Join the Center and Dr. Curry as we explore the first volume in a narrative history about the descendants of two families that share a common ancestor, Martha Kitchings Seawright Ellison. The book documents the beginnings of the family saga through Martha’s life during slavery, The Civil War, The Reconstruction Era, and family life in […]

Join us on Monday, January 9th, at 6:00 p.m. when Dr. Walter B. Curry, Jr. will talk about the fascinating story of Lavinia C. Thompson who was born into slavery in Aiken County, South Carolina on June 3, 1844. She would follow her master into battle in the Civil War, serving the Confederate army as […]

The Doctors Bruce and Lee Foundation Library presents African American Genealogy: Writing Family History with Dr. Walter B. Curry, Jr. on Tuesday, January 24 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Dr. Curry, a native of Orangeburg, SC, will teach attendees how to write a narrative history about their family incorporating the African American experience and […]

Martha Kitchings Seawright Ellison was born enslaved on November 20, 1849, in Barnwell County South Carolina. This presentation tells the contextualized story of her life, featuring local history of the antebellum period and Civil War in Barnwell County during Martha’s enslavement; a personal account of Martha’s life on the Phillips Plantation during the Reconstruction Era […]