BDC Facebook Posts in April 2023

I am going to let my Facebook Post of April 1, 2023 set the stage for what I tried to accomplish on the social media platform last month.

April 1, 2023 - Overview: 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.

"Uniquely BDC" posts: 

April 10, 2023 - "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday" is a continuation of yesterday's post.

The only library sharing copies of The Palmetto Poet: Samuel Henry Rodgers a book edited by Walter Ioor Rodgers, Sr. of poems found in Rodgers' diaries, those published in newspapers or found among his personal papers, along with some newspaper editorials is the Beaufort County Library. The BDC has a copy for permanent retention plus there are a few copies in the local history sections at the Branch Libraries for you to check out. No other SCLENDS library system has this book of poems.

Furthermore, the only place in SCLENDS with copies of the Palmetto Post newspaper on microfilm is the Beaufort County Library. The only place in Beaufort County Library with some original issues of the Palmetto Post (courtesy of a donor) and a decent microfilm reader/printer to review the Palmetto Post microfilm is the BDC Research Room.

A little about the Palmetto Poet: Samuel Henry Rodgers (1845 - 1919) spent his early years in Charleston. He served in the 23rd South Carolina Regiment in Charleston, at the Battle of Gettysburg, and returned to South Carolina to participate in the defense of Charleston. He was awarded the Confederate Gold Medal by the Sons of the Confederate Veterans. His journalism career began with the Charleston News and Courier. In 1878 he moved his young family to Beaufort in order to found a newspaper called the Beaufort Crescent. Three years later he moved to Port Royal to found the Palmetto Post. He moved back to Beaufort in 1904. Two years later the Palmetto Post was consolidated with the Beaufort Gazette as Rodgers was a part owner of the Beaufort Gazette Publishing Company. Rodgers remained a Beaufort resident until his death on 12 December 1919. His body is interred in the St. Helena's Episcopal Churchyard.

April 17, 2023 - "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday" Publications by K-12 students tend to be held only in local collections. For example, the Beaufort County School District and the Port Royal Sound Foundation series called River of Words: Musings on Port Royal Sound through Poetry and Art is held only by the Beaufort County Library.

The BDC Research Room has a permanent copy of each volume for the years 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2022. We share additional copies 2022 volume through the local history sections at the BCL Branch Libraries. We would be happy to accept donations for 2019 and 2021 if someone happens to have a clean copy.

Mark my words: The only place where students included in the volumes will find their work today, tomorrow, indeed 20 or 50 or even 100 years from now - will be in the Beaufort District Collection of the Beaufort County Library. It is our mission to acquire, preserve and make accessible local history materials from today for present and future researchers.

April 24, 2023 - "Materials Monday: Uniquely BDC in National Poetry Month": The Research Room is the only place that you'll find In Some Time's Rain: Poems from Beaufort Community AIM Project, edited by Linda Shillman (1979). From the verso of the title page: "The poems in this anthology were written by the members of the creative workshop taught by Shaun Farragher, poet in residence with the Beaufort Arts-In-Motion project." AIM was sponsored by the SC Arts Commission and funded through the Emergency School Aid Act. The local project was one of only 15 Special Arts Projects in the US.

Poets included Edna Pudas, Augusta Vella, JoAnn Atwood, Aileen McGinty, love lee, Bluette Linda Jones, Walter Dennis, Carol Tilton, Zoe Farragher, Linda Shillman, and Shaun Farragher. Walter Dennis would continue to write poems. We have 23 of his books of poetry here in the Research Room - most of which are "Uniquely BDC" eligible titles.

"Black History Note" Wednesdays posts: 

April 5, 2023 - "Black History Note in National Poetry Month:" [A poem] "Forgotten Moments" by Ronald Daise

Only few remember.

A history of a people has been hushed, been stilled -

Yet only few weep.

Only few sing the old songs

Or recall precious moments.

Time, progress and shortsightedness are silencing a heritage!

Precious memories, though,

Are like the lyrics of old slave songs.

They should not be

Stored up

In the minds of

A few.

They should linger --

From generation to generation --

Lending meaning to the past,

Nurturing strength and hope

For the future.  

From: Reminiscences of Sea Island Heritage: Legacy of Freedmen on St. Helena Island by Ronald Daise (Sandlapper Publishing, 1987). There are plenty of copies of this title available within SCLENDS.

April 12, 2023 - "Black History Note in National Poetry Month:" Mama’s Pearls by Patricia Bee is a book of poetry that captures the essence of Gullah culture. The author is a native of Beaufort and wrote this book of poetry to serve as a manual for living and to honor her ancestors. Almost every poem is accompanied by historical photos of African American adults and children as well as a bible verse. 

April 19, 2023 - "Black History Note in National Poetry Month:" Amy Jenkins Bassett wrote Mulberry Wine: A Selection of Poems about Growing Up in the South (2010) sponsored by the Beaufort Three-Century Project. Bassett was bred, born and reared in Beaufort, SC but left to finish high school and go to college. Like many Beaufort natives, she worked her way back to her hometown - and found it quite changed. She was inspired to write a poem about what she observed.

Change

So much fertile, tree-strewn land

was carelessly dug up

Became unearthed sand

or red, wet clay tracks

Under unsightly stacks

Of cut down timber

Felled too soon

With an ear-splitting boom

To make room

For new dwellers

Big city fleers

Come to stake claim

in our domain.

Old cotton fields

And indigo patches

Were forced to yield

To concrete covers

Foundations for lovers

Of modern edifices

No matter the sacrifices

Of the old settlers

Or the histories erased

What mattered was

New townsmen

Had to be placed.

The foliage withered

The fauna scattered -

Became stealthy runners

Who sought hasty refuge

From the rapid deluge

Of crafty newcomers.

The villagers were distraught

But it was for naught

Immigrants poured in

With money to spend

The landscape quickly changed

Appeared unfamiliar,

Evolved into estranged

Separate razed lots

Eagerly bought

By greedy developers

With deep money pots.

Gates went up

Guard houses were erected

To shield the privileged

Who had to be protected.

Exclusion tactics were detected

But couldn't be proved

By those who were moved

Without a thought

From land often stolen

Or too cheaply bought.

This then became the new Beaufort

A pristine seaside haven

For the tourist

Or cunning maven

Clamoring for change

On a new range.

So much for the acres

Of my grandfather's time

So many dispersed

For love of a dime. (pp. 65 - 67).

I could also have used this entry in the "Uniquely BDC" series as the only copies of this title are held in the BCL.

"Finding Aid Friday" posts: 

April 14, 2023 - "Finding Aid Friday:" A notice for the upcoming "Ribaut Road Revisioning" Public Symposium next week reminded me to remind you that the Research Room has a Properties in the Right of Way, SCDOT Photograph Collection, 1960, 1969, 2003 that we got via transfer from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History twenty years ago. The 63 photographs and 1 letter refer to widening projects in the 1960s along SC 281 (Ribaut Road) and US Highway 21.

Be sure to make an appointment in advance as we are equally mean to everyone regardless from whence and how far you have come before getting to our Research Room door. No appointment; no access. Call 843-255-6468 or email bdc@bcgov.net to make the necessary arrangements.

April 21, 2023 - "Finding Aid Friday:" I was pleased to be an invited guest at a Clover Club meeting a few weeks ago. I try to go every 2 to 3 years to express appreciation for their support of the BDC and of the Library through the years. At that time, a member donated a copy of the Club's constitution to us that we have added to the Club's records. The Historical Note of the Clover Club of Beaufort South Carolina, 1891 - Finding Aid explains the close ties between the Club and library services over the past 130 or so years.

April 28, 2023 - "Finding Aid Friday:" Olivia and I revisited the Beaufort County Library, 1914 - Finding Aid. We have received some additions since it was first posted in 2018. The latest revision of the document reflects those accretions to the Library system's records stored and preserved in the Research Room.

In honor of National Library Week: 

April 24, 2023 - Traditionally the American Library Association's State of America's Libraries Report is released on the Monday of National Library Week. This year is no exception. Read the report . It includes a section about the Top Ten Frequently Challenged Books of 2022. ALA's stand on "The Right to Read" is clear. Read it for yourself. Today also happens to be "Right to Read Day". To learn more those about organizations fighting against banning books and censorship.

April 25, 2023 - ALA President Lessa Kanani'opua Pelayo-Lozada sent out a letter of encouragement to library workers to remind us that we are doing good work in spite of considerable challenges. National Library Workers Day is a day to recognize and highlight the critical role library workers play in keeping Beaufort County Library and libraries across the country up and running and serving our communities.

The BDC has 9 people actively involved in our public facing and behind-the-scenes work. Indeed, I am very grateful for the unpaid assistance of Deborah, Joe, Kathy, Laura, Peggy, and Nancy; the quite likely underpaid assistance of Val and the definitely underpaid assistance of Olivia who together provide invaluable time, effort, and energy to the BDC by helping me bring history to life in ways large and small. I am #9: I am overworked trying to keep the other 8 straight :) - truly I would be lost without them. Bottom line folks: There's more to the story but libraries work because we do.

April 26, 2023 -  "Black History Note on National Library Outreach Day (formerly National Bookmobile Day): Today celebrates all forms of library outreach and the dedicated library professionals who meet their patrons where they are. We honor Mrs. Wilhelmina Barnwell and Mrs. Ethel Bailey who started bookmobile services on St. Helena Island by loading up their car trucks with books so that Black islanders would have access to library materials.

Former bookmobile staff include Mrs. Olive Fordham, Mrs. Maisie Pugh, Mrs. Agnes Sherman, Natalie Lane, Rosa Cummings, Paul Sayers, Jeanette Parker, Sharon Mosley, and Amanda Brewer (who still oversees current bookmobile operations in her position as Library Director). Current BCL bookmobile staff riding the roads with materials to share are Lyndsay Malphrus, Tracye Blue, Andrew Newell, and Lakota Stevens.

PS: You can read about the history of bookmobile services provided by the the library from the 1950s to the present in "Connections."

JSYK: Better connection with the public is part of the Library system's latest strategic plan. For the record, the BDC has always been out among the historic/heritage communities. Even though the BDC is the smallest public service unit of the Library system, the BDC has participated in 7 outreach activities in the past 12 months: WAHHI; several historic marker installations; Stuarts Town events; Institute for the Study of the Reconstruction Era events and I prepared and delivered a presentation at Coastal Discovery Museum in addition to keeping the Research Room open for in-person researchers and coordinating 3 series of local history programs.

April 27, 2023 - The BDC is part of the Library team and sometimes we share brochures or flyers to distribute at Branch programs. There are two such instances this week. Lobeco Branch is hosting an Heirs Property Law Talk on Saturday. I sent Chantal, the Lobeco Branch Manager a digital copy of the BDC's Heirs Property brochure to distribute as she sees fit.

Also on Saturday, the St. Helena Branch Library is hosting a sweetgrass basket demonstration. I sent Candy, the St. Helena Branch Manager, a digital copy of the BDC's flyer about sweetgrass baskets books.

Check out the Library's calendar for details about the programs.

April 27, 2023 - Here for you for more than a century. There's more to the story of the Beaufort County Library than you might think....

April 28, 2023 - See the dated entry under "Finding Aid Friday" above. 

April 29, 2023 - Fun Facts for the Final Day of National Library Week: Statistics from 100 years ago for our predecessor institution, the Beaufort Township Library, as given in the records preserved here in the BDC Research Room. Reminder: Access to the BDC Research Room is by advance appointment only. Contact us to make the necessary arrangements: bdc@bcgov.net or 843-255-6468. We respond during our customary business hours.

Just Because Posts: 

April 9, 2023 - In what has become something of a tradition, I share "At Easter Dawn" by Samuel Henry Rodgers (1845 - 1919). Rodgers wrote the poem and printed it in his newspaper, the local Palmetto Post newspaper for the first time in 1905:

At Easter Dawn

Sweetly the birds are singing

At Easter dawn;

Sweetly the bells are ringing;

On Easter morn.

And the words that they say,

On this Easter day,

Are, "Christ the Lord is risen."

Birds! forget not your singing

At Easter dawn;

Bells! be ye ever ringing

On Easter morn.

In the spring of the year,

When Easter is here,

Sing, "Christ the Lord has risen."

Buds! ye will soon be flowers

Cheery and white;

Snowstorms are changing to showers,

Darkness to light.

With the awakening of spring,

Oh, sweetly sing,

"Lo! Christ the Lord has risen."

Easter buds were growing

Ages ago!

Easter lilies were blowing

By the water's flow.

All nature was glad,

Not a creature was sad,

For Christ the Lord had risen.

April 13, 2023 - Beloved docent Kathy Mitchell has completed indexing the obituaries in the Beaufort Gazette for the year 1991: She added 939 new entries to the Library's Online Obituary Index (OOI). Due to her work and the work of her predecessors that began with Virginia Adams in the early 1990s, there are now almost 30,000 entries in the OOI. Ms. Virginia, mother of BCL's own Dennis Adams, worked the project until her eyes no longer worked. Her mantel was picked up and carried forth by other beloved BDC Docents: Carol, Merle, Laura, Jan, Nelson and most recently, Kathy. I thank each and every one of you, Beloved Docents, past and present, living and dead, for your dedication and persistence in competently performing your volunteer duties in the BDC. Together we bring history to life in ways large and small.

April 19, 2023 - 250 years ago today: "The shot heard around the world:" The Battles of Lexington and Concord signal the official start of the American Revolution. The BDC has a number of materials related to the American Revolution in our area.

April 20, 2023 - In honor of National Volunteer Week: The BDC Research Room is very lucky to have 6 talented volunteer "Points of Lights" at the moment. Their names are Deborah, Joe, Kathy, Laura, Peggy, and Nancy. Each has a project that contributes to the BDC's goals and mission to provide access to research materials about local history. In ways large and small, they help us spread light onto the long and storied history of Beaufort District, its peoples, its places, and its challenges through time. I don't know what I would do without them. Let's give three cheers for these dedicated, loyal, and skilled Beaufort County Library volunteers: Hip! Hip! Hooray! Hip! Hip! Hooray! Hip! Hip! Hooray! Thank you, Beloved BDC docents.

April 23, 2023 - Happy Birthday, Will Shakespeare (1564-1616)! Alas a Shakespeare Folio would not meet our collection development policy. But we do have a vertical file about an author who questioned your authorship of it for me to highlight today!

Charlton Ogburn (died 19 October 1998 in Beaufort, South Carolina) was an American journalist and author, most notably of memoirs and non-fiction works. After a stint in the Army, he joined the State Department specializing in Southeast Asian affairs. He wrote over a dozen books and numerous magazine articles. (One of his books was made into the movie Merrills' Marauders in 1962.)

He and his second wife Vera retired to Beaufort in 1982. In 1984 he became the best known advocate of the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship with the publication of The Mysterious William Shakespeare. The book lead to the revival of public interest in the theory in the 1980s - and to indigestion among many English professors throughout the world.

In the vertical files, we have an email from the Shakesper [sic]: The Global Electronic Shakespeare Conference listserv dated October 22 1998 08:27:46 - "I thought the list might like to know that Charlton Ogburn died this past Monday. I know the authorship question is taboo, but Ogburn was a delightful old coot and he provided much in the way of ridiculous claims for us all to refute for so many years, as did his parents before him."

You are welcomed to contact us to set up an appointment to come see the contents of the vertical file: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net.

By the way, you can find Ogburn's The Mysterious William Shakespeare (1984) on Internet Archive - all 900+ pages of it in case you'd like to evaluate his theory and evidence presented yourself.

Note: The BDC has traditionally celebrated National Library Week in a virtual way. I shall do so again this year.

April 28, 2023 - In honor of National Historic Marker Day, revisit the Marker Mania Challenge of the Beaufort County Historical Society during the COVID era of 2020.

BDC Programs & Community Events Related Posts: 

Posts about the Author Book Talk about Jackpot with Jason Ryan happened on April 2 and April 18. Registration closed with record speed - barely 2 hours from open to full.  

Posts and photos about the "Breathing Democracy into Spaces: 1st South Carolina Volunteers of African Descent Symposium" happened on April 8 and April 10. 

Posts and photos about the "What's in Your Attic with Virginia & Grace" program happened on April 6, April 11, April 16, and April 17.

Schedule Adjustments: about the Easter holiday were made on April 4 and April 6.

According to my count, then, I made 7 National Poetry Month related posts; 9 National Library Week related posts; and 4 Preservation Week related posts. I think that I met my self-imposed goal of adequately highlighting the April themes.

The BDC's November 2022 Posts on Facebook

November 1: Overview of November 2022 in the BDC: November is Native American Heritage Month so expect to see that theme in Materials Mondays and/or Black History Note Wednesdays posts.

I hope to see you during my volunteer time at the Annual Friends of the Beaufort Library book sale. Help them help the BDC - and other parts of the library system based North of the Broad River.

November has 3 holidays. The Library system will be closed Friday, November 11th for Veterans Day and Thursday, November 24th and 25th for Thanksgiving Day and Heritage Day.

Registration for the next local history program opens November 22nd; program date for "John Barnwell and His Fight to Save the American Colonies" with John Warley is December 6th.

Black History Note Wednesdays

November 2: "Black History Note Wednesday:" At first glance The Yamasee War: A Study of Culture, Economy, and Conflict in the Colonial South by William Ramsay (2008) may not be a good choice for this topical series. However the book reveals the shift in white racial ideology that responded to wartime concerns, including anxieties about a "black majority" in the state. The shift that occurred throughout the American colonies that the word "slave" meant "Black" was absolutely critical to the course of the Palmetto State's history thereafter. The BDC has a permanent copy and the SCLENDS has other copies of this title that one can borrow.

November 9: "Black History Note Wednesday:" The Bluffton News Letter of March 24, 1932 carried these two notices about services at the Black churches in town:

"There will be an Easter program rendered by the St. John Baptist's Colored Church on Sunday at 4:00 o'clock. Our white friends are respectfully invited to attend, and all efforts are being made to provide suitable entertainment: L. Graham, Supt., H. Gadsen, Assistant Supt. [and] There will be a Resurrection Service at Campbell A.M.E. Church Sunday morning at 5:00 o'clock and an Easter program Sunday evening at 6:00 o'clock. Our white friends are cordially invited: Rev. J. M. Glenn."

November 16: "Black History Note:" In Three Peoples, One King: Loyalists, Indians, and Slaves in the Revolutionary South, 1775-1782 author Jim Piecuch (2008) explores how the British cause during the American Revolution benefited from the support of Loyalists, their Indian allies and the enslaved. These groups would pay a heavy price for their support of the King and his government. 

Though the BDC Research Room has the only copy of this title within the Beaufort County Library system, there are plenty of copies that circulate through the SCLENDS consortium to our library cardholders. We - or any BCL staff member - can talk you through over the telephone how to place a "Hold" through the SCLENDS catalog - provided of course, that you have a valid library card with us.

November 23: "Black History Note:" South Carolina’s Blacks and Native Americans, 1776 - 1976 by Marianna W. Davis and the Bicentennial Project Editorial Board (1976) was an overview of the contributions made by African Americans and Native peoples upon the state's political, religious, educational, artistic, occupational, sports and community history to honor of the nation's 200th birthday. Raymond H. Williams of Beaufort was on the State Human Affairs Commission led by James E. Clyburn at the time the book was published. You can check out a copy from one of our partners in the SCLENDS consortium or you can set up an appointment to visit the Research Room to read this book: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net.

November 30: "Black History Note Wednesday:" Not enough available and affordable housing is an enduring issue here. This notice from the December 1, 1864 issue of the Palmetto Herald addresses that challenge during the Federal occupation during the Civil War.

Materials Monday Posts

November 7: "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige" in Native American Heritage Month: The Yamasee Indians : From Florida to South Carolina edited by Denise I. Bossy, 2018 is an anthology of the latest academic research about a local Native American group that once resided in Beaufort District. Archaeologists of South Carolina and Florida and historians of the Native South, Spanish Florida, and British Carolina address elusive questions about Yamasee identity, political and social networks, and the fate of the group. There's a permanent copy of this title in the BDC and some copies that you can borrow through our branch libraries.

November 14: "Materials Monday : 50 Shades of Beige" in Native American Heritage Month: A Colonial Complex: South Carolina’s Frontiers in the Era of the Yamasee War 1680-1730 by Steven J. Oatis, 2004 explains the Yamasee War and other Native American/European conflicts through frontier expansion efforts. JSYK: Oatis shows how Native Americans fought to hold onto their lands and culture - and came quite close to defeating the European settlers.

November 21: "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige" in Native American Heritage Month. This is perhaps my favorite archaeology poster in the Research Room. (I do so love images of vintage maps.) It's from SCIAA's Archaeology Month 2015, the tricentennial year of the uprising. The verso contains - in very small print - boocoodles of military history about the conflict. The image and verso text can be accessed online through the Scholar Commons at the University of South Carolina.

November 28: "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige" in Native American Heritage Month - The Tuscarora War : Indians, Settlers, and the Fight for the Carolina Colonies by David La Vere has a chapter about one of the war's key players "Col. John Barnwell : the opportunist". We know him because of his key role in the founding of Beaufort and by his nickname "Tuscarora Jack."

I do so hope that you have signed up for a seat at our next BHM/BCL local history program! Topic you might ask? Why "Tuscarora Jack Barnwell and His Fight to Save the American Colonies" with his descendant John Warley, of course.

Other Native American History related posts:

November 9: One of the most common statements we hear in the Research Room from beginning family historians is "My [great or some version thereof] grandmother was a Cherokee." But how does one find documents to support that statement? Ancestry Library Edition offers a guide to "Researching Your American Indian Ancestors".

November 12: For a little "Native American Heritage Month" reading, check out Olivia's choices for the BDC's display case.

November 18: Fact: Criteria for membership in a Native American tribal nation is determined by the tribal nation. DNA evidence may or may not affect one's chances for being added to a tribe's rolls. For example, DNA results showing Native American heritage are not accepted as evidence for applications for membership in the largest Native American tribe, the Cherokee Nation. Listen to the NPR interview that Steve Inskeep had with the Cherokee Nation's Secretary of State, Chuck Hoskin or read the full transcript for more details.

This & That:

November 3: Help the Beaufort Friends of the Library help us by spending a few of your hard earned $s at their Book Sale. [The Friends earned approximately $19,000!]

November 4: Mary Ann Browning Ford's bench "Waterfront Park - Then and Now" honors the revitalization of the city that ensued from then Mayor Chambers' vision for a modern park to replace the dilapidated wharves that once lined the water side of Bay Street. Learn about the challenges of realizing the vision. Watch the recording made by Jeff Kidd (BHM) of the BHM/BCL 2.1 session "Reflections on the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park" (2017) of our joint local history series on the Beaufort History Museum's YouTube Channel.

November 7: "Red Letter Local History Day:" The Battle of Port Royal Sound, November 7, 1861

November 13: The Diversify Your Reading Challenge focuses on Non-Fiction materials - and the BDC has a lot! Read more in Connections.

November 14: This is exciting news - particularly in light of the fact that the 250th Anniversary will be here sooner than we expect. I'd bet that the Battle of Camden would be a great topic for the 250th Anniversary program committee to consider for a potential lecture.

November 17: Thanksgiving became a US holiday during the Civil War by proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln. Here's a notice from the Palmetto Herald published for the Union troops during the Federal occupation. Note: All "innocent amusements" were encouraged after prayers at church services and feasting. I guess that meant no drinking and no gambling and no cavorting with women. The notice appeared in the newspaper's 17 November 1864 issue. [Image on right]

November 21: The National Archives (USA) launched its new catalog today. The most useful feature that I see as a reference librarian and as a sometime customer of particular record series there is the yellow box at the top of each hit entry that tells you straight off if the collection is digitized, partly digitized, or as yet to be digitized.

November 22: Registration for John Warley's talk about his very important to - Beaufort District and South Carolina - history ancestor opens today! The registration portal address is: https://beauforthistorymuseum.wildapricot.org/event-4884890. As per usual, when we reach room capacity, registration will close. Hope to see you at the St. Helena Branch Library in 2 weeks for what is certain to be an informative lecture by one of the BDC's good friends.

November 29: To whet your appetite to learn more about John Barnwell at our upcoming BHM/BCL Local History program series, take a look at some of the letters he wrote about his military campaign against the Tuscarora Indians. We have a hardcopy of the 1908 South Carolina Historical and Genealogy Magazine in our Research Room but this article has been digitized and is free to access on JSTOR. If there are any seats left [for the program], you can claim one.

Schedule Announcements were made about Veterans Day, the impending Tropical Storm Nicole and the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas related holidays throughout the month of November.

The BDC's Facebook Posts for October 2022

Here's a recap of the social media posts I made last month of Facebook. The biggest news was that the BDC has its first fulltime assistant since May 2020 - definitely a movement in the right direction at long last! The BDC celebrated Archives Month, Archaeology Month, National Newspaper Week, and Halloween during October 2022. We hosted one local history program with our partner the Beaufort History Museum. JSYK: I edited a few posts for ease of reading and/or added links to additional information in the posts re-capped below.

October 16 - If you happen to stop by the research room anytime soon for an appointment, you may see a new face among the stacks! To give myself a quick introduction, hi! My name is Olivia Santos, and I’m Grace’s new assistant (or “victim,” as she likes to call me) in the BDC. I’m excited to meet you all when you come in for appointments, while we talk over the phone, or at an upcoming event.

The Materials Mondays posts in October all related to archival materials that we hold about the topic of the War of the Rebellion, which as you may already know is the official name of the American Civil War.

October 3 - "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige" posts this month will highlight some of our Civil War related archival collections because October is Archives Month and the BHM/BCL 6.1 session opens with a session by Jackson Canaday about the history of a Civil War unit from Beaufort. (I love 2-fer deals, just in case you didn't already know that.) First up is the R. L. Johnson Medical Record Book, 1863 – 1864, 1867-1883, a primary source document offering insight into Civil War era treatment of wounds and maladies, Reconstruction era obstetrics, and cotton farming using freed labor. This journal is significant because Johnson’s depictions give a firsthand view of medical practices during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras when prescribing whiskey, eggs, and opium were standard treatments. The medical cases and farm accounts typically include the names of the individuals involved and thus may be useful for genealogical purposes. The direct link to the digital journal is bit.ly/2UKZxm3. The Finding Aid to this collection is in the BDCBCL blog.

October 10 - "50 Shades of Beige: Materials Monday" in Archives Month: Another Civil War archival collection that shows the evolving sentiment for secession, Confederate service of local men, and the consequences of the Civil War on a prominent Beaufort family is the Reeves Collection of Stuart Family Papers. Claudia Smith Stuart (Mrs. John Allan Stuart), sister of fire-eater Robert Barnwell Rhett, kept up an active correspondence with her children about family, local and national events. There's a Connections blog post https://bit.ly/3s2bK8R about letters in Folders 9 and 10. The Finding Aid https://bit.ly/3rKRRTy goes into much more detail about the scope of the collection and highlights significant items in each of the folders. Questions? Contact us: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net

October 17 - "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige": The Civil War archival collections include the L.A. Hall Civil War Stereoscope Collection that was donated by postmaster Leamonde Avery Hall to the Beaufort Township Library in 1944. The originals are in the Research Room but to minimize the wear and tear caused by physical handling of the 150+ years old images we digitized them for the Lowcountry Digital Library in 2018. The direct link to the digital collection is http://bit.ly/2B8qacS. The image is of Captain Low and his family in 1865.

October 24 - "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige" The BDC has a small collection of original Civil War era newspapers. There are 43 individual issues printed between 1860 and 1865, mostly of New York newspapers, in the Research Room. All are in very fragile condition so I handle them very infrequently. Many are available over the internet in newspaper databases - and we insist that you use those rather than our quite brittle ones. The difference in paper quality between the Northern newspapers and the two printed under Confederate government is striking. The original newspapers were last on display as part of the Library's rather extensive "One County Reads the Civil War" project in 2013. Keeping them stored well in acid-free boxes, protected from ultraviolet light, and with minimal handling should extend their survival at least for another 50 to 100 years.

October 31 - Today's "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige" selection is a Civil War era pay receipt that is part of the Beaufort County Historical Society archive that we share through the Research Room. Learn more about the document and the Connecticut First Light Battery in Connections.

Also related to Archives Month:

October 21 - Explore at least some of what's in our manuscript collections using our online finding aids. Finding aids are inventories created by archival and manuscript repositories to provide information about specific collections and are used by researchers to determine whether materials within a collection may be relevant to their research.

October 24 - Example of the value of archives in establishing the historic record. [We now know the date of the first copyrighted motion picture.]

October 29 - Now that Olivia is here fulltime, I decided to work a bit on the Finding Aids backlog as a nod to Archives Month. The Materials Mondays post for December 12th will tell you all about what was lost and now is found - courtesy of some concentrated time for research.

There was no overall theme to the posts about Black History this month.

October 12 - "Black History Note Wednesday:" The 31 March 1932 issue of the Bluffton Newsletter carried this "Announcement: There will be a moving picture exhibition at the Campbell A.M.E. Church, 8 P. M. Monday, April 4th. High Power Electric Light Plant showing the life of our Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, the life of Moses, Judgment of King Solomon and Jepthta's daughter, and the poetic vision of the Sinner's Life beyond the Grave."

October 26 - "Black History Note Wednesday:" The 1st South Carolina Volunteers, later the 33rd United States Colored Troops, were the first black unit of the Civil War. Preceding the famous 54th Massachusetts—seen in the film Glory—by one year, these South Carolina slaves turned soldiers were noted for their courage, discipline, and pride, continuing to serve the Union cause even while temporarily disbanded. They fought for years with little or no pay, poor equipment, and constant pressure and abuse from both North and South. This brief history is told mostly through the letters and journals of their commanding officer Lt. Col. Charles T. Trowbridge [in the book Nineteenth Century Freedom Fighters]. The BDC has a copy, there are multiple copies available through the BCL's local history sections at the branch libraries, and there's even an e-book copy on Hoopla that you can read on your personal communication device. In other words, there is no reason - other than the lack of a valid BCL library card - that you cannot learn more about this important locally raised Civil War Union unit.

About Poisoned Books, Spectral Matters and Halloween:

October 11 - Since we're in the month of Eerie, here's a project that I learned about very recently. Its name makes it a perfect entry for October: "Poisoned Book Project" at Winterthur Library. Sounds more like a murder mystery title than a preservation issue, don't you think? New task to add to my increasingly long "hope to do before retirement checklist:" "Eyeball the clothbound books in the BDC for green 19th century bindings. If found, devise a preservation and safety handling plan." One of the main reasons I still come to work is because doing so gives me the opportunity to learn something new every day. To always be learning is a very high priority value for me as a person.

October 23 - For those who like to aren't afraid of bumping into some of Beaufort County's spectral spirits - or for those who want to make sure to avoid them: We share a few of the spooky stories about Gauche, the Lovers of Fripp Island , the ever popular Land's End Light and more in this 7-part series.

October 22 - Fun historical fact: Early European Americans carved turnips –not pumpkins–to ward away evil spirits. This oldie but goodie article from The Guardian (UK) explains how the tradition evolved into the pumpkin carving we associate with Halloween today.

October 28 - Here's a vintage way to give yourself - and your grandkids - a unique Halloween treat: try solving some of the All Hallow's Eve themed puzzles from the Chronicling America historic newspapers database.

October 30 - One of my favorite reference questions ever tells an eerie tale... in Connections, the BDC's longest running blog.

Related to Materials in the BDC - apropos the 2017/2018-2020/2021 Strategic Plan Priority 1 Level  Communications Goal: 

October 1 - Celebrate World Postcard Day by enjoying the Russell Arnsberger Postcard Collection that is hosted for us at the Lowcountry Digital Library. The direct link to the 350+ postcards is bit.ly/2q8VS3e. BTW: The Research Room has 3 other major collections of postcards that can only be viewed on site. Make an appointment to come in and see more! bdc@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468

October 7 - If you are (or are not) planning on attending the free The Water is Wide Panel Discussion during the Pat Conroy Literary Festival on October 28th, just know that the BCL has boocoodles of copies (in print, as audio or e-book) of Conroy's teaching memoir to borrow in advance of the discussion.

October 8 - Read about what's "New and (New to Us) in the Research Room."

October 17 - In honor of International Archaeology Day: The BDC contains some 200 archaeological (also spelled archeological) reports about properties in the former Beaufort District. Contact us to learn more about the scope of our collection and the properties studied: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net. 

October 18 - Read about what's currently on display in the Research Room - and why Olivia picked what she did. Stories of the Civil War

October 20 - The Diversify Your Reading Challenge 2022 continues. This month's selection, genre "Historical Romance" is "Beaufort 1849" by Karen Lynn Allen. There's more in the BDC's Connections blog about my choice.

October 26 - Celebrate Beaufort District's most celebrated author [i.e. Pat Conroy] on what would have been his 77th birthday.

October 27 - Interested in local Civil War Confederate troops? Try these titles from the BDC. (A few are also available through the local history sections at the Branch Libraries too.)

Related to Newspaper Week:

October 2 - Today begins National Newspaper Week 2022. The Research Room has some local newspapers on microfilm and some paper copies of a few more recent ones. If you want the full list, just ask bdc@bcgov.net and I shall send it to you.

October 2 - I was recently introduced to Elephind, a search engine for 200 million-plus items from more than 4,300 newspaper titles. Elephind searches big collections (including the aforementioned Chronicling America) as well as small, such as academic archives, and goes overseas to include plenty of Australian papers. I don't see any obvious South Carp;oma related newspapers included - at least not for any of my Beaufort District based 18th - 20th century ancestors - but you might have better luck.

October 5 - "Black History Note Wednesday:" In honor of National Newspaper Week: The Beaufort Tribune of 1874-1876 is considered a Black publication since William J. Whipper was part owner. It is available online through the Chronicling America website. We do not happen to have this particular newspaper on microfilm in the Research Room. [Note: See Stop #4 in the linked Connections article for additional information about Whipper.]

Sharing as Public Service Announcements:

October 13 - The Composting Guide from Beaufort County was selected as a state document of the month for August by the SC State Library. They opined that "The natural color scheme and verbiage inspire even the novice gardener to dig into composting."

October 14 - Heads up: The Fall Staff Development Day for staff falls on Wed., October 19th. We'll be working on the latest suggestions for the Library's next Strategic Plan.

October 14 - Just sharing as a historical and cultural heritage notice - particularly since October is Archaeology Month. The Clotilda was the last known slave ship to sail into the South. The wreck was discovered in the Mobile River in Alabama in 2019. The blurb says "You’ll hear from the archaeologists exploring the shipwreck, the historians researching its history, and the descendants of the people who were brought over on the ship, as they work to preserve the Clotilda and ensure that its legacy and its stories are not forgotten." [Note: This webinar was held in the past.]

October 15 - Thomas E. Miller, one of this area's most prominent Black men during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is the South Carolina African American History Calendar October 2022 honoree.

October 23 - Get your wallet ready ... to purchase lots of good books at the annual Friends of the Beaufort Library (and St. Helena and Lobeco and BDC) Book Sale! I'll be roaming over there myself on Saturday, November 5th so be sure to say "Hey!" if you see me.

October 25 - Just sharing for another local cultural heritage organization: Got Artifacts??? The HHI Archaeology Chapter will hold its annual “What the Heck is It?” program Saturday October 29th, 1:00 to 4:00 PM in the Coastal Discovery Museum, 70 Honey Horn Drive, Hilton Head Island. Drs. Eric Poplin, Vice President Brockington Inc, and Ron Anthony, retired archaeologist at the Charleston Museum, will comprise analyze, identify, and date the artifacts brought to the session. Note: This session had to be rescheduled due to the expected impacts of Hurricane Ian. [Note: This event has happened already.]

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15th. I made one more post about the Hispanic heritage of Beaufort District: 

October 9 - Have you visited the Charlesfort- Santa Elena historic site on Parris Island? The base is now open to the public as long as you follow the rules.

We opened Season 6 of the joint Beaufort History Museum/Beaufort County Library local history series coordinated by the Beaufort District Collection with Jackson Canaday's program about the history of one of our Confederate units. 

October 4 - Today's the day that Season 6 of the Beaufort History Museum - Beaufort County Library local history series opens. I look forward to seeing all registrants at 2 pm this afternoon.

October 6 - Check out a few snaps from our most recent program held with the Beaufort History Museum.

All in all I made a total of 35 Facebook posts in October - which means that I am still doing too many per my Performance Review goal for the period April 1, 2022 - March 31, 2023. Yet there was considerable demand for the Library system to beef up its social media presence per the Strategic Plan focus groups held earlier this year. In other words, I'm in a perpetual state of quandry of "Do I stay the course?" or not.