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.

Local Newspaper Back Files

Latest update: 16 December 2024 - gmc

National Newspaper Week is a great opportunity to write a bit about the history of journalism and newspaper publication in the Beaufort District.

There are those who say that there would be no United States Constitution without the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects 5 freedoms concerning religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. The actual text of the First Amendment is:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 

As Executive Editor of the Richmond Daily News and the Excelsior Springs Daily Standard, Jack Ventimiglia states in his article "First Amendment binds all American freedoms":

Freedom of the press, of speech, of religion, of assembly and to petition the government are woven, like stars in the flag, into the fabric of the First Amendment.

The blood of patriots is the seed of the Republic. The founders and those who followed in their footsteps invested their lives in this country. They assured there would be freedom of religion, and from religion, so the government could neither bless nor ban what anyone believes, as occurs under radical theocracies and communist regimes. The founders secured freedom of speech, to assemble and to petition the government to redress grievances, which is denied by China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and others that fear opposition. They also created one freedom that binds and protects all others, and has done so from before the founding of the republic – freedom of the press....

In short, "Journalists help keep us free to question, learn and disagree." One can often identify the editorial position of a particular newspaper by careful reading of its contents, position of its articles, what it includes and what it omits. This has been the case historically and it remains the case in the contemporary newspaper publications both in print and online. For example, the Civil War era newspapers published in Beaufort District were pro-Union newspapers after the Battle of Port Royal Sound. We have the Free South, New South, and Palmetto Herald on microfilm - all Union instruments and on Friday, a book with transcriptions of the 100th Pennsylvania Regiments soldiers' newspaper, The Camp Kettle, arrived in our Research Room. There was no corresponding Beaufort published newspaper from a Confederate perspective. 

Sometimes the political disagreements get so out of hand that people end up dead. Listen as Dr. Curtis Rogers of the State Library interviews author James Underwood about one of South Carolina's most notorious crimes. Underwood's book Deadly Censorship: Murder, Honor and Freedom of the Press is available in the Research Room and through the SCLENDS consortium. The book recounts the circumstances surrounding the 1903 murder of Narciso Gonzalez, editor of The State newspaper and member of the extended Beaufort Elliott family, by the brother of Governor Ben Tillman.  

Poster by Jack Ventimiglia

Though many traditional newspapers are struggling financially, newspapers remain a critical resource for current information and historical documentation. Back files of newspapers provide historical researchers with information that helps us understand the perceptions of historical events at the time the events were actually happening. As anyone who has tried to recall a specific past event can tell you, the human memory can be fleeting. Daily, weekly, and periodic newspapers can help provide continuity and show historical development of subjects over time.  Newspapers help hold the government accountable. Newspapers include contemporary information about key people, places, and events that historians can use to document what was really going on. 

We have several histories of newspaper journalism in the Research Room. South Carolina Newspapers by John Hammond Moore, 1988 is the go-to guide for identifying newspapers published in the state and coverage. It is arranged by county. Palmetto Press: The History of South Carolina Newspapers and Press Association and Fighting Words: The History of the Media in South Carolina were authored by Patricia G. McNeely and others and published in 1998. Frank H. Ramsey, a Beaufort based newspaperman himself, wrote "Beaufort County Newspapers" for the Beaufort County Historical Society in 1957. It is BCHS Paper #18.

The Beaufort Township Library recognized the importance of providing access to local newspapers back files way back in 1954 when the Library paid $184.00 to Donald McChesney of Greensboro, North Carolina to microfilm issues of the Palmetto Post newspaper. 14 years later, Library Director Betty Ragsdale appealed to the Library Board of Trustees to authorize microfilming the Beaufort Gazette "because of deterioration and theft." By October 1968, the Library and the Beaufort Gazette agreed to share the cost of microfilming back files 50%-50%. For many years, this agreement held though with time the total cost of doing so fell to the Beaufort County's Record Management unit and the Library by 1986. The process of microfilming the Beaufort Gazette and later the Island Packet continued through March 2015. Microfilming ceased in March 2015 due to circumstances outside of the Library's control. From April 2015 to the present, one can find partial files of the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet through the Island Packet website ($ after a set number of free articles) and the NewsBank subscription database. (Please note: The Beaufort County Library does not have a subscription to NewsBank).

However, it is a grievous error to rely solely on newspaper accounts for historical documentation. As with all good historical research, a variety of sources should be used to help illuminate, evaluate and analyze the past. Newspaper articles - just as is the case with other contemporary and historical resources - may include errors and discrepancies due to misreported events, unreliable sources, or political slants and biases. One such example has appeared in Connections. Upon further investigation, only one of the Bush brothers died at Pearl Harbor in 1941.

The earliest newspaper in Beaufort District was the first Beaufort Gazette, 1827 - 1832 of which no known issues survive. We do however have a vertical file of materials about that newspaper. We also have a vertical file about the Gullah Sentinel, a weekly newspaper published for the African American community. 
By far, the dominant format of the newspapers we have in the Research Room is microfilm.

Microfilm is a very stable form for preservation purposes. All one needs is reel of film, a source of light and a wall upon which to throw the projection to get to the content. With proper temperature and humidity controls, and decent film stock, a newspaper preserved via microfilm can be expected to last 300 years or more. Software supporting digital delivery of newspaper images may not last even 10 years. Give me microfilm any day.

Here is a list of the local newspapers that the Research Room makes available to our on-site customers on microfilm. Some of the back files are incomplete and individual issues may be missing. The list is arranged roughly chronologically. The newspapers that we have on microfilm are listed in the SCLENDS catalog.

19^th Century Newspapers on Microfilm

Palmetto Herald (1864) 

Free South (1863 - 1864)

New South (1861 - 1866) 

Beaufort Republican (1871 - 1873)

Port Royal Commercial and Beaufort County Republican (1873 - 1874) 

20^th Century Newspapers on Microfilm

Palmetto Post (1882 - 1906)

Beaufort Gazette (1903 - March 31, 2015) : The Beaufort Gazette began as a weekly newspaper. Our first issue on microfilm is dated July 16, 1903. On April 30, 1973, it started publishing 5 issues per week, Mondays through Fridays. Almost 18 years would pass before it added a Sunday issue. On September 2, 1995, it became a daily paper by adding a Saturday issue. We have microfilm in the Research Room that you can use through March 2015.

County Democrat (1910 - 1911)

Beaufort Times (1944 - 1945)

Sea Islander (1968 - 1974)

Island Packet (1970 - March 31, 2015)

Hilton Head Report (1986 - 1988)

Hilton Head Sun (1988 - 1989)

Lowcountry Ledger (1988 - 1991)

Hilton Head News (1993; 1996)

Beaufort Catalyst (1995 - 1996)

Bluffton Packet (1994 - 1995)

Savannah Morning News (1996 - 2008) 

21^st Century Newspapers on Microfilm in the Research Room

A condensed version of the Beaufort Gazette/Island Packet in which duplicate pages appearing in both titles are omitted (April 2010 - March 2015). This was done as a stop loss measure to conserve costs and thereby prolong the newspaper coverage for another five years. My greatest failure as the keeper of all things historical is the cessation of the microfilming of the Beaufort Gazette/Island Packet but it was completely out of my hands and the Library's hands to prevent.

We got a new microfilm reader/printer in October 2019. Thanks go to the Clover Club and the Friends of the Beaufort Library for paying for the upgraded microfilm machine purchase.

Historical Newspapers available online without a Subscription

The Chronicling America website at the Library of Congress provides a list of former newspapers in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Here is a list of local historical newspapers available online through the Historical Newspapers of South Carolina website: 

The Beaufort Republican and Sea Island chronicle. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1869-1871
Beaufort Republican. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1871-1873
The Beaufort Tribune and Port Royal Commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1877-1879
The Crescent. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1879-1881
The Free South. (Beaufort, S.C.) 1863-1864
The New South. (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867
The Palmetto Herald. (Port Royal, S.C.) 1864-1864
Port Royal Commercial and Beaufort County Republican. [volume] (Port Royal, S.C.) 1873-1874
Port Royal Standard and Commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876
The Tribune. (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876

Here's a list of local newspapers that we have in hard-copy in the Research Room: 

Bluffton Eccentric (1987 – 1991)

Lowcountry Ledger (1988 - 1991)

Lowcountry Weekly (2000, 2002, 2008 - present) 

City Sun (2002, 2004 - 2008) - some issues are on CD

Island News (2008 - present) 

Beaufort Today (2008-2009)

Bluffton Today (2008) 

Bluffton Sun (2009) - some issues are on CD

Plus we have some individual issues of some very short-lived periodic publications in hard-copy. You can also find some of these newspapers archived on the company websites that own them or pay for access to certain titles through commercial vendors such as NewsBank or Newspapers.com among others. Coverage will vary. 

The only known image in the Research Room of a newspaper office is from the Library's L.A. Hall Collection of Civil War and Reconstruction Era photographs shown below. The former residence of Rev. Stephen Elliott was converted into the Free South newspaper office during the Union occupation.