"First" Cremation in North America: December 9, 1782 SC

Dear Reader, The subject of John Laurens came up earlier today at a local history program - which reminded me of what had happened to Henry Laurens' body after his death. Latest update: 18 November 2025. - gmc

According to the Cremation Association of North America, in many parts of the United States and Canada the rate of cremation has overtaken requests for burial after death. Which sort of begs the question of when did the practice of intentional cremation begin in British North America? The answer to that question leads us back to colonial South Carolina and December 9, 1792. 

Henry Laurens,  prominent South Carolinian with plenty of personal conflicts about slavery and his role in it, had no such contradictory emotions about what should be done with his mortal remains upon his death. He became one of the first, if not the first person in America, to request cremation of his remains within his will.

According to D. D. Wallace in Life of Henry Laurens with a Sketch of the Life of Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1915), Laurens feared being buried alive. He had once almost buried his infant daughter, Martha, believed to be dead of smallpox. However, when her body was placed near a window while the grave was being dug, her attending physician noticed that the cool air had revived her. Dr. Moultrie managed to save her.

Laurens certainly did not want to take any chances with his own life. His will instructs:

"I Solemnly enjoin it on my son as an indispensible Duty .... he cause my Body to be Wraped in twelve Yards of Tow Cloth, and Burnt until it be entirely and totally consumed: And then collecting my Bones, deposit them where ever he shall think proper." 

Parson Weems that inventor of many misrepresentations of American history whose body was buried for a short while in the St. Helena's Episcopal Churchyard, wrote that Henry Laurens said "My flesh is too good for worms. I give it to the flames." The quote was yet another fabrication of Mason Locke Weems's fertile mind.

On December 9, 1792 Henry (the Younger) Laurens did as his father had specified in his will. Laurens, Sr.'s body was cremated on a high hill across from the family's home at Mepkin Plantation where the ashes were placed next to the buried remains of Laurens's eldest son, Colonel John Laurens who had died in one of the final skirmishes of the American Revolution at Chehaw Neck just over the Combahee River crossing in neighboring Colleton County on 27 August 1782. Both father and son were renowned Patriots. 

Sources: 

"2025 Annual Statistical Report," Industry Statistical Information, Cremation Association of North America, Accessed 18 November 2025.

Image of Henry Laurens is from the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the National Gallery of Art; gift of the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, 1942. 

"Laurens, Henry" by C. James Taylor in South Carolina Encyclopedia, University of South Carolina, Institute for Southern Studies, Date of Last Update March 1, 2019, Accessed 9 December 2020

Life of Henry Laurens with a Sketch of the Life of Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1915), pp. 457-458.  

Abstracts of Wills of Charleston District, South Carolina and Other Wills Recorded in the District, 1783 - 1800 compiled by Caroline T. Moore (Charleston, SC: Self-published, 1974), vol. IV, p. 282. 

"Parson Weems" by Katie Uva in the Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington, Accessed 18 November 2025.   

"Laurens, John" by Gregory D. Massey in South Carolina Encyclopedia, University of South Carolina, Institute for Southern Studies, Date of Last Update July 2, 2019, Accessed 18 November 2025

We Recommend these Titles:  

According to Robert G. Albion, "The best biography is D. D. Wallace, Life of Henry Laurens (1915), a very detailed, intimate account, thoroughly documented" portrait of the man. We have a copy of this book in the BDC. There are copies in circulation within the SCLENDS consortium or you can read the book online on the Hathitrust.org website. Pages 457 -458 of the printed book correspond to pages 683-684 of the digitized volume.  

The Hanging of Thomas Jeremiah: A Free Black Man's Encounter with Liberty by J. William Harris (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009) is a fascinating read. Henry Laurens, Patriot, slave trader and slave owner, accused the wealthiest Free Black man in South Carolina for inciting insurrection amongst the enslaved people. Jeremiah - also an enslaver - was tried, convicted, hung, and his body torched on a Charleston scaffold in August 1775 in spite of the colonial Governor William Campbell's efforts to save him. The BDC has a copy you can read in our Research Room and other SCLENDS libraries have copies you can borrow. 

The World of Thomas Jeremiah: Charles Town on the Eve of the American Revolution by William Randolph Ryan (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2010) profiles the port of Charleston, SC during the two-year period leading up to the Declaration of Independence. It focuses on the dramatic hanging and burning of Thomas Jeremiah, a free Black harbor pilot and firefighter accused by the patriot party of plotting a slave insurrection during the tumultuous spring and summer of 1775. The BDC has a copy you can read in our Research Room and other SCLENDS libraries have copies you can borrow. 

Christopher Gadsden and Henry Laurens : The Parallel Lives of Two American Patriots by Daniel J. McDonough (Sellingsgrove, PA: Susquehanna University Press, 2000). This book falls outside the scope of the BDC's collection development policy but the SC State Library has plenty of copies for you to borrow. 

"Henry Laurens." The Study SC website provides links to other online resources about this prominent South Carolina and national figure. 

John Laurens and the American Revolution by Gregory D. Massey (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2000) examines the dashing military career of Henry's eldest son. The BDC has a copy you can read in our Research Room and other SCLENDS libraries have copies you can borrow. 

The Book-Peddling Parson: An Account of the Life and Works of Mason Locke Weems, Patriot, Pitchman, Author, and Purveyor of Morality to the Citizenry of the Early United States of America by Lewis Geary (Chapel Hill, NC : Algonquin Books, 1984).  The title says it all. The Research Room has the only copy of this title in the SCLENDS Consortium of Libraries.

If you happen to be interested in the subject of "Funeral Rites and Customs", the SCLENDS Consortium offers almost a dozen titles of what to do or is done once the inevitable has occurred. If you are a BCL library card holder, our subscription to Hoopla Digital has a number of instant e-books and audiobooks to guide you on how to conduct a funeral or navigate funeral customs of various ethnicities.  

Happy Poinsettia Day!

December 12  commemorates the poinsettia — the most popular holiday plant, which is indigenous to Mexico and Central America. December 12 has been officially designated by the U.S. Congress as National Poinsettia Day in honor of the first Ambassador to the new Republic of Mexico, Joel Poinsett of South Carolina, as well as of American businessman, Paul Ecke Jr., who later successfully marketed the poinsettia worldwide. 

Read more: Poinsettias, Posadas, Piñatas, Pathways of Light: Holiday Traditions from Mexico

Treaty of Beaufort, 1787

Q: Have you ever wondered why South Carolina is shaped the way it is?

As is the case for most of the United States, boundary disputes sometimes create odd juts of land in current state borders. When rivers are used as dividing lines, they sometimes shift as water levels increase or recede, islands appear and disappear, as erosion occurs, etc.  South Carolina has quarreled with its neighbors about property lines for centuries – and the Treaty of Beaufort (AKA "Beaufort Convention")  has been in the thick of the discussions about the southern boundary with Georgia and where exactly the state line falls in the Savannah River.  

On June 9, 1732, King George II chartered the Colony of Georgia setting the boundary between Georgia and South Carolina as "the most northern part of a stream or river there, commonly called the Savannah." The precise location of segments of the boundary, however, proved to be a matter of continuing dispute between South Carolina and Georgia. Much of the controversy originally concerned navigation rights on the river. The colonies squabbled – and when the colonies became states they squabbled -- about the precise boundary.  Commissioners appointed by each of the States met at Beaufort, S.C., and produced a Convention known as the Treaty of Beaufort signed on April 28, 1787 that was meant to settle the matter.  But alas, it did not.   

The United States Supreme Court has decided three cases about the SC/GA border dispute which are shared by the Legal Information Institute, an organization dedicated “to ensure that the law remains free and open to everyone:”  

• The first case was South Carolina v. Georgia, 93 U.S. 4, 23 L.Ed. 782 (1876).
• The second case was Georgia v. South Carolina, 257 U.S. 516, 42 S.Ct. 173, 66 L.Ed. 347, decided in 1922.
• The third case was Georgia v. South Carolina. 497 U.S. 376 (110 S.Ct. 2903, 111 L.Ed.2d 309), decided in 1990.

To learn more about South Carolina/Georgia/North Carolina boundary disputes, drop by the BDC Research Room to read “Troublesome Boundaries: Royal Proclamations, Indian Treaties, Lawsuits, Political Deals, and Other Errors Defining Our Strange State Lines” by Robert D. Temple in Carologue, (Summer 2011), pp. 12 – 19. A summary of the article is available as a PDF download at http://www.southcarolinahistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Troublesome-Boundaries-Hike.pdf  but the full article is far more visually interesting and the content far more informative and entertaining.

Just For Fun!

The Civil War Trust provides a lot of resources through their website, including themed crossword puzzles.   Here's one about "Christmas in the Confederacy" to offer a short respite from the hustle and bustle of the impending holidays. 

Don't forget that the Library has selected the Civil War as our theme for the system-wide One County Reads project next year. 

State Documents Lead to Bar-Room Trivia

In this new world of electronic delivery and digitization of materials, many people are not aware of  the role that state libraries and state archives play in keeping our citizenry informed and our government accountable.  If nothing else, the recent saga of the Georgia Archives serves as a cautionary tale.

In our state, we have the South Carolina State Library and a separate archives, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.  Their agency roles, while distinct, are often complementary.  Both play roles in keeping us informed about what our government is doing today as well as what what our government did in the past. 

The State Library maintains the South Carolina Documents Depository Program, which keeps copies of all publications by South Carolina agencies and state-supported academic institutions. Items in the State Documents Depository include both print publications and “born digital” documents often originally published on agency websites. (There are also some depository libraries who house and share documents created in certain periods by certain agencies.  Beaufort County Library is not a state depository library). 

In 2005 the State Library began harvesting agency publications that had been published in electronic format. In 2011 it began making both "born digital" and historical publications accessible through their online Digital Collections. Documents are saved in PDF format to library servers so that they will be permanently accessible.  Anyone, anywhere can discover and explore unique and important South Carolina publications via the internet.

You can also find these documents  in SC LENDS, the library catalog for the State Library, Beaufort County Library and other member libraries around the state that have agreed to share resources and circulating materials.

I used the SC LENDS catalog extensively while researching "Child Labor in Beaufort District." I read through a lot of annual State of the State Addresses looking for statistics regarding the state of child labor in South Carolina and particularly here in Beaufort County, 1870 - 1920.  It was during that research process that the subject of Prohibition and Tillman's solution, the State Dispensary, reared its head - and how I came across this fun fact to share with you. 
 
Governor Ben Tillman's State of the State Address for 1892 (page 23) indicates that Beaufort County had 38 Bar rooms. Beaufort County got $9000 in licensing fees and taxes while Beaufort, the town,  got $2662 in licensing fees and taxes.  The argument Gov. Tillman made revolved around how necessary the funding from alcohol sales was for town and county governments.  Has a contemporary sound, doesn't it?  

The State of the State Addresses have loads of other interesting historical tidbits.  You can do a Subject Search of the State Library's digital collections of state agency documents and discover a whole treasure trove. Go forth. Have a little research fun.  Discover some interesting historical tidbits of your own in the State Library's digital collections.

Happy National Poinsettia Day!

December 12  commemorates the poinsettia — the most popular holiday plant, which is indigenous to Mexico and Central America. December 12 has been officially designated by the U.S. Congress as National Poinsettia Day in honor of the first Ambassador to the new Republic of Mexico, Joel Poinsett of South Carolina, as well as of American businessman, Paul Ecke Jr., who later successfully marketed the poinsettia worldwide. 

Read more: Poinsettias, Posadas, Piñatas, Pathways of Light: Holiday Traditions from Mexico

Reminder:  The Library system will be closed Dec. 24th and Dec. 25th.  The BDC Research Room will be open 10 am - Noon; and 1 - 5 pm Dec. 26th, Dec. 27th, and Dec. 28th. 

General Lee's Horse

In honor of the 144th running of the Belmont Stakes, here's a question for you horse-racing fans:

Q: What was the name of Robert E. Lee's horse?

1. Stranger

2. General

3. Harry 

4. Traveller

To learn more about the Beaufort District connection of Robert E. Lee and his horse, we suggest you check out Lee in the Lowcountry: Defending Charleston & Savannah, 1861 -1862 by Daniel J. Crooks, Jr.  You can find the book at call number 973.7757 CRO in our local history sections. 

Trivia - but not Trivial

Based on her Civil War experience, who established the Red Cross?
1. Clara Barton
2. Florence Nightingale
3. Margaret Sanger
4. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Of course, the answer is 1. Clara Barton.

Clara Barton was a crucial mover-and-shaker during the disaster relief efforts after the "Sea Island Hurricane" of 1893. For an overview of the resources available on her life, take a peek at the list of "Recommended Reading" material on her within the "Local Notables" series.

Happy Flag Day

On June 14, 1777, during the American Revolution, the Continental Congress adopted the stars and stripes of the national flag. We now celebrate June 14 as Flag Day.

Anniversary of the "Beaufort Bill"

On September 5, 1940, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed "into law a bill directing the Library of Congress to transfer to the Beaufort [Township] library 'books of the same value as those taken by the United States Army when it defeated Confederate forces along the South Carolina coast' during the Civil War. The squabbling with the US government about recompense for the libraries confiscated by the Union Army only went on for 75 years! (I do so admire persistence as a character trait.)

To learn more about the history of the confiscated collection, click here.

For a digital facsimile of the inventory of books seized, click here.

Note: I was reminded of the anniversary by a news clipping I found as I was cleaning off my desk in the 1st floor. Who knows the extent of treasures yet to be found! Former BDC docent, Nancy Gooding Guthridge, the sister of then US Representative, Clara G. McMillan sent me the clipping a while back. Rep. McMillan, a middle-aged widow rearing 5 sons whose election was not without controversy itself, succeeded where powerful political men, including Robert Smalls and his enemy, William Elliott, had failed.

Dec. 7, 1941: "A Date That Will Live in Infamy"

Please note: Additional information was discovered about the Beaufort County residents who died during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Read for the "KIA: Pearl Harbor" post for details. - Grace Cordial

When was Robert E. Lee's citizenship restored?

Q: When was Robert E. Lee's American citizenship restored?

A: 1866
B: 1870
C: 1925
D: 1975
E: It hasn't. He remains an unreconstructed Confederate.

I will provide the answer next week.

USCT soldier wins Congressional Medal of Honor

Q: What was the name of the USCT who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service in the engagement of Fort Wagner?

A: He was Sergeant William Carney, 54th Massachusetts.

Carney received this honor due to "most distinguished gallantry in action" at Fort Wagner, July 18, 1863. He was shot in the thigh, but managed to crawl uphill on his knees, "bearing the Union flag and urging his troops to follow."

To learn more about this man, his service, and the battle of Fort Wagner, we recommend these materials:

Blue-eyed child of fortune : the Civil War letters of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (BDC, HHI)

Gate of Hell: Campaign for Charleston Harbor, 1863 by (our own) Dr. Stephen R. Wise (BDC, BEA, BLU, HHI)

Hold the Flag High by Catherine Clinton (Children's at BLU)

Swamp angels : a biographical study of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment : true facts about the black defenders of the Civil War
by Robert Ewell Greene (BDC, HH Lowcountry Room)

The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry by Jacqueline Shearer (VHS at BEA; DVD at HHI)

The assault on Fort Wagner : Black soldiers make a stand in South Carolina battle by Wendy Vierow (Children's at BEA, LOB)

The true story of Glory continues [VHS] by Ray Herbeck, Jr. (BEA)

The National Archives has more information about Black Soldiers in the Civil War.

Join Us for (Free) Tasty Beaufort Treats

Q: How many places are named "Beaufort?"
A: There are over 20 towns and cities in countries throughout the world with places named “Beaufort”. France, Australia, Haiti, Malaysia, South Africa, Luxembourg, Ireland, Wales, and, our own country, all have "Beaufort"s.

To celebrate this year's National Library Week theme, "Worlds Connect," we're hosting a global gourmet event -- the first ever "World of Beauforts Tasting Festival." Amanda Brewer and Dennis Adams have done yeoman's work putting together the event and lining up the chefs to prepare sample-sized portions of signature dishes representative of Beaufort locations around the world.

Library supporters are helping make the "World of Beauforts Tasting Festival" happen in many ways. We could not be putting this event on for the community without the cooperation our beloved Friends of Beaufort County Library, area restaurants, Lobeco Branch Library, and our culinary experts.

Make plans now to meet us in the Waterfront Park Pavilion on Thursday, April 16th beginning at 11 am to taste the "World of Beaufort" treats. The woman to call for more information is Amanda Brewer at (843) 470-6524.

PS: (My interest is only in our Beaufort. When one has "Beaufort, South Carolina," who needs another Beaufort? -- particularly when those other Beauforts don't even mispronounce the name properly. I'll be there to answer questions about our Beaufort and the Beaufort District Collection.)

March 19 is Poultry Day

I'll just bet you didn't expect to find "Turkeys and Chickens" at Beaufort County Library, but you can!

Just take a peek in "Phosphate, Farms, and Family: The Donner Collection," a collaboration with the SC Digital Library partially funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). There are 548 images relating to life in Northern Beaufort County 100 years ago within this our first digital collection.

To celebrate all things poultry, I suggest these websites:
Poultry Breeds
Everyday Cooking Poultry Recipes
How to Deep Fry a Turkey

March is American Red Cross Month

President Obama signed a proclamation making March American Red Cross Month today as has each president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the special commemoration in 1943.

Given that Clara Barton was the founder of the American Red Cross and that she worked in our area during the Civil War and again after the Great Sea Island Hurricane of 1893, here are a few links to additional information about Barton and the Red Cross that the Library has posted to the web:

Our Information Services Coordinator and "Answer Man" newspaper columnist, Dennis Adams, MA, MLS, wrote a fictional interview with Ms. Barton, about her service after the destruction caused in late August 1893.

The BDC staff prepared a short list of materials about Clara Barton found within our Library's holdings.

"Tears will get you sympathy. Sweat will get you change."

On January 18th, I posted an entry on the Cleveland Public Library's Martin Luther King, Jr., photographs collection. One of the photographs in the section labeled "Martin Luther King, Jr., in Cleveland" includes a famous South Carolinian.

Q: Who is that Palmetto State native?
A: Jesse Jackson.


Q: What photograph number contains his/her visage?
A: "Martin Luther King, Jr. in Cleveland", photograph #4

A bit more about: Jesse Jackson was born Oct. 8, 1941 in Greenville, SC where he lived until graduation from Sterling High School. A brief stint at University of Illinois introduced Jackson to Chicago. However, he completed his undergraduate career at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro (now known as NC State). He permanently relocated to Chicago in the early 1960s to study theology and participate in the rising Civil Rights movement. He joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1965.

You can read much more about this native son of South Carolina in the Biography Resource Center database, provided to Beaufort County Library cardholders by DISCUS, SC's Virtual Library. Thousands of magazines, newspapers, and reference books are available 24/7 through the online resources of DISCUS - South Carolina's Virtual Library.

Contact one of our branch libraries to secure the user name and password required to gain access to this subscription database.

If Edgar Allan Poe were alive, he'd be 200 today!

January 19 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849).

Since BDC Connections deals with advocacy for libraries and archives, matters of an historic, cultural, or environmental nature in a quite small geographical location, and best preservation practices for family treasures and library materials,

Q: What is the connection Poe has to South Carolina that touches on one or more of the BDC Connections themes?

The short answer is:
He, like many others, served part of his military duty in coastal South Carolina and became inspired by our natural beauty to write a tale of historical fiction about it.

The Edgar Allan Poe Branch Library on Sullivan's Island in Charleston County is named in his honor. Poe was stationed on Sullivan's Island as a private in the United States Army in 1827 and 1828 and used the island setting as the background for his famous story of pirates and lost treasure, "The Gold Bug." For an updated approach to "The Gold Bug," (including a YouTube preview of a film release), try this.

I recommend these Poe related websites:
The Edgar Allan Poe Collection at Enoch Pratt Free Library

Nevermore 2009 for information about Poe sites in Baltimore

Poe Revealed, 1809-2009 offers curricular material for Teachers and Students studying the literary contributions of Poe

Times Topics: Edgar Allan Poe includes commentary and archival articles from the New York Times about Poe sites and historical fiction about Poe.

Novels About Poe

FIC HAT
The murder of Edgar Allan Poe : a novel by George Egon Hatvary (Available at BLU, HHI)

FIC PEA
The Poe shadow : a novel by Matthew Pearl (Available at BEA, BLU, HHI)

FIC SIL
Disquiet heart : a thriller by Randall Silvis (Available at BEA, HHI)

Other authors who write in a Poe connection are Linda Fairstein and Laura Lippman.

Photographs of Dr. King

Cleveland Public Library has posted 70 photographs from its extensive collection on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Included are images of his family life, Civil Rights activities, assassination, and funeral. Photographs (with dates and captions) are grouped by themes such as work and family, Cleveland, and funeral and memorial services.

Please note: Some of the captions attached to the images appear incomplete. If it bothers you, tell Cleveland Public Library.

Trivia: One of the photographs in the section labeled "Martin Luther King, Jr. in Cleveland" includes a famous South Carolinian.

Q: Who is that Palmetto State native?
Q: What photograph number contains his/her visage?

Answers will be posted on January 30th.

And the Answer Is C.

C: Susie King Taylor.
Susie King Taylor wrote this statement in her memoirs, "Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33d United States Colored Troops, Late 1st S. C. Volunteers".

Susie served the 33rd USCT [the United States Colored Troops within the Union Army raised locally] as a nurse and a teacher, and she did not earn a dime for her work. She worked here in Beaufort among the freedmen being treated in the Contraband hospitals.

You can read the electronic version of this memoir within the "Documenting the American South" digital library hosted by the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill by clicking on http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/taylorsu/taylorsu.html.

The BDC has printed copies of her memoirs in two forms:
SC 973.7 TAY Reminiscences of My Life in Camp, Arno Press and the New York Times, 1968
SC 973.7 TAY A Black Woman's Civil War Memoirs, edited by Patricia W. Romero with a new introduction by Willie Lee Rose, Markus Wiener Publishing, 1988.

If you want to introduce your children to important figures in Beaufort District History, we suggest The Diary of Susie King Taylor, Civil War Nurse. This is an abridged version of her memoirs edited and illustrated for children. You can find it in our children's biography sections at Beaufort Branch, Bluffton Branch, and Hilton Head Branch libraries.

The question and short answer were drawn from the Civil War Primer e-newsletter, December 18, 2008. -- gmc