
Meeting minutes of African American women’s social clubs including lists of members, dues collected, and programs sponsored.
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Meeting minutes of African American women’s social clubs including lists of members, dues collected, and programs sponsored.
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 […]
A handmade ledger book from 1794 belonging to Alexander McBeth & Company, who began operations in Greenville County in the early 1790s. The store stood on the White Horse Road. This ledger is held by the Greenville County Library System’s South Carolina Room.
Sarah Angelica Singleton was born in Wedgefield, South Carolina in 1818, the daughter of prominent South Carolina plantation owner, Richard Singleton, and his wife Rebecca Travis Coles. In 1838, Angelica would marry Abraham Van Buren, son of the 8th President of the United States, Martin Van Buren. During her father-in-law’s term of office, Angelica would […]
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.
One of America’s foremost early twentieth-century African-American magic acts. J. Hartford Armstrong, his wife, Lille Belle Armstrong, and eventually their daughter, Ellen Armstrong, performed feats that included mind reading, slight of hand, and card tricks. This collection of 127 items includes letters, photographs, and newspaper clippings.
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 […]
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.
Papers of Bonds Conway (1763-1843), a free African-American resident of Camden (Kershaw County, S.C.). This collection of family letters, land papers, and other items documents several generations of a free family of color from the 18th through the 20th centuries in South Carolina, Georgia, Kansas, east Texas, and elsewhere. Topics discussed include social relations during […]
Handwritten and typescript ledger for Brandon Mill from incorporation in 1899 to 1928. Includes stockholder and board of director meeting minutes and names of stockholders.
Broadsides is a virtual collection of posters from many different collections at the South Caroliniana Library.
Sermons, addresses, photographs, publications, and other papers of Burton L. Padoll, rabbi and civil rights activist. The bulk of the collection consists of Padoll’s typed and handwritten sermons and addresses from his various rabbinates, including at Charleston’s Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim. Topics include the Sabbath and High Holy Days celebrations as well as civil rights […]
“Butler Derrick is a true leader, a man of principle and integrity. When the public thinks of Congress, I’d be proud if they thought of Butler Derrick, because he was a member of the House in the finest sense of the word.” So said Former Speaker of the House, Thomas Foley, upon Butler Derrick’s retirement […]
Forty-four letters, 1862-1863, of Union soldier Calvin Shedd, Co. A, Seventh New Hampshire Regiment, are written primarily from locations in coastal South Carolina and addressed to his wife, S. Augusta Shedd, at Enfield, N.H., and South Reading, Mass. Shedd, a first sergeant, later second lieutenant, writes intelligently and with great detail, describing events, people, and […]
A collection of images, sheet music, audio files, and drill charts from the University of South Carolina Bands Collection, housed at the USC Music Library.
The Carolina Textile Mills Collection provides photographs, maps, blueprints, ephemera, letters, guidebooks and more documenting textile mill history in Upstate South Carolina from various textile mill related collections held by the Clemson University Special Collections unit. Images in this collection were taken from the M. Lowenstein collection, the Neil Campbell collection, the Dill Family collection, […]
Richard T. Brumby began to keep a catalogue of the mineral specimens during the 1840s. He never finished it and between 1856 and 1903, no formal record of new or existing specimens was kept. As a result, the only surviving information on the collection was contained in Brumby’s partial catalogue and the hastily scrawled paper […]
Charles Fraser (1782-1860) was a lifelong resident of Charleston, South Carolina and a renowned artist known primarily for his miniatures of fellow Charlestonians. Starting in 1798, before delving full time into his art, Fraser studied law under John Julius Pringle, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and others, and was admitted to the bar in 1806. This Book […]
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.
The papers of the Rev. Charles Stuart Vedder (1826–1917) consist primarily of letters as well as diaries spanning a period of over sixty years. Vedder moved from Schenectady, New York, to Columbia, South Carolina, to study at Columbia Theological Seminary. He was called upon to become pastor of the Summerville Presbyterian Church in June 1861. […]
The main line of the Charleston and Savannah Railroad Company, which began operations in 1861, ran between Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia, with service to other locations south and west of Charleston. In January 1867 under pressure from the bondholders, the Board of Directors agreed to transfer property rights and privileges of the Charleston […]
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.
A collection of slave passes, some found in a Book of Common Prayer donated to the College of Charleston.
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 […]
Peruse 100+ letters from Furman alumni who served in the Civil War. The collection contains 16 letters from Samuel McBride Pringle and 91 letters between Charles M. Furman (son of the University’s first president) and his sweetheart Frances Garden. Browse by Topic: Samuel Pringle Letters Charles Furman and Frances Garden Letters
The Clariosophic Literary Society was one of two original student organizations established at South Carolina College in 1806. The Clariosophic and Euphradian Literary Societies sought to prepare their members for future leadership roles by strengthening their oratorical skills. This collection comes from USC’s South Caroliniana Library and comprises 132 volumes of society records, spanning the […]
Claude Casey (1912-1999) filled these albums with mementos from his career as a singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actor. The photographs, clippings and ephemera reflect his personal and professional lives.
Since its beginnings in 1888, the Clemson University Board of Trustees is the main governing body for the university. As defined in Thomas Green Clemson’s will, the Board of Trustees consists of seven Trustees who select their successors and six Trustees who are appointed by the State Legislature. The Board’s main responsibility is to govern […]
This collection represents reports on the operations, expenditures, and recommendations to the Clemson University Board of Trustees by the university president.
Minutes and reports of Clemson University’s Board of Trustees from 1888 to the present. Since its beginnings in 1888, the Clemson University Board of Trustees is the main governing body for the university. As defined in Thomas Green Clemson’s will, the Board of Trustees consists of seven Trustees who select their successors and six Trustees […]
Items in this collection represent annual reports for the extension state and county offices, as well as separate reports for the African American extension agents. Started in 1907 with Dr. Seaman Knapp, an agriculturist and special agent for the USDA, the program was intended to be farm demonstrations to instruct farmers on proper farming techniques. […]
The Cleveland L. Sellers, Jr. Papers is comprised of papers relating to the Orangeburg Massacre, February 5-8, 1968. Included in the collection is a poem, a collection of Western Union telegrams, press releases, a fact sheet created by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, flyers, photographs, and a resolution from the Student Legislative Council of the University […]
Colin J. McRae (1813- 1877) became the chief financial agent for the Confederate government in Europe from 1863 until the end of the war. An astute businessman prior to the war, he had served as an agent for the Confederate Ordnance Bureau from July 1862 until he went to Europe a year later. On his […]
This collection contains the mementos Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Franklin Eshleman, a former commander of the Washington Artillery battalion, saved in his scrapbook. It portrays a civil war colonel’s dedication to preserving the memory of his unit along with a larger more important purpose of memorializing the era of the confederate soldier. The scrapbook and papers […]
A collection of personal and commercial documents created by or on behalf of members of the Holland family of Greenville. Includes eleven letters written during the Civil War, most of them from Confederate soldier Robert Holland to various family members.
William Butler [1790-1850] moved to Greenville from Edgefield in 1825 where he began to practice as a country doctor. He was educated at the University of South Carolina and served as a surgeon during the War of 1812. In 1841, he was elected from Greenville District as a Whig to the twenty-seventh Congress, and eight […]
This collection consists of typed College of Charleston board meeting minutes from 1791 to 2007.
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 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 legal […]
This collection contains letters and other materials surrounding the life of five-term U.S. congressman David Wyatt Aiken, who biographers have styled “South Carolina’s Militant Agrarian.” Born in 1828 in Winnsboro (Fairfield County, S.C.), Aiken served as a colonel in the Confederate Army and later went on to serve in the S.C. House of Representatives. He […]
The images in this collection have been created from a portfolio of book and manuscript leaves that was compiled and sold by The Society of Foliophiles in 1964. The collection was released in an edition of 20 sets that each contained 135 examples, and was titled “The History of the Written Word.” By using actual […]
A collection of 19th and early 20th century diaries written by the following women: Caroline Crane Marsh, Elizabeth Waties Allston Pringle, Cloe Tyler Whittle Greene, and Grace (Gay) Latimer Whittle Sams.
Papers consist of correspondence, writings, military records, accounts, plats, and other items. Included are the papers of James Shoolbred Drayton (1820-1867) and John Drayton (1831-1912).
This collection contains diaries, travelogues, ledgers, correspondence, inventories, plats, sketches, architectural drawings of Charles Drayton III and others, relating mainly to affairs at Drayton Hall and other family plantations. Collection also includes artwork, reflections on eighteenth century literature, deeds, newspaper clippings and photographs.
The Edwin Hughes Collection is a large collection containing a wide variety of materials, including correspondence, scores, photographs, concert programs, magazine and newspaper clippings, published materials, and scrapbooks. There are also materials relating to classes Hughes taught and organizations in which he was active. The collection gives us an interesting and detailed picture of the […]
This growing collection features correspondence from the eighteenth and nineteenth century chosen from the College of Charleston’s Special Collections holdings. It includes two letters written by Dr. John Vaughan of Philadelphia to Philip Tidyman, discussing smallpox vaccines. Also featured is a letter from Frederick Garrissen of Germany to Charleston merchant William Stephen requesting that Stephen […]
The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Real Estate Indentures Collection features images of rare and original handwritten documents that tell the history of Georgetown County. The collection includes real estate indentures, land grants, survey maps, conveyance of land, titles, mortgages and agreements from the early residents including the Brockingtons, the Fords, the Heywards, the Porchers, the […]
In the winter of 1922, Aiken, South Carolina, resident Eleanor Phelps boarded the S.S. Laconia and embarked on the inaugural American Express Company Cruise Around the World. The photographs, diary entries, and souvenirs that comprise this collection document Eleanor’s visits to the Panama Canal, the Taj Mahal, and the Valley of the Kings, as well as dozens […]
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 […]
Eugene Avery Adams (1886-1958) was a minister in the African American Episcopal Church and a leader in the fields of education, civil rights, and business. He was a founder of Bell Street High School in Columbia and a trustee of Allen University. He also helped start the South Carolina Citizens Committee, a state-wide organization that […]
About The Winns of Fairfield County: Brothers William, Col. John, and General Richard Winn migrated from Fauquier County, Virginia to Fairfield County in the years just preceding the Revolutionary War. All three, along with several sons, fought for the Patriot’s cause with the local militias. In 1785 the brothers petitionedfor a charter and laid out the town […]
The Fairfield County Museum preserves the history of the county through the collection of significant artifacts and interpretation of the personal stories of its citizens. This digital collection includes bound volumes and family bible records concerning history of Fairfield County. The Fairfield County Museum Manuscript Collection includes letters daing from 1787 through 1854 and includes […]
This collection contains Bible records for a number of South Carolina families. They date from the late 1700s to the late 1900s. The Bible records contain information on births, marriages, deaths, and other notable events that occurred within the families. Read more…
“Fox Movietone News: the War Years, 1942 – 1944,” a collaboration between the University of South Carolina and the Library of Congress, provides online access for the first time to over two hundred Fox Movietone News newsreels released in American theaters from September 1942 through August 1944. Before the era of television news broadcasts, newsreels were shown […]
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 Frederick E. Kredel, M.D. Papers document the professional life of Dr. Kredel, MUSC’s first full-time professor of surgery. The collection includes awards, certificates, and honors received by Dr. Kredel, correspondence, and speeches given by Dr. Kredel. The highlight of the collection is Dr. Kredel’s scrapbook of his 1925 zoological research trip to Kartabo, British […]
The Friendly Moralist Society was a benevolent society for free brown (mulatto or mixed race) men established in Charleston, S.C. in 1838. The group provided burial aid and purchased plots for those in need and provided charitable assistance to widows and orphans of deceased members. Includes proceedings, minutes, and an Absentee’s Book.
Fritz Hollings: In His Own Words is a collection of Senator Hollings’ writings, speeches, photographs, and audio files from his days as Lt. Governor, Governor, and U.S. Senator. 200 items showcase the compelling intellect, keen wit, and, at times, sharp tongue that Senator Hollings was known for in South Carolina and on Capitol Hill.
Glenn Drayton’s journal is a bound volume consisting of Drayton’s rules of conduct expected of a U.S. sailor, 1814; and records, 1814-1864, of Rusticello plantation, Pendleton District, S.C., continued after Drayton’s death. Drayton’s entries consist of hand-written guide, 1814, showing the hold stocked with barrels, and dimensions of the ship; and an original water color, […]
Greenville County coroner reports from February 1894 to December 1896 during the service of coroner James Sullivan Meeks. Each report includes jury summons, testimonies, post-mortem examinations, and verdicts. This volume is from the private collection of Scott Stephens of Greenville.
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 […]
Correspondences between Henry William Ravenel and fellow botanist, family, and others. 1844-1887
This collection of one hundred ten manuscripts, thirteen fully transcribed journals, and thirty-nine photographs, as well as his five Fungi Caroliniani Exsicatti Century books now available online, documents the family life, business pursuits, and natural history interests of South Carolina planter, botanist, and agricultural writer Henry William Ravenel (1814-1887). In addition, Ravenel’s plant specimens from […]
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 […]
Various monographs and photographs from the Margaretta Childs Archives at Historic Charleston Foundation. The focus of the collection items is primarily Charleston historic buildings, streets, landmarks, and sites. The collection also includes publications related to tourism in Charleston (1879-1948), the Charleston Earthquake of 1886, and the South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition of 1901-1902.
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 scrapbook, compiled by James H. Holloway (1849-1913), 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 slave “Betty” (1829), […]
The Horace Gilbert Smithy, Jr., M.D. Papers, 1946-1948, document Dr. Smithy’s research and publications on the groundbreaking surgical treatment (valvulotomy) he developed for scar tissue of the aortic valve. Dr. Smithy received national acclaim for this procedure, and the instrument used in the surgery, known as the valvulotome, was fabricated at MUSC. The collection contains […]
A historical records survey known as the Inventory of Church Archives was completed by W.P.A. workers between 1937 and 1939. The original survey sheets are held in the Manuscripts Division of the South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia. In 1980, the collection was microfilmed by the South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, through a […]
The Irish Volunteers, organized in Charleston, South Carolina about 1798, included many prominent members of the Hibernian Society who served as officers. Originally part of the 28th Regiment of the South Carolina Militia, the Irish Volunteers Company was first on active service in the War of 1812 where they served on patrol and constructed defenses. […]
One of the major collecting areas of Rare Books and Special Collections at the University of South Carolina is the literature of the First World War. A particularly notable part of that collection, included here, are the works of Isaac Rosenberg published during his lifetime: Night and Day, Youth, and Moses. Rosenberg, recognized as the […]
The Isabella Sarah (Peyre) Porcher Prescription Book, circa 1834, consists of one volume of handwritten entries for prescriptions and other recipes. Among the prescriptions are those for the treatment of pleurisy, rheumatism, cough, earache, stomach and bowel complaints, fevers, dropsy, dysentery, and other complaints. Also included is a recipe for whitewash. Isabella Sarah Peyre […]
The collection contains, primarily, the correspondence of Isaiah Bennett, President of the Charleston Chapter of the A. Philip Randolph Institute. 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 […]
Newman was a Methodist pastor, civil rights activist, and entrepreneur. A leading figure in the Civil Rights movement in South Carolina, he helped organize the Orangeburg branch of the NAACP in 1943, helped found the Progressive Democratic Party, and served the South Carolina NAACP as state field director from 1960 to 1969. In 1983, at […]
The J. Marion Sims Letters, 1858-59 and 1880-1881, consist of four original letters from J. Marion Sims to Gen. Waddy Thompson of Greenville, South Carolina (1858-1859); to O.B. Mayer (1880); and Tom Taylor (1881). His letters refer to patients suffering with fibrous tumors of the uterus and ovarian cysts or tumors. He also inquires of […]
The papers of colonial governor James Glen (1701-1777), who served as Governor of South Carolina from 1738 to 1756, include official government documents, papers concerning relations with Native American Indians, business papers relating to his ownership of a South Carolina rice plantation, and correspondence between Glen and South Carolina planter, John Drayton (1713-1779).
This collection contains diaries of James Kershaw, 1791-1825, with meteorological observations, recipes, and home remedies, including advice for treatment of pimples, boils, baldness, and unwanted hair. The papers record observations, 17 September 1811, of a solar eclipse, accounts of debts paid, January-April 1812, including prices of cotton, molasses, and sugar, and typed abstracts of recipes, […]
Jeremiah Cleveland (1774-1845) moved to Greenville in 1804 and open a mercantile store which he operated until 1826 when his sons took over management. These loose pages torn from a bound ledger date August to December 1823.
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 Joel Myerson Collection of Nineteenth-Century American Manuscripts, Images, and Ephemera is a part of the larger Joel Myerson Collection of Nineteenth-Century American Literature. The collection contains letters, manuscripts, cabinet cards, cartes de visite, and a variety of other ephemeral material relating to nineteenth-century American authors, especially those associated with the Transcendentalist movement. The bulk […]
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, […]
The John Moak’s WWII Diary Collection documents the life of John Calhoun “Cal” Moak (1920-1961). He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. C. Calhoun Moak of Columbia, S.C. He received his wings and ratings as a flight officer on August 30, 1943 at Lubbock, Texas. His diary begins August 30, 1943 and runs through […]
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 series of photograph albums document the time that John Shaw Billings (1898-1975) and his extended family spent at the Redcliffe plantation in Aiken County, South Carolina. Known for his position as the first managing editor of Life Magazine, Billings purchased Redcliffe in 1935 from his uncle Henry Cumming Hammond (1868-1961) for $15,000. Even before […]
John West served his state and nation well as a soldier during World War II, as a member of the South Carolina Senate, as Lieutenant Governor, as Governor, and as United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the administration of President Jimmy Carter. Returning from Saudi Arabia, West practiced law, lectured on government and the […]
This core unit of three hundred fifty items-two hundred sixty-two manuscripts (letters, speeches, reports, narratives, and affidavits) and miscellaneous printed artifacts (news clippings, programs, booklets), and eighty-eight photographs-added to the papers of the late Joseph Armstrong De Laine (1898-1974) covers chiefly the period from 1942, when he submitted his annual report as secretary of the […]
In collaboration with a pilot group of South Carolina teachers, USC Libraries has made these primary resources available online with the SC Social Studies Standards.
Records daily activities, 22 July 1860 – 13 Apr. 1861, of a widowed plantation mistress, including the management of slaves; preparation and preservation of food; menus offered to guests; winery procedures; and the distribution of supplies to the slaves at her Sand Hills and Cabin Branch plantations. Volume also contains Brevard’s personal reflections on slavery […]
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 […]
This collection 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. Another pamphlet highlights some of Charleston’s well known attractions.
From the Catholic Diocese of Charleston Archives comes this collection of correspondence to Bishop Patrick N. Lynch, Bishop of Charleston from 1858-1882. Spanning the years 1858-1866, theses letters to the Bishop from his family touch on a variety of topics including Catholicism and convent life, the Civil War and slavery, and Southern life in the […]
The papers of the Malloy family of Cheraw, South Carolina, chiefly comprise wartime letters from George Archibald Malloy (1843–1923), who served with the Confederate Army in the Ashley Dragoons, Company H, 3rd S.C. Cavalry. George’s letters record the tedium of camp life amid reports of troop movements, rumors about Union and Confederate officers, and travel notes. […]
This book describes the history of Bamberg, South Carolina, with maps, photographs, and text regarding the antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction eras; more specific chapters discuss the buildings, businesses, schools, churches, occupations and people of the 1890s. Genealogical charts and other information document the Copeland and various other families of Bamberg County, South Carolina, through […]
Marguerite Andell was born on November 6, 1884 on John’s Island. Ms. Andell was a graduate of Roper Hospital’s School of Nursing in 1914, and was elected Superintendent of Nurses in 1924, a position in which she proposed ideas that were ahead of her time. She retired in 1948 after working for 24 years at […]
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, […]
Materials towards a history of the Baptists in the provinces of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia is an original manuscript written by Morgan Edwards (1722-1795). Edwards intended to publish a history of the Baptists in the original thirteen colonies, but only two volumes were published during his lifetime: Pennsylvania in 1770 and New […]
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Ledger is one of the richest primary source documents in existence for any literary author. Fitzgerald began recording information in this business ledger sometime in 1919 or 1920 after leaving the Army and moving to New York to begin his professional life as a writer. Fitzgerald divided the Ledger into five sections: […]
The bulk of the entries in this handwritten ledger book date from 1846 and 1847 and are arranged chronologically, offering a day-by-day account of the individuals who transacted business with McBee Sons & Co. The items purchased were mainly household goods such as fabric and sewing supplies or paper, food items such as salt and […]
The Medical Society of South Carolina Digital Collections includes the minutes of the Society for the years 1789-1986, as well as portraits of past presidents. Minutes for the years 1789-1924 are handwritten; 1925-1986 are typed. Minutes through 1945 are in bound volumes; 1946-1986 are loose-leaf. The bound volumes are presented here as complete volumes, while […]
In 1847 and 1857, Micajah Adolphus Clark (1822-1905) traveled from Mississippi to South Carolina and kept detailed accounts of his journeys. He recounts the hardships of travel, miscellaneous expenses, weather patterns, making acquaintances, and overnight stays in various locations. His journals from these expeditions are now housed at the South Caroliniana Library and are presented […]
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 historical minutes of Columbia’s City Council, spanning January 1883 to December 1907. Through the efforts of volunteers at Richland Library’s Walker Local History Center the handwritten entries are in the process of being transcribed to allow for full-text searching. Please check back frequently as we are constantly adding to this collection.
Activist Modjeska Simkins of Columbia, S.C. served as the South Carolina State Secretary for the NAACP, 1941-1957; as Campaign Director for the renovation of Good Samaritan-Waverly Hospital, 1944-1950; as Public Relations Director for the Richland County Citizens Committee, 1956-1988; and as President of the Southern Conference Educational Fund, 1972-1974. She also helped found, in 1921, […]
A Columbia civil rights activist, Simkins served as the South Carolina State Secretary for the NAACP, 1941 to 1957. She also had leadership roles in the renovation of Good Samaritan-Waverly Hospital and the Richland County Citizens Committee. Simkins was a founder, in 1921, of the Victory Savings Bank of Columbia. Now called South Carolina Community […]
The Neves family of the Mush Creek Community in Greenville District sent three sons to fight in the Civil War, William (W.P.Z.F), John (J.P.), and George (G.W.) Neves, as well as a son-in-law, Andrew Waldrop. Some of the letters in this collection were written by these young men and describe life in camp, but the […]
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 […]
This collection is comprised of first hand accounts, logs, and photographs of life on the U.S.S. Landing Craft Infantry 759 during World War II. The journaled account was written by Gerald Atherton forty years after his experiences. The Executive’s morning order book was kept by Lt. O.H. Wienges while on the Naval ship. The collection […]
In 1864, a 22-year-old seminary graduate named William Plumer Jacobs arrived in the small town of Clinton to become pastor of the Clinton Presbyterian Church (now the First Presbyterian Church, Clinton). Before his death in 1917, he was to transform the town. Wishing to make Clinton the Presbyterian center of the South, he was instrumental […]
This collection of papers of the Cox and Chesnut families discusses political, economic, and social aspects of life in the United States during the Early National and antebellum periods. Many of the letters were written between 1792 and 1815 to Mary Cox Chesnut (1775-1864) of Camden, South Carolina, by her mother, Esther Bowes Cox (1740-1814) […]
This collection from the South Caroliniana Library consists primarily of the Civil War letters of Edward Laight Wells, discussing the mood in Charleston during the secession crisis in 1860, fighting with the Hampton’s Legion 1864-1865, and the immediate aftermath of the war. Other letters are from Eliza Carolina Middleton Huger Smith discussing the health and […]
This small collection of letters written by U.S. Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton (1762-1816) documents concerns and developments during the months preceding the War of 1812.
Since its beginnings in 1888, the Clemson University Board of Trustees is the main governing body for the university. As defined in Thomas Green Clemson’s will, the Board of Trustees consists of seven Trustees who select their successors and six Trustees who are appointed by the State Legislature. The Board’s main responsibility is to govern […]
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 […]
Pierrine Smith Byrd was one of the first 13 women to enroll in the College of Charleston in 1918, and was the first to graduate, in 1922. She was a longtime resident of Greenwood, S.C., and an accredited judge for the American Rose Society. The collection contains memorabilia from her high school and college days, […]
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 […]
The Richard Furman and James C. Furman collection contains over 750 letters and 18 sermons of Richard Furman (1755-1825), the namesake of Furman University and his son, James Clement Furman (1809-1891), the University’s first president who served from 1859-1879. Richard Furman Items Browse letters Browse sermons James Clement Furman Items Browse letters Browse sermons
Dixie Walker dedicated his life and career to intercultural understanding and he utilized his knowledge of East Asia in his work at home and abroad. He taught in numerous prestigious institutions as a professor of international studies before joining the faculty of the University of South Carolina in 1957. He founded the Institute of International […]
In 2011 Robert B. Ariail donated an extraordinary collection of historical astronomy to the University of South Carolina and the South Carolina State Museum. Over the past half-century, Mr. Ariail built a collection that encompassed both historic telescopes and astronomical instruments, now at the State Museum, and more than 5,000 rare books and other published […]
This travel journal was originally conceived of as a way to assist the friends of Baltimore merchant Robert Gilmor in their future travels, with information about mileage and taverns along various routes. The narrative follows Gilmor’s journey from Maryland to South Carolina, with locations mentioned along the way including Richmond, Va., Raleigh, N.C., and Camden […]
Over the course of his twenty year career in South Carolina politics, including an unprecedented six years as governor, Robert McNair led South Carolina in an era of prosperity and carefully guided the Palmetto State through the turbulent 1960s, a period of profound social upheaval and change. Digitized here are speeches, correspondence, clippings, and photographs […]
The Roper Hospital Digital Collections consist of archival records documenting the construction, management, and administration of Roper Hospital. Roper Hospital was established by the Medical Society of South Carolina “to treat all sick and injured people without regard to complexion, religion, or nation.” In 1856 the first Roper Hospital building, located adjacent to the Medical College of South Carolina building on Queen S...
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” […]
Samuel Lander, Jr. was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina, of Irish parents who had immigrated to America in 1818. He devoted his life to education and the ministry. He graduated as valedictorian from Randolph-Macon College (then in Boydton, VA) in 1852. For a short time he practiced civil engineering and studied law. In December of […]
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 […]
The University of South Carolina libraries have been acquiring works by Scottish authors since the early nineteenth century. With the addition of the extensive G. Ross Roy Collection in 1989, South Carolina now has major research holdings across a wide range of Scottish writing. Indeed, in the words of one recent visitor, it is “the […]
This scrapbook contains images, newspaper clippings, and correspondence from the life of Septima P. Clark, a Charleston educator and civil rights activist. Septima Poinsette Clark was born in Charleston, S.C. on 3 May 1898, the daughter of Peter Poinsette, who grew up a slave on the plantation of Joel Roberts Poinsett (with conflicting data saying […]
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 […]
Sol Blatt (1895-1986) represented Barnwell, Bamburg, and Allendale Counties in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1933 until his death in 1986. He also served as Speaker of the House almost continuously from 1937 until 1973. These documents reveal Blatt’s thoughts on issues such as race, economic development, taxes, nuclear energy, and a number […]
A collection of photographs, manuscripts, books, and maps from the Civil War era from the University of South Carolina Libraries with essays from Dr. Thomas J. Brown and Dr. Dorothy Pratt. This collection will continue to have materials added to it.
The South Carolina State Library and the South Carolina Digital Library present the South Carolina Children’s Library Services Collection, a collection of historical and contemporary images from the 1940s-2000s relating to library services for children. The photographs are from the archives of the South Carolina State Library and many were taken by State Library field […]
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.
The South Carolina Medical Association oral history collection consists of oral history interviews of 24 past presidents of the South Carolina Medical Association (SCMA). The former presidents discuss their educational backgrounds, careers in medicine, and the major issues affecting the field of medicine and SCMA during their tenures as president. The physicians also offer their perspectives on […]
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. […]
Maxcy Gregg’s Sporting Journal (1839-1860) describes hunting and fishing expeditions, a record of game animals taken, weather conditions and Fisher’s Pond. Other entries discuss a trip to the mountains (17 July – 12 August 1843), attending “the Washingtonian lecture” in Winnsboro, South Carolina, a mention of David Johnson (1782-1855), who served as governor of South […]
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 […]
This collection contains 32 letters and postcards to and from Delbert Claire Brandt (Claire Brandt), a young man from Sharon, Pennsylvania who served with the 1st Cavalry in World War I, was wounded, and died on November 16, 1918. The letters were written between May 1918 and November 1918. Most of the letters are from […]
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. […]
Comprised of over 40 hours of motion picture film and video, photographs, paper records and equipment, this collection documents the careers of two distinguished news cameramen who were also father and son. Through home movies and photographs the collection provides rare insight into the personal lives of news cameramen from the silent and early sound […]
The official publication of the Association of Colored Physicians of South Carolina, the Hospital Herald was published from 1899-1900. Edited by A.C. McClennan, MD, surgeon in charge of the Colored Hospital and Training School for Nurses, the Hospital Herald was a monthly journal “devoted to hospital work, nurse training, domestic and public hygiene.”
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. […]
The Thomas Family and Muller Family papers along with related personal collections housed at the South Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina total approximately 32 linear feet. There are an additional 219 volumes of business ledgers from the Sandy Run Store and Thomas Store (Ridgeway, S.C.). All of these materials span 1702 through […]
Thomas Green Clemson demonstrated the versatility which gifted people often possess in his varied activities as a mining engineer, government official, plantation owner, scientist, proponent of higher education, artist and art collector, and supporter of scientific farming. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Clemson adopted South Carolina as his home after marrying Anna Maria Calhoun, the oldest […]
The Thomas J. Tobias Papers contain six diaries written by three members of the same family, in the mid-19th century. The Joseph Lyons diary (1833-1834), written when he was between the ages of 19-21, contains Lyons’ ruminations on his future career, his beliefs on state’s rights, some poetry, and his thoughts on his Jewish faith. Joseph Lyons’ […]
The Bible and its inserts, owned by Thomas Jones Davies, contain vital statistics of enslaved African Americans living on Davies’ plantations located throughout Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. The plantations mentioned in the records include: Malvern and Gardner’s Swamp, of Beech Island, SC; Swamp Place, near Hamburg, SC; Cherry Hill and Waldburg of Burke County, […]
This printed ledger book listing the members of Post 7, South Carolina Department of the United Spanish War Veterans. Information recorded in the ledger includes dates and places of birth, dates of service, home addresses and the names of closest relatives. This ledger is held by the Greenville County Library System’s South Carolina Room.
These images, dating from the 1920s to the 1950s, document the evolution of the University’s physical structures.
In 1873, the University of South Carolina became the only state-supported Southern university to fully integrate during the Reconstruction Era that followed the Civil War. By 1876, the student body was predominately African-American. After Wade Hampton was elected governor and whites regained control of state government, the University was closed for reorganization in 1877, and […]
These student examinations date largely from the second half of the 19th century, a period in which the University of South Carolina underwent significant changes not only in its curriculum but also in its student body, its faculty and its educational goals. The exams in this collection that date prior to 1873 reflect the South […]
The Vincent P. Lannie Collection consists of five separate manuscripts by plantation owner Elizabeth Allston Pringle: (1) Partial draft of a chapter (“Baby Woes”) from “Chronicles of Chicora Wood.” (2) A story entitled “The Innocents at Home and the Furniture Fiend Abroad” written under her pen name, Patience Pennington, and intended to be the first […]
Selected items from The Ware Family Collection housed in the Furman University Special Collections and Archives. The materials primarily represent Thomas Edwin Ware’s business interests in the 19th century. The collection includes land grants, deeds, receipts, estate documents, slave documents, and letters.
With funding provided by the National Library of Medicine’s Express Library Digitization Award program, The Waring Library has scanned and transcribed 133 of its inaugural medical theses, for the period of 1825-1829. The 1,858 inaugural medical theses in the collection of the Waring Historical Library are, in the words of eminent medical historian John Harley […]
The Waring Historical Library Manuscript collection consists of the first group of original documents transferred from the Medical Society of South Carolina to the Medical College of the State of South Carolina Library in 1933.
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 […]
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 […]
Formerly owned by wealthy Charleston merchant William Ancrum (ca. 1722-1808), this single volume (171 pages, bound in vellum) contains both a letter book and financial accounts that reflect the financial impact of the American Revolution on this South Carolina businessman and planter. The letter book, 1776-1780 (169 letters), preserves communications with merchants in Camden, S.C., […]
This collection of one hundred fifty-three manuscripts begins in 1858 when Rutherford was courting Sallie Fair, the daughter of Simeon Fair, of Newberry, S.C. The courtship of William (“Drate”) Rutherford and Sallie Fair was interrupted in 1861 by secession and war.
This scrapbook by William Henry Johnson is part of a collection of 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 […]
Ledger for 1925-1926 accounts of a taxi and hauling business operated by William “Bill” Howell (1906-1985) based in the Greer area.
The journal covers Tennent’s trek though the S.C. back-country, at times in the company of William Henry Drayton and Rev. Oliver Hart in an effort to persuade Loyalist Tories to join the Patriot cause. The album contains papers documenting his life as a Presbyterian minister in the Colonies of New Jersey and Connecticut, the courtship […]
Samuel Bloom (1895-1976), a first-generation Ukrainian immigrant and recent City College graduate, served as private first class and signaler with Company L, 325th Infantry Battalion, US Army, from October 1917 till July 1919. In April 1918, he went with his company to France, training behind the Somme front, and then going to signal school, before […]
Selected World War II letter to Evelyn Rowell Dill of Greenville. Each letter describes life in training camps, overseas, or on the homefront. Evelyn married one of her correspondents, David McNeely, in 1953, but they divorced by 1960.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) launched the Federal Writers’ Project to employ white-collar workers left jobless by the Great Depression and to create a comprehensive guide to the states, cities, and regions of the United States. The Federal Writers’ Project gathered information on American life and interviews with “ordinary” Americans from a wide variety of […]
This organization consisted of Jewish residents of Charleston who supported the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The organization is known alternately in the minutes as Bnei Zion and the Charleston Zionist Society. The records cover the meetings held from 1917 through the 1940s, and document fundraising efforts on behalf of both international Zionist […]