Slavery

First Families of Hilton Head | The Lawyers

July 27, 2020

The Lawyers, like most families on Hilton Head depended on the land as well as the surrounding waters to sustain them, but for generations, they chose to make fishing the family business. This included Ned’s sons, Edward Jr. and Jack Lawyer, and all of his grandsons after him, including Arthur Lawyer Sr. However, even though an existence surrounded by water brought them life and joy, it brought tragedy and loss as well.

Slavery in the Lowcountry | By the Numbers

February 21, 2020

As a result, close to 80% of American Blacks who are descendants of slaves can trace their lineage back to the Gullah Geechee Corridor with the majority of them coming from South Carolina. At one point, the majority of South Carolina’s population consisted mostly of African slaves, with the highest concentrations in the plantation areas of the Lowcountry. By the 1860 census, the population was 703,620, with roughly 57% or 402,000 classified as slaves.

PENN CENTER AND THE PORT ROYAL EXPERIMENT

August 1, 2019

On February 6, 1862, General Thomas Sherman initiated General Order No. 9, which outlined a plan for the abandoned plantations and opened the door for Northern societies to send volunteers and workers South to aid the freedmen. Once the Union Army occupied the island, the Port Royal Experiment began. This was a massive humanitarian effort to address the needs of the 10,000 newly freed men, women and children.

ARE YOU A GULLAH OR GEECHEE?

July 31, 2019

So where did the words
Gullah and Geechee come from? There’s a lot of speculation about their origins.
So are you a Gullah or a Geechee?
Over time, the names have been combined and have become interchangeable.

JUNETEENTH: All of This Talk About Reconstruction

June 21, 2019

Even though slavery was abolished on January 1, 1863 by the Emancipation Proclamation, the news was not received by slaves in Texas until June 19th, 1865 which was a day that not only changed the lives of tens of thousands of slaves in the United States, it also marked the change of our country’s history. Recognized as the date that slavery officially ended in America, Juneteenth has been celebrated for more than 150 years.

The Surprising History of Rice in the US and the Gullah People Who Made it Possible

May 23, 2019

The gift of rice to South Carolina was pivotal in several different ways. Slavery brought African people to Hilton Head who were from several West African countries. Their descendants were known as Gullah. The Gullah brought a variety of skills with them; they were skilled at farming a variety of crops, especially rice.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND | The Heart of the Gullah Geechee Corridor