Listen to History

52 Sams in 52 Weeks is now on its final approach. We are about to put the landing gear down (week 50), land (week 51), and taxi to the terminal (week 52). These last three posts have a lot of variety. Week 50 – Listen to History. Today you’ll hear a story of recent history. Week 51 – An Antebellum Christmas. On December 22nd, I’ll tell you what we know about Christmas on Datha in the mid 1800s and about antebellum Christmases in general. Week 52 – Reflections and Resolutions. On December 29th, I’ll reflect on 2020 and talk about what comes next in 2021.

Listen to History: The first recording below is of a Dataw Island resident that spent two years building the Sams Plantation House model, prominently displayed in your History & Learning Center. The second recording is an excerpt from an original letter written by Sarah Sams to her husband, Dr. Robert Randolph Sams, while he was away in the Civil War. Her distant cousin reads the excerpt.