Category: History and Genealogy

Election Eve – 132 years ago

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on Election Eve – 132 years ago
History and Genealogy, Local, Uncategorized

I’ve been re-reading Dr. A. V. Huff’s “Greenville: The History of the City and County in the South Carolina Piedmont.” I’ve just come to the portion about the “Redemption Campaign” of 1876, and was struck by the ironies and similarities with our current election. We may think the Obama-McCain contest has been ugly, but it … Read More “Election Eve – 132 years ago” »

Remembering the “Old Fields”

Posted on By Tom 7 Comments on Remembering the “Old Fields”
History and Genealogy, Local

I’ve come across the term “old field” in place names several times recently. Our put-in on one of our Enoree trips was at Mas Old Field Landing. At the Owings History Museum last week there were references to the Ora Old Field Church (pictured above) and the Riddle Old Field School. This got me thinking … Read More “Remembering the “Old Fields”” »

Owings Pioneer Days 2008

Posted on By Tom 5 Comments on Owings Pioneer Days 2008
History and Genealogy, Local

Re-enactors

This morning I was feeling much, much better than I had the past couple of days, so I decided to head down to Owings for their Pioneer Days. I had gone last year and really enjoyed myself, and really didn’t want to miss this year’s event. It was enjoyable again this year, but this year I noticed something very distressing. More on that later.

I left Greenville early so that I could get there before the parade started. As I was driving down the Interstate it looked like a wall of clouds hovering over the Gray Court exit. Under this cloud the humidity skyrocketed. Unfortunately, hot and humid was the way it was going to be.

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Children’s Graveyard – Followup and History

Posted on By Tom 34 Comments on Children’s Graveyard – Followup and History
History and Genealogy

In my previous post I mentioned that I wasn’t able to find much information on Duncan Chapel online. Thanks to a bit of help from my friend Duckhunter, I was able to get some more info. Dr. A. V. Huff’s book on the history of Greenville mentions the area twice – once in reference to … Read More “Children’s Graveyard – Followup and History” »

The Children’s Graveyard

Posted on By Tom 21 Comments on The Children’s Graveyard
History and Genealogy, Local, Photography

Mary P

Eric from “A Day’s Drive from Greenville” recently wrote about a trip he took to the “Children’s Graveyard” near Furman University. His descriptions and photos made me want to take a visit for myself, so today I set off in search of this supposedly haunted location.

I had only heard about this graveyard recently while reading about ghost stories of the Upstate. It’s odd that throughout all my years of association with Furman and the Furman area I was never aware of this cemetery. However, it is easy to overlook the entrance, and the area has been left undeveloped.

Thanks to Eric’s lat/long coordinates, I was able to find the spot with no trouble. The entrance road, Thackston Road on Google Maps, has huge holes in the pavement and doesn’t look like something that’s really accessible. If you didn’t know what you were looking for, you would drive right by.

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Great-Great Grandparent Encounters

Posted on By Tom 13 Comments on Great-Great Grandparent Encounters
History and Genealogy, Local

I spent Sunday afternoon visiting my folks in Gray Court. My parents had just visited my Aunt Ann, who turned 90 this month. Therefore, much of the discussion involved family history, and we even took an excursion to a cemetery in Laurens County to look up some family history. First is the picture above. My … Read More “Great-Great Grandparent Encounters” »