Henrietta Dering Johnston

                                                             

                                                         

                Henrietta Dering Johnston 

                                   1674 - 1729

             Acknowledged as the first professional female artist in America,

Henrietta Johnston was born in Europe and immigrated to Charleston, South Carolina in 1708. It was her husband's appointment as delegate of South Carolina by the Church of England's Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts that prompted her family to make the life-altering  journey across the Atlantic. 

                Due to delayed salary payments from the Society, the Johnstons fell upon financial hardships. This resulted in Henrietta's attempt to augment the couple's income by drawing commissioned pastel portraits. In a 1709 letter to the Society, her husband, Gideon Johnston, writes

  "were it not for the assistance my wife gives by drawing of Pictures (which can last but a little time in a place so ill peopled) I should not be able to live"

Col. Samuel Proileau, 1715

                                             

Mrs. Samuel Proileau, 1715

            Although there is little information on her later life in the Colonies, Henrietta is believed to have made a journey to New York City and painted four portraits of a family that resided there. (1725)  She is assumed to have returned to Charleston sometime before her death in 1729.

           





       
Many of her pieces may be seen in places such as the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Greenville County Museum of Art.


                                                                   

Henriette Charlotte Chastaigner (Mrs. Nathaniel Broughton), 

The Swamp Fox

   

  Francis Marion

       Francis Marion was born on the Marion family plantation in Berkley County in the year 1732. He began his military career shortly before his 25th birthday and on January 1, 1757, was recruited by Captain John Postell to serve in the French and Indian war. Serving under Captain William Moultrie in 1761, Marion campaigned against the Cherokee.

       In 1775, he was an associate of the South Carolina Provincial Congress until June 21, when he was commissioned as captain in the 2nd South Carolina regiment under William Moultrie. In the fall of 1776, he was commissioned by the Continental Congress as a lieutenant colonel. He was also engaged in the failed attempt to capture Savannah in 1779 and in early 1780 was placed under Benjamin Lincoln, where he participated in drilling militia. 

       On May 12, 1780, Charleston fell under the siege by the British army lead by Henry Clinton. After the loss of Charleston, and the defeats of General Isaac Huger at Moncks Corner and Lieutenant Colonel Abraham Buford at the Waxhaw Massacre, Marion organized a small partisan band, later known as "Marion's Men." Beginning with 20-70 men, the band was the only opposition of the British then in South Carolina. Marion's Men served without pay and supplied their own mounts, arms, and often their own food. Marion proved to be a more than capable leader of these "irregular militiamen" as he led them in expeditions of ruthless terrorism against the British. Marion's ambushes were quick in, quick out. All of a sudden, they were upon the enemy, and before the British knew what had happened, the attackers had abandoned the field. The British made many attempts to capture Marion's band, but failed due to the fact that while Marion possessed an excellent intelligence community, while that of the British was poor due to the immense patriot populace. Cornwallis observed,

 "Colonel Marion had so wrought the minds of the people, partly by the terror of his threats and cruelty of his punishments, and partly by the promise of plunder, that there was scarcely an inhabitant between the Santee and the Peedee that was not in arms against us."

      Marion skillfully eluded the British colonel sent to kill/capture, Banastre Tarleton, by roving through the swamp paths. Exhausted and frustrated from pursuing Marion through 26 miles of swamp land, Tarleton forfeited his search, cursing 

"As for this..old swamp fox, the devil himself could not catch him."

Tarleton unknowingly coined Marion's nickname, "The Swamp Fox."
       Upon realizing Marion's excellent accomplishments in guerrilla warfare, Governor John Rutledge commissioned him a brigadier general of the South Carolina troops.
       Marion was also closely involved with Major General Nathaniel Greene as well as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lee. In the Battle of Eutaw Springs, Marion commanded the right wing under Greene.
       In January 1782, he left his troops upon being elected to a new State Assembly at Jacksonborough. During their absence, his brigade became disheartened , and there was a rumored conspiracy to surrender him over to the British. Their confidence was restored in June of that year when Marion subdued a loyalist uprising on the PeeDee River. In August 1782, he returned to his plantation to find it burned and his slaves escaped to the British army. He was forced to borrow money in order to replenish his slaves. Shortly thereafter, the British ended offensive operations in America. After the war, he married his cousin, Mary Esther Videau and later served several terms on the South Carolina State Senate. In honor of his services to his country, he was made commander of Fort Johnson, SC in 1784.
       Francis Marion died in 1795 on his estate. He was 63 years old. Marion has many national and state landmarks named in his honor. He is buried at Belle Isle Plantation in Berkeley County, South Carolina.


Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. –1 Corinthians 1:3 

       

Happy Independence Day!

 

 


In honor of July 4th and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the focus of this post will be the South Carolina signers of the Declaration.






The four courageous South Carolinians who help to declare independence from Great Britain were the following:
                                 
          Edward Rutledge
          Arthur Middleton
          Thomas Lynch Jr.
          Thomas Heyward Jr.

Here is a little history on our local patriots:

Edward Rutledge

   Born to an aristocratic South Carolina family, Edward Rutledge studied law at Oxford and was admitted to the English Bar.
He attended congress at the ripe age of 27, finding himself in the midst of the most distinguished men in the American colonies.
   Leaving Congress in November 1776 to fight the British, he was a member of the Charleston Battalion of Artillery, received the title of captain, and took part in many important battles. The colonial legislature sent him back to Congress in 1779 to fill a vacancy. He left congress again in 1780 when the British invaded South Carolina a third time. He resumed his post as Captain in the defense of Charleston, until he was captured and held prisoner until July of 1781.
    After returning to South Carolina in 1782, he served the on the legislature until 1796, where he was very active.  He also served as an elector in 1788, 1792, and 1796. He was then elected to the state Senate twice and in 1789 was elected Governor.  Following a period of declining health, he died in January of 1800 at the age of 50.

Arthur Middleton

    Arthur Middleton was born in South Carolina in the year 1742.
Educated in England and graduating from Cambridge, he was elected to the Charleston Council of Safety in 1775 and a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1776. He was captured and held prisoner for more than a year when the British took Charleston in 1781. Unfortunately, most of his fortune was destroyed during the Revolution. Arthur Middleton remained politically active until his death in 1787.


Thomas Lynch Jr.

   Born in South Carolina in 1749, Thomas Lynch Jr. was educated in England and graduated with honors from Cambridge University. He studied law in London and upon his return home in 1772, he immediately became politically active. He was commissioned a company commander in the South Carolina regiment in 1775, and shortly thereafter was elected to the Continental Congress. Shortly after signing the Declaration of Independence, he retired from congress due to an illness. Towards the end of 1776, Thomas and his wife set sail for the West Indies. The ship disappeared and there is no record of his life afterward.


Thomas Heyward Jr.

Born in South Carolina in 1746, Thomas Heyward Jr. was classical educated at home and completed his legal studies in England. In 1775, he was elected to the Continental Congress. Upon his return to South Carolina in 1778, he served as a judge. During the siege of Charleston, while in command of a Militia force, he was taken prisoner. He resumed his Judgeship following the war, and retired in 1798. He died in March of 1809 at age 62. After the war, he resumed his work as a judge and retired in 1798. He died at the age of 62 in March of 1809.



I hope you have enjoyed learning about some of our Carolina Fore Fathers.
May God bless you this Independence Day!

 

  

South Carolina State Seal

  

 

 

 

South Carolina State Seal

        The South Carolina State seal is often seen, but never understood. One rarely stops to ask what the elegant woman to the right or the subtle fallen oak to the left symbolize. However, they are very important, and today I will attempt to answer those unasked questions.
    The stately palmetto tree symbolizes a successful 1776 defense of Fort Moultrie against a British fleet. The defeated fleet is represented by the fallen oak at the palmetto's base. The two shields hanging below the  branches of the palmetto display the dates of the ratification of the state's first constitution and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Behind the tree are crossed bundles of spears which represent the 12 colonies that signed the Declaration on July 4, 1776.The inscription Meliorem Lapsa Locavit (having fallen it has set up better) sits below the fallen oak. To the right is a woman walking over swords and daggers on the sea shore, representing Hope overcoming dangers. In her hand is a laurel branch which symbolizes the honors at Fort Moultrie. The oval surrounding the palmetto tree (left)is inscribed on the top "South Carolina" and on the bottom, " Animis Opibusque Parati." The latter inscription is the less common of two state mottos, meaning "Prepared in mind and resources." The oval surrounding the woman on the seashore (right) bears the engraving "Dum Spiro Spero," the more commonly known state motto meaning, "While I breathe, I hope."

Eliza Lucas Pinckney

Who was Eliza Lucas Pinckney?

 

      The ability of 16-year-old Eliza Lucas was put to the test when her father was deployed to Antigua in 1740. Upon his departure, Col. Lucas left the management of his household and three South Carolina plantations in his eldest daughter's capable hands.  In her father's absence, Eliza became the first to successfully cultivate indigo in the colony. She proceeded to export the crop. Never idle,  Eliza educated her younger sister Polly and the negro children on the Lucas plantations. This sharp Carolina lady helped to build the economy of the emergent colony through her thoughtful business schemes. 

     In May of 1744, Eliza Lucas married Charles Pinckney and proceeded to manage their extensive plantations as well as the Lucas holdings.

     Eliza, as a devoted wife and mother, vowed “to make a good wife to my dear Husband in all its several branches; to make all my actions Correspond with that sincere love and Duty I bear him… I am resolved to be a good mother to my children, to pray for them, to set them good examples, to give them good advice, to be careful both of their souls and bodies, to watch over their tender minds.”

Charles and Eliza had four children: Charles  Cotesworth, George Lucas (died soon after birth in June 1747), Harriott, and Thomas.

The surviving Pinckney sons became influential leaders. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney  was a signer of the U.S. Constitution  and was the Federalist Vice-Presidential candidate in 1800. In 1804 and 1808, he was the Federalist candidate for President. Thomas was appointed Minister to Spain, where he negotiated Pinckney's Treaty  in 1795 to guarantee US navigation rights on the Mississippi River. He was the Federalist Vice-Presidential candidate in 1796.

     Eliza Lucas Pinckney met her beloved Savior in 1793.

She left behind a beautiful example of true Biblical womanhood and entrepreneurship.  She is indeed a true mother of our country.

 

Honors bestowed upon her:

1989 - For her contributions to South Carolina's agriculture, Eliza Lucas Pinckney was the first woman to be inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame.

1793 - President George Washington served as a pallbearer at her funeral at St. Peter's Church, in Charleston County, South Carolina.

1753 - At an audience with Augusta, the Dowager Princess of Wales, in London, Eliza presented the princess with a dress made of silk produced on the Pinckney plantations.

If you are interested in learning more about Eliza, look no further than
Western Conservatory's The Letterbook of Eliza Lucas Pinckney. I have listened to and thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. In fact, it is what sparked my interest in Eliza Lucas Pinckney! I heartily recommend it.  To purchase, click the link below. -> The Letterbook of Eliza Lucas Pinckney 

By His grace, I am sincerely yours,

Danie Cambridge

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. –1 Corinthians 1:3 

 

 

 

 

Each week, I will be posting a short bio on an interesting South Carolinian from the past.

This week:

Eliza Lucas Pinckney

Stay Tuned!

By His grace, I am sincerely yours,

Danie Cambridge

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. –1 Corinthians 1:3 

Welcome to my blog!

Hello Fellow History Explorers!
This past month, I have begun to realize how many interesting personalities and heroes are contained in the pages of South Carolina's history. On this blog, I will share some of my discoveries, along with pictures of historic South Carolina cities and the heritage which help to build her. I hope you enjoy!
God bless you! 
By His grace, I am sincerely yours,

Danie Cambridge

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. –1 Corinthians 1:3