black south carolina history
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Tracing Your Roots: How Did My Black Ancestor Come to Own Land?
Finding out how a great-grandfather came to own 300 acres of land in post-Civil War South Carolina. Dear Professor Gates: It is a mystery to me how and when my great-grandfather Peter Golphin obtained his wealth and holdings. He was born about 1858 in Barnwell, S.C. Somehow he obtained 300 acres of land. I have…
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Tracing Your Roots: Is Charleston, SC’s Famed Jack Primas My Ancestor?
A woman notices that her ancestors shared a surname with an 18th-century free black landowner after whom a road and historically black district were named. Dear Professor Gates: I recently came across an article that discusses the history of the Jack Primas neighborhood of Charleston, S.C. According to the article, John Primus (aka Jack Primas)…