche who coordinates the BCHS website will share the video on that page, too.

Our goal is to provide insight into the history of this county; produce a lecture of the quality you have come to know and expect of us; and, to create a template for future recorded lectures in this series if we cannot gather together in person in one space safely any time soon. Thus we agreed that the Library will host the video on a platform from which anyone, anywhere, without any special skills or access to special software, will be able to view the video in its very limited run. 

We will provide the link to those who sign up for the BDC's e-blasts through the Library's website. We plan to upload the video, run it for a few weeks, and then permanently and forever take it down from the web. We hope that our plan will meet with success and that those who view the recording will learn something new about the scope and depth of Beaufort District's long and storied history. We will use the number of views from the Library's video channel and on the BCHS's website for the statistics needed to satisfy the South Carolina Humanities Speakers Bureau grant.

According to the American Association of State and Local History, cultural heritage organizations have a responsibility to engage with history in its full complexity. That complexity means that sometimes we are made uncomfortable by what we learn. You will also hear echoes of past struggles and injustices during this lecture that continue to reverberate today. 

The speaker and lecture being offered are described this way on the South Carolina Humanities website:

Women in Reconstruction: The Lives of Susie King Taylor, Charlotte Forten, and Laura Towne
Susie King Taylor escapes bondage at the age of fourteen; Charlotte Forten, an educated teacher from Philadelphia, boards a steamship, as does Laura Towne, a Boston medical school graduate. All three end up in Beaufort and the South Carolina Sea Islands in 1862. Three women of different backgrounds, ages, and race. Where did they come from, what did they want, and why did they stay? Each was forever changed by their time in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Their journeys, their writings, their fortitude and passion are inspirational. This program will remind listeners of the power of education and the resourcefulness of women who worked during the era of Reconstruction.

About the Speaker: Suzie Parker Devoe is an actor, writer and producer and a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Southern Methodist University. After a career of performing, she began public speaking ten years ago about topics on Women’s History and the Suffrage movement. As an Executive Board member of the Edward Hopper House Arts Center, she added topics about Edward Hopper and his life as an artist to her repertoire. She enjoys speaking to audiences on subjects that inspire her.

Rest assured that we look forward to the time when all of us can safely gather together again at the Library to explore the depth and scope of the history of this place we call home. We hope to have our next joint lecture tentatively scheduled for January 2021 in person but only time and the status of COVID-19 infections will tell whether or not that plan unfolds as desired.  

Update: 23 October 2020 - The url for the "Women in Reconstruction" video is https://youtu.be/wmsvv0r3Mlc.   Please share with your friends who love local history but please do not download the video as Suzie Parker Devoe retains copyright to the video's contents.