77 Years Ago ...

As has been demonstrated through past Connections posts, the contents of the Research Room are a combination of purchased and donated items relating to the people, places, themes, and events of Beaufort District's long and storied history 15,000 BCE to 1970. Together the various sources complement and supplement our understanding of the past and indicate what I think may be of importance to future researchers. Although I can do about 65%-75% of my job from home, at least on a temporary basis, to get the fullest picture, I have to be in the Research Room where I can go to the shelves or to a particular vertical file or grab a map or see an image to acquire content to share.  

Today's post required gearing up with mask and hand-sanitizer to come into the office. I looked at obituaries, pulled books about churches and cemeteries, consulted several vertical files and went into some online databases in order to demonstrate the interplay between various types of sources to expound on references found in documentary evidence. In this particular instance as an illustration, I used a diary entry for May 30, 1943 kept by a local businessman, Frederick Holmes Christensen (1877-1944). Christensen [FHC] often wrote about political, social, and economic life in Beaufort during the period 1893 - 1944. Here's his commentary about what he did and what had happened in town 77 years ago: 

sunday, May 30 [1943]
Decoration day will be celebrated this year tomorrow the 31st. Never the less Helen, Frederik and I went over to the church yard with flowers today and decorated father and Mother's lots. In the afternoon I went to the wharf and witnessed the colored exercises for those lost at sea.

"Decoration day" was what we now call Memorial Day. "Decoration Day" began in the late 1860s and used to be a fixed observance in many Northern communities to remember the Union Civil War dead. May 30th was chosen because there had been no major Civil War engagement on that particular date. Memorial Day became a Federal holiday in 1971 when the government set the annual commemoration on the last Monday in May. You can read more about the history of Decoration Day in Beaufort in another Connections post. 

His parents were Niels and Abbie Holmes Christensen whose graves are located in the family plot located at Lot A-22 of the Baptist Church of Beaufort cemetery.  Niels, an immigrant to the United States, had served in the Union Army and stayed in the area to found with Abbie, a prominent local family who are quite involved in community affairs even now. FHC's body was interred into the family plot when he died in 1944.

FHC wrote about two funerals held in the town the previous week at which he served as a pall bearer: 

Tuesday I acted as pall bearer at the funeral of Mrs. Chas. Guffin once Miss Crocker. She has lived in Charleston for years.

Obviously he did not know Mrs. Guffin well as it turns out that some of his details were incorrect. Sources in the Research Room show that she was not the wife of Dr. Charles Guffin but the mother of Dr. Charles's nephew, also a Charles. She was the widow of his Dr. Charles's brother, George Elliott Guffin. George's published obituary in the Beaufort Gazette gave not only his parents' names but also his widow's full maiden name, her parents' names and her brother's name. Together George and Hattie had four children: Charles M., George E., Jr., Hazel and Louise. However, we do not have a Beaufort Gazette obituary on file for Mrs. George Guffin. I found her death certificate through the Library's subscription to Ancestry Library Edition. Though the typescript is rather faint, her long residence is confirmed as "36 yrs." as are the names of her husband and parents, and place of burial. Their son, Charles, provided the key information regarding her age, birth, etc. while Dr. Buist filled out the causes of her death. She was buried in the Baptist Church of Beaufort cemetery with her husband in Lot N-14 A & B.

From Ancestry Library Edition

FHC was also a pall bearer of the body of Major Elliott. The Beaufort Gazette published an article on May 27, 1943 about the tragic mishap that befell the son of Confederate General Stephen Elliott (1830-1866):  

From the BDC Obituary Files

Major Elliott Disappeared On His Boat Monday On Fishing Trip Bogged Down in Marsh Trying Reach His Boat Was Drowned

The body of Major Charles Pinckney Elliot, retired, 84 years old, was found Saturday afternoon in the marsh near Seabrook. Death was apparently caused by drowning.

Major Elliott, who lived alone went out on a fishing trip Monday and was not missed until Thursday. After that a widespread search was made on Broad river. His boat was located about noon Saturday. Shortly afterwards his dog returned to the house. The body was found near where the boat was recovered.

It seems that he docked his boat and went out on the bank and in an attempt to get back in his boat he bogged down in the marsh and remained until the tide probably swept in over him.

Major Elliott was born March 15, 185? [text is difficult to read, a common problem with microfilm of old newspapers], son of General Stephen Elliott who fought at Fort Sumter in the War Between the States. Major Elliott graduated from West Point about sixty years ago. He served in World War No. 1 and volunteered to active duty in the present war, but was rejected because of his age.

Funeral services were held at 5 pm Monday at St. Helena's Episcopal Church and interment was in the churchyard. He was a double first cousin of the late William Elliott of Columbia, other double first cousins Mrs. J. Sumter Moore and Mrs. W. B. Smith Whaley of Columbia, three sons, Charles P., Jr., Stephen and Nathaniel R. Elliott. Major Elliott has many friends in Beaufort who regret to learn of his death. He was a familiar figure on the streets meeting his old friends.

It is somewhat odd that his widow, Hortense Darling Beaumont, nor their other five children who were alive at the time of his death, are not mentioned in the Beaufort Gazette article. Perhaps the editor only mentioned the sons who were known in the local community. 

The United States Military Academy published a rollicking memorial to their Class of 1882 member in July 1944 that we house in the "Elliott Family" vertical file. It seems that CPE had quite a colorful and exciting life. He fought the Apaches out West and was held captive by some Mexican soldiers. Only the timely arrival of the US 4th Cavalry averted his execution. Within a few years of that, he wooed and won the hand his commander's daughter in marriage at Fort Bowie, Arizona. He had eight posts in the first eight years of his marriage. He was assigned to Vancouver Barracks in 1893 where spent time surveying the Bitter Root Mountains and Mount St. Helens for the War Department. He fought in the Philippines during the Spanish American War and then surveyed the status of the salmon industry in Alaska in an attempt to improve his health. He retired from the Army for the first time in July 1898 on account of a disability caused by his military service. He returned to the Army during the Great War as one of the assistants of the Utilities Officer in charge of sanitation on the docks of Hoboken, New Jersey. Apparently he was a stickler for the rules and had absolutely forbidden smoking on the docks - which promptly burned down the week after he was relieved of his duties. There were also run-ins with the Coast Guard over possible bootlegging, attacks by diamondback rattlesnakes, and other times where he got stranded for days while out hunting or fishing.   

As the memorial notes, CPE volunteered again in the immediate aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in 1941 but his offer was graciously rejected. The Beaufort Gazette published an extract from his rejection letter on January 1, 1942 in which Major General Emory S. Adams, adjutant general of the Army, wrote glowingly of CPE's past service to the nation: "Although I do not believe it will be necessary to place you on active duty during this crisis [remember that CPE was a youthful 82 years old at the time], I wish to assure you personally that your patriotic offer to serve your country again is deeply appreciated."  

The number of his survivors is considerably longer in his West Point memorial. Mentioned by name are his widow; their four sons: Stephen, Charles P., Jr., Nathaniel and John; and their four daughters: Margaret; Mrs. William L. Lance; Mrs. Frederick H. Linthilicum; and Mrs. Reyburn Watres.

Odds are FHC had read the Beaufort Gazette article before he wrote a bit about being a pall bearer at the Major's funeral at St. Helena Episcopal Church: 

Also Major Elliott Chas. P. Elliott who could remember being taken out of Beaufort across the Whalebranch Ferry in a wagon when his family and the rest of the Whites evacuated Beaufort on the approach of the Federal fleet in the last war when he was a small boy, died the first of the week. As was his habit he had taken provisions in his boat and gone out for a couple of days fishing. As he did not return search was made for him. His body, partly covered by water was found in the marsh. Eighty-six years old his sight was poor. Perhaps he left his boat and was unable to find it. Perhaps he had a heart attack.

From Ancestry Library Edition

The official cause of his death was accidental drowning as the death certificate indicates. 

Major Elliott, we remember your service to your country. 

Sources: 

Frederik Holmes Christensen Diary, vol. 12: 5 January 1930 - 30 July 1944, p. 125. 

"Memorial Day" History [Channel] website, latest update 18 May 2020.  

Obituaries on file in the Research Room: George Guffin, Dr. Charles Guffin, D.W. Crocker and (Major) C. P. Elliott 

Burials in the Baptist Church of Beaufort Cemetery as of 24 March 2003, [p. 3].

Ancestry.com. South Carolina, Death Records, 1821-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original date: South Carolina Department of Archives and History; Columbia, South Carolina; South Carolina Death Records; Year Range: 1925-1949; Death County or Certificate Range: Charleston

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 May 2020), memorial page for Hattie Crocker Guffin (14 Jan 1887–24 May 1943), Find a Grave Memorial no. 81872661, citing Beaufort Baptist Churchyard, Beaufort, Beaufort County, South Carolina, USA ; Maintained by Candy Weickhardt Pethe (contributor 47586286) . 

"Major Elliott Disappeared On His Boat Monday On Fishing Trip Bogged Down in Marsh Trying Reach His Boat Was Drowned," Beaufort Gazette, 27 May 1943, p. 1.

"Elliott Family" vertical file, BDC Research Room contains the West Point memorial and the Beaufort Gazette, 1 January 1942, p. 1 article. 

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 May 2020), memorial page for Charles Pinckney Elliott (15 Mar 1860–17 May 1943), Find a Grave Memorial no. 171913551, citing Saint Helena's Episcopal Churchyard, Beaufort, Beaufort County, South Carolina, USA ; Maintained by Steven M (contributor 48604297) .

Ancestry.com. South Carolina, Death Records, 1821-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: South Carolina Department of Archives and History; Columbia, South Carolina; South Carolina Death Records; Year Range: 1925-1949; Death County or Certificate Range: Beaufort

KIA: Pearl Harbor

(National Archives Image)

Last  updated: 8 December 2025 - gmc

A few minutes before 8 o'clock on a quiet Sunday morning, on December 7,  1941 [11:55 am in the Eastern Time Zone] the Japanese launched a surprise air attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. 2,403 American military personnel lost their lives, among whom were 25 South Carolinians. Reports in the aftermath claimed that two Beaufortonians had been killed during the strike. 

Fredrick Holmes Christensen, 1877-1944, was a Beaufort born businessman with lumber, hardware, petroleum, real estate, automobile and truck farming interests here. From 1893 to 1944 he kept an almost daily diary. On Sunday, December 7, 1941, he wrote:

We were electrified today when it was announced from Washington after 2 o'clock that Japanese aeroplanes had attacked the United States Naval base in Hawaian [sic] Islands and Honolulu. 

The assault  lasted less that two hours. On Monday, December 8, 1941, Christensen continued:

The reports from Hawaii are sketchy and incomplete. The Japanese claim they destroyed two battleships, an aeroplane carrier and hit numerous other warships. Washington says one of the older battleships was damaged so badly that she capsized. One destroyer blew up and several other vessels were damaged while 3000 casualties included 1500 killed. Many aeroplanes destroyed. 

As Christensen noted "After one week of war we are still without information on the extent of the damaged [sic] inflicted on our fleet in Hawaii by the Japs last Sunday."  (Diary entry on 14 December 1941). In the chaos and fog of war, sometimes mistakes about damages and casualties are made.

Some lowcountry men are known to have been on Oahu Hawaii the morning of the attack.  Gen. Jacob E. Smart (USAF) authored Lowcountry Families in World War II, A Memorial: We Mourn the Fallen and Honor All Who Served. He compiled biographies of servicemen from Hardeeville, Bluffton, southern Colleton County, Jasper and Hampton Counties. Smart mentioned the following  men from these areas as being present at Pearl Harbor that morning:

• Oden Benton (Colleton County) was wounded by Japanese strafing runs at Bellows Field. He died of his wounds about two weeks later.
• Roland M. Byrd
• Richard A. (Ray) Malphrus
• Joseph Clinton Nettles
• Dr. Frank Ryan was the youngest captain in the United States Navy at the time. He was working at the Hospital. 

He also included Gerald H. Preacher who was a civilian engineer working for General Electric Company on the island and witnessed the attack.

Smart's book does not include service members who were from the population base of Beaufort County at the time, that is, the towns and rural communities of Northern Beaufort County: Beaufort, Port Royal, St. Helena Island, and Burton. However, we know that the effects of the attack impacted Beaufort County in a most significant way: The Beaufort Gazette issue on New Year's Day in 1942 proclaimed "Beaufort Lost Two Citizens at Pearl Harbor."

(BDC - Beaufort Gazette January 1, 1942)

It is significant that the Beaufort Gazette acknowledged the contributions and loss of these African-American brothers. It  went against commonly held views of the period to state "These two boys were citizens of Beaufort County ... and will prove to our state and national that all regardless of race, color or creed, we stand united in common purpose to destroy despotism and to free all peoples who now live under its barbarous masters." But you do notice the use of the now considered pejorative term "boys" in the column text. At the time of the bombing Leon Bush was a young man aged 21 years old. 

After the very popular former SC Representative Stratton Christensen was killed, Fredrick Christensen, his kinsman, wrote this in his diary June 14, 1942:

This has been a pretty "Blue" week for us. Niels [Christensen] went to Boston to tell his Grand-mother of Stratton's loss. I tried to speak of it at the Rotary Club, but though I had thought out what I would say [I] could only give the first two or three opening sentences and had to quit. Everyone is very much interested and sympathetic -- it is the first ^ white^ casualty from Beaufort though two colored boys were killed at Pearl Harbor and two or three have died at camps.

I originally posted this Beaufort Gazette article in a blog post written for the Pearl Harbor anniversary in 2009.  Some years later a Bush family relative visiting our Research Room, Leona Smith, said that Leon had survived the war and had lived to a ripe old age up North. 

When volume 3 of The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina by Lawrence Rowland and Stephen Wise was published in 2015, the authors mention the brothers as among the first casualties from Beaufort County during World War II. The Bush brothers are listed on the Beaufort County's World War II roll of honor along with 36 other men who sacrificed their lives. (pp. 365-366, 375). Given that it was time to highlight the anniversary of Pearl Harbor again by researching some of the local men who were there, I decided to see what documentation I could find to back up the notices of death given in the Beaufort Gazette article. I used printed materials in the BDC and searched the Ancestry Library Edition database which we make available to our customers.

The first place I looked was The Official Roster of South Carolina Servicemen and Servicewomen in World War II, 1941-1946, 5 vols. (South Carolina State Budget and Control Board, 1967), p. 617. There I discovered entries for both men:

"BUSH, LEON W   2626463.  B DALE SC 10 JAN 20. HA NEW YORK NY.    EAD USN 14 AUG 40. HON DISCH    MATT2C  28 JUL 42" which translates to Leon W. Bush's service number is 2626463. He was born in Dale, SC on January 10, 1920. His [current to 1967] home address is New York, New York. He entered active duty in the United States Navy on August 14, 1940. He received an honorable discharge at the rank of MATT2C on 28 July 1942. 

"BUSH, SAMUEL J SN UNKWN. HA BEAUFORT SC. USN    MAIC  KIA" which translates to Samuel J. Bush, whose service number is unknown to the compilers of the official roster, was from Beaufort, SC. He was a sailor in the United States Navy. MAIC isn't listed in the abbreviations list so I am not sure what that means. (Perhaps one of you old tars can enlighten me). Samuel Bush was killed in action. And Post 207, American Legion is named in his honor. 

There is plenty of documentation to confirm that Samuel Jackson Bush, son of Adam W. Bush, died on December 7, 1941:   

• The National Parks Service's World War II Valor in the Pacific website lists Samuel Jackson Bush (USS California) as killed during the attack.
• Official Roster of South Carolina Servicemen and Servicewomen in World War II, 1941 – 1946, p. 617
• Honolulu, Hawaii, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), 1941 – 2011 (ALE)
• WWI, WWII, and Korean War Casualty Listings (ALE)
• World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Interred Overseas (ALE)
• U.S., Navy Casualties Books, 1776-1941 (ALE)
• U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 (ALE)

Apparently the brothers were on the same ship, the USS California when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The Bush brothers, like the majority of Black sailors during World War II, served as mess attendants.

U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 (ALE)

On the Muster Roll written on December 31, 1941, Samuel is listed as “Killed in action in the line of duty” and Leon is listed as having been transferred to the USS Salt Lake City on 13 December 1941. He went on to serve on the Nitro and West Virginia.

I have not been able to ascertain when the error became known to his family. I read all 52 issues of Beaufort Gazette for 1942 but did not see a retraction or announcement that Leon was alive. The Christensen diary entry in June 1942 indicates he believed that the Bush brothers were both dead. Although Christensen makes reference to an event held by the local Black community in memory of those lost at sea on 28 May 1944, the Beaufort Gazette did not cover the event. I was hoping to see if either brother was mentioned at the Memorial service. (In all fairness, the Beaufort Gazette was covering very little local news and was close to shutting down before a new editor leased it in mid-July of 1944). However, in the "Honor List of Those Who Gave Lives in Service" Beaufort Gazette, 19 July 1946, p. 1 only Samuel is listed - which leads me to surmise that news of Leon's survival had reached the area at some point between mid-1942 and mid-1946.

Leon is listed as a survivor in his father’s obituary. 

 

As indicated above, Leon is listed – very much alive -- in the Official Roster of South Carolina Servicemen and Servicewomen in World War II, 1941 – 1946, State Budget and Control Board, 1967, p. 617. He was honorably discharged on July 28, 1942. In 1967 he gave his residence as New York City. Another clue: According to Social Security Death Index records -- if I have the right Leon W. Bush as there are more than a few Leon Bushes listed -- he lived to be 90 years old and died in Barnstable Massachusetts on November 3, 2010.

Dr. Rowland assures me that when volume 3 is revised, the error will be corrected to reflect that only Samuel died in the attack.  

Though their names appear in the indexes to the Men and Women in World War II Scrapbooks, I was unable to find any other references to them in the two volumes. 

Post 207 of the American Legion was chartered and named in memory of  Samuel Jackson Bush in 1959.  

The moral of this post? Emulate President Ronald Reagan: "Trust but verify" using sources at hand in the Library. Identify the potential sources (which can change over time), check those sources, and corroborate what you think you know  - because sometimes what you think you know might be wrong.

"National Spirit of '45 Day"

Latest update: 11 July 2023 - gmc

Among our newest holidays is "Spirit of '45 Day" upon which the contributions of America's "Greatest Generation" (those who lived, died, and fought during the worldwide conflagration of World War II) are honored and remembered. In 2010, Congress unanimously voted to observe the second Sunday in August as National Spirit of ‘45 Day.  According to Warren Hegg, National Supervisor of "Keep the Spirit of '45 Alive!" grassroots initiative that led to the creation of the national celebration, “1945 was the defining year of the last century, and virtually every city and town in America has a story to tell about what happened in their community on August 14.” It is unclear whether the organization is extant in 2023. Any surviving WW2 veterans would be a nonagenarians, centenarians, or perhaps even one of the very few supercentenarians still alive. There's an updated "List of last surviving World War II Verterans" on Wikipedia. According to the National World War II Museum, South Carolina has approximately 2,100 living veterans from the Second World War. 

What was Beaufort like on V-J Day?  The only newspaper published in  Beaufort County at the time was the weekly Beaufort Gazette which came out on Fridays.  The Surrender of the Japanese Forces on August 14 was the topic of the next Beaufort Gazette issue on Friday, August 17, 1945.  The banner headline proclaimed "PEACE ON EARTH." 

BTW: The Research Room has two scrapbooks about the men and women of Beaufort County who served in the military forces during the conflagration. Make an appointment to review the scrapbooks or any of our other resources related to World War II: bdc@bcgov.net ; 843-255-6468.