Augusta Public Library Local History and Genealogy

Legacy Family Tree is offering FREE African American family history webinars through the month of February to celebrate Black History Month. Check it out!

Black History Month 2025 at Legacy Family Tree Webinars

Lunch and Learn ! Come with us to meet David Drake in Discovering Dave: Spirit Captured in Clay on Tuesday, February 18th from 12:00 pm-1:00 pm in the Headquarters Library Auditorium.  Archaeologist George Wingard presents his award-winning documentary based on the life of enslaved Edgefield potter David Drake. The film explores the 2006 archaeological discovery of an alkaline-glazed stoneware “Dave” pot at Savannah River Site and the extraordinary life of David Drake. Following the film, we will go upstairs to the Georgia Room to view the “Dave” pot which will be on display until the end of February. George Wingard will answer any questions about his film or the exhibit.

No reservations are required but, please bring a bag lunch to enjoy during the film.  Call the Georgia Room at 706-862-1511 if you have any questions.

Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Joseph M. Lee., the Georgia Room has a small collection of studio portraits, taken by various studios which conducted business in Augusta in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. As a document of Augusta photography studios, the photographs are very interesting.

One studio stands out, the studio of Robert Williams, later to be known as R. Williams and Son.  These photographs document the work of Robert Williams and his son Robert E. Williams. Robert Williams is credited with being the first African-American professional photographer in Augusta.

The first city directory entries to document a Williams association with photography places Robert E. Williams working in 1877 for the photographer J. Usher. Robert E. was listed as working for Usher in 1882 as a printer. In 1883-1886 Robert E. is listed as a photographer though a second Robert Williams appears in the listing from 1886. However, no business address is given so it is possible to conjecture that the Williamses worked out of their residence on 1002 South Boundary.

However, in 1888, Williams opened his own photography studio documented by the city directories as being at 705 Broad Street. It appears he worked here alone until he was joined by his son Robert E. in 1892. The business appears to have been renamed as R. Williams and Son sometime around 1895. Another useful piece of information is provided in 1902; the name of Robert’s wife is Amelia, the name of Robert E.’s wife is Anna.

Ms 54 Joseph M. Lee Augusta History Collection

In 1904, the address of the studio changed to 707 Broad Street. A change of address may have been necessary for the expansion of the business. Williams’ studio did developing work for amateur photographers. The Eastman Kodak company’s introduction of roll film combined with the box camera in 1888 created a wave of amateur photographers and Williams advertised for his share of this work.  A March 30, 1904 classified ad in the Augusta Chronicle states, “We [Do] developing for amateur photographers; best work, lowest prices; R.Williams & Son, 707 Broad.” This address lasted until approximately 1907 when the business shares space with A. A. Pelot, formerly Pelot and Cole, at 648 Broad Street.

Informed speculation suggests that prior to this association with Robert Williams & Son, Alma A. Pelot had been in partnership with James D. Cole. In a Augusta Chronicle article, dated May, 21, 1899, noting the thirty-fourth anniversary of the studio of Pelot & Cole, it was stated “..there is not a family…that has not had a representative before the camera of Mr. Alma A. Pelot to sit for a negative that grew to lifelike resemblance under the artistic touch of Mr. James D. Cole.” This implies that Pelot was the camera man of the business and Cole was in charge of developing, retouching, and tinting the pictures. Between 1903 and 1904, Cole apparently became too ill to work in the business. He filed for a Confederate pension in August 1904 stating that he had no assets and was unable to work. He died sometime in 1907 or 1908 according to a listing of deceased Confederate veterans published in the Augusta Chronicle on April 28, 1908. Perhaps the Williamses had a need for a new business address and this coupled with Pelot’s possible need for an associate who could develop film and make prints probably led to the sharing of 648 Broad.  Pelot’s death on December 13, 1909 probably influenced the Williamses to return to working from home in 1910 as the city directories imply.

There is also some evidence that this event may have been a catalyst for retirement. The 1910 US census lists Robert and Robert E.’s profession as retired photographer.  However, Robert E. did not remain retired for long. The city directory notes that in 1912 Robert E. noted his occupation as photographer working with a relative Robert E. Jr. That may or may not have been Robert E’s son. This entry does not appear again in the city directories. A Robert C. is listed as a grandson in the 1910 census with Robert as head of house and Robert E. as a son. The 1920 and 1930 census lists Robert E as head of house and Robert C. as a son.

The family had a habit of its members residing at the same address. Robert and Robert E. had shared an address at 1002 South Boundary, and at 1102 Turknett Springs Rd. By 1913, Robert E. was showing 1102 Wrightsboro Rd. as the home address and this address was occupied by Anna Williams and Robert C. Williams after his death according to the city directories. He claimed employment as a photographer from this address in 1915, probably 1919 if he is erroneously listed as Robert A., and 1925. Other years, the Robert E. of 1102 Wrightsboro tried his hand at carpentry, real estate, and as a salesman for the South Finance Company. According to the 1920 census, he was listed as a pigeon fancier whose industry was selling pigeons.  To further tangle this timeline of relationships and professions a Robert B. Williams makes an appearance in the city directories as a photographer from 1913-1917 before choosing another trade.

However, it is correct to state that Robert E. Williams continued to live at 1102 Wrightsboro Rd. until his death on January 6, 1937. His death certificate shows the same address. His parents are listed as Robert Williams and Amelia Summerville corroborating our city directory information.

If we can believe the veracity of our timeline up to 1910, we can put tentative dates on the photographs from the Lee collection. Material created by Robert Williams once he established his studio ranges from 1888 to approximately 1894. Material created by R. Williams and Son ranges from 1895 to 1908. It appears that both men worked from home at 1102 Turknet Springs Rd. In 1910, the year that the census reports both men as retired photographers, Robert Williams city directory entry does not list his employment but Robert E. Williams is still listed as a photographer.

The photographs from the Lee collection are studio portraits of individual men, women and children. The subjects are both African-American and white. It leads us to speculate that the quality of his photographs transcended the prejudice that might exist in business dealing with the general public. On the back of a photo in the collection we have evidence that Williams could occasionally use his finished photographs to advertise other services, in this case by the words “Old Pictures Copied”. He tried several watermarks before settling on a consistent label to represent R. Williams & Son. A pencil inscription on the back of one image identifies the sitter as Julia Herndon with the date of Aug.1886. The watermark on the back of the item shows an address 705 Broad Street. Given the data from the city directories, and the Rob’t. Williams & Son watermark, the date attributed to this photograph is probably incorrect.

Ms 54 Joseph M. Lee III Augusta History Collection

If a picture is worth a thousand words, than the Williams work says much more about them than the little biographical information we have been able to gather.

A collection of photographs taken by Robert E. Williams can be found at the Digital Library of Georgia. Robert E. Williams Photographic Collection: African-Americans in the Augusta, Ga. Vicinity (Richmond Co.), circa 1872-1898 can be viewed through this link https://dlg.usg.edu/collection/dlg_zlrw . These candid shots stand in contrast to the formal studio work and show a different aspect of the photographer’s art.

Together the photographs and timeline contribute to a story of two African-Americans who sustained a 22-year-old business through application of their artistic talents. Even though the rest of their story waits for more evidence to flesh it out, one can appreciate the history they have preserved for us though their application of the photographer’s lens.

The Georgia Heritage Room is doing something a little different for the winter programming quarter. In February and March we’re offering three Lunch & Learn programs and invite you to bring a bag lunch to the third floor computer lab at the Headquarters Library at 823 Telfair Street and learn a thing or two about family history research. We’ll provide cookies for dessert!

Our first program is scheduled for Tuesday, February 11th at 11:30 am and celebrates Black History Month. What better way to recognize African-American history than by beginning your own research into your family history. Needles & Thread: Piecing Together African American Families is a virtual workshop featuring a series of videos from Ancestry Academy on researching African-American genealogy.

Through examples and case studies, we’ll explore the many areas of African American research you may be overlooking and provide some answers to puzzles you may have in your own family history. The course has a runtime of just over 2 hours but well worth watching, as you’ll learn unique methods for locating your slave ancestors, as well as free persons of color.

Given the length of the workshop participants are welcome to leave at anytime during the presentation. Space is limited so please call 706-826-1511 or email genealogy@arcpls.org to register. 

Stay tuned to our blog to learn about our next two Lunch & Learn program!

In a letter written to her sister Julia Bryan Cumming, on the night of her nineteenth birthday, Maria Bryan, a planter’s daughter born on New Year’s Day in 1808 at Mt. Zion, Georgia, anticipated the coming year and wondered, “what events it may bring forth.” Maria would go on to write over twenty letters to her sister in 1827 and many more until her untimely death in 1844 at the age of 36. Donated to the South Caroliniana Library in Columbia by her nephew George Shaw Billings, noted journalist and brief managing editor for Life magazine, Maria’s letters are a firsthand account of the daily experiences of a young woman born into the planter aristocracy during the height of cotton production in  Hancock County, Georgia. When read in hindsight, Maria’s words pondering the uncertainty of the upcoming year foreshadow the South’s tumultuous and incendiary future, a future Maria never lived to see.

Martha Maria Bryan Harford

The antebellum South is one of the most studied and written about periods in American history, in particular the institution of American slavery. There are no shortage of first-person accounts in the form of letters, diaries, memoirs and narratives that have been used by scholars and historians to understand this peculiar moment in history. When studied alongside other primary sources Maria’s letters, like those written by other antebellum women, such as Mary Chestnut and Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas, offer a singular perspective of a life lived in opulent wealth made on the backs of enslaved human beings. Both Chestnut and Clanton Thomas lived into the postbellum years, witnessed firsthand the devastation wrought by the Civil War, but Maria Bryan encountered only a world dictated by a slave economy. 

The letters are of particular interest to those studying women’s history as well as those interested in finding enslaved ancestors. In several of her letters, Maria speaks of the slaves that worked on her father, Joseph Bryan’s plantation in Hancock County, one of the wealthiest counties in antebellum Georgia. In a particularly heartbreaking letter, written shortly after her sister’s marriage to the son of Augusta’s first mayor, Thomas Cumming, Maria writes of her personal slave Jenny and the beating she received from an overseer because she failed to meet her quota of spinning. Maria laments to her sister, “It would have distressed you to see her face bloody and swelled. Oh how great an evil is slavery.”

Excerpt of January 27, 1827 letter from Maria Bryan to sister Julia Bryan Cumming

It is this letter and others which name specific slaves that are of particular interest to staff of the Georgia Heritage Room, given a special primary source we have in our own collection. In 1966, Patrick D. Walsh, nephew of politician Patrick Walsh, who served as editor of the Augusta Chronicle from 1875 until his death in 1899, donated a rather interesting document to the Augusta Public Library. The details of the donation have been lost to time, and the how’s and why’s of Walsh’s ownership of this manuscript are unknown. The manuscript is deed of trust established on April 11, 1841 between Martha Maria Harford (Maria Bryan) and her father Joseph Bryan, granting ownership of her five slaves to her father. The deed stipulates that Maria retains rights over the slaves, and that her father shall manage them for her benefit. Digging a little deeper into Maria’s life and letters, we learn that she married her second husband Dr. Alva Connell on April 11, 1841, the same day the deed was established. Living in a world governed exclusively by white men, perhaps Maria was protecting her rights and property by transferring ownership of her slaves to her father, who held them in trust for her, preventing her future husband’s claim on that property. 

Excerpt from Bryan Deed of Trust (1849) naming five slaves.          MS 136 Augusta Public Library Georgia Heritage Room

The five slaves named are Matt and Bird, both about twenty-five years old; Jinny, about thirty-five years old; Annette, Jinny’s child; and George who is five years old. We can assume that the Jenny named in the deed is the same Jenny Maria writes about in her letters. Living within an economic system that considered slaves human property, those searching for ancestors prior to the Civil War should understand where to look for information about enslaved family members. This deed of trust is an example of a property record that can provide valuable clues for genealogical research. Once the slave owner is established, the researcher must locate any and all records associated, especially bills of sale, estate and probate records, like wills and administration papers, and in this case, deeds of trust are another avenue of inquiry.

Both women and the enslaved of the antebellum South found themselves at the mercy of a system that denied them civil rights, and for slaves, basic human rights. Both had to learn to exist within the confines of this brutal system, to live by their own volition within a system that worked to totally deny them that freedom. The deed of trust between Maria Bryan and her father gives one example of how a woman could legally manipulate a male dominated system to her advantage. By signing over ownership of her slaves to her father, but retaining all rights of their service, Maria prevented her new husband from having any legal control of her “property.” And yet, Jenny, Annette, Matt, Bird, and little George were given no say in the matter. Though Maria did express remorse when Jenny was brutally beaten, ultimately she considered her slaves human chattel to be leveraged for her financial benefit. Naming them in the deed however means they are not lost to history and boldly stand out for their descendants to find. They just need to know where to look. 

February and March are nationally designated months set aside to honor both African American history and women’s history respectively. During this time, Georgia Heritage Room staff will be highlighting ARCPLS collections, like the deed of trust, that shine a light on both. Stay tuned!  

Performances of The Nutcracker ballet have become at staple of the Augusta holiday season.  This year Augustans could view magical productions at the Imperial with the Colton Ballet Company and at the Columbia County Performing Arts Center with the Augusta Ballet.

But let’s go back in time to the start of Augusta’s love affair with the Nutcracker as a holiday tradition. On November 18, 1971, the Augusta Civic Ballet put on its first production of The Nutcracker. The production was a huge undertaking, not only for the dancers, but all the people working behind the scenes to make the show go on. As an Augusta Chronicle article pointed out, the costumer, Mrs. David McKenny was responsible for altering all the costumes to fit the Augusta cast.  That was surely a lot of work, doubly so as she had to undo all her work so that the borrowed costumes could be fitted for new dancers.

Merry Dicks Clark – Ballet Mistress for the 1969-1970 season of the Augusta Ballet

All that work paid off.  The performance was described as “a dream of a show, a spectacle, fantasyland, dazzling, spirited, heartwarming and more…” This was the work of the Augusta Civic Ballet.

Formed in 1962, the Augusta Civic Ballet was hailed as a giant step in the cultural life of Augusta. The goals of the group were indeed high. The newly adopted mission statement promised to “present ballet programs of the highest quality for adults and children, to elevate the art of the regional performing dancer to the highest level possible, to provide a medium of expression for regional choreographers, and dancers and to stimulate interest in and support of ballet and ballet schools.”

This commitment to excellence infused productions of this classic ballet and led it to be part of a long holiday tradition viewed, many years by sold out audiences. In 1977 the Nutcracker was considered the Augusta Civic Ballet’s “gift to the city” By 1991, it was not “officially” Christmas in Augusta until the Nutcracker was performed by the award-winning Augusta Ballet

Dancers for the 1969-1970 appearing in an ad for Turner Music House

While every Nutcracker production was magical, some were more magical than others. Laura Yates, 22, was touched by the magic. By 1993, she had danced in 16 productions of The Nutcracker with the Augusta Ballet. Think how high emotions must have been backstage when Ron Colton, artistic director of the Augusta Ballet for 31 years, oversaw his last production of the famous creation. Could anything be more touching then watching cancer survivor Mike Anderson, late to ballet at 43, dance in the same production as his daughter Olivia? Samantha Pope and Ted Nobles will never forget that the ballet provided the magic for their engagement as Nobles proposed to his bride on stage during the cast’s second curtain call.

However, increased competition from other troupe’s productions spread the magic around and the Augusta Ballet, beset by other troubles, gave its last production in the 2005-2006 season. The 34-year-old tradition, responsible for the development of so many Augusta dancers and the delight of so many audiences, was at an end.

As Augusta gets back to normal, restoring the power, bringing back internet connectivity and turning on the water, one comment heard from residents is that they never have seen storm damage as bad as this. The 2014 ice storm that hit Augusta last was ruled less serious than the present challenges left by Hurricane Helene. It’s no wonder that post storm we feel a little overwhelmed and fearful of the future.

Can we survive the storm? If Augusta’s history is any indication, we can! Look at the similarities our present situation has with the ancestors of our past.

Augusta has had its fair share of disasters, mostly in the form of torrential floods. Some of the more famous include 1888, 1908, 1929, and 1990. We’ll mostly look at 1929, if only because the dates almost match!

Just as the major wind event predicted for September 26-27 became so much more, folks in 1929 put their hopes in the predictions of the Augusta Bureau Weather Chief, Mr. Eugene Emigh. “There is small possibility of the hurricane moving this far inland…he was reported as saying to the Augusta Chronicle on September 27, 1929. He also had no fears for the integrity of the levee which held back the waters of the Savannah from Augusta.

But heavy rains in Northwest Georgia, a by-product of the hurricane, put the lie to these predictions. Rather than miles of downed trees and power poles, one hundred city blocks of 1929 Augusta were submerged underwater by a river which had crested at 46.3 feet

Like us, 1929 Augusta was without electrical service to homes and businesses. Telephone services were spotty to non-existent. While the crew of telephone operators fielded hundreds of local calls, downed wires cut Augusta off from much of the rest of Georgia and South Carolina though it appears the situation was quickly rectified. Present-day residents are at the mercy of cell towers rather than wires but the feelings of isolation were probably similar.

High water made for impassible roads, another parallel to our current situation as we look back to the walls of trees that blocked and in some cases still block almost every road in the area. But as soon as things cleared up a little in 1929, high school football resumed games. The Richmond Academy Musketeers faced their rivals from Lincolnton High School not long after the deluge on September 30, 1929. This brings to mind the first post-hurricane football game in the CSRA, a match-up between Evans High School and Effingham County which played on October 9, 2024.

Hopefully in our search for gasoline, we had nothing similar to 1929 though. The People’s Oil Company had overturned tanks which poured gasoline into the Savannah River rather than the waiting gas tanks of the citizens. While it took a while to restore our water, the boil water advisory erred on the side of caution, not from a need to combat similar pollution.

 And while I’m sure the 1929 first responders coped mightily, we didn’t consider using two hundred Boy Scouts for rescue work.

Travel by train, bus and automobile came to a brief standstill in 1929. In 2024 our hurricane force winds destroyed weather measuring equipment and kept planes grounded. But at least our pilots did not suffer the fate of a 1929 bus driver who carried his passengers across a stretch of water on his back.

Another similarity is the need for relief supplies. Generous friends have provided Augusta with pallets of water, first aid kits, non-perishable food, cleaning supplies, diapers, toiletries, and even pet food. This mirrors an effort after the 1908 flood – another severe disaster – to send bread, flour, meal, grits, canned goods, beef, salmon, tomatoes, condensed milk, cheese, coffee, butter, crackers, potatoes, apples, onions, vinegar, syrup, bacon, ham, sausage, blankets, quilts, hats, clothing, brooms, buckets, etc …  I’m sure there is a lot on the list that we have wanted in the last few days. At least we didn’t have to wait for our supplies to be delivered by the wagon load.

What is the lesson to draw in comparing ourselves to our ancestors? Since we’ve shared similar experiences, we can also share in the recovery they experienced.  They made it through.  We can make it through. And one day, we’ll provide stories to our descendants about the hurricane of 2024 and how we have so much in common.

Not because of the Gunpowder Plot, but because you want to attend our genealogy workshop Genealogy 101.05 Leveraging Your Library. Join us on November 5th, 2024 at 2 pm in the Headquarters Computer Lab to find out more about genealogy services that are available from your Georgia Libraries. Learn about what you can find in GALILEO, how to use a library catalog, other Georgia Heritage Room resources and much more!

Reservations are required because of limited space. Call 706-826-1511 or email genealogy@arcpls.org to reserve your spot today.

“Archivists bring the past to the present. They’re records collectors and protectors, keepers of memory. They organize unique, historical materials, making them available for current and future research.”

-Lisa Lewis, associate archivist for the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana

So why is it important to preserve a diverse array of records that chronicle the past from different points of view? In short, finding significance in the past lives of ordinary folks and value in events of seemingly less importance moves us toward a more complete historical record. It does so by including all people and places within the historical narrative. Everyone deserves to have their story told and remembered. After all, we’re all living through future historical moments and our perspectives matter. Reading first-hand accounts by ordinary folks who lived through or participated in extraordinary events like the Civil War, the Holocaust, the Civil Rights Movement and other major events broadens our understanding of the themes and trends that drive history. Think about what our community is presently going through; an unprecedented weather event that has us all living in survival mode, just trying to get by, in shock at the devastation our city has suffered. How will this event be remembered twenty, fifty, or one hundred years from now?

In 2006, the Society of American Archivists (SAA) designated October, American Archives Month, calling on national, state, and local archives all across the country to educate the public about the purpose of archives and the important role archivists play in preserving history. According to SAA, archives and special collections are “records of enduring value that may include letters, photographs, sound recordings, books, maps, newspapers, diaries, manuscripts, and now, with the advent of the digital age, digital records.” And archivists are “professionals who are experts at managing archives and special collections and focus on collections found in universities, businesses, governments, historical societies, and public libraries.

Most of us have heard of large governmental and institutional archives like the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Library of Congress (LOC) both in Washington DC, but libraries all over Georgia also maintain smaller, unique historical collections that reveal never-told stories about our past. But at an even more local level, all of us are can be considered archivists in some way. Whether you have photo albums full of family photographs, letters written between your grandmother and grandfather during WWII, a chest of great grandmother’s vintage clothes in the attic, or a file cabinet in the study holding valuable family documents, you can choose to be the family archivist and historian. I invite you to honor Georgia Archives Month by finding some time in your busy schedules to gather and consider organizing your family papers, photographs, and other heirlooms. And to think about the best ways to preserve these items for future generations, so your family stories aren’t lost to time. Luckily, there are many online resources available to make this job easier for you!

In addition to preserving family papers and heirlooms, another great way to tell your family story is by researching your family tree. Archivists who work in public libraries are well trained as family historians and work diligently to teach the public the importance of preserving their family history. We have countless resources to assist you on your family history quest. Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) offers free resources like the hand-out below. Please click on the link below for additional resources.

Our job as archivists is not only to acquire and arrange historical collections but to also preserve these records to ensure their longevity. This is true for you as well, if you have family records, photographs, and papers that need preserving for future generations. In the months ahead, the Georgia Room will offer a special program geared towards preserving family records. All the tips and tricks known by professional archivists will be shared with you. Stay tuned for the date and time!

Lamar Garrard, a graduate of Richmond Academy and Georgia Southern has long been a passionate student of baseball history. His current exhibit at the Georgia Heritage Room at the main library is entitled: “AUGUSTA’S WORLD SERIES STARS.” As we approach the World Series season, it is timely that we celebrate ball players that have played for Augusta and participated in the World Series.

Garrard in his pursuit of the history of these players has uncovered some interesting facts and antidotes about 35 players who once roamed the ball parks in Augusta, Warren Park, Municipal Stadium (known as Jennings Stadium), Lake Olmstead Stadium and SRP Park.

Did you know that one of Augusta’s catchers was the catcher for Babe Ruth in two victorious games as the Boston Red Sox bested the Chicago Cubs four games to two in the 1918 World Series? Would you have guessed that a former Richmond Academy player and player for the Augusta Electricians was the winning manager in the 1914 World Series earning him the nickname of “Miracle Man.”

Are you aware that Ty Cobb who played for Augusta in 1904 and ’05 was in three losing efforts and never won a World Series. What about a New Jersey native who came to Augusta to play for the Augusta Tigers and lived in Augusta the rest of his life, because he married an Augusta native. Add to his credentials that he played 3rd base on four NY Yankees World Championship teams.

One of the Augusta Pirates players who was on the Florida Marlins 1997 World Series Championship team had a father and his dad’s two brothers who were all major leaguers.

Consider that two Augusta GreenJacket players were on three World Championship teams with the San Francisco Giants and spent time here at Lake Olmstead Stadium.

These are just a few of the many interesting facts that are emphasized in this exhibit. There are many baseball cards, photos, programs, signed baseballs, books, etc. to catch the eye.

Mr. Garrard writes a baseball newspaper column for 5 area towns that includes:
Washington and Lincolnton, GA. McCormick, Edgefield and Greenwood, S.C.
He has also written articles for the AUGUSTA MAGAZINE and the COLUMBIA COUNTY MAGAZINE. He speaks to civic clubs, churches, schools and historical societies about Baseball History. His favorite talk subject is about the heroic generation of ballplayers that took part in WWII.

Staff of the Georgia Room sends a big thank you to Mr. Garrard for writing this blog post and for displaying so many items from his vast baseball collection over the last seven years. That’s right folks, this is the seventh baseball exhibit hosted by the Georgia Room. Thank you Lamar!