BY SAM OGOZALEK, Island Packet Newspaper October 11, 2021 No properties on Hilton Head Island or in Bluffton identified on a Beaufort County list as Gullah land went up for
By Luana M. Graves Sellars Sometimes we forget to pay attention to the everyday things that surround us; the things that create a familiar backdrop for our lives. We don’t
aditions that the Gullah maintained within the church might not continue to be consistently followed, it doesn’t mean that they are forgotten. One such African tradition is of the ring shout. In a time when slaves did not have access to instruments, the ability to make music or a beat was made from their using objects found close by or in most cases, their bodies. Drums were made from whatever raw materials that were available.
The island’s first families who were also residents of Mitchelville, is a relatively short list, so armed with the information that Mr. Moon actually lived in Mitchelville, and with the names of his grandparents, Sammy and Ella Young, I set out to find stories about the Young’s first recorded generations. I wanted to see if I could find out more about Mr. Moon’s great great grandparents. Genealogy research can be an exciting mystery that reveals seductive clues as it slowly brings the past to life. It also can be very frustrating, because sometimes the puzzle being built will never become a complete picture. Missing pieces of data, or documents may never be found due to carelessness and mishandled records, fires, or what I call the dreaded “1865 Slave Wall.” 1865 is the pivotal point in time prior to Emancipation when Black Americans’ lives were not officially documented.
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Photo Credit – LMGS | This plaque is posted at the front door of the Bligen’s, a Gullah home on Hilton Head Island. The loss of historic Gullah land is
By Luana M. Graves Sellars Yard after yard, in the front of Gullah homes, variations of beautifully colored bottle trees dot the neighborhood. Today, it’s considered a Sea Island decoration
Sometimes called robins egg blue or carolina blue, haint blue is more than just a popular Lowcountry color. Used on porch ceilings or a home’s front entrance, haint blue is rooted in Gullah tradition and represents a deeper spiritual meaning.
“We believe that Mitchelville is a once in a lifetime story,” adds Ahmad. It’s a place “where African Americans had the opportunity to become citizens and create institutions that continue to exist today,” such as compulsory education “which was a priority.”Names like Harriet Tubman, Clara Barton, Robert Smalls, Secretary of War, Simon Cameron and Abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison all spent time in Mitchelville. “Folks don’t know who was here and the type of VIP’s who came to Hilton Head.”
During the process of repairing the damage, FEMA found a slave site and unearthed artifacts and imprints of slave dwellings on the Coastal Discovery grounds. Previously, the museum didn’t have any slave records regarding the property. Once the discovery was made, Matt Sanger, an archeologist from SUNY Binghamton who has been working on other local digs at the Zion Cemetery and Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park, made an interesting find. Two years ago, Sanger found what he believed to be slave cabins on a 1850s map in the National Archives. After additional research and using remote sensing, Sanger was able to find an outline of cabins on the property.
