Roots & Recall has loaded much of the South Carolina Artisan Database to the R&R website. We have wanted to do this for decades, and finally the moment has come to share it. The database is a culmination of decades of on-and-off again research, focusing originally on tombstone carvers in the Catawba Valley region. Later it was expanded to include artisans who were connected with housing, manufacturing, and milling. As of now, the list continues to expand, and more than 15,000 artisans have been identified. Click here to see database: SC Artisan Database
Search the list by skill, name, or location. What we hope users will do is to help provide additional information on these artisans. Help us identify what they made, where they resided, and examples of their work — which are or should be credited to them. Using census records, probate records, newspaper ads, manuscripts and other sources, this list has been compiled, but it is far from complete. We know very little about free African American artisans other than their names. For instance, George and Jimmy Watts of York County were furniture makers, but we have little added information on them and, sadly, no known pieces attributable to either.
Take time to review the list and be sure to send R&R any information you can on these artisans. Important missing information often includes: birth and death dates, attributable contributions, the area they worked in, other states to which they traveled for work, and written documentation associated with their trades. Winthrop University’s Pettus Archives can assist in updating the Artisan’s Database as required.
The Artisans Database is in the form of a PDF document found on the R&R homepage under the research menu. It’s a little difficult to find, but there are hundreds of pages of data to search.