The Antebellum South (1816-1860)

Well intentioned but ineffective, Scott was unable to sustain the confidence of many Republicans and was thoroughly despised by almost every Democrat.

Along with his zeal in promoting agriculture, Seabrook was one of South Carolina’s most vocal defenders of slavery and states’ rights.

December 20, 1860, the day in Charleston on which delegates at the South Carolina state convention voted unanimously to secede from the Union, is arguably the decisive moment in the state’s history.

In the late 1840s the escalating sectional controversy over the expansion of slavery into the territory acquired from Mexico set in motion South Carolina’s secession crisis of 1850–1851.

A prolific author, Shepard wrote dozens of papers reporting on his mineral observations, many of which were published in the American Journal of Science, which Silliman edited.

In addition to his law practice, Sheppard served as director and president of the Bank of Edgefield, director of the Edgefield Farmers’ Loan and Savings Bank, and director of the Edgefield Ginning, Milling, and Mining Company.

Sheriffs are well-known and prominent public officials and law enforcement officers. Constables tend to be somewhat obscure in the public’s awareness. But whether sheriffs or constables, these officers have been steadfastly providing law enforcement services since the colonial period.

Lacking much formal education, Simms was a voracious reader and an acute observer. From his reading and his travel he absorbed history as well as local legends and acquired material for the volumes he would later writ

Legislator, judge, governor. Simpson was born in Laurens District on October 27 1823, son of John Wells Simpson and Elizabeth…

Gynecologist, surgeon. Sims was born near Hanging Rock Creek, Lancaster District, on January 25, 1813, and named Marion in honor…

Smalls’s war-time accomplishments made him a political force in the Sea Islands, with its overwhelmingly black population. In 1867 Smalls was one of the founders of the Republican Party in South Carolina, an organization to which he remained loyal all his life.

U.S. senator. Born near the North Carolina border, Smith spent most of his life in York District. After studying with…

Industrialist. Smyth was born on October 26, 1847, in Charleston, the son of the Reverend Thomas Smyth and Margaret M.…

Clergyman, author. Smyth was born on June 14, 1808, in Belfast, Ireland, the son of Samuel Smyth, a merchant, and…

Philanthropist. Snowden was born in Charleston on September 10, 1819, the daughter of Joseph Yates and Elizabeth Saylor. Her father,…

Horse racing has been a favorite sport in England since the sixteenth century and naturally found its way to the…

The South Carolina Lunatic Asylum, located in Columbia, was established by the General Assembly in 1821. It did not open,…

The Southern Quarterly Review (SQR) originated in January 1842 in New Orleans but moved to Charleston later that year, where…

Legislator, educator. Spencer was born in Charleston on October 23, 1850, the eldest son of James A. Spencer, a porter,…

Lawyer, civil rights leader. Born in Charleston on December 28, 1853, to free black parents, George Gilchrist Stewart and Anna…