Sixteen ca. 1920s photographs of scenes in Charleston, South Carolina, affixed to pages removed from a photograph album, four photos on each side. Includes views of the Charleston waterfront, the Ashley River Bridge, Hampton Park, and aerial views across the Charleston peninsula. Note: Zoom in on the photographs to see the landscapes! The landmark buildings […]
On September 29, 1938, five tornadoes swept through the South Carolina Lowcountry, two of which ravaged parts of downtown Charleston, causing several fatalities and injuries and two million dollars in damages. The tornadoes damaged or destroyed almost everything in its path, particularly on Market Street, Broad Street near Church Street, and State Street. As with […]
In 1967, Historic Charleston Foundation was deeply concerned about the conditions of the downtown area, particularly the commercial blocks of King Street. Because the Foundation believed that the survival of King Street as a thriving retail shopping district was vital, it launched a feasibility study to determine the potential of the area. The study examined […]
Authorized June 6, 1775, the Second South Carolina Regiment organized at Charleston, South Carolina during the summer of 1775. The Regiment consisted of ten companies from eastern South Carolina. Adopted into the Continental Army in November 1775, the Regiment was assigned to the Southern Department in February 1776. The Regiment was assigned to the 2nd […]
The 2nd South Carolina Regiment Paybook, 1775, is a bound volume that was kept for the 2nd South Carolina Regiment. The paybook primarily consists of receipts that recorded the wages paid to the regiment’s officers. The paybook was kept by the regiment’s paymaster, Thomas Evance, from July to October of 1775, and most of the […]
The 2nd South Carolina Regiment Records Book, 1778-1779, is a bound volume written for the 2nd South Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army. The volume consists of four pages (with writing on the insides of the front and back covers) and contains “Roll of Non Commissioned Officers, and Soldiers in Capt. Blake’s Company 8th March […]
This scrapbook features a compilation of original deeds, titles, and other documents related to the transfer, sale, and ownership of 72-74 Tradd Street, known now as the Fotheringham-McNeil Tenements. Documents span the years 1765 to 1961, and likely represent the entire history of the ownership of the double tenement throughout that time period. The scrapbook […]
The Account Books of Benjamin Perry’s Wards, 1841-1864 Collection consists of two volumes kept by Benjamin Perry for John Allen Miles (Volume 1) and Jeremiah Jackson Miles (Volume 2). A South Carolina Plantation owner, Senator (1846-1850, 1856-1857) and Secretary of State (1850-1854), Benjamin Perry married widow Sarah Free Waring Miles and acted as guardian for […]
The Accounts and Estate Administration Book, 1824-1852 contains loose papers belonging to S.C. attorney Samuel Gaillard Barker (1799-1863). These papers include a list of slaves with their dates of birth, gender, their work as a full or half-time field hand and their “usefulness” as a slave. Also included is a mortgage for seven slaves, a […]
The Adger Family Papers, 1813-1932 collection contains papers written by or for members of the Adger family in Charleston County, South Carolina. James Adger (1777-1858) was a wealthy merchant of Charleston and married Sarah E. Ellison, and among their children were John Bailey Adger (1810-1899), James Adger, Jr. (1812-1881), Robert Adger (1814-1891), who married Jane […]
Souvenir booklet containing photographs of the aftermath of the Charleston Earthquake of 1886, featuring the damage done to buildings. Published by Walker, Evans & Cogswell (Charleston, S.C.), 1886. Photographs by Heliotype Printing Co., Boston, Mass. [24] leaves of plates, 12 x 20 cm.
“Stories Collected from Slaves” by Leonarda J. Aimar is a bound volume from the Agatha Aimar Simmons Papers, 1903-1962. Agatha Aimar was a local historian of Charleston, South Carolina, where she married T. Ritchie Simmons. In 1926, her mother, Leonarda Jacques Aimar, collected stories and reminiscences from formerly enslaved people. In her transcription, she attempted […]
The Agricultural Experiments and South Mulberry Plantation Journal, 1841-1907 (bulk 1841-1867) collection contains a bound journal kept by Sandford William Barker at South Mulberry Plantation in Berkeley County, South Carolina, which Barker acquired through his marriage to Christiana Constantia Broughton in 1835. A graduate of the Medical College of South Carolina as well as a […]
Organized in Charleston, South Carolina as the South-Carolina Society for Promoting and Improving Agricultural, and Other Rural Concerns, the society was incorporated in 1795 as the Agricultural Society of South Carolina. Photographs in this collection depict meetings and officers of the Agricultural Society, exhibits, farm scenes, farmers’ markets, livestock, and other related subjects.
Sketches of buildings and architectural features in Europe, Maryland, Turkey, Italy, Greece, France, South Carolina, and Spain, by Charleston architect Albert Simons. Also included are sketches during his military service in Europe during World War I. The images depict buildings of France, and soldiers and civilians of many nationalities.
Journal kept by Alexander Glennie concerning his activities as rector of All Saints (Episcopal) Church, Waccamaw, South Carolina. Includes a list of plantation chapels (Woodbourne, Laurel Hill, Brookgreen, Oaks, Litchfield, Waverly, Midway, True Blue, Hagley, Fairfield, Sandy Knoll, Cedar Grove, and Mount Arena); the constitution (1832) and minutes (1832-1838) of All Saints Sunday School (an […]
The digitized portion of the Alexander Inglis Papers, 1782-1811 (bulk 1800-1802) collection contains two documents concerning enslaved people owned by Inglis. The collection includes a medical bill for the treatment of two enslaved people named Dure and Mammute, and a note about fifteen enslaved people hired out by a “Mr. Wagner.” Alexander Inglis Jr. was […]
The Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA) is a social justice organization located in Charleston, South Carolina dedicated to achieving equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. The organization was founded in 1998 and is active as of 2020. AFFA has advocated for the equality of LGBTQ people in South Carolina through promotional […]
The Allston Family Papers, 1730-1901 collection contains numerous bound volumes and hundreds of loose papers kept by members of the Allston family between 1744-1865. One of the most prominent members of the Allston family is Robert Francis Withers Allston (1801-1864), a plantation owner and 67th Governor of South Carolina. He married Adele Petigru, and their […]
The selected manuscripts in this collection date from 1775 to 1784 and document the American Revolution in South Carolina and the United States. Materials for this digital collection include numerous letters, a plan of Fort Lyttleton in Beaufort, a notice concerning the election of John Rutledge, a safe conduct pass issued in Charleston, and orders […]
The Anita Pollitzer Family Papers is comprised of documents and photographs gathered by multiple members of the Pollitzer family. The collection contains correspondence, funeral programs, an issue of The Jewish Women Quarterly, Gustave M. Pollitzer’s prayer book in the original Yiddish, marriage and birth certificates, tickets to events, and family photographs.
Anna D. Kelly (1913-2007) is known for her efforts to connect Lowcountry African Americans with the Highlander Folk School, most notably recruiting Septima Clark. A graduate of the Avery Normal Institute in Charleston, South Carolina, Kelly was a charter member of the Avery Institute of African American History and Culture. She then played a crucial […]
The Anne Simons Deas Papers, ca. 1900 Collection contains bound papers written by Anne Simons Deas, the daughter of Elias Deas and Ann Ball. A published author, Anne Deas wrote Points of Colonial Interest Around Summerville. Dorchester, Newington, Ingleside, St. James, Goose Creek (1905) and Recollections of the Ball Family of South Carolina and the […]
In the 1950s many houses in Ansonborough were threatened with ”demolition by neglect,” having stood vacant or fallen into severe disrepair. In order to encourage homebuyers to move into the neighborhood to save these formerly unwanted treasures, Historic Charleston Foundation (HCF) was the first organization in the country to develop the Revolving Fund as a […]
Since its founding, Historic Charleston Foundation had been nursing its interest in the rehabilitation of an entire neighborhood. However, a formal plan had not been devised until the late 1950s, a time when the historic Ansonborough neighborhood was in a state of decline, with many formerly grand houses in a state of severe disrepair and […]
English: Aquí Estamos is a digital archive that documents the history and culture of diverse groups of Latinos in the Lowcountry. The collection includes photographs, correspondence, promotional flyers, and other ephemera. The materials help document the first permanent settlement of Latino immigrants on Johns Island in the 1980s, the emergence of an Hispanic Catholic community, […]
This collection features publications related to architecture, including Charleston architecture. Additional works may be added in the future. See also the White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs Collection.
A twelve-part, mostly pictorial publication about Charleston and the vicinity. Distributed throughout the parts is an essay describing Charleston’s history and development. The photographs feature buildings, residences, churches, street views, river views, historic gardens, cemeteries, railroad structures, phosphate mining activity, and wharves. Published in 1893 by W. H. Parish (Chicago, Illinois).
Atheneum, the Coastal Carolina University yearbook, was published from 1969 to 1997. The yearbooks allow us to trace change in the culture and attitudes of students on the CCU campus throughout the years. The 1969 yearbook is considered to be the first volume because previous editions were included as part of Garnet and Black, the […]
Founded in 1865, the Avery Normal Institute provided education and advocacy for the growing Charleston African American community and trained blacks for professional careers and leadership roles. Although the Institute closed its doors in 1954, it graduates preserved the legacy of their alma mater by establishing the Avery Institute of Afro-American History and Culture. This […]
The Avery Research Center houses a variety of oral history interviews, largely documenting African American experiences in the Lowcountry. Oral history projects include the Avery Normal Institute documentation effort and the Sea Island Preservation Initiative.
The Avery Sweetgrass Basket Collection holds significant modern examples of a centuries-old craft. Following African traditions, baskets of coiled grasses were originally produced by slaves on Lowcountry plantations for agricultural use. Over time, sweetgrass baskets have become artistic expressions that retain the African aesthetic — a symbol of African American culture and a signature of […]
The B. A. Rodrigues Ottolengui Collection consists of various newspaper clippings, theater programs and advertisements, as well as theater tickets which feature performances by a number of members of the Ottolengui family. Notable in this collection is a scrapbook given to Benjamin Adolf Rodrigues Ottolengui by his mother and father, Helen Rodriguez Ottolengui and Daniel […]
The Bacot Family Papers, 1752-1973, collection contains numerous bound receipt books, journals, diaries, correspondences, and financial documents kept by members of the Bacot and Bacot-Huger families. Two bound diaries in this collection were kept by Julia A. Bacot, 1825-1905, and Julius Motte Bacot, 1859-1899. The Julia A. Bacot Diary covers the year 1820 and contains […]
The Ball family was established in South Carolina in 1698 with the arrival of the English emigrant Elias Ball (1675-1751), often referred to as Elias “Red Cap” Ball in family histories. His first wife was Elizabeth Harleston (d.1720) and his second wife was Mary Delamare. His son, Elias Ball II (1709-1786), married Lydia Chicken (1721-1765), […]
This collection consists mostly of the correspondence, with some related materials, of the Barnwell family of Beaufort and lowcounty South Carolina. Topics covered by various family members include the solace of religion; ministering in various Episcopal Churches in South Carolina (1830s-1860s); temperance; conflict and disagreement (1830s-1860s) with the Roman Catholic Church and Father John Fielding’s […]
This collection features 20 photographs that record the damage caused by the hurricane that swept through Beaufort County on August 27th, 1893. Images captured include wrecked and stranded ships and steamers, including the “City of Savannah,” damaged buildings and wharves and a debris covered Bay Street. For more information, please see the companion publication, The […]
The Benjamin H. Rutledge Family Papers, 1675-1867, collection includes a bound volume kept by politician and attorney general, Charles Pinckney, 1699-1758. Following the death of his first wife, Charles Pinckney married Eliza Lucas, 1722-1793, a successful women credited with the development of the Indigo industry in South Carolina. Together, the couple had four children: Charles […]
The Bernice Robinson Papers, 1920-1989 provide information regarding Robinson’s role as a teacher and social activist for voter education, adult literacy, child development, and social work. Contents include biographical papers, writings and talks, correspondence, and affiliations. Biographical papers include transcripts of her oral history interview. Her correspondence includes letters from Guy and Candie Carawan, Andrew […]
The Berry Family Papers, 1767-1929, collection contains a loose paper written by or belonging to members of the Berry Family of Orangeburg County, S.C. John Wesley Bowman Berry (ca. 1850-1929) of Branchville (S.C.) married Martha McQuillan Bowman (1857-1933) in 1877. John Wesley Bowman Berry was the son of planter John P. Berry of Branchville (S.C.) […]
Originally a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Bettie La Barbe spent several years (approximately 1904 – 1923) in Charleston as a teacher and the directress of Kelly’s Kindergarten at Saint Andrews Episcopal Church (located at King and Poinsette Streets). She retired to Asheville, North Carolina and remained an active member in her community until her […]
The Book Lover’s Club of Charleston was founded in 1927 by African American Women as a literary club with a purpose of establishing a high literary culture among its members as well as social improvement for Charleston African Americans. Legal documents, minutes, financial documents, and correspondence (1927-1969) document the activities of the Book Lovers’ Club […]
The Bowman Family Papers, 1835-1892, collection contains loose papers written by or belonging to members of the Bowman family of Orangeburg County, South Carolina. Loose papers consist of bills of sale for enslaved women and their children, a mortgage for enslaved persons and a document titled the “names and ages of the enslaved persons Reddick […]
The St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church Building and Property Records Collection consists of documents that capture the early history and transactions that helped shape the development of the church’s buildings and properties. It includes the legal history of properties eventually acquired by the church and early plans to form a religious society, the German Evangelical Lutheran […]
Burton L. Padoll (1929-2004), was born to Leah and Charles Padoll in Canton, Ohio. Padoll attended the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was ordained in 1957 and received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity in 1982. After his ordination, Padoll served as assistant rabbi in Brookline, Massachusetts. In 1961, Padoll took a position […]
Directory of local businesses of all sorts. Published by Cooke, Howard & Co. (Baltimore, Md.), ca. 1889. Advertisements interspersed throughout, many of which are illustrated. Business types include bakers and confectioners, barbers, blacksmiths, building materials, butchers, contractors and builders, cigars and tobacco, groceries, furniture, hotels, insurance, house furnishings, painters, plumbers, railroad companies, restaurants, sailmakers, tailors, […]
Camp St. Mary, a catechetical summer camp for Catholic children, was founded near the Okatee River in Beaufort, South Carolina, by the Diocese of Charleston in 1928. Father James Linehan organized the religious vocation camp for children of Beaufort missions who were in need of catechetical instruction. The priests of the diocese and the Sisters […]
Carlton Simmons (1959-) began his apprenticeship with uncle Philip Simmons at the age of 13. Today he is less known for utilitarian ironwork, but his decorative and artistic pieces are highly sought-after.
The Catherine and James Yatsco Collection contains artifacts collected in West Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. During 1971-1973, Captain James C. Yatsco was stationed in Monrovia, Liberia, under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), where he helped manage the pharmacy in a newly-built hospital. Catherine Yatsco taught high school English to a […]
The Charles Cross Collection of Buchenwald Concentration Camp Photographs, 1945 is a collection of black and white photographs taken shortly after the liberation of Buchenwald Concentration Camp. Photographs include images of liberated inmates, a memorial dedicated to those who died at Buchenwald, and displays of the living conditions of the concentration camp.
Charles Fraser’s Book of Precedents, 1800-1819, was apparently handwritten by Charleston miniaturist Fraser as a reference work for his legal studies. Compiled mostly from 1800 -1807, the book contains copies of writs, pleas and judgments and includes cases adjudicated from 1736-1819, almost all of which were heard in Charleston district courts.
Charles Fraser (1782-1860) was a renowned Charleston artist and attorney recognized for his miniatures and landscape paintings. Highlights of this sketchbook include some of Charles Fraser’s earliest Lowcountry landscape scenes, and several theatrical views, some of which may be the work of his brother, Alexander.
Charles Fraser (1782-1860) was an American artist, born and died in Charleston, SC. He was best known for his miniature paintings of prominent American figures. The works compiled in this disassembled sketchbook were created at the turn of the 19th century. Works include watercolor and ink on paper and primarily feature landscape paintings and artistic representations of local architecture.
This collection is comprised of a collection of letters and postcards between Charles Henry Meltzer and notable names of the musical community such as, Cécile Chaminade, Gustave Charpentier, Alphonse Daudet, and George Gershwin. Included in the collection is an autographed photo postcard of Cécile Chaminade.
A collection of images of buildings in downtown Charleston, taken between 1979 and 1988 as part of a photographic project funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Collection contains handwritten minutes of the Board of Directors of the Charleston and Savannah Railroad Company, Charleston, South Carolina from 1863 to 1867. Minutes include financial accounts (1864), a report (1865) of the stockholders’ meeting, a list (1866) of bondholders and their bonds, reports, resolutions, and copies of letters sent by the company. Many entries […]
The Charleston Bible Society Records, 1815-2010, collection contains correspondence kept by the Charleston Bible Society. Founded in 1810 as the Bible Society of Charleston (S.C.), the purpose of this organization was the distribution of Bibles without cost. Later constitutions of the society state its name as the Charleston Bible Society. The correspondence in the collection […]
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was started on February 12, 1909, partly in response to the prevalence of lynching of African-Americans in America and the 1908 race riot that occurred in Springfield, Illinois. The Charleston Branch of the NAACP was founded in February 1917 by Edwin Harleston. The branch was […]
Very likely the earliest known printing of a directory of any American city or town, the first directory of Charleston was published as the American Revolutionary War was drawing to a close. It appeared in the South Carolina and Georgia Almanack for the Year of Our Lord 1782 by John Tobler under the caption The […]
The Charleston Library Society’s copy of the City of Charleston’s 1931 Report of the City Planning and Zoning Commission Upon a Program for the Development of a City Plan with Specific Studies of Certain Features Thereof was prepared for the city by Morris Knowles, Inc. The report contributes to the growing work surrounding the acknowledgement of race-based […]
The collection consists of sixteen oversize sheets listing the free men of color who comprised various fire companies in the city of Charleston in the years 1863 and 1864. Nine different companies are included – Engine companies numbers 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 as well as a Hook and Ladder Company. […]
In 1883, Arthur Mazyck published the book, “Charleston South Carolina in 1883 : with heliotypes of the principle objects of interest in and around the city and historical and descriptive notices,” which contained images of Charleston buildings and sights. The images are unique, because only three years later, Charleston was devastated by a major earthquake, […]
This collection highlights some of the best of the Charleston Museum Archives. Currently featured is the Charleston Signal Book. The Signal Book was kept by Union Officer Ensign LaRue P Adams during the Siege of Charleston between August and September of 1863.
This collection contains Revolutionary War military correspondence between the years of 1774-1783. The bulk of the letters are written to Major General Nathanael Greene and are chiefly concerned with strategic matters including reports on engagements and the movement of both American and British forces, procurement of arms and supplies, and issues of manpower with the […]
This collection contains earthquake photographs held by the Charleston Museum, America’s first museum. Currently the collection features 204 photographs documenting the damage inflicted on Charleston by the earthquake of August 31, 1886. Primarily professional photographs, these images were sold as souvenirs of the devastating quake.
These images are from the collection of illustrated newspapers, primarily Harper’s Weekly and Frank Leslie’s, housed in the archives at the Charleston Museum.
Newspaper printed for the civilian employees of the Charleston Naval Shipyard. This collection includes 20 volumes spanning the years 1943-1962.
This collection features hundreds of photographs of ships built or repaired at the Charleston Naval Shipyard, primarily during the World War II years.
A collection of three slave passes from the mid-1800s. The passes were found in a Book of Common Prayer that was donated to the College of Charleston in 1875 by Daniel Horlbeck. They were discovered in the book in 1934. They are examples of how urban slavery operated in Charleston, South Carolina, with slaveholders writing […]
Photographs of Charleston buildings, streets, and other sites. Includes brief history of Charleston. Presumably published by A. Wittemann (New York); printed by The Albertype Co. (New York). [2] p., [48] leaves of plates. Measures 13 x 19 cm.
The Chesnut Family Papers, 1741-1900, collection contains loose papers belonging the family of merchant, plantation owner and state legislator John Chesnut (1743-1818), A Virginia native living in Camden District, S.C., John Chesnut owned large tracts of land in the vicinity of the Wateree River. He was the father of James Chesnut (1773-1866), a plantation owner […]
The Edisto Island Presbyterian Church Register is found in the “Church Session books excerpts, 1816-1901” Collection. This collection contains administrative records taken from the unbound Presbyterian church session books between 1816-1901 on Edisto Island, South Carolina, revealing information on the churches’ history and membership prior to, during and following the American Civil War. Recorded by […]
The Register of the Independent or Congregational Church, 1732-1796, is a bound volume kept by members of the church in Charleston, South Carolina. The earliest dissenting congregation in South Carolina, this church was formerly known as the Independent or Congregational (or Presbyterian) Church. It was founded in 1681 and was attended by both black and […]
The City Engineer’s Plat Book, 1671-1951 is an oversize book containing plats of Charleston properties. It was assembled by the office of the City Surveyor in the City Engineer’s Office. All plats are of properties within the City of Charleston, ranging from individual parcels, or pieces of parcels, to whole neighborhoods. While there is no […]
The City of Charleston’s Board of Architectural Review (BAR) dates to October 13, 1931, when Charleston became the first United States city to adopt a zoning ordinance with a defined historic district. The ordinance established the Old and Historic District, the first historic district protected by local legislation in the United States. The ordinance also […]
This collection highlights historical City of Charleston records. The collection focuses on municipal government and includes records such as City authored and commissioned studies and reports, archival department records, and visual materials. More items will be added to this collection over time. All materials are available to visitors at the Records Management Division’s Records Center.
A pamphlet containing the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Adjustment Under the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Charleston; the 1921 Act of the General Assembly of South Carolina Providing for a Zoning Ordinance; and the 1931 Zoning Ordinance of the City of Charleston. On October 13, 1931, the City of Charleston, South […]
This collection consists of ten maps that were produced in conjunction with the preparation of the City of Charleston’s 1931 Report of the City Planning and Zoning Commission Upon a Program for the Development of a City Plan with Specific Studies of Certain Features Thereof. The report, prepared by Morris Knowles, Inc., paved the way […]
This collection of city year books (1880-1951) provides an overview of the city of Charleston’s annual status. Each year begins with an opening address by the mayor that is followed by data and reports from various municipal departments. Information in the year books includes: reports on Charleston’s economy, infrastructure, education, public health, census data, and […]
The Civic Services Committee (CSC) (1942-1946) was the predecessor body to Historic Charleston Foundation. It was formed by the Carolina Art Association to address the need for architectural preservation and to implement city planning in response to growth. The Committee received grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and Carnegie Corporation, which were used to retain Frederick […]
This collection of 106 Civil War period photographic stereopticon cards of the Beaufort area, St. Augustine, Florida, and Charleston are primarily from the Samuel A. Cooley studio. This collection was purchased from New Hampshire based collector, Stephen J. Edwards. There are a number of scenes depicting the homes and life of the freedmen, a rarity. […]
Cleveland Sellers, Jr. (born 1944), an African American from Denmark, South Carolina, was a participant and leader of a variety of student, civil rights, leftist, and Pan African movements in the 1960s and 1970s. Sellers alone was indicted and convicted for inciting a riot during the Orangeburg Massacre, in which three students of South Carolina […]
This collection consists of five plantation journals, two of which are almanacs repurposed as plantation journals, for Coffin Point Plantation on St. Helena Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina. The journals were kept between 1800-1816 by or for a member of the Coffin family or plantation manager, E.W. Rose. The journals document the names of […]
The Cohen, Emanuel, Moses, Seixas Family Papers collection consists of correspondence, diaries and narratives, and photographs created by and related to the Cohen, Emanuel, Moses and Seixas family members, prominent Jewish families from South Carolina. Notable in the collection is the diary of Eleanor H. Cohen Seixas which documents General William Tecumseh Sherman’s raid on […]
This collection contains materials relating to the commissioning of Bishop Patrick Lynch during the Civil War. Collection includes two commissions given to Bishop Patrick Lynch by Jefferson Davis, naming him special commissioner of the Confederate States of America to the State of the Church. One commission is signed by Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate […]
This collection consists of typed College of Charleston board meeting minutes from 1791 to 2007.
The College of Charleston Buildings and Grounds Photograph Collection consists of images of the college’s historic buildings, campus activities, and other photographs from the Special Collections Department of the Addlestone Library. Photographs include the exteriors and interiors of buildings on the grounds. Also included in the collection are photographs documenting the construction of campus structures.
The College of Charleston Magazine was published monthly by the students of the College of Charleston during the academic year, under the auspices of the Chrestomathic Society. It’s aim was “to foster and encourage a literary spirit among the students, to bring the College more into public prominence than it has heretofore been, and also […]
The College of Charleston Oral Histories collection seeks to preserve the history and culture of the South Carolina lowcountry through recorded interviews with area residents. Currently highlighted are interviews with production managers, directors, performers and behind-the-scenes contributors from Spoleto Festival, USA in Charleston, SC.
The College of Charleston Pamphlet Collection is a growing collection of pamphlets digitized from the College of Charleston archive. The pamphlets originate from a selection of collections, including the Thomas Smith Grimke pamphlet collection.
This collection contains newsletters, magazines, and other publications from several College of Charleston entities. The triannual College of Charleston magazine is included, as is the Carolina Lowcountry & Atlantic World’s Connections newsletter.
This collection highlights various albums and scrapbooks housed in the Special Collections department of the College of Charleston library. Currently the collection includes the Byrnes Downs Garden Club Scrapbook, a European Photo Album, and the Frank Connor Photographic Collection. The Byrnes Downs Garden Club Scrapbook collection consists of a scrapbook documenting the history, […]
The College of Charleston Stereoscope Views is comprised of black and white photographs of work on plantations in the states of South Carolina, Mississippi, and Georgia. Scenes depicted of a rice raft carrying plantation hands, rice cultivation, cotton picking, and cottonseed oil production.
The Colleton County Memorial Library has provided bookmobile service since 1937, started by Isabel Patterson Heaton and Elma S. Rogers. The library continues to provide bookmobile service to rural areas and child care centers throughout the county. This collection features photographs, scrapbooks, newspaper articles from The Press and Standard, and a Library Week guest book. […]
The Colleton County Memorial Library Map Collection currently contains a sampling of images from the historic maps in the holdings of Colleton County Memorial Library. Included in this collection is the Jonah Horry Book of Maps, which features maps, surveys and charts drawn by John Goddard and John Horry Dent.
The Colleton County Memorial Library Minute Books and Ledgers Collection contains digitized minute books, record books and ledgers in the holdings of Colleton County Memorial Library. Featured in this collection is the Colleton County Highway Commission Ledger, which contains the handwritten minutes of meetings of the Colleton County Highway Commission between March 13, 1911, and […]
The Colleton County Memorial Library Scrapbooks and Photograph Albums Collection contains a sampling of images from the scrapbooks, photo albums and other image portfolios in the holdings of Colleton County Memorial Library. Included in this collection is the Future Farmers of America Scrapbook, which features newspaper clippings, photographs, postcards, and other documents related to the […]
This collection contains correspondence dealing with the Confederate military. Collection highlights include a letter from General P. G. T. Beauregard to South Carolina Governor M. L. Bonham in 1863; a letter from Colonel Edward Manigault to South Carolina Governor F. W. Pickens in 1861; and a letter from Captain T. W. Daggett to South Carolina […]
The Continental Army Southern Department Records and Order Book is a bound volume written to keep records & orders for the Southern Department of the Continental Army. The book contains six different sections: 1. Rules for the Formation of Troops, 2. Journal of the Campaign to the Southward (General Robert Howe’s expedition into East Florida, […]
The Cora Godfrey Justice Family Papers, 1816-1987 contain two loose papers kept by or for members of the family. Cora Page Godfrey Justice was a freelance writer and historiographer of St. David’s Church in Cheraw, S.C. She was the daughter of Cora Page and banker William Godfrey (b. 1870) and wife to John William […]
The Cote Bas and Mepkin Plantation Journals, 1865-1877 is comprised of four volumes written by Peter Gourdin that includes data for planting, personal information and clippings. The son of Samuel and Mary Gourdin, Peter Gourdin lived at Buck then Cote Bas Plantation and later settled at Mepkin Plantation with his wife, Constantia Harleston Moultrie Gourdin, […]
The collection of artifacts pertaining tot he Craft and Crum families of the Lowcountry includes a myriad of materials; photo albums, letters, account books, and land deeds. The Craft Family Photo Album includes images of Craft family members, famous abolitionists, and other family friends, many of international historical significance. Also included in the collection are […]
The Cranston Family Papers, 1822-1959, collection contains loose papers belonging to Harold Dener Cranston of Capers Island in Charleston County, South Carolina. Correspondence consists of letters (1850) from plantation owner James Vidal in Charleston (S.C.) to H. Cranston at Capers Island. Letters concern shipments of sugar and rice; repairs to boats; planting of corn; Vidal’s […]
The DeBerniere Family Papers, 1790-1930 (bulk 1790-1860) contains a letter from 1853 kept by the DeBerniere family. The DeBerniere family’s presence in American began when John A. DeBerniere, a native of Ireland and a British army officer, immigrated with his family to America in 1799. The family first settled in North Carolina, and later resided […]
The Dientje Krant Kalisky Adkins Photographs is a collection of, mostly black and white, family photographs. The most photographed subjects include Dientje Krant, Gabriel DeLeeuw, and Roosje Krant. The last few photographs are color photos from 1950, 1967, and 1996, the latter of the entire family on Dientje’s parents 60th wedding anniversary in Charleston, South Carolina.
Dirleton Plantation journal was kept either by or for James Ritchie Sparkman (1815-1897) and possibly by a member of the Upton family. Sparkman served as commissioned surgeon in General W.J. Hardee’s Legion during the Civil War. After the death of his father-in-law, physician Edward Thomas Heriot (1793-1854), Sparkman exchanged Birdfield Plantation for Dirleton Plantation (previously […]
Dr. Elizabeth Clarice Hall (1946-2005) was born in Albany, Georgia. She earned a B.S. in Biology from Ursinus College in 1968, then an M.S. and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Florida State University in 1971 and 1973. The artifacts in this collection were assembled from Dr. Hall’s various trips to Africa.
These Papers consist of correspondence, writings, military documents, slave lists, accounts, plats, and other items relating to the Drayton family of Drayton Hall near Charleston, South Carolina. They include the papers of James Shoolbred Drayton (1820-1867) and Dr. John Drayton (1831-1912) and date 1837-1869. Included is a letter about a “slight altercation between Col. Tarleton […]
The diaries include information on the day-to-day management of Drayton plantations, (particularly Drayton Hall, Jehossee and Long Savannah), focusing on crops, livestock, labor, and the movement of these between estates. Charles describes (in brief) meeting and dining with President George Washington, receiving plant specimens from Thomas Jefferson, a visit from Andre Michaux, the winding up […]
The collection of oral histories capturing the history and sea island culture of Edisto Island, South Carolina, stems from two different periods. Two of the interviews (Alice Stevens and Marion Murray) were recorded in the 1990s. The remaining interviews were conducted in 2016. The purpose of the interviews was to gather impressions of Edisto’s unique way […]
This collection features a wide range of papers from the families of Charles Edmondston (1782-1861) and Charles Alston (1796-1881). This includes an extensive collection of family correspondence, especially during the Civil War years, which provides excellent insight into the wartime experience of the Alstons and those they enslaved, many of whom are mentioned by name. […]
This collection includes portraits of Alston family members from the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It also contains photographs of the interior and exterior of the Edmondston-Alston House and Fairfield Plantation from the same time period.
The Edwin A. Harleston collection contains three original paintings by African American artist and community activist Edwin “Teddy” Harleston (1882-1931) of Charleston, South Carolina. The pieces are representative of the early twentieth-century artists famous portraits and landscapes of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Edwin A. “Teddy” Harleston (1882-1931) was an African American artist and community activist […]
This collection features correspondence from the eighteenth and nineteenth century chosen from the College of Charleston’s Special Collections holdings. This digital collection includes two letters written by Dr. John Vaughan of Philadelphia to Philip Tidyman, discussing smallpox vaccines; a letter from Frederick Garrissen of Germany to Charleston merchant William Stephen requesting that Stephen ship goods […]
Eliza Lucas Pinckney (1723-1793), a colonial South Carolinian, was a remarkable woman who broke gender norms by influencing the colony’s agriculture and business investment plans. She is best remembered for her experiments with indigo and early investment in the indigo market. This receipt book provides fascinating insights into the life of a matriarch on a […]
The Elizabeth W. Allston Pringle Family Papers, 1861-1926, collection includes two bound volumes kept by members of the Allston family. The Allston-Pringle Plantation Account book created in 1867 documents the laborers who worked at Allston properties such as White House, Chicora Wood and Greenfield Plantation in Georgetown County, South Carolina. Recorded by Adele Petigru Allston, […]
The Ellinor P. Gadsden Family Papers, 1848-1970, contains a small bound volume kept by Ellinor Cordes Porcher (1810-1888) that records the baptisms performed on enslaved people, both alive and deceased, between 1848-1853. These enslaved men, women and children belonged to Major Samuel Porcher (1768-1851) and Dr. Thomas W. Porcher (1807-1889), and baptisms were performed by […]
The Emily Clarkson Ball Grainger Family Papers, 1839-1962 (bulk 1926-1950) collection contains two letters sent to William Clarkson in 1839 and 1842. Alexander Ketsall Ball (1883-1958) was born in Cordesville, S.C. and lived in Virginia and North Carolina. His wife Emily Heyward Clarkson (1889-1968) was the daughter of Emily Barnwell Heyward (1855-1928) and Alexander Garden […]
Collection consists of 37 black and white mounted photographs collected by artist Eola Willis, taken mostly in Havana, Cuba around the time of the Spanish-American War (1898) and after.
A scrapbook by Erastus W. Everson (1837-1897) documenting his time spent serving in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861- 1865); the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands during the American Reconstruction Period (1865-1877); as a librarian at the University of South Carolina and a newspaper editor.
Esau Jenkins (1910-1972) was born and raised on Johns Island, South Carolina. With very little formal education, he became a businessman and civil rights leader. Jenkins founded the Progressive Club in 1948, which encouraged local African Americans to register to vote, through the aid of Citizenship Schools, a topic he was educated in by his […]
Ethelyn Murray was a native of Charleston SC and attended Simonton School and the Avery Normal Institute, graduating in 1914. She taught in several counties in South Carolina before enrolling at Voorhees Institute in 1918, studying religious and elementary education. In 1920, she relocated to Mobile, AL, teaching for five years. She received a Rosenwald […]
Eugene C. Hunt graduated from the Avery Normal School and went on to Talladega College, where he received a Degree in English in 1940. He earned a Masters Degree in Theater from Northwestern University in 1954 and continued with postgraduate study in Speech and Education. Mr. Hunt taught English and Speech at Burke High School […]
The folio, Examples of Colonial Architecture in Charleston, S.C. and Savannah, Ga., features photographic plates of some of the most important houses and buildings in Charleston and Savannah. Photographs include exterior views of the buildings, gates, and entrances, as well as interior views of fireplaces, mantels, doors, rooms, and ceilings. Compiled and photographed by Edward […]
This collection consists of plantation account books, medical journals, medical account books, a time book and letters for Dr. Arthur Belin Flagg and Dr. Joshua John Ward Flagg for plantations in Georgetown County, South Carolina between the years 1792-1926. The medical journals and medical account books had been used to record the medical treatment and […]
A photograph album created by William Muckenfuss for Mrs. Frances A. Robb, in the 1940s. Album contains photographs of various Charleston buildings, houses, landmarks, sites, events, battleships, and people as well as other Lowcountry places. Mrs. Robb lived on Wentworth Street and several photographs are of her home and neighborhood.
The Francine Ajzensztark Taylor Papers is an assembly of black and white photographs of the Ajzensztark and Taylor families and friends. Francine Ajzensztark resided in Paris France during the Second World War when she worked as a file clerk for American military forces at Orly Field air base. At Orly Field she met her husband, Harry […]
Frank R. Fisher’s notes contain observations, drawings, and photographs relating to scientific studies, particularly astronomical observations made while Fisher was a resident in Charleston, S.C., during the 1880s. Fisher, a cashier at the South Carolina Railroad Company in Charleston, was an amateur scientist and inventor who occasionally worked in consultation with longtime College of Charleston […]
The Fraser Family Papers, 1755-1872, collection contains a bound receipt book kept by Beaufort and Charleston, South Carolina planter and merchant Frederick Fraser (1762-1816), the son of Scotland native John Fraser who settled in South Carolina around 1700. The Frederick Fraser Receipt Book, 1793-1816, documents the numerous receipts written by merchants, acquaintances, and family members […]
The Friendly Moralist Society was a benevolent society for free brown (mulatto or mixed race) men established in Charleston, S.C. in 1838. This collection contains proceedings of their monthly meetings from 1841 to 1856, and the Absentee Book, showing member absent and for what reason, from 1842 to 1849. The Proceedings section consists of minutes […]
In 2008, Curtis J. Franks travelled to West Africa as a participant in the Fulbright-Hays program under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Education to explore historical and cultural connections between people of African descent in the Lowcountry and Africans in the Mano River Region (Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Ivory Coast), where […]
The Peter Gaillard Jr. Plantation Journal is a bound volume in the Gaillard Family Papers, 1758-1901, collection. Written by Peter Gaillard Jr., 1783-1843, and other members of the Gaillard family upon his death, the journal records information between 1825-1851 for the Rocks Plantation in what was then Berkeley County, South Carolina but is today, Orangeburg […]
The Gaillard Family Papers, 1795-1850 Collection contains a bound journal kept by an anonymous member of the Gaillard family. Details within the journal concern shoes made for enslaved people on a Gaillard plantation between 1817-1818. Other entries discuss cattle, milk, coffee, and pecks of corn.
The General William Moultrie and General Benjamin Lincoln Order Book, 1779 is a bound volume kept by Thomas Hall, captain in the 2nd South Carolina Regiment containing general orders (May 15-Sept. 27) given by General William Moultrie in Charleston or “Charles Town,” South Carolina, and orders (Nov. 6-Dec. 31) given by General Benjamin Lincoln. Orders […]
The journal of George Chicken (1685-1727) was written during the Yamasee War and documents a march across South Carolina to various Cherokee settlements as well as treaty negotiations for peace and alliances against the Creek tribes from January 1715 to February 1716. The journal also includes the correspondence of James Alford and Captain James Woodward. […]
The George Pope collection contains Nigerian artifacts acquired while Mr. Pope, former U.S. State Department employee, was stationed in the country. Nike Olaniyi [Okundaye] Davies (1951- ) is an internationally known artist and textile designer from Nigeria. She founded and runs the Nike Center for Art and Culture in Oshogbo [Osogbo], Nigeria, which offers art […]
George W. Johnson took photographs of Charleston buildings and people at the turn of the 20th century. His collection also includes a number of photographs of the 1901-1902 South Carolina Inter-state and West Indian Exhibition.
This collection consists of 95 photographs and negatives taken around the Charleston area. The images depict early 20th century rooftop views of the city, parks, Charleston Fire Department firefighters and their equipment, Charleston Harbor, the construction of Dry Dock One at the Navy Yard, and a late 20th century reconstruction of Fort Sullivan that was […]
Gertrude Sanford Legendre (1902–2000) was an American socialite who served as an OSS operative during World War II. She was also a noted explorer, big-game hunter, environmentalist, and owner of Medway plantation in South Carolina. The collection includes scrapbooks of Gertrude’s travels and family life, loose photographs ranging in date from the mid to late […]
Glendia Cooper, African American potter, grew up in Mississsippi and has exhibited her work in various cities across the United States. Her pieces, inspired by travel in Africa and South America, are created using the coil and slab methods, then shaping, molding, decorating and glazing by hand.
Souvenir booklet entitled Glimpses of the South Carolina, Interstate and West Indian Exposition Including Some Characteristic Views of the City of Charleston and Scenes at the Pan-American Exposition Recently Held at Buffalo: 126 Half-tone Pictures and a Map of the Grounds. Booklet contains captioned photographs, including some with descriptive text. Measures 13 x 18 cm.
The Glover Family Papers, 1729-ca.1955, collection contains one bound volume and loose papers kept by the Glover family. The bound volume titled “General Work and Allowance List, 1840” records the tasks performed by enslaved people at Camp, West Bank, Forlorn Hope and Snug-it-is Plantations in Colleton, Charleston, Berkeley, and Orangeburg Counties in South Carolina. Tasks […]
Two memorial photograph albums documenting the funeral of Moshe Yidel Gelbart. Gelbart died of appendicitis on February 25, 1935, in Mogielnica, Poland. The albums, made of fabric and paper, contain black and white photographs that chronicle Gelbart’s funeral procession, his casket, mourners, and gravesite, including an image of Gelbart with his wife and son eight […]
The Gooch Family Papers, 1754-1947, collection contains loose papers written by or belonging to members of the Gooch family. John Gooch (1780-1840), a plantation owner of Chester District, S.C., was the father of Henry H. Gooch (1811-1883) of Lancaster District, S.C., who married Martha Trusdel Gooch (1812-1892) in 1832. Their son, Henry H. Gooch, Jr. […]
The Good Hope Plantation Journal, 1835-1874 (bulk 1835-1857) collection is comprised of a bound volume and loose papers pertaining to Good Hope Plantation located in St. Matthew’s Parish, South Carolina. The 3,925-acre planation was inherited by Joseph Heatley Dulles from his aunt Anne Heatley Reid Lovell following her death in 1834. The volume (1859-1860) contains […]
The Theodore L. Gourdin Estate Record, 1826-1829 is part of the Gourdin Family, 1707-1903, collection and is a bound record written by estate executor, Theodore Louis Gourdin. A South Carolina state legislator and plantation owner, Theodore L. Gourdin was the son of Theodore Gourdin (1764-1826) and Elizabeth Gaillard. Establishing himself in St. Stephens and St. […]
This collection includes the Revolutionary War papers of John Paul Grimke and his son John Faucheraud Grimke, with materials regarding the latter as intendant (mayor) of Charleston. The papers of his son Thomas Smith Grimke document temperance, politics and education and also contain an autograph collection. With papers of Thomas’s siblings Frederick Grimke, abolitionists Sarah […]
The Herbert A. DeCosta, Jr. Papers include materials related to the professional and personal life of Herbert DeCosta, Jr., his wife Emily, and numerous Craft, Crum, and DeCosta family members. Namely, the walking cane of Dr. William Crum.
The Halley’s Comet Project is a collection of first hand accounts of the comet, answers to the attached questionnaire, and offers to help with the research projects. Questions on the questionnaire include: 1. What were the circumstances when you saw the comet? 2. Describe the appearance of the comet. 3. Did you experience any particular […]
The St. Matthew’s German Evangelical Lutheran Church’s Hampstead and Bethany Cemeteries Collection consists of documents that relate to the church’s first cemetery, Hampstead, and the current, active cemetery, Bethany. The earliest record dates back to 1813 regarding land conveyance eventually becoming Bethany Cemetery in 1856. Also included is a booklet in German containing a list […]
The Harby Academy Cashbook collection consists of the cashbook kept by Isaac Harby, founder of Harby’s Academy in Charleston, South Carolina. Harby’s Academy was established as a coeducational private academy in Charleston on January 3, 1810. The cashbook contains information for parents with children enrolled at Harby’s Academy. The cashbook includes notes on tuition fees […]
The Harby, Moise, Levy, Moses, and Davis Family Photograph collection consists of cabinet cards, tintypes, and carte de visite portraits which were originally housed in a photograph album believed to belong to Octavia Harby Moses, daughter of Isaac Harby, the prominent Jewish Reformer and founder of Harby’s Acadamy. Many of the photographs include inscriptions to […]
The Harry Blas and Erika Stockfleth Blas Papers is a collection of black and white family photographs and a short personal narrative authored by Harry Blas. The photographs are primarily of family members, however, eight photos are listed as having ‘unidentified’ subjects. Also included is a short personal narrative by Harry Blas chronicling his young adulthood […]
The Hasell Family Papers 1803-1884, collection includes four account books spanning the years 1813-1856. These volumes record Dr. George Paddon Bond Hasell (1781-1818) and his son, Dr. Andrew Hasell’s (1803-1866) medical treatments for their patients, consisting of many Georgetown County plantation families and their enslaved men, women, and children. Information includes prescriptions, records of patient […]
The Hebrew Benevolent Society Papers collection consists of records related to the Hebrew Benevolent Society which functioned under the Congregation of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim in Charleston, South Carolina. Incorporated in 1830, it is known to have assisted in burial of the dead, help for the poor, and medical help to the ill. The digitized […]
Helen Evangeline Banks Harrison was born in Hampton, Virginia in 1898 and is the daughter of Issiah and Anna DeCosta Banks, came to Charleston, South Carolina as a child and spent most of her life there. She attended city schools, Avery Normal Institute, and Howard University. In 1935, she began working as a clerk in […]
Business and personal accounts (1766 Sept.-1767 Dec., 1768 Feb.-1773 May, 1773 Aug.-Sept.) kept for Henry Laurens. Accounts are with individuals and companies for goods (primarily general merchandise) and services (including commissions). Several include the sale of individual slaves. A number of entries are for New Hope, Mepkin, Broton [Broughton] Island, Wambaw, and Wright’s Savannah plantations. […]
The Henry Laurens Papers, 1747-1860 collection consists of correspondence, Congressional and military records, and other items. Henry Laurens was a Charleston, S.C. merchant, plantation owner, South Carolina state legislator, U.S. Continental Congressman, and U.S. diplomat. In June 1775, Laurens became president of the U.S. Continental Congress and served in that role when the first Articles […]
This item is a surveyor’s duplicate book of plats attributed to noted surveyor, civil engineer, and map maker Henry Mouzon. Mouzon conducted surveys for the first map drawn to scale of North and South Carolina, which was published in London in 1775. This book includes an index to the names of property owners and the […]
The collection consists of business correspondence, plantation records, slave lists, military documents, accounting records, legal documents and Civil War letters of the Heyward and Ferguson families of the Combahee, Savannah, and Cooper Rivers in the Low Country near Charleston, South Carolina. The letters date between 1806 and 1923, but the bulk of the correspondence is […]
Historic Charleston Foundation’s Oral History Project began in 2003 as a staff initiative which grew from the realization that Charleston was rapidly losing members of the generation involved with the founding of Historic Charleston Foundation (HCF). At that time, the decision was made to videotape hour-long interviews with former trustees and other pioneers in the […]
One of the first fundraising programs developed by Historic Charleston Foundation after its incorporation in 1947 was its annual spring tours of historic houses, during which trained “hostesses” would guide visitors through several private homes in Charleston’s historic district. In addition to raising revenue to support Historic Charleston Foundation’s preservation efforts, the tours performed an […]
This small map collection features original and facsimiles of historic maps of Charleston. Additional maps may be added in the future.
The St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church Historical and Governing Records Collection consists of documents and photographs that capture the early history of the church and congregation. It includes documents of historical and architectural significance, including the Church Constitution, a program about the 1925 reopening, and early members of the church. The collection also includes correspondence by […]
This collection containes a scrapbook, compiled by James H. Holloway (1849-1913), which contains legal documents, personal and business correspondence, receipts, ephemera, clippings and photographs pertaining to the Holloway family, a prominent free family of color in Charleston, SC. Legal documents include deeds (1806, 1821, 1871), a conveyance (1811), slave bills of sale including one for […]
The Horlbeck Brothers Records, 1824-1860, collection contains a daybook, cashbook and ledger associated with the architectural firm H. Horlbeck and Brothers, which includes Henry (1800-1872), Daniel, Edward (1809-1893), and John Horlbeck (1817-1892). Contained in these books are lists of work done for private, commercial, municipal, religious, and institutional clients, noting client’s name and/or street address, […]
The Huger Family Papers, 1795-1897, collection contains a record of enslaved persons owned by members of the Huger family. A South Carolina family, Francis Kinloch Huger (1773-1855) was a Charleston and Stateburg physician, U.S. Army officer, and South Carolina state legislator. In 1794, Huger was studying medicine in Vienna, Austria, where he met Dr. Erick […]
Conservation is extremely important in the field of underwater archaeology. The uncontrolled exposure to air of any material recovered from a marine environment can lead to irreversible damage and the disastrous loss of archaeological data. Organic materials such as leather, wood, textile, rope and plant remains, if allowed to dry without conservation treatment, they can […]
The submarine H.L. Hunley represents one of the most complex composite structures ever recovered by an archaeological team. The exterior hull is comprised of wrought-iron plates of various sizes, several cast-iron fittings and glass view-ports. While the Hunley was lost at sea, it was going through a series of physical and chemical changes. Salts from […]
Hutson Lee, 1834-1899, was a Charlestonian and quartermaster in the Confederate army. Within his manuscript collection are 15 slave auction broadsides advertising sales of slaves in Charleston, South Carolina in 1859 and 1860. Each broadside contains information about the time and location of the sale, with many advertised as taking place at Ryan’s Mart on […]
This collection consists of photographs and slides from the institutional records of the Charleston County Public Library. These images span the first four decades of the history of the institution, from its founding in 1931 as the Charleston Free Library, through 1969. The collection contains images from various library branches and service points, including the […]
In conjunction with College of Charleston Libraries’ Special Collections, College of Charleston’s Irish and Irish American Studies program sponsors the Irish Heritage Project. The Irish Heritage Project is striving to become the repository for papers of local Irish American families, professionally preserving and cataloging such records for future generations. The program aims to provide finding […]
Organized in Charleston, South Carolina about 1798, the Irish Volunteers Company was first on active service in the War of 1812 where they served on patrol and constructed defenses. This collection contains typescript copies of “The History of the Irish Volunteers Company” (1798-1836) and minutes from organizational meetings from 1884-1901 and 1915-1929. Also included is […]
The Isaac Harby Family Papers collection consists of correspondence and manuscripts regarding Isaac Harby and the Harby family. Notable from this collection are a letter from Isaac Harby to John C. Calhoun, Isaac Harby’s Copybook, and Isaac Harby’s prayer book manuscript. Harby’s prayer book contains the Reform Society’s “Articles of Faith,” which introduced several elements […]
The Isaac Hayne Journal (1764-1781) is a bound volume compiled by planter, Revolutionary War colonel, and South Carolina legislator Isaac Hayne (1745-1781). Serving with Patriot forces in the Colleton County regiment, Hayne was captured by the British during the Siege of Charleston in 1780. Initially given parole and allowed to return to his home, Hayne was later […]
Isaiah Bennett (1926-2002) served as a union representative for tobacco workers at the American Tobacco Company’s “Cigar Factory” and as a leader and negotiator of the Charleston Hospital Workers’ Strike of 1969. Bennett also founded and was president of the Charleston chapter of the A. Phillip Randolph Institute, an umbrella organization for black trade unions. […]
J. Arthur Brown was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1914. After graduating from the Avery Institute in 1932 he continued his education at South Carolina State College in Orangeburg, SC graduating in 1937. While at SCSC, Brown met his future wife MaeDe Esperanza Myers (1918-2012), marrying in 1940. The couple had three daughters: MaeDe […]
Collection consists of papers, including a handwritten “Journal” [diary], exercises, and lecture notes written by physician, J.F.R. The diary commences at New Orleans, Louisiana and includes entries about classes, students, and faculty at the medical department of the University of Louisiana. In May 1853 the author became the medical officer on the steamer Falcon and […]
John J. (“Jack”) Keilen (d. 1999) was a native of Pittsburgh and received a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He came to Charleston during the mid-1940s, working first for West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company and later Charleston Rubber Company. An avid amateur photographer throughout his life, Mr. Keilen took several thousand […]
The digitized portion of the James E. Campbell papers consists of 107 posters that were collected by Campbell throughout his life. Campbell (1925-2021) was a native of Charleston, South Carolina and went on to become a revolutionary organizer, activist and educator. He worked alongside notable figures such as Amiri Baraka, Jack O’Dell, and Malcolm X, […]
The James N. Cochran Papers, 1838-1887, collection contains a loose paper belonging to the Cochran family. A South Carolina attorney, James N. Cochran was the son of John Cochran (d. 1855) and practiced in Abbeville, S.C. and later in Cokesbury and Hodges, S.C. He married Celestia Douglass White, widow of Leonard J. White. His sister […]
The James Simons Papers, 1832-1879, collection contains one bound volume and loose papers pertaining to James Simons (1813-1879). A South Carolina attorney, military leader and legislator, James Simons was the son of James Simons (1761-1815), a Continental Army officer who practiced law in Charleston, South Carolina and was the commander (general) of the 4th Brigade […]
The James W. Miles Papers, ca. 1840-1875, collection contains loose papers belonging to James Warley Miles (1818-1875). A Charleston S.C. Protestant Episcopal minister and educator, Miles studied law with Henry Bailey, attorney general of South Carolina, but left that profession for the ministry. He spent several years as a missionary in Constantinople, and after returning […]
This collection is comprised of born-digital and digitized material from individual and family collections from the Jewish Heritage Collection. Most of these digital objects are part of larger manuscript collections held in the College of Charleston’s Special Collections Department. Finding aids for these collections can be located by searching the College of Charleston online catalog.
The Jewish Heritage Collection Oral Histories, archived in Special Collections at the College of Charleston’s Addlestone Library, offer an inside perspective on the lives of Jewish residents of South Carolina’s cities and small towns. The majority of interviews focus on first- and second-generation Americans of the twentieth century, and address topics such as immigration, assimilation, […]
The Joe Engel Papers collection is a composition of black and white photographs taken of the Engel family in their hometown of Zakroczym, Poland before the war and one month after liberation. Also in the collection are photographs of Joe Engel at the displaced persons camp of Zeilsheim and after his relocation to Charleston, South Carolina.
The Johannah Gold collection contains objects from Mrs. Gold’s family relating to the history of farming in the Lowcountry.
In this collection are 23 letters written by John Caldwell Calhoun between the years 1824 and 1850. The majority of these letters were written during Calhoun’s second term as South Carolina’s U.S. Senator. Calhoun divulges his political concerns with confidant Henry Workman Conner, who at the time was the president of the Bank of Charleston, […]
“Artist Naturalist” is how Dick described himself in his autobiographical book entitled Other Edens (1979). He established a reputation as one of the leading bird painters in the United States when he illustrated the Warblers of America (edited by Ludlow Griscom and Alexander Sprunt, Jr., 1957). He painted approximately 2,500 separate birds for the Pictorial […]
This collection primarily consists of over two hundred eighteenth and nineteenth century plats pertaining to properties in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. Plats include the parish of St. Thomas & St. Denis, St. Andrew’s Parish, Prince Frederick, St. Stephen’s Parish, St. Luke’s Parish, St. Peter’s Parish, St. John’s Parish, St. Bartholomew’s Parish, St. Paul’s […]
The John P. Berry Papers, 1844-1897, collection contains loose papers belonging to the family of John Parker Berry. A plantation owner of Branchville, S.C. he was the son of John Berry and Ann Berry (d. 1873). His wife was Margaret S. Berry, and his children included Alice Berry, M. Elizabeth Edwards, John Wesley Bowman Berry, […]
The John R. Beaty Letters is a collection of thirteen letters dated from August 18, 1860 to February 8, 1862 and four undated letters written in that same time period. Beaty was born in Conwayborough (Conway), South Carolina on August 16, 1827 and died in February, 1865. The first three letters, written in August 1860 […]
The John Ravenel Estate Book, 1862-1870, collection contains a bound volume on the inventory and appraisement of the estate of John Ravenel, deceased. A Charleston, South Carolina merchant and businessman, John Ravenel (1793-1862) married Anna Elizabeth Ford in 1818. Together, they had five children: Alfred Ford Ravenel (1822-1893), Francis Gualdo Ravenel (1825-1862), St. Julien Ravenel […]
African American anthropologist Joseph Allen Towles (1937-1988) met British anthropologist Colin Macmillan Turnbull (1924-1994) in 1959. The two exchanged marriage vows in 1960 and they lived together in an interracial, homosexual relationship until Towles’ death in 1988. Towles and Turnbull spent various periods of time in Africa, conducting fieldwork on the Mbuti, Mbo, and Ik […]
The Coards Studio was a photography studio owned and operated by Joseph and Rachel Coards in Charleston, South Carolina. Coards photographed African American families and individuals in the studio and various events and groups outside of the studio, such as graduations, weddings, and other ceremonies. The studio, located at 78 Line Street, closed in the […]
The Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Journal (1818 April 6-May 16, with a few scattered entries in late 1818 and early 1819) consists of journal entries on pages interleaved in Hoff’s Agricultural Almanac (1818). The journal records daily activities on Pinckney’s plantation. Pinckney not only planted cotton, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, corn, and oats, but relied heavily […]
The Robert Woodward Barnwell Plantations collection contains a plantation book (1838-1859) created by Robert Woodward Barnwell (1801-1882) listing the names of enslaved men, women and children as well as clothing and blankets given to slaves at Cotton Hope, Bull’s Point, Woodward and the Briars Plantation in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Loose papers in this collection […]
The Samuel Wilson Diary is found in the Journal of Samuel Wilson, 1854 collection. Initially a Miller’s Planters & Merchants Almanac for the year 1854, Charleston (S.C.) physician Samuel Wilson (1791-1861), the son of Dr. Samuel Wilson (1763-1827) repurposed the almanac as a journal. Information found in the journal includes meteorological and weather observations, family […]
The Joyner Family Papers, 1842-1883, collection contains an estate record kept by or for members of the Joyner family. Members of this family include Belton Joyner, Paul H. Joyner and Robert Joyner and counties associated with them include Lexington County (S.C.) and Richland County (S.C.) The estate record, 1848-1849, is for Robert Rowan written by […]
The Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Congregation Records collection consists of Board of Trustees meeting minutes, correspondence, and various documents encompassing all aspects of congregational life. Notable in this collection are the nineteenth-century meeting minute volumes which provide firsthand accounts of the many changes adopted by the congregation in their turn towards Reform Judaism. The minutes […]
The Katherine Nicklaus Collection contains two female carved wooden masks whose origin was the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire).
The Keith and Charlotte Otterbein collection contains straw objects obtained while doing ethnographic work in Nassau, Bahamas between 1959 and 1987. Many of the items in this collection were made by individual Bahamian craftswomen (also called “plaiters”) who maintained their independence in the straw industry, while four were sold in the Nassau straw market, thus […]
These lantern slides were produced for classroom use by the highly successful Education Department of the Keystone View Company. The slides cover a wide range of subject matter including scenes of industry, places of architectural or historical significance and places of natural beauty.
Correspondence, speeches, memoranda, legislative files, political files, and committee files of L. Mendel Rivers (1905-1970), Democratic United States Representative from South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District from 1941 to 1970. Materials primarily relate to Rivers’ service in Congress from 1955 to 1962 with topics including the Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs invasion, Civil […]
L.A. Hall, Beaufort’s postmaster, gave the Beaufort Township Library a collection of 36 stereopticon views of Beaufort taken “right after the War between the States” that he had received “from a friend in the north.” Twenty-six of the images were taken in Beaufort by photographer E.W. Sinclair who worked for Samuel A. Cooley, self-described “Photographer, […]
The Langdon Cheves Papers, 1777-1864, collection contains the personal, business, and legal papers of Langdon Cheves Sr., 1776-1857, a South Carolina attorney, judge, plantation owner, state legislator, U.S. Representative, and president of the Bank of the United States. In the collection are records of the Bank of the United States and other financial records, and […]
The Laura Bragg Papers collection at The Citadel Archives and Museum contain letters written to Miss Bragg from Chinese cadets before and after their graduation from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, from 1926 to 1948. Topics of the letters include career plans, The Citadel, political beliefs, Chinese culture, history, and military events. […]
The Lawrence Layden Scrapbook contains photographs and papers documenting his wartime service. Lawrence Layden was a Captain in the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group during World War II. Personal papers consist of induction papers, forms listing the date for reverting to inactive service, military security passes, promotion papers, transfer papers, letters of recommendation to attend Officer Candidate […]
The Lazarus and Hirsch Family Papers collection is comprised of correspondence, photographs, and documents created by and related to the Lazarus and Hirsch families, two prominent Jewish families in South Carolina. Notable from the collection are several letters between Jane Levy (Hart) and Mordecai M. Levy, grandparents of Jane Lazarus Raisin; a letter to Private […]
The Leah Greenberg Postcard Collection is comprised of over 900 postcards of historic houses, parks, forts, landmarks and more in and around Charleston, South Carolina. Postcards available for viewing online depict houses on South Battery and other buildings in downtown Charleston, Magnolia Cemetery, Cypress Gardens, Hampton Park, and various wrought iron gates.
The Leo S. Carty Watercolor Print collection contains nine signed and number prints by Leo S. Carty (1931-2010). The primary focus of Carty’s paintings are the daily life of blacks in the Virgin Islands at the turn of the 20th century. Leo S. Carty (1931-2010) was born in Harlem, New York on April 17, 1931. […]
The Letter to Harriott Horry, ca. 1780, collection contains a letter from Eliza Lucas Pinckney (1723-1793) to her daughter Harriot Horry (1749-1830) discussing family matters and an enslaved woman. Eliza Lucas Pinckney was the daughter of Col. George Lucas of Antigua, was the second wife of South Carolina chief justice Charles Pinckney (ca. 1699-1758). Her […]
The letters from Hiram Tilman to his father, Major Alfred Wardlaw, between the years 1857-1862 comprise the Letters to Alfred Wardlaw, 1857-1862 Collection. Sent from Memphis, Tennessee and other various locations to Charleston, South Carolina, these letters primarily concern slaves on the Wardlaw family plantation, the transport of slaves to Memphis, Tennessee and Hiram Tilman’s […]
Donated by Dr. Lois Fries, these artifacts were collected in the early 1920s by Reverend Robert and Jennie Oberly. The Reverend and his wife were missionaries to Liberia for the United Lutheran Church.
The Loose Papers of the Summerville Museum and Research Center collection consists of discrete manuscripts and documents from the museum’s archives. These papers include letters between Confederate officers during the Civil War, legal documents from the 1700s and 1800s, and a letter from a Confederate regiment officer to Governor Bonham arguing for allowing the soldiers […]
Cast net fishing is a significant part of history in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Africans transported to the Lowcountry, later known as the Gullah people, brought with them skills in boating and fishing. Seafood was plentiful on the South Carolina coast and barrier islands (sea islands) and made up a large part of the diet, […]
This growing collection features historic pamphlets highlighting some of the attractions of Charleston, South Carolina and the Lowcountry. This collection currently includes an illustrated pamphlet that gives a brief history of the Dock Street Theatre in Charleston, South Carolina and provides rich physical details about the building, including photographs, floor plans and cross sections. Also […]
The Lucas-Porcher Family Papers, 1827-1972, collection contains loose papers written by or belonging to the Lucas-Porcher family. Thomas Porcher (1796-1843) of White Hall Plantation (Berkeley County, S.C.) was the father of Thomas Francis Porcher (b. 1827), and Elizabeth Lydia Porcher (1825-1872), who married Charles Baring Lucas (1829-1874), a physician and owner of Wappaoola (or Wappahoola, […]
The Lydia Jane Waring Estate Book, 1840-1847 collection contains a bound volume for the estate of Charleston, South Carolina resident Lydia Jane Ball Waring (1801-1841) who married Francis Malbone Waring (1804-1839). Together, the couple bore three children named John B. Waring, Ann Simons Waring, and Francis Malbone Waring. Lydia Ball Waring’s brother was Keating Simons […]
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, these 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 […]
Mamie Elizabeth Garvin (1888-1987) was born to Rebecca Mary Logan Bellinger and George Washington Garvin, in Charleston, South Carolina. Garvin became one of the first African American teachers hired to teach in the county’s public schools. In addition to teaching children, Fields was a pioneer in concept of children’s daycare facilities, adult education, organizing classes […]
The Manigault Family Papers, 1685-1971, collection contains a bound volume kept by Charles Izard Manigault, (1795-1874). The Manigault family was established in South Carolina by Huguenot immigrants, Pierre and Judith Manigault who settled in the French Santee area of South Carolina. The couple gave birth to a son, Gabriel Manigault (1704-1781), who became the wealthiest […]
The Marie Metz Collection is comprised of three objects; a mantel clock, a xylophone, and a clock topper. The mantel clock has metal legs with markings that indicate that the clock was made in New York. The square xylophone has five plates, each producing a different tone. The clock topper is an ornamental figurine that […]
The Martha Mondschein Bauer Papers consists of a collection of black and white family photos taken before the start of World War II. Also included in the collection is a 1946 memo from the United Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia confirming the death of Martha Mondschein Bauer’s brother, Rene Mondschein, a telegram wired to Felix Bauer, 1940, […]
The Mary Lamboll Thomas Beach papers, 1822-1890 (bulk 1822-1823), collection consists of sixteen letters written by Mary Beach (1770-1851), a member of the Circular Congregational Church in Charleston, South Carolina and wife of New Jersey native Samuel Beach (1761-1793). Sent to her sister Elizabeth Lamboll Thomas Gilchrist (1771-1852) of Philadelphia, (Pa.), the letters concern religious […]
This is the plantation register by Mathurin Guerin Gibbs (1788-1849) for Rice Hope Plantation and Jericho Plantation. The plantation register primarily documents the cultivation and harvesting of staple crops such as corn, cotton, rice and potatoes, livestock, and building fences. Gibbs also writes about the use and management of enslaved labor and the movement of […]
Watercolors by Charleston-born architect Maynard Pearlstine. These 24 watercolors depict scenes from Pearlstine’s Mediterranean cruise to Italy, Greece and Turkey in 2000, an eco-tour to the Marine Science Consortium on Virginia’s Eastern Shore in 2002, and a 2004 trip to China.
Thirty-nine ca. 1960 black-and-white photographs of houses and buildings on Alexander, Charlotte, Elizabeth, and Meeting Streets within Mazyckborough-Wraggborough.
Selections from the McLeod Family Papers include photographs and a “Crop Memoranda” book for McLeod Plantation on James Island in South Carolina. The visual images are comprised of various structures located on the property as well as the residents of McLeod Plantation. The “Crop Memoranda” book lists names and accounts of workers (1910-1921), notes on crops (1926-1944), […]
The McLeod Plantation Cemetery Collection contains beads found in 1996 during the construction of a fire station in James Island, South Carolina. Construction of the fire station, which was to be located between Folly Road, Country Club Drive, and Wappoo Creek, was aborted when workers unearthed unmarked graves. The human bones found were believed to […]
A ten-set collection containing 37 items of measured drawings, ink sketches, pencil drawings and watercolors representing several generations of the Middleton family of South Carolina from 1803-1867. Sets 1-6 contain measured architectural drawings attributed to John Izard Middleton with dates and watermarks ranging from 1808-1813. Five country houses and one greenhouse are depicted in these […]
The Weehaw Plantation Journal, 1855-1861, is a journal kept by Henry A. Middleton, Jr. (1829-1861). The son of Henry Augustus Middleton (1793-1887) and Harriot Kinloch (1801-1878), South Carolina planter Henry Middleton, Jr. joined Wade Hampton’s South Carolina Legion and was fatally wounded at the Battle of First Manassas in July of 1861. Numerous pages in […]
The Middleton Papers, 1775-1815 collection contains documents created by members of the Middleton family, including letters to and from Arthur Middleton (1742-1787) , a prominent planter and signer of the Declaration of Independence. In addition, this collection contains various resolutions on Revolution-era politics, banknotes signed by notable South Carolinians, letters on plantation management, and a receipt […]
Millicent Ellison Brown (b. 1948) is an educator and civil rights activist. Born in Charleston to MaeDe and J. Arthur Brown, local and state president of NAACP (1955-1965), Brown, in 1963, replaced her older sister Minerva as the primary plaintiff in a NAACP-sponsored lawsuit (Millicent Brown vs. Charleston County School District #20). The collection consists […]
This collection includes correspondence, certificates, photographs, and other materials related to Miriam DeCosta Seabrook’s education at Avery Institute and elsewhere, teaching career, and civic involvement; correspondence, speeches, and reports related to Dr. Herbert Seabrook, Sr.’s community and fraternal affiliations and to his medical career as a private practitioner and director of the Hospital and Training […]
This collection of 17th century world maps was published and printed by the Danckerts family, and was donated as a part of the Mitchell King Library. These 31 maps cover various countries in Europe, as well as the continents of Asia, Africa, and North and South America. The maps are by various cartographers including Visscher, […]
The Moses Family Papers collection is composed of photographs and narratives related to and created by members of the Moses Family, a prominent Jewish family in South Carolina. Notable in the collection is a typescript narrative given by Octavia Harby Moses, daughter of the prominent Jewish reformer and founder of Harby’s Academy, Isaac Harby, which […]
Clarence E. Chapman, a New York financier and stockbroker, and his wife Adelaide, purchased Mulberry Plantation (a/k/a Mulberry Castle) in 1916 at which time they undertook the restoration of the main house and rehabilitation of the grounds and outbuildings over the next several years. Mulberry Plantation was thus transformed into a site of leisure and […]
The Mulberry Plantation Journals, 1853-1908 (bulk 1853-1889) collection is comprised of four bound journals containing records of Mulberry Plantation in Berkeley County, South Carolina kept by plantation owners John B. Milliken, Thomas Milliken and overseers C.A. Ward and R. Meynardie. Volume One kept by Thomas Milliken between 1853-1858, reports activities on the rice plantation such […]
The Muriel and Marcus Zbar Collection was donated by Dr. Marcus J. Zbar, a 1951 graduate of Vanderbilt University. The collection consists of artifacts originating in West and Central Africa and Papua New Guinea that Dr. Zbar privately purchased from various galleries across the United States.
Nathaniel Russel Middleton’s writings consist of poems, essays, and addresses about Christianity, the fine arts, philosophical materialism, temperance, secession, fame, the U.S. Constitution, and other subjects, many of which were probably delivered to the students of the College of Charleston during his tenure there as professor and president.
A National Historic Landmark, the Nathaniel Russell House Museum was built and completed in 1808 for Charleston slave merchant Nathaniel Russell, becoming an exemplar of neoclassical architecture in the United States. Historic Charleston Foundation acquired the house in 1955 and has restored the site to its original 1808 appearance using forensic analysis and cutting-edge conservation […]
This collection details the inner workings of Newton Plantation in the 1800s and contains several account and transaction ledgers. Specifically, this collection includes several day books (including the Newton Day Book or the Newton Plantation Day Book) originating between 1854-1872. These books provide records of monetary transactions on the plantation, including accounts payable and accounts […]
The Pan-African Art and Artifact Collection contains objects anonymously donated to the Avery Research Center that portray art and life among peoples of African descent across the world.
The St. Matthew’s German Evangelical Lutheran Church Parish Records Collection consists of marriage and death records from 1840 through 1901 written in German. From 1848 through 1898, Pastor Ludwig (Louis) Müller, D.D. served as the Pastor of St. Matthew’s German Evangelical Lutheran Church and for each year he concluded the marriage and death records with […]
The Paul Craven, Jr. Collection is comprised of artifacts of Togo origin. The artifacts include wooden figurines, instruments, spears, household items, and woven straw fans adorned with the flag of Togo.
The Pearlstine-Strauss Family Papers Collection largely consists of photographs (1860s – 1970s), but also contains correspondences, newspaper clippings, Edwin Pearlstine’s World War I records, and genealogical information for the Pearlstine, Strauss, Hyams, Weinberg, Hornik, and Felsenthal families. The digitized portion of this collection currently consists of photographs. Images include I.M Pearlstine (1860s-1890s), Hyman Pearlstine (1880s-1920s), […]
Philip Simmons (1912-2009) was an African American blacksmith and artisan specializing in the craft of ironwork in Charleston, South Carolina. Simmons spent seventy-seven years crafting utilitarian and ornamental ironwork. His work is recognized within the state of South Carolina, nationally, and internationally. This collection, donated by the Philip Simmons Foundation, holds personal papers with photographs […]
The Phillips Family Papers collection is comprised of typescripts and manuscripts created by members of the Phillips family, prominent members of Charleston’s Jewish community in the Antebellum period. The collection contains recollections and a memoir, both serving as accounts of the family’s daily activities prior to and during the Civil War. Notable from the collection is a typescript copy […]
The Phillis Wheatley Literary and Social Club was formed in 1916 under the direction of Jeannette Cox, wife of Avery Normal Institute principal Benjamin Cox. The club consisted of nineteen women members meeting to discuss literary works by such authors as W.E.B DuBois, Carter G. Woodson and others. The club women also helped fulfill their […]
This collection of 548 photographs comes from two albums of family photographs created by Conrad Munro Donner (1844 – 1916), a peripatetic engineer from the Hamburg-Altona area near the border between Denmark and Germany who had an active interest in photography. Self-taught, the bulk of his images reflect his experience of Lowcountry rural life in […]
“The proposal to build a hotel and convention center complex in the heart of Charleston ignited a fierce debate in Charleston in the late 1970s and early 1980s that divided public opinion locally and attracted considerable attention nationally.” While Historic Charleston Foundation expressed neither support nor opposition for the development of the block, it played […]
The collection consists of two scrapbooks recording the construction of the John P. Grace Memorial Bridge. Completed in 1929, the bridge spanned to Cooper River Bridge to connect Charleston and Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
These photos are from the collection, The Records of the Historic Preservation Planner, Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG), 1970 – 1981. A large portion of this collection is comprised of the research materials collected for the publication, Historic Preservation Plan Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Region, with the rest being non-survey regional research materials, general business files of the […]
The Pinckney Family Papers, 1703-1847, collection consists of two bound volumes kept by members or for members of the Pinckney family. Several members of the Pinckney family have been distinguished for service to South Carolina and the United States. Eliza Lucas Pinckney helped make indigo a major cash crop; she was the mother of two […]
The Pinckney-Means Family Papers, 1701-1983, collection contains a loose paper belonging to members of the South Carolina Pinckney-Means family. Family members include Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746-1825), Mary Stead Pinckney (ca. 1751-1812), Thomas Pinckney (1750-1828), Edward Barnwell Means (1821-1898), and Mary Barnwell Pinckney Means (1857-1939). Pinckney-Means family plantations consist of Shifnal Plantation (Colleton County, S.C.), Toppin […]
The Pincus Kolender Papers consists of mostly black and white photographs of family members in Poland before World War II and in Germany after the war. Also included are photographs from Pincus’ marriage to Renee in Charleston, South Carolina, a group of survivors taken in Tel Aviv, Israel in the 1960s, and photographs of Pincus returning […]
Charles Shepard Jr. (1842–1915) established the first successful tea plantation in America at Summerville in 1888. Pinehurst Tea Plantation thrived until Shepard died in 1915. After his death, the plantation faltered and the plants grew wild on the outskirts of town. In 1963 the Lipton Tea Company transported the old Pinehurst plants to Wadmalaw Island. […]
This family history was created by Laura Heyward Porcher White for John Porcher Bryan and contains biographical information, anecdotes, and reminiscences concerning Porcher family members who lived on various plantations properties in Berkeley County (S.C.), namely, Ophir, Goshen, Comingtee, and Mulberry. The family history also includes a description of Ophir Plantation, and it is illustrated […]
The Porcher Family Papers, 1740-1968 (bulk 19th century), collection contains a bound prescription book kept by Dr. Francis Peyre Porcher (1824-1895) between 1856-1859. A Berkeley County and Charleston County family with descendants from France, Dr. Francis Porcher was the son of William Porcher (1800-1833) and Isabella Sarah Peyre Porcher (1803-1890). The prescription book states the […]
The Postcard Collection of Mullins, South Carolina consists of postcards dating from the early and mid-twentieth century. Some of the postcards depict the city of Mullins and its important buildings. Another portion of the postcard collection depict cities, popular vacation locations, and tourist attractions in both South Carolina and the East Coast of the United […]
The Pringle-Garden Family Papers, 1701-1882, collection contains loose papers written by or belonging to the Pringle-Garden family. When Robert Pringle (1755-1811) married his second wife, Amelia Ann Garden (1770-1801), the lives and property of these South Carolina Lowcountry families became intertwined. Robert Pringle, a physician and later a merchant, was the son of Robert Pringle […]
The Rabbi Jacob S. Raisin Papers digital collection is comprised of correspondence, writings, records, and photographs encapsulating the life and work of Rabbi Jacob Salmon Raisin and his family. A prolific writer and supporter of the Reform, Jacob Raisin served as rabbi of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE) in Charleston, South Carolina from 1915 to […]
The Ragsdale Family Papers, 1844-ca.1920, collection consists of loose papers for the family of plantation owner Burr Ragsdale (d.1859). Living in Chester District, South Carolina, Burr Ragsdale married Elizabeth S. Ragsdale (her maiden name was possibly Wall). Their son B.A. Ragsdale was also a planter, and his wife’s name was Jamie. Loose papers include a […]
The Ravenel Family Papers, 1695-1925, collection contains financial, estate, enslaved persons, and property records for the Ravenel family. Miss Emily Guerard Ravenel and Mrs. Mary Ravenel Gignilliat inherited these papers from their father, Thomas Porcher Ravenel (1850-1936), and donated them to the South Carolina Historical Society through Henry R. Dwight. A Berkeley County, S.C. family, […]
The Records of the Church of the Holy Cross, 1788-1942, collection contains a bound volume and loose papers associated to what was then known as the Claremont Church in Stateburg, South Carolina. Established in 1788, the church was renamed the Church of the Holy Cross in 1849 when construction began on a new church building. […]
Bound volumes containing charts (graphs and tables) pertaining to weather and the meteorological observations of Alexander Glennie taken in All Saints Parish and at Georgetown, South Carolina. Glennie’s records include thermographic, hygrometric, and barometric readings, as well as the number of inches of rainfall each day. Charts note the wind direction and velocity and include […]
Mulberry Plantation is believed to have received its name because of an early interest in raising silk, as worms that spin silk generally feed on Mulberry leaves. However, the plantation was more successful as a rice plantation. Rice was cultivated at Mulberry Plantation from colonial days until 1918. Rice cultivation was difficult and dangerous work […]
Richard Love Johnson (1841-1913) served the Confederacy as an Assistant Surgeon with several units, most notably the 3rd and 15th South Carolina Infantries. Johnson was stationed at various posts during the Civil War including McPhersonville in Beaufort District. His handwritten entries contain the names and units of his patients, notes on their wounds, treatments, surgeries […]
The Richmond Plantation Journal, 1859-1860 collection is comprised of a bound volume kept by Richmond Plantation overseer Anthony Weston between 1859-1860. Weston moved to the plantation on January 13th, 1859 under the supervision of the plantation’s owner Dr. Benjamin Huger. Weston began recording activities on the rice plantation related to rice cultivation, vegetable farming and […]
The Robert Heriot Correspondence, 1781, collection consists of letters during the American Revolution between Robert Heriot (1739-1792) and his wife Mary Ouldfield Heriot. Robert Heriot immigrated to South Carolina in 1759 and settled in Georgetown, where he became a merchant and plantation owner. He married Mary Ouldfield, daughter of John Ouldfield and Anne LaRoche. Robert […]
The Rogers-Cline Collection is comprised of two cast iron kitchenwares; a kettle and a cook pot. The cast iron kettle has a wire handle, the lid is imprinted “ROME GA SO -CO – OP F’DY – CO” (Southern Cooperative Foundry Company; Rome, Georgia). The six-gallon iron cook pot has two bail handles.
This collection consists of three time books for Rose Hill Plantation in Beaufort County, South Carolina. The books were kept in the year 1878 by or for a member of the Heyward family. The time books document the names of enslaved men and women working on the plantation and their jobs working with rice, carpentry […]
The Rose P. Ravenel Family Papers, 1857-ca. 1920 Collection contains a notebook (ca. 1920) containing reminiscences by Rose P. Ravenel, the daughter of William Ravenel and Eliza Butler Pringle Ravenel. Rose Ravenel writes about her girlhood, her relationship with her “mammy” and her French nurse. She describes life at Farmfield Plantation during the Civil War, […]
This journal, found in the Perry family papers, contains lists of enslaved persons, cotton and rice accounts, and a planting diary for 1813 and 1814 from Roslin Plantation in St. Paul’s Parish.
Roswell T. Logan’s Journal, 1852-1865, begins in 1852 with an address before his Charleston High School debate club, the Philomathic Society. Among the many speeches, poems and essays included in the journal are three essays published in the Charleston College Magazine: “Mohammed and His religion” and “College life” in the April 1855 issue and “Goodbye” […]
Roy S. MacElwee was a planner who specialized in port development. He created a plan for the waterfront of Charleston in 1929. This collection is an oversized scrapbook of photographs and clippings about the design of waterfronts for cities worldwide. It includes 20 professionally made 8×10 photographs and several dozen pages of clippings, and an […]
The Russell J. Arnsberger Postcard Collection is comprised of over 350 postcards of houses, businesses, public buildings, street views, military base activities and structures in and around Beaufort, South Carolina. Some built structures pictured are no longer extant or have been greatly altered. Arnsberger collected postcards about Beaufort County beginning with some by Charles G. […]
Photographs taken by Sabina Elliott Wells in 1898-1899. Wells was a Charleston artist and designer; she was also a Newcomb potter. Photographs include scenes in Charleston and the Lowcountry, in northwest South Carolina (Table Rock and vicinity), and in western North Carolina (Flat Rock and vicinity). Scans were derived from negatives donated to Historic Charleston […]
The Samuel Badger Papers, 1767-1773 collection is comprised of loose papers and letters between members of the Badger family discussing personal, family and religious matters. These correspondences sent between Charleston (S.C.) and Boston (Mass) are written by Charleston tailor Samuel Badger, his wife Abigail Jarvis Badger, his sister Elizabeth Jarvis, mother Katherine Badger and brother-in-law […]
Samuel Hyde was a photographer and amateur historian who lived in Charleston and in Summerville, S.C. He was the “chief cemetery investigator” for the South Carolina Public Service Authority during the creation of Lake Moultrie. This collection contains 2 groups of his photographs – 25 prints from the South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition […]
This document is an example of an American Seaman’s Protection Certificate. In 1796, the Fourth U.S. Congress authorized Seamen’s Protection Certificates (SPCs) to protect American merchant seamen from impressment into the British Navy. The British believed that they could force British seamen in port or on the high seas into service and it was common […]
These three almanacs, from 1792, 1797, and 1798, contain interleaved pages with handwritten plantation journal entries kept by Allard Belin for his plantation on Sandy Island near Georgetown, South Carolina. The journal entries pertain to rice planting and harvesting, maintaining the property, problems with an overseer as well as a list of the names of enslaved persons who […]
This collection from Historic Charleston Foundation consists of B&W photographs of buildings and other properties located in Charleston County that were destroyed, relocated, or otherwise modified because they were in the right-of-way of where roads were being constructed or widened. Building and dwelling types include houses, apartment buildings, freedman’s cottages, mobile homes, commercial and industrial […]
Nineteen ca. 1940s photographs of scenes in Charleston, South Carolina. Sixteen are of various buildings and streets and three feature wooden structures in an unidentified rural setting.
Thirty-five late-19th century photographs of scenes in Charleston, South Carolina; Georgetown, South Carolina; and (likely) Flat Rock, North Carolina, affixed to pages removed from a photograph album, five to six photos on each side. Many depict leisure activities and rice cultivation at what is likely a Georgetown County plantation. The collection also includes river and […]
Legislative files, correspondence, printed material, voting records, and personal papers of Burnet Rhett Maybank (1899-1954), United States Senator from 1941 to 1954. Materials primarily relate to Maybank’s professional life as a United States Senator and include his legislative working files and constituent correspondence. The collection also includes a small amount of personal papers concerning Maybank […]
This collection contains material relating to the life and work of Septima P. Clark. The biographical papers include tributes, clippings, certificates, awards, family correspondence and transcripts of various oral history interviews in which Clark discusses her parents; husband; growing up and race relations in Charleston, South Carolina; her work in Citizenship Schools; her work at […]
Architectural drawings from the firm of Albert Simons and Samuel Lapham. Includes measured drawings of a country club in Ohio by Samuel Lapham; designs of the Ashley River Memorial Bridge; sculpture pedestals for the Gibbes Museum of Art; sundials, and garden plans.
The selected manuscripts date from as early as 1774 and contain evidence of the lives and experiences of enslaved persons in South Carolina. The items include bills of sale, plantation ledger lists, land plats, court records, family papers, correspondences, labor contracts, last will and testaments and estate records. These manuscripts have proven essential in genealogical […]
The Diary of a Voyage to China, 1850-1851, the private diary of Captain Thomas Small, reveals the intense loneliness of command and details the longing he feels for the wife and newborn son he left behind. He comments on marriage, child-rearing, and religion, and frequently expresses his desire to find employment “ashore” to better provide […]
The “Somebody Had to Do It” project is a multidisciplinary research project documenting the experience of the first African American children to attend formerly all-White schools through video oral histories. The Project takes its name from the often-stated response of the no longer young activists who stepped forward, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, to […]
Selections from the manuscript collection of South Carolina Historical Society. The first addition to this collection is a journal written by Peter Timothy during the Revolutionary War, detailing troop activities in Charleston.
Interviews with Charlestonians of various backgrounds, recorded in the 1970s and 1980s. The subjects talk about growing up in Charleston and cover such topics as preservation, race relations, the Exposition of 1901, and Charleston’s involvement in World War I and World War II.
In order to attract new business to the area, the city of Charleston hosted the South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition in 1901-1902. This collection contains pamphlets of illustrations and exhibit information.
These oral histories, a part of the SC LGBTQ: Oral Histories, Archives, and Outreach Project, are narratives of mostly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) people in South Carolina. The oral histories are archived in Special Collections at the College of Charleston’s Addlestone Library and are part of the SC LGBTQ’s mission to […]
The South Carolina Historical Society’s South Carolinians at Work collection is comprised of correspondence and other records, constitutions, and by-laws of organizations in Charleston, South Carolina. The organizations include Charleston Iron Works, American Federation of Musicians Local 502, Mechanics’ Union No. 1, Charleston Fire Department, and the Bricklayers, Masons and Plasterers International Union of America. […]
The Springfield Plantation journal collection contains a bound plantation journal and loose papers pertaining to Springfield Plantation owned by Francis Withers (1769-1847) and later by Joshua John Ward (1800-1853) in Georgetown County, South Carolina. The journal (1831-1864) contains the names of enslaved men, women and children on Springfield Plantation as well as births, information on […]
The St. Andrew’s Society is a social and benevolent organization founded in 1729 in Charleston, South Carolina. Named after the patron saint of Scotland, it is the oldest organization of its type and the progenitor for many other St. Andrews Societies in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Established to “do generous and charitable […]
The Stoney Family Papers, 1775-1949, collection contains two bound volumes kept by members of the Stoney Family at Medway Plantation in Berkeley County, South Carolina. The Stoney family is comprised of Samuel Gaillard Stoney (1853-1926), a Charleston, S.C. businessman and plantation owner who married Louisa Cheves Smythe (1868-1939), daughter of South Carolina state Senator Augustine […]
The Sullivan’s Island Oral History project’s purpose is to collect and record the experiences and memories of people who have enjoyed a long-term relationship with Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina. The interviews document both facts and lore related to the Island and its culture. By creating digitally accessible oral histories, this project serves to protect these […]
The Summerville Museum and Research Center Pamphlet Collection consists of pamphlets published during the 1800s and early 1900s. The pamphlets cover numerous topics, including anti-abolition arguments from slaveholders, histories of the Battle of Fort Sumter, and histories written by Secretary of the Historical Commission of South Carolina Alexander Samuel Salley.
Susan Makepeace Larkin Wales (1839-1927) was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts to Thomas Crane Wales and Mary Rebecca Holmes. As a financially comfortable spinster with family members listed in Clark’s Boston Blue Book, she travelled extensively through Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. She spent about 17 years of her adult life traveling abroad with […]
This collection includes various bills and receipts from the last thirty years of Susan Alston’s (1832-1921) life. This encompasses her purchases of groceries, building materials, hair products, and more; in addition, this includes payments for utilities such as telephone, water, and gas. Finally, this collection contains the tax records for both the Edmondston-Alston House and […]
The Temple Sinai (Sumter, S.C.) Records collection is comprised of various records regarding Temple Sinai, a Reform Judaism synagogue in Sumter, South Carolina. The digitized portion of this collection are the scrapbooks, correspondence, and several published poems written by Penina Moise, a prominent American poet and hymnist; and a scrapbook compiled by Abraham Moise. The […]
Holograph manuscript with annotations and corrections written by Gabriel Edward Manigault, curator of the College of Charleston Museum, for publication in the Proceedings of the Elliott Society. Manigault, an 1852 graduate of the College of Charleston, became curator of the museum in 1873. The manuscript describes the capture of a Right Whale in Charleston harbor […]
Photographs of the damage caused by the Charleston Earthquake of 1886. Photos are captioned with details, including the dollar amount of the damage. Introductory text by Alex. M. Cochran. Also includes advertisements for a variety of Charleston businesses, trades, merchants, and professionals. Publisher unknown. 70 p.; 24 cm.
Founded in 2008, The Charleston Oral History Program seeks to deepen understanding of the Lowcountry’s rich history and culture through the gathering and presentation of recorded memories from area residents. The Program has three main objectives: 1. Program staff and their associates conduct interviews with people from all walks of life in order to promote […]
The Citadel Alumni War Veterans Collection is comprised of the photographs and correspondence of Stefan Kosovych. The photographs depict Kosovych’s unit after the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course and in the Baghdad, Iraq Green Zone.
As a Southern military college, The Citadel and its cadets were integrally involved in the events of the American Civil War. This collection includes first-person accounts of the Civil War period, in addition to a signed copy of the U.S. War Department orders to raise the flag at Fort Sumter at the conclusion of the […]
A growing collection of photographs from The Citadel. Current photographs include interviewees of the The Citadel’s Oral History Program taken by Citadel cadets.
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.
One of a number of versions, the 1669 Fundamental Constitutions was a theoretical instrument of rule. These documents, attributed to the young philosopher John Locke, provided for a feudal system in the new colony, with colonial nobility carrying hereditary titles such as “cacique” and “landgrave,” and the eight proprietors forming the highest level of rule. […]
This collection contains images from the daybook of James Poyas, a Charleston merchant. Entries begin in February 1760 and end in April of 1765. James Poyas was born in 1736 to Jean Louis (anglicized to John Lewis) Poyas and Marie Jourdan. He married Elizabeth Portall in 1755, and they had one child, a daughter, Elizabeth. […]
A Charlestonian who attended both the College of Charleston and the School of Architecture of the University of Pennsylvania, Joseph Mordecai Hirschmann practiced architecture with the New York firm of Walker and Gillette. His architectural training induced a special interest in old world buildings, and on his European holidays in 1924 and 1927 he made […]
Prentiss Taylor (1907-1991) was a noted American artist who created 142 lithographs between 1931 and 1983. From 1942 to 1976 he was president of the Society of Washington Printmakers. He also worked as an art therapist for more than thirty years and taught oil painting at American University from 1955-1975. His collaboration with Langston Hughes […]
“The Lucille Hasell Culp Collection – A Celebration of Beaufort, South Carolina” contains a selection of 300 images, primarily photographic negatives, from the much larger Lucille Hasell Culp Collection. Here one finds selected images of enduring historical value to Beaufort, such as those relating to community and military events, built structures that are no longer […]
The photos in this collection were taken as part of a season pass that patrons could purchase for unlimited admission to the South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition, held in Charleston in 1901 and 1902. Each individual’s photo was mounted in a passbook kept by the patron and a duplicate photo was mounted in […]
The Storm Swept Coast of South Carolina describes damage and recovery efforts in Beaufort, South Carolina, and the surrounding coastal area after the hurricane of August 27, 1893. Accounts from hurricane survivors describe the destruction of homes, crops, boats, wharves, bridges, railroads, and other infrastructure in the area. The author, Mrs. R. C. Mather, recounts […]
Printed during the 15th and 16th centuries, this collection of rare books includes works from medieval France with a particular focus on the theme of chivalry. Written primarily in French and Latin, the texts describe stories of love, politics, humor, religion and many other aspects of medieval life. Additional titles in this collection will be […]
Still images found among the belongings of Henry T. Zacharias, a Charleston builder and contractor in the late 19th- and early-20th century. Zacharias built and/or repaired many notable buildings in Charleston. Includes photographs and one engraving of buildings on which he worked (or likely worked); photographs of battleships in dry dock at the Charleston Navy […]
In 1944, the Civil Services Committee—a committee organized by the Carolina Arts Association—was tasked with conducting a survey of the architecture in the city of Charleston, with the survey project called This is Charleston. This collection contains the This is Charleston’s nearly 900 survey cards and photographs of structures in the city. The front of […]
The Thomas J. Tobias Papers collection consists of various documents, diaries, and letters related to members of the Tobias family. Notable in this collection are several Bills of Sale for enslaved peoples belonging to Abraham Tobias; letters from Marx E. Cohen to James Tupper regarding the death of one of his slaves in service; various […]
This collection includes pamphlets, brochures, and souvenir booklets that feature historic buildings, landmarks, historic sites, and other points of interest. Many include Charleston history, narrative descriptions properties, photographs, and other illustrations. The collection spans 1890-1940.
The Town of Sullivan’s Island Historic Meeting Minutes consists of three bound volumes of handwritten and typed minutes dating from 1895 – 1936, and loose papers from the same time period. The loose papers mostly consist of documents and notes, and were stored in the pages of Volume 3 (1919 – 1936). The collection begins […]
The Huguenot Society of South Carolina was founded in Charleston in 1885 to preserve the memory of the French Protestants who fled Europe during the 1600s and 1700s, many of whom made their way to Colonial South Carolina. The Society’s founders resolved to “prepare for publication and distribution to members … such proceedings as they […]
This collection contains five maps of the Waccamaw River in Horry County, S.C. from Conway to Bull Creek dated November 1903. The surveys were performed under the direction of Captain G. P. Howell, Corps of Engineers U.S.A. and Reid Whitford, U.S. Assistant Engineer. The surveyor was William H. Johnstone. These five maps show the soundings […]
The Vanderhorst Family Papers, 1689-1942 collection contains two bound journals kept by members of the Vanderhorst family. As residents of Charleston, Christ Church Parish and Kiawah Island, South Carolina, these journals consist of estate records for Kiawah Plantation. The Kiawah Plantation Book, 1854-1861 records the names of the enslaved men, women, and children on the […]
Vera Nathans Semel Papers consist of photographs of family members before and after World War II and Paerl family papers. Paerl papers contain birth certificates, a synagogue certificate, marriage certificates, a militia certificate, and a false identification card.
The Vincent P. Lannie Collection consists of five separate manuscripts by plantation owner Elizabeth Allston Pringle. Elizabeth Waties Allston Pringle (1845-1921) was the daughter of South Carolina Governor Robert F.W. Allston (1801-1864). She married John Julius Pringle (1842-1876) in 1870 and lived at White House Plantation in Georgetown County, SC. Widowed at thirty-one, she moved […]
The Voices of the Santee Delta project’s primary purpose will be to record an oral history of this significant biological and historic area. The Santee Delta was once the location of an important branch of the Rice Kingdom, and a slave labor force whose descendants have provided a lasting Gullah culture. The voices are diverse, […]
Historically known as “The Walter Pantovic Slavery Collection,” these artifacts span the African American experience from slavery to the Civil Rights era to the rise of African Americans in popular culture. Walter Pantovic was born in Yugoslavia in 1965 and immigrated to the United States at the age of two. He became interested in African-American […]
The Walter Pantovic Slavery and African American History Collection contains documents and images that reflect African American history primarily in the United States. Walter Pantovic was a Yugoslavian immigrant with an interest in Black history, in particular the history of Slavery and the Civil War. Highlights from this collection include slave bills of sale, glass […]
The digitized portion of the Warren Hubert Moise Letters, 1933-1939 collection consists of fifteen letters written by Warren Hubert Moïse to his nephew, Edwin Warren Moïse (1889-1961). In his letters, Warren Hubert seeks to pass on knowledge about the family to his nephew and foster their relationship, though the two never met. Letters relate information […]
Plowden Weston (1739-1854) was a South Carolina rice plantation owner in Georgetown County originally from England. This collection, Weston’s business ledger, contains individual and financial estate accounts for the years 1764-1769. An unidentified person later used the ledger as a plantation journal. Later entries from the years 1830-1847, 1851, and 1855 pertain to Weston family […]
The White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs was created under the auspices of the White Pine Bureau to encourage the use of white pine as a building material. The by-monthly series was edited by Russell F. Whitehead, former editor of The Architectural Record and The Brickbuilder, with advertising support from Weyerhaeuser Forest Products, a Minnesota-based […]
The Wilkinson-Keith Family Papers consist of correspondence and other documents among the Wilkinson, Keith, Siegling, Haskell, and Marshall families and their friends dating from 1785 to 1920. The bulk of the correspondence dates from 1820 to 1890, a large portion of which chronicles Willis Keith’s experiences as a Confederate soldier in 1862-1863. Antebellum correspondence discusses […]
William (“Bill”) Saunders, a community and Civil Rights activist in Charleston, South Carolina, was an organizer and lead negotiator of the Charleston Hospital Strike of 1969. In 1970, Saunders established the Committee on Better Racial Assurance (COBRA) to address race-related community problems and provide assistance to community members in need. He also operated the AM […]
Rabbi William A. Rosenthall’s collection of Judaica postcards. A particular collecting focus of Rosenthall was images of synagogues located around the globe, including European synagogues destroyed by the Nazis or converted to stables and warehouses. Also included are images of cemeteries, tombs, Jewish neighborhoods, and other Jewish sites of interest. Rosenthall was the rabbi at […]
Rabbi William A. Rosenthall’s collection of Judaica prints and photographs. These images document the Jewish people: their lives, history, religious ceremonies, dress, and customs. Also included are Jewish New Year cards, caricatures, and clippings from Jewish journals and publications. Rosenthall was the rabbi at Charleston’s Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue from 1976 to 1992. He […]
William Henry Jackson, in partnership with the Detroit Photographic Company, took black and white photographs that were reproduced into color photochroms for sale as postcards or prints. The majority of the images in this collection are landscapes of Colorado, Montana and New York State, particularly in Yellowstone National Park and the Adirondack region. Some images […]
This scrapbook by William Henry Johnson is part of a collection three, which document the history of a large array of Lowcountry plantations and places of interest. In this book – compiled, 1928-1932 – Johnson focuses on the Cooper River region and in the Parishes of St Stephen, St James Goose Creek, St James Santee […]
William M. Halsey, an American artist (1915-1999), established the studio art program at the College of Charleston in 1964. He served as assistant professor and artist-in-residence at the College for nearly twenty years; upon his retirement the faculty voted unanimously to name the art gallery at the College in his honor. Corrie McCallum, Halsey’s wife, […]
Pencil sketches and watercolors by Charleston-born architect William Martin Aiken. Includes images of grand houses (exterior and interior) with architectural details, gates and doors, churches and museums, sailing vessels and flora along the east coast of the United States and Europe.
The William McCarthy and Martin Barbeau Collection is comprised of artifacts from various origin. The objects are primarily decorative currency, such as bracelets and anklets. Places of origin include Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), Nigeria, Togo, Zambia, Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Ghana.
The William Moultrie Correspondence, 1781 collection consists of two letters written by Lord Charles Montagu and General William Moultrie. In the first letter, Montagu writes to Moultrie at Haddrell’s Point, S.C., and offers him a commission in a British regiment. In his reply, Moultrie turns down Montagu’s offer and calls it a “dishonorable proposal.” William […]
The Willy Adler Papers contain three black and white photographs of Willy Adler’s parents (1920), 2nd grade class (1927), and family (1936).
The Woodward Manning Papers, 1771-1906, collection contains loose papers belonging to planter, store owner, and hotelkeeper Woodward Manning (1808-1881). Papers consist of an agreement to hire an enslaved woman and her child, a deed of gift for a plantation and correspondence between Manning and family members in Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana. Topics discussed include yellow […]
The Young Women’s Christian Association of Greater Charleston, which originated in 1907, has served communities in Charleston and the Lowcountry area of South Carolina for over a century. Currently, the YWCA of Greater Charleston, Inc., strives to provide programs and services for all people and holds a mission to eliminate racism and to empower women. […]
The minutes (1917-1933 with a gap from May 1922-November 1923; and 1940-1944) cover all the special and regular meetings of the organization. Members attending are listed and there are various lists throughout the volume, detailing the approximately 100 or so men and women who belonged. Topics were discussed, at first, in both Yiddish and English. […]