South Carolina from A to Z

“L “is for Ludvigson, Susan (b.1942). Poet. Born in Wisconsin, Ludvigson received an M. A. in English at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and then studied with James Dickey at the University of South Carolina. For many years she was a professor of English at Winthrop University. Since1979 Ludvigson’s work has earned many awards, including Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships. In a 198...

“H” is for Hume, Sophia Wigington (ca. 1702-1774). Minister, writer. Born in Charleston, Hume was raised in the Anglican faith of her father and did not embrace Quakerism until midlife. Around 1740, Hume, now a widow and extremely ill, reexamined her Anglican faith as well as her life of luxury. She embraced a life of simplicity, moved to London, and joined the Society of Friends. Hume spent the r...

“D” is for Durban, Pam Rosa (b. 1947). Author. A native of Aiken, Durban attended the University of North Carolina, Greensboro and the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. In 2001 she became Doris Betts Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In her short stories as well as her novels Durban’s South Carolina roots are evident. The Lau...

“B” is for Bishopville (Lee County; 2020 population 2,994). In 1790 Bishopville, Lee County’s seat, began as a small settlement, Singleton’s Crossroads. In the early nineteenth century the village was renamed Bishopville. The Seaboard Air Line Railroad extended its main line from McBee to Bishopville in 1887, and the town was incorporated the following year. Aside from its role as the seat of Lee...

“G” is for Gregorie, Anne King (1887 to 1960). Historian, teacher, author, editor. After graduating from Winthrop College, Gregorie began an eleven-year teaching career in Lynchburg, Chester, and Christ Church Parish. In 1925 she earned a master's degree in history from the University of South Carolina; and in 1929 became the first woman to receive a doctorate from the university’s Department of H...

“C” is for Clover (York County; 2020 population 6,800). Although Clover celebrated its Centennial in 1987, the town's history goes back to the mid 1870s when the Chester and Lenoir Railroad placed a five-thousand gallon water tank at the site of the future town. According to local legend, water spilling from the tank yielded a patch of Clover on the ground, giving the town its earlier name of Clov...

“C” is for Clinton (Laurens County; 2020 population 8,091). Clinton grew up around the intersection of two roads, one connecting Greenville with Columbia and the other Spartanburg with Augusta. In the 1850s the Laurens to Newberry Railroad began running through the intersection, known as the five points or five forks. In 1864 the town was incorporated as Clinton. By 1874 the main building of Thorn...

“B” is for Boone, Thomas (ca. 1730-1812). Governor. Born in England, Boone had strong hereditary ties to South Carolina. In the 1750s he was in South Carolina on family business and married a South Carolinian. In 1759 he was named governor of New Jersey, where he proved popular. In December 1761 Boone arrived in Charleston. His instructions from London directed him to obtain a revision of the Elec...

“B” is for Bonnet, Stede (1688-1718). Pirate. A native of Barbados, Bonnet was a member of the island's planter elite until 1717 when he purchased and armed the Sloop Revenge to pursue a career as a pirate. He sailed north to prey upon the crowded sea lanes of the North American coastline, plundering ships from New York to Charleston. He then joined forces with Blackbeard. In mid-May 1718, they bl...

“W” is for Women's clubs. The South Carolina women's club movement was a powerful force for social change. It challenged the landscape of the state's conventionalism and supported social reform for all South Carolinians. The core organizations of this movement were the South Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs (SCFWC) and the South Carolina Federation of Colored Women's Clubs (SCFCWC). Like state...

“W” is for Wofford, Kate Vixon (1894-1954). Educator. A native of Laurens, Wofford graduated from Winthrop College and soon began teaching at Laurens High School. In 1922 she was elected to the first of two terms as Laurens County superintendent of schools, the first female school superintendent in South Carolina and the first woman elected to public office in the state. Active in the South Caroli...

“S” is for Slave codes. South Carolina’s earliest formal code of law regarding enslaved persons (1690) borrowed heavily from statutes governing slavery on Barbados. In the first decade of the eighteenth century, the African population surpassed the White population. Shortly thereafter a new slave code went into effect in 1712. As with earlier statutes, enforcement of the revised code was difficult...

“S” is for Slave Badges. Slave badges served as the physical proof required to demonstrate the legal status of enslaved persons hired out by their masters. Laws controlling such hiring began early and badges or tickets were mentioned by 1751, with wearing them mandated by 1764. In 1800 Charleston’s laws became more uniform and the earliest surviving badges date from that year. By around 1806 badge...

“S” is for 6-0-1 Law (1924). The 6-0-1 Law, passed in March 1924, guaranteed at least a seven-month school term for all White children. Additionally, it shifted the financial responsibility away from local districts, which often lacked resources, to the state. Under the law, the state paid all teacher salaries for six months--provided that local school districts paid for one month. Counties were e...

“S” is for Seneca (Oconee County; 2020 population 8,850). Founded in 1873, as Seneca City, the town’s name was taken from an earlier Indian village and the nearby Seneca River. It was the arrival of the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railroad (intersecting with the Blue Ridge Railroad) that was responsible for the town’s establishment. In 1874 Seneca was chartered by the General Assembly. And it w...

“R” is for Rock Hill Movement. Following the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery and the 1960 lunch-counter sit-ins in Greensboro, African Americans in Rock Hill took the lead in energizing the civil rights movement in South Carolina. In 1957 boycott of the local city bus company resulted in its bankruptcy and the creation of a Black-operated alternative transportation company. In 1960, students at Fri...

“P” is for Pinckney, Eliza Lucas (ca. 1722-1793). Planter, matriarch. Born in the West Indies (probably Antigua), Eliza was educated in London and later moved with her family to a rice plantation on Wappoo Creek near Charleston. When her father returned to Antigua in 1739, he left his teenaged daughter in charge of the plantation. He sent Eliza indigo seed from the West Indies hoping that the crop...

“P” is for Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth (1746-1825). Soldier, statesman, diplomat. Born in Charleston, Pinckney was educated at Christ Church College, Oxford, and the Middle Temple. Returning home, he was elected to the Commons House of Assembly. By 1775 Pinckney was a member of all the important revolutionary committees. With the outbreak of hostilities, he was appointed commander of the First Re...

“M” is for Mennonites. The Mennonites of South Carolina are a Protestant group descended from the Anabaptists of the Reformation. They believe in a conscious choice to join the church (adult baptism), a disciplined church in which members are responsible to each other, and a sharing church in which material needs are met by fellow members. They reject the union of church and state and the validity...

“S” is for Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy. In 1829 the Catholic Bishop John England founded Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy in Charleston. By the 1840s the congregation operated an orphanage, an academy, and a free school for girls and a school for free children of color. The community expanded its ministries in the twentieth century. St. Francis Xavier Hospital, Charleston, added...

“R” is for Rugeley, Rowland (1738-1776). Author. One of South Carolina's earliest writers, Rugeley was born in England. In 1763 his Miscellaneous Poems: Translations from La Fontaine and Others was published in Cambridge. In 1765 he immigrated to South Carolina  where the governor appointed him to the office of registrar. In 1769 became a member of the Royal Council. In 1774 he published in Charle...

“R” is for Rubin, Lewis Decimus, Jr. (1923-2013). Teacher, author, editor, publisher. Born in Charleston, Rubin later used his hometown for settings and inspiration in his novels such as Surfaces of a Diamond and in nonfictional works such as Seaports of the South . After graduating from the University of Richmond, Rubin earned his Ph. D. from Johns Hopkins. From 1957 to1967 he taught at Hollins C...

“P” is for Pollock, William Pegues (1870-1922). U. S. Senator. Pollock was born near Cheraw in Chesterfield County. In 1891 he graduated from the University of South Carolina law school and was admitted to the bar in 1893. From 1894 to 1898 he represented Chesterfield County in the state House of Representatives. In 1914 Pollock participated in a spirited U. S. Senate campaign with three other can...

“P” is for the Pollitzer sisters. Educators, suffragists, reformers. Carrie, Mabel, and Anita Pollitzer were all born in Charleston. Carrie Teller Pollitzer (1881-1974) was a tireless campaigner for women's rights. She was a charter member of the Charleston Equal Suffrage League and was active in the National Woman's Party (NWP). In1929 Mabel Louise Pollitzer (1885-1975) obtained legislation estab...

“M” is for Molloy, Robert (1906-1977). Novelist, editor, critic. Born in Charleston, at age twelve Molloy moved with his family to Philadelphia and then New York City. By 1936 he was working as a book reviewer and copy editor for the New York Sun and was later its literary editor. He wrote short stories that were published in national magazines and then a friend suggested he try novel writing. His...