2022 - Dataw Historic Foundation

BB Sams and his Tripartite Residence (built after 1760 – burned about 1880)

Bill — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 20:24:08 +0000

Recently, tour requests have begun to pick up. So I thought it would be a good time to introduce you to the winter home of Dr. BB Sams (1787-1855) and his family. Their tripartite house is one of several tabby structures in the Sams Plantation Complex Tabby Ruins, accepted on the National Register of Historic Places on March 4, 2011. In the antebellum period, and the sea islands of Beaufort in particular, nearly all planters had a summer home and winter home. The summer home is where they lived in the hot months to get away from their plantation(s) and the diseases associated with heat, humidity, and bugs. In summer, they went to their homes in Beaufort or St Helenaville. Summer was also the prime time of the year for socializing and for children to be tutored. In winter, the planters lived in their plantation homes. So the ruins you see today on Dataw Island are of Dr. BB Sams winter home and yard.

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Tabby Times – Fall 2022

Bill — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 03:06:15 +0000

Historians and archeologists depend on human-made artifacts as clues to understanding and interpreting previous cultures. These historical objects give insight and lend credence to the influence of prior cultures on…

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Of the people, By the people, For the people

Bill — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 19:44:49 +0000

Thursday, November 19, 1863, at about 3 PM, as the sun broke through the clouds, President Abraham Lincoln gave his two-minute address to the 15,000 gathered for the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, PA. We’ve all read it, studied it, and seen it (on the wall at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.) I’m going to discuss the Gettysburg Address in a moment. The most interesting part of his speech is often skimmed over, "..of the people, by the people, and for the people.." First, I thought a summary of the Sams family members who served in the Confederate States of America army would provide some interesting context for you.

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Luminary Night at the Ruins

Bill — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 22:00:00 +0000

Enslaved People of South Carolina & Datha Island

Bill — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 13:58:38 +0000

Water in Motion

Bill — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 08:30:52 +0000

Water in motion is beautiful—most of the time. But once in a while, it grows from a rising tide into a boiling hurricane. Water indeed defines much of the character of our Lowcountry. It flushes and nurtures the marsh. Defines the borders of our island. And pushes us away when a hurricane approaches.Most of you reading this know about the beauty of the waters around Dataw. It’s a contributing reason I live here. The “beast face” of water is fortunately seen less often. This week I’m going to tell you about, by far, the most massive hurricane this area has ever experienced—the hurricane of 1893. And I’m going to tell you a little know story of Ting Sams Colquhoun’s ancestors that met their death in that hurricane.

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Declaration of Independence in America Led to Riches in Beaufort

Bill — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 01:22:24 +0000

William Sams fled with his family to the Beaufort area from Charleston in 1783. He left Charleston because of the Confiscation Acts of early 1782. They likely picked Beaufort due to family connections. As our past DHF president John Colgan might say, it was the second time the Sams were on the wrong side of history. But similar to the first time, this move was a blessing in disguise. The following 80 years would bring great wealth to Beaufort, South Carolina, and the Sams. This short article is about how we won our independence from Great Britain, seen through the lens of local South Carolina's concerns and consequences.

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The Sams & Our Presidents

Bill — Mon, 04 Jul 2022 11:00:23 +0000

Sometimes taking a long view of history provides an insightful perspective on the lives of others. A few years ago, I compiled a timeline of U.S. Presidents who were in office during the antebellum era of the Sams of South Carolina. I focused on William Sams and two particular sons, Lewis Reeve Sams and Dr. Berners Barnwell Sams, M.D. The timeline starts in 1783, when William Sams, at 42, left Wadmalaw Island and moved his family to Beaufort and Datha Island. It ends with the Great Gun Shoot / Big Skedaddle of 1861. The graphic integrates the lives of William, Elizabeth, Lewis Reeve Sams, and his brother Dr. Berners Barnwell Sams, M.D. — with — the terms of our first 16 presidents

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Sarah Reeve Gibbes (1746-1825)

Bill — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 21:12:28 +0000

Peaceful Retreat plantation home of Robert Gibbes and his wife Sarah (Reeve) Gibbes. On the Stono River, John’s Island, SC. There is so much to say about this woman. She…

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Horace Hann Sams (1829 – 1865)

Bill — Mon, 23 May 2022 16:00:11 +0000

Horace Hann Sams (1829-1865) is one of the four Beaufort men I wrote about earlier who died in the Civil War. Today I dig deeper into Major HH Sams life and legacy. It becomes clear from contemporary accounts about him what drove this southern soldier in our American Civil War. Those he left behind were deeply affected by their loss. To paraphrase novelist Mitch Albom, his death ended a life, not a relationship. His older brother Rev. James Julius Sams, carries his sorrow into the memoir he wrote 40 years later.

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High Above Morgan River: Documenting the Legacy of Lewis Reeves Sams’ Home

Bill — Mon, 16 May 2022 03:09:50 +0000

By now, most of you will have received the Spring Edition 2022 of the Dataw Historic Foundation’s Tabby Times. This is the “live” version of the beautiful cover article written…

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Tabby Times Spring 2022

Bill — Sat, 14 May 2022 14:38:36 +0000

The Many Sams Plantations

Bill — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 13:00:39 +0000

For centuries the ultimate enabler of an individual's wealth was land ownership. This was certainly true in the Lowcountry, as rice, lumber, indigo, cattle, and cotton crops created tensions over land. One of the early and successful indigo plantation owners on a sea island was Robert Sams (~1706 - 1760), father of "our" William Sams (1741 - 1798). Robert was a planter up on Wadmalaw Island. As the American Revolution took a toll on the sale of indigo dye cakes to the British, a new sea island-compatible crop was arriving. Sea island cotton's exceptional quality and world events in France and England drove Europe's demand. It was first grown commercially on Hilton Head in 1795, and by 1810 nearly all the suitable cotton land in our area was spoken for. This brings us on a fast trip to the Datha Island plantation brothers, Lewis Reeve Sams (1784 - 1856) and Berners Barnwell Sams (1787 - 1855). They inherited Datha Island from their father and mother once they came of age, in 1805 and 1808, respectively. LR Sams had Datha Point plantation on the north, and BB Sams had Datha Inlet plantation on the south.
As Dr. Rowland tells us in his first volume of The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina (1514 - 1861) by 1850:
"Dr. Berners Barnwell Sams had 2,097 acres and 174 enslaved people on Datha and Lady's Island…His brother Lewis Reeve Sams had 1,467 acres and 166 enslaved people on adjoining property…"
It wasn't Datha alone that afforded the brothers, and their children, the luxury of elegant homes in Beaufort. It was the totality of their holdings.

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Four Young Men

Bill — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 13:00:23 +0000

Sometimes luck is due to your hard work. Other times it comes from factors that cannot be explained or are beyond your control. Wars have a way of stringing together events that leave in their wake both the fortunate and unfortunate. This week I identify four Sams who died on the eve of, or during, the Civil War. They range in age from 16 to 36. There were many more Sams who served and came home to live another day. These four did not.

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Robert Oswald Sams (1841 – 1930)

Bill — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 13:00:37 +0000

April holds a special place in the history of the United States. From where I sit today, in the heart of the South, its significance cannot be overlooked. On Friday, April 12, 1861, the Battle of Fort Sumter began the Civil War. In addition, April events bookend the American Civil War. On April 9, 1865, "the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia in the McLean House in the village of Appomattox Court House, Virginia signaled the end of the nation's largest war." We are fortunate to have some first-person insights into both ends of the war. They come from Robert Oswald Sams, the grandson of "our" Lewis Reeve Sams.

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Dr. Miles Stanhope Sams (1860 – 1933) – Renaissance Man

Bill — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 01:00:28 +0000

This week in my 52 Sams in 52 Weeks series the theme is TRAVEL. Several weeks ago, I happened to bump into a Sams that had moved to Japan. So I penciled him into Week 20 - TRAVEL, suspecting he might be an exciting story. Miles Stanhope Sams (1860 - 1933) was the grandson of Lewis Reeve Sams and his first wife, Sarah Fripp.

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Slavery and Datha’s Enslaved by Jane Griffith

Bill — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 11:00:12 +0000

The Sams family's success and prosperity could not have been achieved without the hundreds of enslaved men, women, and children who worked silently tilling the land, harvesting the sea island cotton, building the structures, and serving their Sams masters in many ways. Datha's enslaved peoples were an undeniable and vital part of this island's plantation era history. Their lives and work on plantations on Datha Island, Ladys Island, and St. Helena Island spanned three generations of the Sams family.

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Strong Women – Four Examples

Bill — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 13:22:03 +0000

Women's History Month was 'born' in 1987, though its roots go back to 1911. So many Sams women, and we don't know enough about them. It seems reasonable to assume they all were strong to survive the circumstances of their southern antebellum era. For most women, their role in the family in the 19th century was still defined by the husband [Hussung, 2015.]

Here are four particular women who persevered, even excelled, despite the challenges they encountered back then: Elizabeth Fripp Sams, Sarah Stanyarne Sams Sams, Ma Lilly, and Kate Gleason.

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Grande Dames of Datha Island

Bill — Sat, 12 Mar 2022 18:40:00 +0000

We are compiling a list of the "Grande Dames of Datha Island" and adding each tree's location and approximate age to the map below. We'd love to have residents participate by going to the Google Form at this link and entering data on whichever tree you wish.

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Sea Island Cotton (1790 – 1920)

Bill — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 12:00:56 +0000

For the Sams of Datha Island (19th century name), there is a particular source of their prosperity; Sea Island cotton.

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Dr. Robert Randolph Sams, D.D.S. (1827 – 1910)

Bill — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 02:55:00 +0000

In my recent post on Sarah J Sams, you saw restored photographs of her and her husband, Dr. R Randolph Sams. Large reprints are hanging in the Dataw Island History & Learning Center through the generosity of Teresa (Winters) Bridges. Sarah's original image (i.e., ambrotype) holding their daughter Phoebe was taken in about 1858 when Sarah was in her early 20s. Randolph's image (i.e., daguerreotype) shows a handsome young man upon graduation from college in 1849, also in his early 20s. What's most interesting about Dr. R. Randolph Sams is his role in the earliest days of modern dentistry.

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Sarah Jane Graham (Sams) Sams (1835 – 1920)

Bill — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 21:30:26 +0000

Reproduction of a circa 1858 ambrotype of Sarah Jane Graham (Sams) Sams (1835 – 1920), courtesy of Teresa Bridges. Sarah Jane Graham Sams married Dr.Robert Randolph Sams (1827 – 1910),…

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Dr. Lewis Reeve Sams, Jr. (1810 – 1888)

Bill — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 14:00:25 +0000

You are looking at the faces of a family deeply affected by the Civil War and looking for a brighter future. This photo is dated 16th October 1866. On the back are the words, 'Picture taken just as family was leaving S.C. for Galveston, Texas.' Dr. Lewis Reeve Sams, Jr. (1810 - 1888) took his family ''so far away" from Beaufort, SC.

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Therese Canter (Sams) Colquhoun

Bill — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 00:20:57 +0000

The people in this single image above span 184 years of Sams descendants; from today back to the working plantation days when B.B. Sams was growing Sea Island cotton here on Dataw Island.

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Berners Barnwell Sams (1787 – 1855)

Bill — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 14:00:05 +0000

Dr. Berners Barnwell Sams, M.D. (1787 - 1855) - BB Sams is named after his Great Grandmother Elizabeth Anne (Berners) Barnwell and his Grandmother Bridgett (Barnwell) Sams, according to Sams' family descendants. Berners Barnwell Sams was the son of William Sams (1741-1798) and Elizabeth (Hext) Sams (1746-1813). He inherited one-third of his father's Dataw Island plantation in 1808 when he came of age. We know a fair amount about Dr. BB Sams. However, today we have a much more colorful understanding of the man. In 2019 we were given a copy of an unpublished family history penned in the early 1900s by Conway Whittle Sams (grandson of BB Sams). This unpublished work contains a first-person description of Dr. BB Sams provided by his daughter, Elizabeth Exima Sams in 1905.

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John Barnwell (1671 – 1724)

Bill — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 04:31:13 +0000

Barnwell was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Alderman Matthew Barnwell and Margaret Carberry. Matthew Barnwell was killed in the Siege of Derry in 1690 as a captain in James II’s Irish Army, which attempted to restore the last Stuart king to the English throne. The family seat, Archerstown in County Meath, was forfeited as a consequence of these events. John eventually took flight for North America in 1701. (Rowland) He became a colonist in the territory then called Charles Towne in the colony of Carolina. His timing coincided with the emergence of the rice culture and the associated prosperity.

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Bonum Sams II (1663 – abt 1718)

Bill — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Everyone has heard that William Sams and his wife Elizabeth Hext Sams bought Dataw Island in 1783. Both William's paternal and maternal grandfathers emigrated from England to territory in or near "Charles Towne in the colony of Carolina" in the late 17th century. They both were seeking a fresh start, but their circumstances could not have been more different. Bonham (Bonum) Sams II came as an indentured servant; he is the subject of this week's article. On the other hand, Colonel John Barnwell was Irish, came from a long line of government officials, and was not an indentured servant. More on him next week.

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