The story of a post-bellum South family, through photos and letters

May 5, 2008 3:13 PM

"Palmetto Pathos is an examination of a Southern family, from their 1684 arrival in Pennsylvania to Southern Spartanburg County in the present..." It's more than an examination; one might call it a narrative of one Smith family, spanning the 18th century to the mid-20th century. There's a little of everything: a recipe, a mysterious family photo, financial matters, even a few cuties. I could just post links but the best way is to just dive in.
posted by zorro astor (5 comments total)

I always drool over families that managed to hang on to letters, photos and the ilk. My own clans, for the most part, weren't nearly as organized. Bah. He/She does a nice job of presenting their family lore.

I wonder how soon or what order the mother received the letters concerning Ralph's death.
posted by Atreides at 5:24 PM on May 5, 2008

My uncle would have loved this site (and restored the photos). Interesting find, zorro aster.
posted by figment of my conation at 5:29 PM on May 5, 2008

Speaking of the lowcountry and of the Palmetto state, I can recommend two books in particular: first, John Andrew Rice's 1942 autobiography I Came Out of the Eighteenth Century (long since Out of Print, this memoir by the founder of Black Mountain College details Rice's early years in post-Civil War South Carolina [upstate]); and second, Edward Ball's Slaves in the Family is a tour-de-force that tackles head-on Ball's confrontation with his own Charleston plantation family's slave-owning past.
posted by ornate insect at 8:28 PM on May 5, 2008

In this entry the author posts a photo of an unknown subject. To me, it looks like this guy, though I can't figure out why the family would have a photo of him sitting around.(second photo taken between 1860-1865 by Matthew Brady)
posted by dubold at 5:42 AM on May 6, 2008

Since the third link is boinked, I presume you're saying that the unknown photo looks like Sherman? There is a very strong resemblance. Its possible that it was some sort of souvenir photo that was picked up at some point, part of some mass produced photo set. If I bothered to have an account with the blog place, I'd point it out.
posted by Atreides at 3:22 PM on May 6, 2008