Spring in South Carolina

This spring was my every-other-year genealogy trip with my mother.  When we were in Virginia a couple of years ago, we kept seeing that our Masons and related families had moved to South Carolina and we wanted to know why. For mother's side, we had discovered some time ago that one of her lines (Buser) was among the Swiss German immigrants who were encouraged to immigrate to settle Saxe Gotha in South Carolina. So... we set out to learn more about these things, as well as the many other family lines who came through this area back in the 1700s and on.

Mom and I on our first research day at the South Carolina State Library

As has become my practice, I blogged each day of the trip, so I will cross-link those posts here rather than repeating myself:

Day 1 - Travel Day through the Shenandoah Valley

Day 2 - Fun with Books

Day 3 - The State Archives and Mysteries

Days 4 and 5 - Land and Museum Visits

We spent our travel time collecting information, not necessarily processing it. So at the conclusion of the trip, we are left with much to do. Specifically, we got some information about the McGill and Buser lines that I hadn't previously worked much on, so I need to incorporate those into my research plans. We also got lots of clues about the movements of the Masons and the lands they bought and sold, but still need to process each document to try to pinpoint exactly where their land was. We got some clues, enough to point us in the right direction and allow us to go stand on an approximation of the land where they lived. 

I also found information that made me wonder if the Buser lineage I have in my tree is actually correct... I may have the wrong father for Catherine, which would change everything, of course. There were many more Buser/Boozers in this area than I had originally known.

The Russell family still remains a mystery, although I may have small bits of information (possibly that I don't even realize I have) that could move me in the right direction. 

One of my favorite finds from this trip comes from a book that mom ended up purchasing for me: Colonial and Revolutionary History of Upper South Carolina by John Belton O'Neall Landrum (1897). The key paragraph for me is found on page 26 and places the Masons on the pages of history alongside their related neighboring families, which I have spent so many years circling. Two of these are Bomar and Wood, which I suspected connections to, but haven't yet been able to find details of (other than the one marriage of my 3 greats grandparents, James Mason and Martha Bomar Wood). Others in their FAN (Friends Associates Neighbors) club include Underwood, Hammett, Foster, and more!

As happens with every genealogy trip, we leave with much more to do and we wonder where our next trip will need to be. Sometimes it's evident, as it was when all of our Virginia research appeared to point to South Carolina next. This time, it wasn't quite so evident. From South Carolina, our folks moved on to Georgia before Texas, and we've already hit both of those. But we discussed the possibility of spending our next "trip" close to home researching in mother's home library in Lubbock, which has quite a collection of genealogical references. 

It was a quick but fruitful and fun trip to South Carolina! From Willie Jewell's Old School Bar-B-Q to Rambo's Fat Cat Biscuits, we had a great time eating in Columbia, in addition to all of our genealogical stops. And, of course, it's the quality time away from "normal life" that rejuvenates and puts life into perspective!