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The former rice plantations that made up Hobcaw Barony were known by 19 different names. But what were the names of the hundreds of enslaved people who labored on them?
A recent study led by Dr. Lynn Hanson has uncovered the names of over 1,100 individuals. A follow-up study focusing on Hobcaw’s Friendfield Plantation reveals even more details about at least 260 of these people. These enslaved individuals were recorded in Elizabeth Blyth’s annual plantation inventories (1819–1837) and in the Freedmen’s Bureau post–Civil War contracts for Friendfield (1865–1868).
In her presentation, Dr. Hanson will discuss the research methods, primary sources, and findings from both projects, sharing stories of those who endured lifetimes of enslavement, and some who ultimately gained freedom.
About the Speaker:
Lynn Hanson, Professor Emerita from Francis Marion University, was a founding co-director of the Belle Baruch Institute for South Carolina Studies and taught professional communication courses in the English department. Now retired, Dr. Hanson is a Research Affiliate with the University of South Carolina’s Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences.
Her current project focuses on recovering the names of the enslaved people who carved Hobcaw Barony’s former rice plantations from the landscape and labored there through the end of the Civil War. Hanson’s previous research includes extensive work on Belle Baruch, a South Carolina benefactor who helped ensure the protection of Hobcaw Barony’s land in perpetuity.