Alexander McBeth Store Ledger, 1794
A handmade ledger book from 1794 belonging to Alexander McBeth & Company, who began operations in Greenville County in the early 1790s. The store stood on the White Horse Road. This ledger is held by the Greenville County Library System's South Carolina Room.
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Angelica Singleton Van Buren Collection
Sarah Angelica Singleton was born in Wedgefield, South Carolina in 1818, the daughter of prominent South Carolina plantation owner, Richard Singleton, and his wife Rebecca Travis Coles. In 1838, Angelica would marry Abraham Van Buren, son of the 8th President of the United States, Martin Van Buren. During her father-in-law's term of office, Angelica would serve in the capacity as first lady due to the death of Mrs. Martin Van Buren seventeen years prior. Angelica's papers, consisting of two travel diaries, dated 1854-1855, documenting her family's trips to New York and Europe, and an autograph book, dated 1831, can be viewed here. This collection gives a first-hand account of early to mid nineteenth century aristocratic life in The United States and abroad.
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Bonds Conway Papers, 1763 - 1907
Papers of Bonds Conway (1763-1843), a free African-American resident of Camden (Kershaw County, S.C.). This collection of family letters, land papers, and other items documents several generations of a free family of color from the 18th through the 20th centuries in South Carolina, Georgia, Kansas, east Texas, and elsewhere. Topics discussed include social relations during antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction eras through the early 20th century.
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Broadsides from the Colonial Era to the Present
Now, broadsides (posters, one page fliers, advertisements and other types of ephemera) from across many different South Caroliniana Library manuscript collections can be searched, viewed, read, and compared. The dates range from the 1700s to the present, and items will continue to be added to this collection.
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Calvin Shedd Papers, 1862-1864
Forty-four letters, 1862-1863, of Union soldier Calvin Shedd, Co. A, Seventh New Hampshire Regiment, are written primarily from locations in coastal South Carolina and addressed to his wife, S. Augusta Shedd, at Enfield, N.H., and South Reading, Mass. Shedd, a first sergeant, later second lieutenant, writes intelligently and with great detail, describing events, people, and places. His letters are noteworthy for their accounts of hospital conditions, portrayed vividly in correspondence penned from U.S. Army general hospitals at Beaufort, Hilton Head, and a field hospital at Folly Island.
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Catalog of the Collections of Minerals in the College of South Carolina
Richard T. Brumby began to keep a catalogue of the mineral specimens during the 1840s. He never finished it and between 1856 and 1903, no formal record of new or existing specimens was kept. As a result, the only surviving information on the collection was contained in Brumby’s partial catalogue and the hastily scrawled paper labels that easily became separated from their associated specimens.
In 1903, Daniel S. Martin began the work of trying to reconstruct a catalogue of USC’s mineral specimens. Although Martin also never finished the project, he appropriated Brumby’s catalogue and continued to record specimens in that same volume, updating Brumby’s entries, recording vital information from the scattered paper labels, and offering details for the first time on the vast collection of Lewis Gibbes specimens that had never before been catalogued. Martin’s project—however incomplete—remains the principal tool today’s McKissick curators have for verifying which specimens were originally collected by Cooper, Vanuxem, Gibbes, and other early mineralogists.
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Charleston and Savannah Railroad Records
The main line of the Charleston and Savannah Railroad Company, which began operations in 1861, ran between Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia, with service to other locations south and west of Charleston. In January 1867 under pressure from the bondholders, the Board of Directors agreed to transfer property rights and privileges of the Charleston and Savannah Railroad Company to the Savannah and Charleston Railroad Company.
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Charleston Slave Passes
A collection of slave passes, some found in a Book of Common Prayer donated to the College of Charleston.
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Civil War-Era Letters of the Neves Family of Greenville County
The Neves family of the Mush Creek Community in Greenville District sent three sons to fight in the Civil War, William (W.P.Z.F), John (J.P.), and George (G.W.) Neves, as well as a son-in-law, Andrew Waldrop. Some of the letters in this collection were written by these young men and describe life in camp, but the majority were written to the soldiers by their parents, siblings, and other family members. These letters include mentions of weather, farming, local events such as deaths and marriages, and other details of everyday life in the upper part of Greenville County during the war. These letters are from the private collection of a descendant of the Neves family who resides in Greenville County.
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College of Charleston Scientific Collections
This group of collections features scientific observations held by Special Collections at the College of Charleston. The first collection to be added is the Reverend Alexander Glennie Meteorological Observations. Between 1838 and 1880, Rev. Glennie, a tutor and Episcopal minister in Georgetown, S.C., made daily observations of weather conditions, wind speed and direction, air pressure, and rainfall.
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Confederate Roll of South Carolina
Roll of South Carolina volunteers to the Confederate armed forces divided by company and regiment, and including age, rank, county, and remarks on their service. Compiled in 1898 for the Historian of the Confederate Records.
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Congarees Store Account Book, 1784-86
In 1765, James Chesnut and Joesph Kershaw established a trading post in Granby Village in an area known as 'the Congarees' along the Congaree River in South Carolina. The partial ledger digitized here, containing entries on customers and their purchases, tracks the post's activity from June 1784 to September 1786. The names of notable South Carolinians of the day (such as Wade Hampton) appear throughout the book. The ledger itself resides at the Cayce Historical Museum in Cayce, South Carolina.
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David Wyatt Aiken Papers, 1849 - 1976
This collection contains letters and other materials surrounding the life of five-term U.S. congressman David Wyatt Aiken, who biographers have styled "South Carolina's Militant Agrarian." Born in 1828 in Winnsboro (Fairfield County, S.C.), Aiken served as a colonel in the Confederate Army and later went on to serve in the S.C. House of Representatives. He was a member of the Agricultural and Mechanical Society of South Carolina and served on the executive committee of the National Grange. From 1877 until 1887, he represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives. He died in 1887 at his home in Cokesbury, South Carolina.
The collection consists in large part of letters to his second wife Virginia Carolina Smith Aiken (1831-1900) , as well as a hand-written autobiography and other materials surrounding his life.
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Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Real Estate Indentures Collection
The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Real Estate Indentures Collection features images of rare and original handwritten documents that tell the history of Georgetown County. The collection includes real estate indentures, land grants, survey maps, conveyance of land, titles, mortgages and agreements from the early residents including the Brockingtons, the Fords, the Heywards, the Porchers, the Trapier, and the Wraggs.
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Friendly Moralist Society Records, 1841-1856
The Friendly Moralist Society was a benevolent society for free brown (mulatto or mixed race) men established in Charleston, S.C. in 1838. The group provided burial aid and purchased plots for those in need and provided charitable assistance to widows and orphans of deceased members. Includes proceedings, minutes, and an Absentee's Book.
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Fritz Hollings: In His Own Words
Fritz Hollings: In His Own Words is a collection of Senator Hollings’ writings, speeches, photographs, and audio files from his days as Lt. Governor, Governor, and U.S. Senator. 200 items showcase the compelling intellect, keen wit, and, at times, sharp tongue that Senator Hollings was known for in South Carolina and on Capitol Hill.
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Greenville Civic and Commercial Journal
The Greenville Civic and Commercial Journal (later the Greenville Journal) was a publication of Greenville’s Chamber of Commerce. In addition to articles showcasing local businesses and the activities of Chamber committees, the magazine included stories about the history of Greenville and biographies of local individuals as well as photographs of buildings of note in Greenville. These magazines are held in the archive of the Greenville County Library System’s South Carolina Room.
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Heyward and Ferguson Family Papers, 1806-1923
The Heyward and Ferguson family papers consist of over 1400 pages of family and business correspondence, plantation records, slave lists, military and legal documents and Civil War letters of the Heyward and Ferguson families on the Combahee, Savannah and the Cooper Rivers in the Low Country near Charleston, South Carolina.
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Irish Volunteers Company Records, 1798-1929
The Irish Volunteers, organized in Charleston, South Carolina about 1798, included many prominent members of the Hibernian Society who served as officers. Originally part of the 28th Regiment of the South Carolina Militia, the Irish Volunteers Company was first on active service in the War of 1812 where they served on patrol and constructed defenses. The Irish Volunteers supported Nullification in 1832 and served in the Seminole War (1836) and the Mexican War. During the American Civil War the Irish Volunteers became Company K, First Regiment, South Carolina Volunteers of the Confederate States of America Army under command of Captain W.H. Ryan. In 1916 the unit was called upon to patrol the Mexican border from attacks by Pancho Villa. During World War I the unit became the 105th Ammunition Train. Following the war the Irish Volunteers was maintained as a veterans' social organization.
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Isaiah DeQuincey Newman Collection
Newman was a Methodist pastor, civil rights activist, and entrepreneur. A leading figure in the Civil Rights movement in South Carolina, he helped organize the Orangeburg branch of the NAACP in 1943, helped found the Progressive Democratic Party, and served the South Carolina NAACP as state field director from 1960 to 1969. In 1983, at age 72, he was elected to the South Carolina Senate, thus becoming the first African American to serve in that body since Reconstruction.
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James Kershaw Papers, 1786 - 1825
This collection contains diaries of James Kershaw, 1791-1825, with meteorological observations, recipes, and home remedies, including advice for treatment of pimples, boils, baldness, and unwanted hair. The papers record observations, 17 September 1811, of a solar eclipse, accounts of debts paid, January-April 1812, including prices of cotton, molasses, and sugar, and typed abstracts of recipes, 1936, copied from the diaries.
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John Moak World War II Diary Collection
The John Moak World War II Diary Collection documents the life of John Calhoun "Cal" Moak (1920-1961). He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. C. Calhoun Moak of Columbia, S.C. He received his wings and ratings as a flight officer on August 30, 1943 at Lubbock, Texas. His diary begins August 30, 1943 and runs thru July 18, 1944. Also included in this collection are three photographs of John C. Moak and two newspaper articles, including an article form February 11, 1944
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John Shaw Billings Photograph Albums, 1875-1939
The series of photograph albums document the time that John Shaw Billings (1898-1975) and his extended family spent at the Redcliffe plantation in Aiken County, South Carolina. Known for his position as the first managing editor of Life Magazine, Billings purchased Redcliffe in 1935 from his uncle Henry Cumming Hammond (1868-1961) for $15,000. Even before the purchase, however, Billings' family had owned the estate since its founding: former South Carolina Governor James Henry Hammond, who was also Billings' great-granfather, built Redcliffe. There are a total of 62 photograph albums in the John Shaw Billings Papers collection, housed at the South Caroliniana Library.
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Lynch Family Letters, 1858-1866
From the Catholic Diocese of Charleston Archives comes this collection of correspondence to Bishop Patrick N. Lynch, Bishop of Charleston from 1858-1882. Spanning the years 1858-1866, theses letters to the Bishop from his family touch on a variety of topics including Catholicism and convent life, the Civil War and slavery, and Southern life in the mid-19th century.
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Many Years After , by D. Graham Copeland
This book describes the history of Bamberg, South Carolina, with maps, photographs, and text regarding the antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction eras; more specific chapters discuss the buildings, businesses, schools, churches, occupations and people of the 1890s.
Genealogical charts and other information document the Copeland and various other families of Bamberg County, South Carolina, through the 1930s, and also record Copeland family connections with the Castanedo and related famililies of New Orleans, Louisiana.
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Maxcy Gregg's Sporting Journal (1839-1860)
Maxcy Gregg's Sporting Journal (1839-1860) describes hunting and fishing expeditions, a record of game animals taken, weather conditions and Fisher's Pond. Other entries discuss a trip to the mountains (17 July - 12 August 1843), attending "the Washingtonian lecture" in Winnsboro, South Carolina, a mention of David Johnson (1782-1855), who served as governor of South Carolina, 1846-1848, and unsuccessful efforts to convince William Waters Boyce to assume editorial duties at the South Carolinian (a newspaper of Columbia, South Carolina).
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McBee Sons & Company Store Ledger Book, 1846 – 1861
The bulk of the entries in this handwritten ledger book date from 1846 and 1847 and are arranged chronologically, offering a day-by-day account of the individuals who transacted business with McBee Sons & Co. The items purchased were mainly household goods such as fabric and sewing supplies or paper, food items such as salt and molasses, and items of clothing such as shoes and hats; charges for services such as ‘drayage,’ or fees for shipping goods to other cities, were also recorded. A significant portion of the transactions were for yarn, sold by the bunch, presumably manufactured by the McBee Mill. This ledger book is held in the archive of the Greenville County Library System’s South Carolina Room.
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North of the Broad River
This collection contains two volumes of local history and genealogical information regarding Fairfield County, South Carolina, including families who settled in the region, as well as related lines in Charleston, Orangeburg County, Richland County, and elsewhere in South Carolina.
The volumes include transcriptions of letters and account books and excerpts from other unpublished documents regarding immigrants from the United Kingdom, Germany, and elsewhere in Europe, as well as other regions in North America, who settled in South Carolina. Some entries document sales or purchases of African American slaves, inheritance of real estate, military service in the American Revolution or Civil War, and related topics.
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Paul Hamilton Papers
This small collection of letters written by U.S. Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton (1762-1816) documents concerns and developments during the months preceding the War of 1812.
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Rev. Joseph A. DeLaine Papers, ca. 1918 - 2000
This core unit of three hundred fifty items -two hundred sixty-two manuscripts, miscellaneous printed artifacts, and eighty-eight photographs- added to the papers of the late Joseph Armstrong DeLaine (1898-1974) covers chiefly the period from 1942, when he submitted his annual report as secretary of the Clarendon County Citizen[s] Committee, to 1974, when he delivered an address entitled "History leading up to the U.S. Supreme Court's Decision outlawing Segregation in Public Schools."
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South Carolina Public Library History, 1930 - 1945
The 1930-1943: Depression –Era Library History in South Carolina collection consists of photographs and documents from the archives of the SC State Library. These digital images highlight public libraries, bookmobiles, librarians, and patrons from around the state. Many photographs and documents relate to the federal Works Project Administration (WPA) Library Project in South Carolina, which provided statewide library services from 1935 to 1943.
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The Citadel's Collection of Historical Commencement Speeches
A collection of speeches presented at the The Citadel by notable South Carolinians. Topics include the education, military, economy, and politics of the State in the nineteenth and early twentieth century.
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The Frederick E. Kredel, M.D. Papers
The Frederick E. Kredel, M.D. Papers document the professional life of Dr. Kredel, MUSC's first full-time professor of surgery. The collection includes awards, ceritifcates, and honors received by Dr. Kredel, corespondence, and speeches given by Dr. Kredel. The highlight of the collection is Dr. Kredel's scrapbook of his 1925 zoological research trip to Kartabo, British Guiana, where he studies sloths.
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University of South Carolina Reconstruction Records
In 1873, the University of South Carolina became the only state-supported Southern university to fully integrate during the Reconstruction Era that followed the Civil War. By 1876, the student body was predominately African-American. After Wade Hampton was elected governor and whites regained control of state government, the University was closed for reorganization in 1877, and reopened in 1880 as an all-white institution. It would remain all-white until desegregation in 1963.
This collection brings together the surviving records from the Reconstruction University, including scholarship lists, room and board lists, and faculty correspondence. Student exams from the time period are included in another digital collection, University of South Carolina Student Exams, 1854-1917. Bringing these materials together online provides a glimpse into the lives of these pioneering African-American students.
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University of South Carolina Student Exams, 1854 - 1917
These student examinations date largely from the second half of the 19th century, a period in which the University of South Carolina underwent significant changes not only in its curriculum but also in its student body, its faculty and its educational goals.
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William Ancrum Papers, 1757-1789
Formerly owned by wealthy Charleston merchant William Ancrum (ca. 1722-1808), this single volume (171 pages, bound in vellum) contains both a letter book and financial accounts that reflect the financial impact of the American Revolution on this South Carolina businessman and planter. The letter book, 1776-1780 (169 letters), preserves communications with merchants in Camden, S.C., as well as plantation overseers, and others; the account book details Ancrum’s personal expenses, 1776-1789.
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William Drayton Rutherford Papers
This collection of one hundred fifty-three manuscripts begins in 1858 when Rutherford was courting Sallie Fair, the daughter of Simeon Fair, of Newberry, S.C. The courtship of William ("Drate") Rutherford and Sallie Fair was interrupted in 1861 by secession and war.
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William Tennent III Journal and Album
The journal covers Tennent's trek though the S.C. back-country, at times in the company of William Henry Drayton and Rev. Oliver Hart in an effort to persuade Loyalist Tories to join the Patriot cause. The album contains papers documenting his life as a Presbyterian minister in the Colonies of New Jersey and Connecticut, the courtship of his wife despite the objections of her mother, and his 1772 arrival in Charleston, S.C., to serve the Independent or Congregational Church among other topics.
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