UpFront with NGS: South Carolina

Showing posts with label South Carolina. Show all posts

26 February 2016

CSI: Dixie -- Examining 19th Century South Carolina Violent Deaths

I’ve just discovered a fascinating web site, CSI: Dixie.

Coroners’ inquests are some of the richest records we have of life and death in the nineteenth century South. As mortals, we all die, but we do not die equally. Race, place, gender, profession, behavior, and good and bad luck play large roles in determining how we go out of the world. Collecting extant coroners' inquests for the state of South Carolina between 1800 and 1900, "CSI: Dixie" provides rare glimpses into Victorian-era suicide, homicide, infanticide, abortion, child abuse, spousal abuse, master-slave murder, and slave on slave violence.

A project of the Center for Virtual History at the University of Georgia, CSI:D is delighted to thank the American Council of Learned Societies and the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts for their steadfast support.

Learn about the creation of coroner’s offices, the numbers of dead (and by what means), some of the crimes, some of the coroners and jurors, and more. A fascinating glimpse into the process of determining cause of death (including infanticide) and those found guilty or innocent of causing said deaths.

As expected, this got me wondering what other similar resources might exist for those researching in other states. Here are a few Coroner’s Inquest database finds:

Missouri Coroner’s Inquest Database [Free] – coverage varies by county and earliest record found was from 1842
Cook County [Illinois] Coroner’s Inquest Record Index, 1872-1911 [Free]
New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroner’s Inquests, 1821-1937 [Subscription]
The National Archives [UK] Coroner’s Inquests – information about available records; NONE are available online
Do you have a murder case in your family? Why don’t you check out Coroners’ Inquests! Article about these records for NC.

Are you aware of another database dealing with the records of coroners? If so, please share.

Have you found a helpful overview published about these records? If so, please share.

Share the story of any family members found mentioned in a coroner’s inquest.

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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23 July 2014

SC "Digitization in a Box" program is a boon to family historians -- What is your state doing to help local communities digitally preserve invaluable content?

We all love digitization projects. Often, a hurdle to such projects for a community (government, library, archives, etc) is a lack of money and/or know how to make such a project happen.

Well, SC is one state doing something about that ! As reported in SC libraries get help putting historic materials online

The South Carolina State Library is offering Digitization in a Box to the state's libraries to put their historic photos and documents online.

"Almost every public library in South Carolina has their own local history collection, their own South Carolina room, or someone who as donated photographs or other historical information about their community," said Digital Project Supervisor Amanda Stone. "A lot of times these small public libraries don't have the expertise to do anything with them."

Stone oversees the program, which provides the library with the equipment, software, and expertise to scan the documents and put them online so they are easy to find. Libraries get the service for two months, with an option for a third month.

This is a really great resource for SC libraries. Read more about “Digitization in a Box.”

Are you aware of similar projects run by other states?

I see where Indiana has a grant program for libraries and cultural institutions to digitize and preserve Indiana history.

Additionally, state libraries can apply for and benefit from the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) which dispenses funds that can be used for digitization efforts such as the Evansville, Wisconsin Digitization Project. Here is a page about such grants as issued in NC for digitization (as well as other needs). There is a list on the Texas State Library and Archives Commission Page, Funding for Library Digitization Projects which talks about Federal, Private and TX-based foundation funding options.

Basically, most local libraries, archives, cultural institutions, etc, do not have the expertise nor funds to digitize their invaluable contents. Any program that can provide funding or technical support to local initiatives benefits us all.

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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05 June 2014

NGS 2014 Family History Conference – Session F322 – Carolinians Settle The South

source: Early American Roads and Trails by Beverly Whitaker, MA, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gentutor/trails.html

Another in the series on sessions I attended at the NGS 2014 Family History Conference.

F322 (R) Carolinians Settle The South, Jim Ison, AG, CG, Syllabus page 345

So many Carolinians did NOT remain in what often was their state of birth or a first stopover point upon emigration from elsewhere. One has only to look at the 1850 census to get a sense of the scale of out-migration from North and South Carolina.

To get a flavor for North Carolina out migration, read Searching for Greener Pastures:

Out–Migration in the 1800s and 1900s By Donald R. Lennon and Fred D. Ragan (From Tar Heel Junior Historian 34 (spring 1995))

Jim emphasized the importance of understanding migration routes. If you know/believe that your family traveled from location A to location B at a certain time, what were the options for travel? There may have only been one major route or several. Many families spent a generation or more “traveling” as they settled in one spot and then subsequently moved to another. They possibly did this several times. One of my favorite sites for migration routes (and maps) is Early American Roads and Trails by Beverly Whitaker, MA.

Understanding the dynamics of why and how people migrated can only help you as you to try to identify “where” in the Carolinas your ancestors were born!

The associated syllabus pages provide a detailed overview of out-migration from the Carolinas and in-migration to the deeper south.

Editor’s Note: This series is not presented in any particular order.
Editor’s Note: This is the last in the series presented on the sessions I attended at the NGS 2014 Family History Conference. If you would like to share some of what you learned or whom you met or your impressions of the conference, etc, please send an e-mail to UpFront@ngsgenealogy.org.

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Want to learn more about interacting with the blog, please read Hyperlinks, Subscribing and Comments -- How to Interact with Upfront with NGS Blog posts!

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Follow NGS via Facebook, YouTube, Google+, Twitter

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.