OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA GENEALOGICAL
SOCIETY
NUMBER 3
SCGS MEMBERS INVITED TO SPEAK
Anne Gilbert and Theresa Hicks are both scheduled to participate in upcoming genealogical conferences. Miss Gilbert will present a slide-lecture to the National Huguenot Society's convention in Washington on April 20 and 21. She recently attended the Admiral Coligny Memorial Pilgrimage to France, England, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland and will report on the first two weeks of the tour. Mrs. Hicks has been invited to co-chair a genealogical workshop with Leon Hollingsworth in Huntsville, Alabama. Sponsored by the Tennessee Valley genealogical Society, the workshop will be held on April 28. Residents of the Middle South, and Alabamians especially, have strong ancestral ties with South Carolina. Contact Mrs. Ezell Terry (address has been omitted by webmaster.)
WINTER MEETINGS
The Great Ice Storm prevented the society's meeting in January, and the Great Snow Storm threatened to do the same in February. However, the latter meeting was held after all, and Mr. Alfred Rawlinson, a member of this society and former Librarian at the University of South Carolina, presented an excellent summary of the various genealogical collections throughout the state. In March the society heard Mr. Walter Clay of Mullins, SC, who is an heraldic artist and an authority on the clans of Scotland. Among other things Mr. Clay is the official Bard of the Clan McBain, one of the few Highland clans whose Chief is an American.
GENEALOGY ON LANDMARK AGENDA
The 1973 Landmark Conference will be held in Columbia on April 26, 27 and 28, and will emphasize preservation through documentary techniques such as photography, measured drawings, and concise written histories. At the request of the SCGS, a session on genealogical research will be held Friday morning the 27th. Miss Wylma Wates, Reference Archivist will discuss the use of wills, inventories, deeds, grants, court and census records, war service records, and much more. For information on the Conference, contact the Historic Columbia Foundation, 1616 Blanding Street.
CAROLINA OPEN NIGHTS
Part-time genealogists will be happy to know that South Caroliniana Library is now open on Tuesday and Thursday evenings until 8 PM. The library, on the USC campus, probably contains more SC genealogical material than any other depository until recently was open only during working hours.
JOURNAL FEATURES SC RECORDS
Mr. Laurence K. Wells, a member of this society, has announced the publication of a new quarterly, The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research. While covering a wide range of related subjects, Mr. Wells intends to concentrate particularly on unpublished records which are not readily available. Each issue will contain more than 50 pages, and the annual subscription price is $10, plus 40¢ SC tax. Write to Box 694, Kingstree, SC.
Volume 2 Number 1 WINTER 1973
THE CAROLINA HERALD is the quarterly newsletter
of the
South Carolina Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 11353, Columbia, S. C. 29211
President: Lawrence R. Fanning
Annual Subscription: $2
Single Copy: 75¢
Free to members of the South Carolina
Genealogical Society
Editor: James L. Haynsworth
Co-editor: Theresa M. Hicks
The South Carolina Historical Magazine has not used "Genealogical" on its masthead since 1951. For some years, little space had been devoted to genealogy, so the name was changed, presumably, to conform with editorial policy. The magazine has published precious few genealogies since-only 4 in the past 10 years-but has become a splendid scholarly journal, designed almost exclusively for the academic historian. Some of those who recall with nostalgia the earlier volumes (18 genealogies in the first 5 years alone!) conceived and begat The Carolina Herald, and now it is gratifying indeed to welcome another publication to the lists--The S.C. Magazine of Ancestral Research.
A staff member of the late Tricentennial Commission remarked that South Carolinians are more interested in genealogy than in history. We recognize no conflict between the two. Each subject enhances and enlightens the other; indeed, is part and parcel of the other. We do deplore the image that has been attached to genealogical study by the uninformed: an old folks' pastime tainted with snobbery. Genealogy is fun--more fun than a detective story because it deals with real people and events. And the pleasure is not restricted to those who descend from "old families". All families are old families, and South Carolinians, whatever their stripe and whatever their purpose, will find that their ancestors are fascinating folks.
E PLURIBUS UNUM?
Members of the South Carolina Genealogical Society are scattered all over the nation, and The Carolina Herald is mailed as far as Southeast Asia. For obvious reasons, though, the majority of members who attend the monthly meetings of the society are from Columbia and vicinity. An enthusiastic group of genealogist in Greenville has proposed to form a local chapter of the SCGS and to have their own monthly meetings. The Greenville chapter--an any others that might be formed later--would be represented on the board of the SCGS. Publishing activities, coordination of projects, and public relations efforts would continue to emanate from the state headquarters. With a few changes in the by-laws, our society could permit the formation of local chapters, and we rather like the idea. The Carolina Herald would welcome comments from members and from any others who might be interested in forming groups similar to the Greenville one.
WHAT CHILD IS THIS?
The Ministry of Justice in Socialist Austria has proposed that married women not be required to take their husband's surname, and that the couple should have the option to use the wife's, if they wish. (Columbia Record, Nov 30, 1972). In America, members of Women's Lib would abolish the practice here, along with the other remaining vestiges of traditional family life. As a matter of fact, the South Carolina Code does not require a wife to assume her husband's surname. Genealogist shave often bemoaned the loss of ancient and honorable names through failure of the mail line--even though a few of the great families have been re-established through legal action (e. g., Rhett). As genealogists, we like the Spanish custom of using both father's and mother's surnames joined by a hyphen. Whatever the outcome in America, it must be infinitely worse in Iceland where a man's surname is is father's first name plus the suffix "son". Thus, James Johnson's son might well be called John Jameson. Maybe that's why we haven't heard of many Icelandic genealogist!
SEARCHING SOUTH CAROLINA RECORDS
HOW TO DETERMINE THE ORIGIN OF AN IMMIGRANT
BY USING THE COUNCIL JOURNALS
By Theresa Hicks
One of the many duties of the Grand Council of South Carolina was to supervise the granting of land to those who petitioned for it. It may be possible to determine the origin of a petitioner by using the Journal of the Council, but first, it is necessary to understand the procedure for securing grants of land.
When an immigrant arrived in South Carolina (or in some cases, years after he had settled), it was necessary for him to appear before the Council to petition for a survey. Land was granted on a "headright" system--that is, so many acres for the head of the household and so many for the other members of the family. These amounts changed from time to time. A warrant for survey was directed to the Surveyor General who issued a precept ordering the survey. The Deputy Surveyor made the survey, prepared the plat, and endorsed the warrant. Two copies of the plat were filed, one in the Surveyor General's office and one in the Secretary's office. The petitioner then applied to the Council for a grant.
In searching South Carolina records, you may be fortunate enough to come across a reference in a county land transaction to the date of survey or grant in which you are interested. If you have no such reference from a county record, you may use the earliest survey listed for that name.
One fundamental rule of genealogical study is that you work backwards--that is, from the present to the past, from the known to the unknown. Through necessity we will use this method in referring to the Council Journals. The survey or plats are indexed, but he Council Journals are not. First, locate the name of your ancestor in the index, and from this index you will be referred to a volume and page number. There you will find a plat of the land and a description beginning "Pursuant to a Precept from...". The date of this precept is the date you need for the Council Journal reference.
A Guide to the Council Journals is found at the Archives (labeled D-2). This guide contains an explanation of the Journal and indicates which volume to request once you have determined the date you are interested in.
In the earlier Council Journals, you may find much valuable information. The petitioner may have stated where he came from (and may even name the ship on which he arrived), how many were in his family (or this can be determined from the number of acres requested), and he may reveal other information which will be of value. The later records evolved simply into long lists, but even there you may find a clue. Read the entire section and note other names associated with your ancestor.
The procedure:
1. Look up the survey or plat in the index to plats.
2. Request that volume; find the page number.
3. Find the date of precept.
4. Use the Guide to the Council Journals to locate the volume
number covering that time period.
5. Request the Council Journal.
When you have found the reference, be sure to read the entire proceedings. Later references in the Journal may be made to the name you are interested in, but the earliest reference might well give some indication of the previous residence of the petitioner.
AN ETHNIC GENEALOGY
(In our last issue we asked for pedigrees showing "pure" descent from one of the several ethnic groups who settled in South Carolina during the colonial period. The first chart to arrive was that of the late Thomas J. Tobias, a prominent advertising executive of Charleston who was long associated with historical endeavors in this state. It was compiled by Rabbi Malcolm J. Stern, F.A.S.G., an internationally known scholar and genealogist, who also supplied biographical information. Because of space limitations, we have shown only six generations on the chart. In some lines Dr. Stern has traced as many as ten.)
THOMAS JEFFERSON TOBIAS was born to an historic family in American Jewish life, and lived his life dedicated to the preservation of American Jewish History. His ancestry reads like a "Who's Who" of American colonial Jewry, including such direct forebears as Abraham Isaacks who settled in New York in 1698; three of the original settlers of Savannah, Dr. Samuel Nunez, Abraham de Lyon and Jacob d'Oliveira; the Lopez and Rivera families of Newport, RI; and three early synagogue functionaries, Abraham Alexander of Charleston, Mordecai M. Mordecai of Philadelphia, and Jacob Raphael Cohen of Montreal, New York and Philadelphia. Joseph Tobias, six generations before Thomas in the direct male line, founded Charleston's Congregation Beth Elohim in 1749, and served as its first president. Two hundred years later, in 1949, Thomas Tobias became president of the congregation, and unparalled story in American Jewish history.
Mr. Tobias took great pride in the history of his family, the Charleston Jewish community, and the American Jewish community. He published the histories of The Hebrew Benevolent Society of Charleston, founded in 1801 by his great-great-grandfather, David Lopez. He accumulated a fine collection of documents and memorabilia, many of which he placed in the archives of Congregation Beth Elohim in a beautiful room he created for the purpose. One of his final accomplishments was to have created a diorama of the death of Francis Salvador, the first American Jew to hold an elective office.