1 The heriTage Observer July 2014

Vol. 7, No. 1 January 2015

History Day — March 28Hop-on, Hop-off Bus Tours of Historical Sites

Last year’s History Day was a great success so Heritage Library and the historical organizations on the Island are once again joining together to offer History Day 2015. If you remember our History Day during the 350/30 Celebration Week, this one will be a little different. On Saturday, March 28, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm we will offer hop-on, hop-off bus tours of the historical sites on the north end of the Island. Buses will depart from Coastal Discovery Museum and follow a route to Amelia White Gullah Cemetery, Green Shell Ring, Ft. Mitchel, the Gullah Museum, the Historic District, including First African Baptist, Queen Chapel AME, Cherry Hill School, Mitchelville, and Ft. Howell. Then on to the Port Royal sites of Ft. Sherman, Ft. Walker, the Headlands, and the Steam Cannon, and finally to Simmons Fish Camp. Each site will offer guided tours and some will include children’s activities, special programs and food.

Thanks to Town of Hilton Head Island tax money for promotion of the event, we expect to have a record turnout. Everyone will know about History Day.

We need volunteers to make this day a big success. If you are willing to participate as a volunteer for that day, please contact Linda Piekut at the Library, 843-686-6560.

This will be a wonderful day.

TheHeritage ObserverNews from The Heritage Library

Bringing the Past to Life

2 The heriTage Observer January 2015

New Year, New Look

Many Thanksto our Heritage Library volunteers — Officers, Board members and all of you — for making 2014 a very successful year.

The Heritage Observer is published by Heritage Library

852 William Hilton Parkway Suite 2A

Hilton Head Island SC 29928843-686-6560

www.heritagelib.org

Editor: Elizabeth R. Hanson

erhanson@hargray.com

Officers:Executive Director: Linda T. Piekut

President: Lou BenfanteVice President: Ezra Callahan

Secretary: Nancy M. BurkeTreasurer: Harry Eschenbach

Board of Directors:Class of 2015Lou Benfante

Harry EschenbachBeth Mayo

Dr. Brent Morris Linda T. Piekut

Class of 2016Nancy Burke

Ezra “Cal” CallahanBarbara G. Muller

Class of 2017Peter Cooper

James RobinsonIva Welton

Board of Advisors:Bill Altstaetter

Dr. Emory CampbellEarl S. Cooler

Ed DowaschinksiNorman Harberger

Natalie HefterRev. Dr. Robert E. H. Peeples

Gail QuickDr. Larry Rowland

From the Board:

Download Our Free App!

For several years, our Board of Directors has struggled to better identify the Library and make it look more current. In 2014, with funding from the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, we hired a marketing firm, Heather Rath Consulting, to help us develop a new look. We studied our mission statement, our name and our logo.

Our mission statement was still relevant with some minor tweaking to bring history to the forefront. Our name was a bigger struggle. Our concerns were that the name didn’t say what we do, nor where we are located. We were also concerned that “Foundation” implied a somewhat stuffy organization, which is not what we are. After long discussions and many versions, we decided that Heritage Library is still relevant because of the increased awareness of our Library

through the 350/30 Celebration and the outreach programs we have initiated in the past few years. Instead, we added a tag line: “History and Ancestry Research Center,” and put the tag line and Hilton Head Island on the logo.

Finally, the logo. We were looking for something clean and simple that stated exactly who we are and what we do. We believe we have achieved that objective in this design:

January 2015 The heriTage Observer 3

Sharing the HeritageThis is the second in our

series about Beaufort County historical organizations whose members enjoy researching, giving informative talks, writing books, sharing, and preserving our fascinating history.

The Bluffton Historical

Preservation Society

This organization was founded in 1981 by sixteen members dedicated to preserving the interesting history of the Bluffton area. I was fortunate to become a life member, searching the roots of the Kirk family and Rose Hill Plantation.

The Society’s goals are awesome; to protect, preserve, and promote the cultural heritage and history of St. Luke’s Parish (est. 1767) through education, hands-on-preservation of buildings and sites, maintenance of historical archives and operation of the Heyward House Historic Center. In 1998 the Society purchased the Cole-Heyward House (ca.1840), one of the 15 houses to survive the burning of the town of Bluffton in 1863 during the Civil War. Located at 70 Boundary Street in Bluffton, it is currently the headquarters of the Society and offers a wide variety of programs and tours. It is in the heart of Bluffton’s National Register of Historic Places District and serves as a welcome center for the town of Bluffton. Hours of operation and tours are 10 am-5pm Monday-Friday, and 10 am-4 pm Saturday. In 2008 the Society inherited the Colcock-Teal House (ca. 1890) and moved their archives to that location. Katie Epps is the new Interim Executive Director. She may be reached at 843-757-6293 or www.heywardhouse.org.

The Society has published meaningful books and a plat map with rice plantation information:In 1983 – “A Short History of the Early Days of Bluffton, South Carolina”In 1984 – “The 1850 Census of St. Luke’s Parish, Beaufort County, South Carolina”; 50 page spiral bound book In 1986 – A facsimile of a circa 1850 map of the Savannah Back River showing sites and acreage of South Carolina (and some of Georgia) rice plantations with plantation and/or owners namesIn 1986 – “No. II Short History of Bluffton, South Carolina”; a longer version, 50 pages, soft boundIn 1996 – “St. Luke’s Parish, Beaufort District, South Carolina Census Records 1790-1900”; 640 pagesIn 2007- “A Guide to Historic Bluffton”; 80 pages, soft bound

By Iva Roberts Welton

2015: The Year of ZionThe Heritage Library has embarked upon an ambitious project for this year. As the town works toward completing the leisure pathways which will connect Shelter Cove to the Zion Cemetery on the north side of the William Hilton Parkway, the Board has decided to pursue funding to restore the Baynard mausoleum and create an antebellum learning center at the site of the pre-Civil War church, cemetery, and muster house.

Much of the history of Hilton Head centers on the plantations: the slaves, crops, lifestyle, planters, and the Revolutionary War soldiers. We will work with our history partners, Coastal Discovery Museum, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, USCB, and our own curriculum committee to produce adult and children’s programs highlighting this period of history. Our curriculum committee members are just completing their work on lessons plans incorporating the Civil War period on Hilton Head that will be available to the Beaufort County teachers on our website. As we begin our work on Zion, the committee will turn its attention to the antebellum period.

The project has many facets, with the restoration of the mausoleum and its fence as the largest expense. We have some tree remediation to do to make the site safe for our visitors, and then we would like to add a perimeter fence, benches for classes and lectures, electricity, and additional parking. Help us to turn this quiet, unknown cemetery into a site of historical importance. Please donate online at www.heritagelib.org, or send a check payable to the Heritage Library designated for the Zion Chapel of Ease Learning Center.

4 The heriTage Observer January 2015

Our Irish VisitIt was a “soft,” chilly March day when my then-20-something daughter, Quinn, and I left the Abbey House Bed and Breakfast for the short journey

across the highway to the Jerpoint Abbey ruins. (To the Irish, a “soft” day means it isn’t raining cats and dogs — just puppies and kittens.) We planned a quick stop at Jerpoint, then a drive up to Dublin for the

remainder of our stay in Ireland. Celtic tigers were still roaring, and you could feel energy in the air.

Several years ago, when we booked our stay at the Abbey House, a lovely B&B in a great rural location, Jerpoint, we did so because Helen Blanchfield was the proprietor. We hoped that her husband, James, would prove to be a cousin. However, those hopes were dashed; James (whom my daughter and I called “Cousin James,” but not to his face) did not think there was any close connection.

We had experienced highs and lows so far in our family search in Kilkenny city and county. I was on the hunt for my Blanchfields, an old Norman Irish family whose founding father had come over with Strongbow in the late 13th Century. A visit with Mary Flood at the Kilkenny Heritage Center, Rothe House, had been fruitful. Mary was able to get us back a generation using church records. She found the 1821 marriage of my 3rd great grandfather and grandmother, James Blanchfield and Ellen Carroll. She was also able to supply the names and baptismal dates of all of their children. And, she also had their residences. This was huge, as records of Catholic marriages and births weren’t kept by the government

in Ireland until 1864. One of James’ and Ellen’s children was my immigrant ancestor, James Blanchfield, who died of measles in boot camp in Iowa during the US Civil War. The rest of the family, as far as I know, stayed in Ireland.

Another high had been attending Saturday evening mass at the church in Graiguenamanagh where Ellen and James had been married on that long ago January day in 1821. Although some renovations had been made to the old Duiske Abbey church, the walls were the same walls that sheltered my ancestors as they walked down the church aisle.

Prior to that evening mass, we had extra time as we were early, so we passed the time in a pub across the street from the old church. Hearing the name “Blanchfield,” doors opened. We were accepted as if we were long lost friends of the family. One man told us, “the Blanchfields are only in Kilkenny,” and talked about going to school with Blanchfields.

Leaving the Bed and Breakfast, we were no longer thinking about the Blanchfields; we were looking forward to a more modern Dublin weekend. So, it was with considerable surprise that we saw “Cousin James,” followed by three cats, running across the highway after us. We watched concernedly as the cats

dodged traffic — all made it. “Cousin James” told us that we had to see one of their most famous tombs, that of Isabel Blanchfield, who was married to a Butler, the Earl of Ormonde’s family. He thought that we knew about it; that was why we were stopping at Jerpoint. We, of course, had never heard of Isabel, or of her husband, or of the tomb. He insisted on introducing us to the nice ladies in the bookshop who promised him they would give us a complete tour, including the tomb in question. Then he and the cats dashed back across the highway.

We braved the chilly damp day looking around the ruin, which had been a Cistercian Monastery built in the 12th century. We learned from our enthusiastic guides that the Abbey is known for its carved figures on its tombstones. It would have been worth visiting even if we had not been alerted to a possible family connection.

When shown Isabel’s tomb, the hair stood up on the back of my neck. Even my skeptical daughter later admitted to feeling awed. The date on the tomb: 1492.

If not for “Cousin James” and the cats, we would have missed one of the highlights of our trip.

By Beth Egan O’Keefe Left: Jerpoint Abbey (photo by A.F. Borchert)

Right: Stained glass windows in Duiske Abbey church

January 2015 The heriTage Observer 5

The Humorous Side of Genealogical Research

I began my journey through the paths of genealogical research when I was only 16 years old, thanks to my American H i s t o r y / G o v e r n m e n t teacher who required her students to do a family tree. Three generations — yourself, your parents, and your grandparents — were required and if you could do a fourth generation, you would receive extra credit. That was all one had to say to me — extra credit — and I was off and running. Many years later, I discovered that my teacher was a member of NSDAR (National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution) an organization for which I now “work” as a chapter Registrar, helping prospective members with their original applications and existing members with the research necessary to claim additional Revolutionary War ancestors.

I have had many interesting experi-ences in this journey. About 1970 my husband and I visited a small county courthouse in southern Virginia look-ing for documentation on his ances-tor John Utley-Wade (1739-1798). We asked permission to go to the area where old deeds, wills, etc. were stored. The employee in the county clerk’s of-fice looked at us and said, “That area is for serious researchers.” I wondered what are we — chopped liver? We final-ly did receive permission to go into that area and were told we should be very

quiet. I was the only woman there — the rest, other than my husband, were stodgy-looking males who glared at me over their glasses as we entered. We set about our tasks, very quietly, and then I committed a sin — I whooped when we found the will of this gentleman who had died almost 200 years

earlier. Oh boy, did the glares come my way. I apologized, explaining that I had just found a will for which we had been searching for almost 20 years. A lot of “humphs” came forth. Then I started reading the will, and committed anoth-er sin. I laughed — out loud. I need to explain that John Utley-Wade was the son of Angelica Wade and John Utley, and for years had hyphenated his name on all documents. He was born out-of-wedlock and “the act” apparently oc-curred in the church where his father was a church warden. I had found re-cords in Goochland County, VA, where the other church wardens had denied any knowledge of the behavior of John Utley. One would think that John Ut-ley-Wade would have some leniency in his soul, considering his own begin-nings. But in his will, as he named his children and identified their inheri-tance, he said about his own son, John, “I leave the sum of one shilling, for reasons best known to John.” Appar-ently John had not lived up to his fa-ther’s expectations. The more I tried to stifle my laughter, the more I laughed. Long story short, I was asked to leave

the area, and my poor husband had to do all the photocopying of the will and other documents we had found.

In a Tennessee county archives, we found three delightful “older ladies” who looked like everybody’s ideal grandmother. They ran the archives with love for genealogy and an attitude of helpfulness for their patrons. One young man came in asking where he might find some information about one of his ancestors. After several ques-tions were asked by the ladies and an-swered by the young man, they started bringing volumes of records to his table, including court records. When he saw the first book marked as re-cords from various trials, he said, “Oh, I don’t think I want to look in there. I might learn something bad about my ancestors.” One of the ladies drew her-self up to her full height, jutted out her chin, and placed her hands on her hips, “young man, you better hope your an-cestor did something other than be born, live on the farm, and die, ‘cause you probably aren’t gonna find a single thing if that’s the case.” He diligently started going through the volumes.

I have always told Heritage Library patrons that one must be prepared to accept “the good, the bad, and the ugly.” We are not responsible for our ancestors’ actions. We are here be-cause of them. We may even have some personality traits that have come down through the generations. The one re-sponsibility we have is to tell the story — and to tell it correctly and honestly and, hopefully, enjoy a few laughs.

By Sunni Bond Winkler

Did you receive a new printer for the holiday? If so, does your old printer still work? The Library needs a desktop printer in good working order. Remember, your donation is tax deductible.Wish List

6 The heriTage Observer January 2015

This month, we will be resuming our Historic Sites talks at 10:30 on Tuesday mornings in the Library. We will alternate subjects so check the website for the schedule. In March, Tours of Fort Mitchel, which we do in conjunction with the Coastal Discovery Museum, will resume at 10:00 AM on Thursdays. The History Department presentations had 711 attendees in 2014, a 10% increase over 2013.

Dee Phillips has done two presentations for her WAHHI History Interest Group. There will be a total of four presentations which emphasize “Women and their Footprints on Hilton Head Island.” The upcoming dates are January15th and February27th.There are morning and afternoon sessions beginning at 10:00 and 2:00 at the Library and each one concentrates on a particular time period ranging from prehistoric times to today.

The Curriculum Committee has done excellent work on creating the History of Mitchelville and Gullah culture lesson plans. The Library will be hosting the next meeting of the Beaufort County Board of Education teachers on January 15th. Teachers from 37 different Beaufort County schools will be attending. They will see a brief presentation on Mitchelville and will then have a chance to review the lesson plans. After their review the lesson plans will be uploaded to our website where they will be available to the teachers to use during Black History Month in February. Curriculum Committee members are Dorothy Scanlin, Anita Singleton-Prather, Lou Benfante, Judith Russell, Marion Payne, Joyce Wright, Ezra Callahan, Mary Ann Cyr and Dee Phillips.

Sondra Hardy and Georgia West are working on a new presentation on the Age of Exploration which focuses on European exploration in the Lowcountry in the 1500’s and 1600’s.

Tom Martin has been trained to conduct tours at Fort Mitchel. His help will be invaluable on March 28th, History Day, when bus tours will be bringing visitors to the Fort.

Lou Benfante will teach one class in the spring semester at USCB’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. It is a repeat of the Historic Sites talk which drew a standing room crowd the first time it was presented at OLLI.

Thank you to all at the Library who have assisted in our preparations and meetings in 2014. We could not begin another year without the help of the officers and volunteers of the Heritage Library.

History Department

By Lou Benfante,President

The Clemson University Pan African Studies students will return to the Heritage Library in spring 2015 to work on a new project, the “Churches of Mitchelville” — the history of our oldest native islander

churches. The churches are: First African Baptist, founded in 1862, Saint James Baptist, established in 1886, and Queen Chapel African Methodist which will be celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2015. Although First African Baptist was the first church of Mitchelville, the students will be working with Queen Chapel AME because its 150th anniversary is in 2015.

In November 2014 the students took a course in “How to Do Proper

Oral Interviews” given by Dee Phillips. After the class, the students broke into groups, interviewing Pastor Alston of Queens Chapel AME and several other members of the congregation. The students will continue to research and study the history of Queens Chapel AME and conduct more interviews when they return in the spring and fall of 2015.

The Clemson students will be part of the church’s 150th celebration in September 2015.

The People of Mitchelville

By Ezra “Cal” Callahan

Chairman of the Mitchelville Project

Jan Alpert HonoredJan Alpert was named a National Genealogical Society Fellow at last summer’s NGS Conference. Fellowship is the Society’s highest honor and is only awarded to one person in a year.

Jan has held several NGS officer po-sitions, has been a conference chair-man, and has spoken on Capitol Hill advocating record access and preservation issues. Her most important con-tribution to genealogy is her work with the Records Pres-ervation and Access Committee. The impact she has had, and continues to have, on record access is of primary im-portance to both NGS and the genealogical community at large.

January 2015 The heriTage Observer 7

Heritage Library MembershipWe finished our 2014 year with 25 New and 26 Renewal Members added to our Heritage Library Family.

New MembersBeaufortCharlene Clark

Hilton Head IslandPamela and David BakerSara BrennanLouise CohenSharon CrowleySheryle and Terry GavinPaul F. GerhartBarbara HaleLinda JacksonSuzanne R. KlineSimone and Don LawrenceJohn NicholsonJohn O’HaraMarion and Wilbur Payne, JrDonald PointsLouise and John PowersKathy Shea and Phil CarneyM. K. SnyderJane and Aurel StuartBill TiernayCarrie and Chad Williams

BlufftonSylvia AalGail and Jack Ward

Out of StateKathy Weiss, Pequannock PAKim Jackson, Smyrna GA

Librarian’s CornerThe Library has embarked on a new adventure with the introduction of two new genealogy groups for those interested in exploring their Irish roots. Following her very successful presentations on Exploring Irish Roots this fall, Beth O’Keefe has started two Heritage Irish Genealogy Interest Groups. These groups will offer presentations on various Irish genealogy topics as well as the opportunity for participants

to discuss their experiences, successes, problems, and brick walls.

The first group will meet on the 2nd Friday of each month from 10 to 12 a.m. Membership in the Library is not necessary and new participants are welcome. The sec-ond group will meet on the 3rd Friday from 10 to 12 a.m. and is open only to Women’s Association of Hilton Head Island members.

This is a wonderful opportunity for researchers to ex-pand their knowledge of Irish genealogy and to interact with others having the same interest. Call the Library to register, 841-686-6560.

By Nancy Burke,Head Librarian

By Laurette Doscher-Benfante,Membership Chair

“Feeling gratitude and not

expressing it is like a

present and not giving

it.”

William Ward

Renewal MembersBlufftonBarbara FriisCarole and Ron RossiCeclia Umhey

Hilton Head IslandMarty and Paul AnthonySusan and Ivan BennettCharles CalvertSue and John ClarkSally ClarkeGail and Tony Drabnis, Jr.Dodi and Harry EschenbachWilliam GilbertKaren and Charles GobrechtNorman HarbergerKenneth HillaryStephen HyslopSharon and Jerry LewisPauline and Howard MillerRichard OriageDoreen and Fred PrinceCatherine SartoriusBonnie and David SudduthSarah O’Leary TakacsCaroll and George WilliamsElizabeth Zimmerman

Out of StateGretchen and Thomas Davant Johns, Jacksonville FLLamar and Douglas Webb, Tybee Island GA

Thank you, thank you for your continued support

Family Tree Maker UpdateAre you using Family Tree Maker soft-

ware? If so, please be aware of the follow-ing which may impact your use of the Web Search feature built into the software.

Ancestry.com reports that starting in October 2014, Ancestry Web Search within Family Tree Maker software will have reduced functionality or may not be supported by Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Internet Explorer 8 or 9. Moving forward, Microsoft Windows 7 or 8 will be required for Ancestry Web Search functionality to work properly.

This means that if you have a subscrip-tion to Ancestry.com and access it direct-ly through your Family Tree Maker soft-ware such as clicking on the little green leaves, you need to work on a computer using Windows 7 or 8 or a Mac. Also, if you use Internet Explorer versions 8 or 9, you need to be sure to update it. The newest version is 11. To update Internet Explorer, here is a link to the free down-load of IE 11: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/internet-explorer.aspx

If you use another browser as Chrome or Firefox, your browser should work fine.

Questions? Contact Carol Clemens at cclemens318@roadrunner.com

8 The heriTage Observer January 2015

A good way to add some depth to your genealogy is to add images. Don’t just think of photos of close relatives. Adding historical images from the time period and events in your ancestors’ lives can make their history more interesting.

One excellent source is the online Li-brary of Congress database. To access the Library of Congress images, go to: http://www.loc.gov/. There you will find a section called “Collection Highlights.” Click on “Prints and Photographs” to reach the image section. For maps, click on “Maps” also in the “Collection High-lights” section. There are also many other collections that might be of inter-

est to the genealogist; “Vet-erans’ History,” “American Memories,” “Manuscripts,” and others.

An easy way to find what might be of interest to you is to enter a place in the search box. For example, I entered my hometown, Schenectady, New York, and

found over 400 images of people, plac-es, and events. Entering the last name, Vrooman, 40 images were displayed in-cluding several Vrooman homes from a survey of historic buildings. One of my direct ancestors fought at the battle of Petersburg, VA. By searching for Civil War, Petersburg, VA over 550 images were displayed. While none is of my an-cestor, they do show the conditions in

which he fought adding context to his story. Maps can also bring your geneal-ogy to life. The Library of Congress site includes many different maps which can be added to illustrate your family history. In the search box, I entered Pu-laski, NY and found an 1885 map of my husband’s hometown.

According to the site, if a digital image is displayed, you may download it free of charge for your personal use. There are also options to order high quality print copies of selected material if you prefer.

Why not spend the next rainy day ex-ploring all that the Library of Congress site has to offer the genealogist. Your genealogy will be more informative, in-teresting, and distinctive.

Carol Clemenscclemens318@roadrunner.com

Enhance Your Genealogy with Images

For BeginnersStarting Family ResearchWednesdays, Jan. 21 & 28; 1:30-3:30— Nancy Burke, Head Librarian(* $25 Library members; $35 non-members for this course)

Family tree makerGet With the Program! Using Family Tree Maker 2014Wednesday, Feb. 4; 1:30-3:30— Carol Clemens

Want to Create Your own Website?Create Your Own Free and Easy Genealogy WebsiteWednesday, Feb. 11; 1:30-3:30— Carol Clemens

Italian roots?Search for Your Italian RootsWednesday, Feb. 18; 1:30-3:30— Carole Rossi

Canadian roots?Searching for Eastern Canadian AncestorsWednesday, Feb. 25; 1:30-3:30— Bruce Arnold

dar and SarLineage Organizations: DAR and SARWednesday, March 4; 1:30-3:30— Sunni Winkler

Irish roots?Exploring Irish RootsWednesday, March 11; 1:30-3:30— Beth O’Keefe

a Great research SourceNewspapers: A Genealogist’s Treasure Trove!Wednesday, March 18; 1:30-3:30— Carol Clemens

Risks and Opportunities in the Next Decade for an

Island Community

MArC FrEyPersonal Perspectives:

January 20 • Coligny Theater, Coligny Plaza

Dates and Speakers Can Be Found Here - heritagelib.org.For Reservations, Call the Heritage Library

at 843-686-6560 or Coastal Discovery Museum at 843-689-6767, ext. 223.

5:30 pm Wine Reception6 pm Talk

Series Price: $125 single

$200 coupleIndividual Price:

$30 single $45 couple

2015 Special Speaker Series: Hilton Head in the Modern Era

2015 Winter Courses$10 Library members; $15 non-members (except where noted)

Class size is limitedto register: Call 843-686-6560

By Carol Clemens