The settlers that inhabited South Carolina in the second half of the seventeenth century led lives that few in the Palmetto State today could recognize. Their land sat on the margin of a vast, largely unexplored continent, and the events and transactions that figured prominently in their daily lives reflect a frontier milieu that is both fascinating and historically significant. This book--a compilation of abstracts from the record book kept by the Secretary of the Province of South Carolina from 1675 to 1695--is an intriguing look into the inner workings of the fledgling colony. Family relationships, marriages, surnames, and the death dates of many colonists are made available to a wide audience for the first time here. Included is information illuminating the lives and social histories of masters, servants, slaves, Indians and women. Estate records, ships' manifests, inventories, apprenticeships and indentures are all represented. This primary-source material will be a boon for genealogists and historians, and a treasure for descendants and other readers alike. Editors Harriot Cheves Leland and Susan Baldwin Bates, through their exhaustive research, impart a bevy of genealogical data that will help to shed light on the history of many lines and families. Nowhere else can readers find such a wealth of information and insight into the personal lives of the first settlers of what would become South Carolina.

"Completely fascinating, Pinney's History of Wine in America combines a myriad of facts about all the states that have endeavored to grow grapes at any time since colonial days into a readable and coherent story. The only study to approach wine through its historical aspects, it will be invaluable to wine writers who want to include historical perspectives in their articles and it will be seized upon by grape growers and wineries throughout the country who want to discover their region's historical roots in viticulture and winemaking. A significant contribution to scholarship, this book should have broad appeal."—John R. McGrew, USDA Agricultural Research Service (retired)

Covering an era from the early twentieth century to the present, this volume features twenty-seven South Carolina women of varied backgrounds whose stories reflect the ever-widening array of activities and occupations in which women were engaged in a transformative era that included depression, world wars, and dramatic changes in the role of women. Some striking revelations emerge from these biographical portraits—in particular, the breadth of interracial cooperation between women in the decades preceding the civil rights movement and ways that women carved out diverse career opportunities, sometimes by breaking down formidable occupational barriers. Some women in the volume proceeded cautiously, working within the norms of their day to promote reform even as traditional ideas about race and gender held powerful sway. Others spoke out more directly and forcefully and demanded change. Most of the women featured in these essays were leaders within their respective communities and the state. Many of them, such as Wil Lou Gray, Hilla Sheriff, and Ruby Forsythe, dedicated themselves to improving the quality of education and health care for South Carolinians. Septima Clark, Alice Spearman Wright, Modjeska Simkins, and many others sought to improve conditions and obtain social justice for African Americans. Others, including Victoria Eslinger and Tootsie Holland, were devoted to the cause of women’s rights. Louise Smith, Mary Elizabeth Massey, and Mary Blackwell Butler entered traditionally male-dominated fields, while Polly Woodham and Mary Jane Manigault created their own small businesses. A few, including Mary Gordon Ellis, Dolly Hamby, and Harriet Keyserling exercised political influence. Familiar figures like Jean Toal, current chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court, are included, but readers also learn about lesser-known women such as Julia and Alice Delk, sisters employed in the Charleston Naval Yard during World War II.