Episodes Located: CHARLESTON, South Carolina in the 1830's

  1. Ad in Charleston Mercury Offers Ladies Benefits of an Academy Education
    date November 17, 1832map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Arts/Leisure, Education, Urban-Life/Boosterism, Women

    On Saturday, November 17, 1832 an ad appeared in the Charleston Mercury for a "Young Ladies' French and English Academy" which had just opened in Philadelphia. Such ads for girl's academies were not uncommon in the 1830s, for over the span of the early 1800s there was a growing trend for families to send their daughters to one of these schools if they could afford it. The popularity of...

  2. Angelina Grimke's abolitionist Appeal is burned in Charleston
    date October, 1836map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Church/Religious-Activity, Slavery

    Angelina Grimke was born in 1805 to a prominent slaveholding family in Charleston, South Carolina. Her older sister, Emily, was also her godmother, and the two were very close. Both sisters grew to despise slavery. They moved to Philadelphia to join the Quaker Society of Friends and took up the abolitionist cause in the mid-1830s, eventually joining the American Anti-Slavery Society. In 1836,...

  3. Charleston Doctor addresses Board of Health on Yellow Fever
    date October 18, 1839map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Health/Death, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    In October of 1839, Thomas Y. Simons addressed the Charleston Board of Health on the history and causes of the Yellow Fever. He addressed the various names and reports from the areas the port city would have contacted on a regular basis. The disease was referred to by sailors sometimes as “black vomit.' This name being from the occurrence approximately three to four days after contracting...

  4. Threat to the Union: Thomas Grimke on Nullification
    date December 1, 1832map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Government, Law, Politics

    Angered by a set of tariffs passed by the Federal Government that protected the interests of northern merchants without benefitting the South at all, the South Carolina state convention met in Columbia on November 19, 1832 and adopted a statement declaring the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 "null and void" within South Carolina. Former state senator Thomas GrimkÉ felt this action was completely uncalled...

  5. South Carolina Jockey Club 1830 Race
    date February 23, 1830 to March 1, 1830map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Arts/Leisure, Migration/Transportation, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    The advertisements started early in the year for the South Carolina Jockey Club's Annual Horse Race. News of the event was spread to New York and Virginia, as this was known to be one of the biggest social events of the season. The races lasted for several days, ending in a ball that topped all social events of the season and culminated in the election of the new slate of officers. The Charleston...

  6. Random Crime Shocks Charleston
    date October 29, 1832map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags African-Americans, Crime/Violence, Government, Race-Relations, Slavery, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    Today's well intended celebrations of Halloween were nothing compared to the horrors that took place one haunting October in 19th century Charleston. On a Saturday night in late October 1832, Joseph Wienand, the manager of the Neptune Hotel in Charleston, was murdered. Apparently, he was in possession of between 200 and 300 in cash. His murder was discovered by his African-American female servant...

  7. Slave Sale Comes in Many Forms
    date May 20, 1836map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags African-Americans, Economy, Race-Relations, Slavery

    ohn Stapleton, an English attorney, handled the affairs of several Charleston properties included in the estate of Mrs. Hannah Bull. He managed the sale of her slaves, cattle, hogs, sheep and other effects of Mrs. Bull's properties after her death. In a letter to Higham, Fife & Co. dated May 20, 1836, Stapleton detailed the sale of several slaves and included the titles. As the attorney, the money...

  8. Northern Abolitionists Influence on Charleston
    date January 25, 1837map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Migration/Transportation, Slavery, Urban-Life/Boosterism, War

    As the years passed, it seemed that more and more Americans became frustrated with the institution of slavery. But there were many in the South who dissented from this opinion, who held steadfast to the ideal that slavery was a just institution. E.W. Taylor was one of them. Taylor, who moved to Charleston from the North to become a slave owner, enjoyed the perks of ownership to the fullest extent....

  9. The Great Fire of Charleston and its Cultural Awakening
    date April 27, 1838map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Arts/Leisure, Church/Religious-Activity, Economy, Slavery, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    On April 27, 1838, an enormous fire broke out in Charleston, South Carolina, around 9:00 pm. It raged until noon the next day, damaging over 1,000 buildings. It ruined many businesses, a new hotel, several churches, a new theater, and the entire market except for the fish section. Many houses were burnt to the ground. In efforts to put the fire out, all the water in the city pumps was used. In addition,...

  10. Charleston Women Discuss Support of States Rights
    date January 7, 1833map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Economy, Government, Slavery, War, Women

    Women like Laura Margaret Cole Smith of South Carolina were not blind to the implications of politics for the Union as a whole. Upon receiving news of the 1832 Nullification Crisis, Laura wrote to her cousin Camille explaining her opinions on the state of the Union. Smith held steadfastly to her belief in South Carolina's states rights. Although the prospect of war saddened her because her father...

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