Colonial Day 2023
A beautiful day to ramble up to Berkeley!
What a pleasure it was to join the Berkeley County Museum, Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust, and Old Santee Canal Park on Saturday, September 30 for Colonial Day 2023. This annual event provides a terrific opportunity to learn about and explore colonial Berkeley County.
The Huguenot Society of South Carolina was established in 1885 to preserve the memory of the Huguenots (French Protestants) who left France prior to the promulgation of the Edict of Toleration, November 28, 1787. Many of the Huguenots who came to Carolina in the late 1600’s settled in Berkeley County and many of their descendants live there to this day. We celebrate the courage of the early Huguenot settlers by preserving and sharing their story because we believe that to know who you are, you need to know who you were.
The day was beautiful and our “table” talk installation was a great success. Visitors were a steady stream throughout the day and our talks were provided by our Historian, Researcher and published author, Cheves Leland. Cheves delighted the younger ones with a story of the teenage Francis DeLieselines and Samuel DuPre, who retrieved valued and needed horses from a barn and rushed them over the Santee to the Swamp Fox for service to his brigade. Adult audiences enjoyed her talk on who the Huguenots were and the experience of their arrival into Carolina. Joining us in the morning was Society President, Hagood Morrison, who engaged with visitors and encouraged attendees to visit our table talks.
Merci nos Amis!
Our deepest thanks to the South Carolina Historical Society and Huguenot Society members David DuBose and Keith Gourdin who provided maps we could use in our display to assist with our educational talks. Thanks to their generosity and partnership we were able to bring to life the geography of the people and places in early Berkeley. Many visitors were drawn to the maps which provoked questions and exploration of more information. They were just a perfect addition to the overall learning experience. All the more meaningful was being able to visit with Keith at our tent and gratefully receive a copy of his latest work on the historical markers of Berkeley County which will be added to the Society’s library this week. We encourage members to come see it.
Enjoying old friends and new
It was so nice to see Society members of the Gourdin, Guerry, Ogier, Marion, Mazyck and more lines as they visited us and we explored membership opportunities with descendants of Bacot, Duvall, Marion, and Mouzon. We were very pleased to welcome applications to the Society and our Registrar, Abbey Markiewicz, will be working on those lineage sheets in the coming days. No doubt, we were in Huguenot country!
Learning Tools and More!
French Santee, Second Edition, was a popular item and several editions were sold. The younger visitors were provided with educational coloring sheets to remember the story of Francis DeLieselines and Samuel DuPre and bookmarks featuring notable Huguenot descendants to tuck into their books at home.
Looking Ahead…
Our Executive Director had a lovely visit with Heather Hawkins, SC250 Grants Manager, and the excitement is building for 2026 and the observance of the Sestercentennial of the American Revolution in South Carolina! The Society is working on some interesting contributions to the celebrations ahead. We were able to reconnect with a few historical organizations, lineage groups and home school leaders and we look forward to providing talks and lesson plans in the near future as we continue our mission to share the contributions of the Huguenots to our great nation.