The Importance of Stories

Recently, Johnsonville author Sherman Carmichael talked about his research techniques during a book signing at the Williamsburgh Museum. He has written a number of books, all dealing with ghosts, UFOs, legends, and mysterious stories centered in the Carolinas. Carmichael, who also had a career in law enforcement, said he is known for his Joe Friday, "just-the-facts, ma'am," brand of storytelling.

Local author Sherman Carmichael speaks at the Williamsburgh Musuem.

His presentation brought to mind how fascinating it is to see the local human interest stories that were picked up by the Associated Press over the years and how many newspapers in other parts of the state and the country ran those stories of happenings in our small community. It's also interesting how one such story can lead someone on an adventure to discover more about the person or the event, uncovering more stories along the way.

One that especially caught my interest recently involved a 10-year-old African American lad named Melvin McClam and his encounter with a snake. In June 1911, Melvin was, as many small boys did and do, fishing in Black River. At some point during the afternoon, he decided to swim across one of the "lakes" in the river as it was described in The County Record. While swimming, he was bitten on the neck by a "water rattle," according to the paper. Melvin was apparently a pretty tough, courageous kid because instead of panicking, he grabbed hold of the snake and returned to shore with it in tow. Once on the bank, he used his pocketknife to kill the snake, slit it open, and remove the liver. He then placed the liver on the bite. The newspaper noted that, aside from a little swelling at the site of the wound, Melvin suffered no ill effects from his adventure. His story, however, caught the attention of the AP, and subsequently numerous papers in South Carolina and across the United States.

Black River in 2013 in an area near where Melvin McClam was probably swimming.

Curious to see if I could find out what happened to Melvin, I searched for him on Ancestry.com. Through census records, I determined he was the youngest of Harvey and Stacie McClam's seven children. I learned that he stayed in Kingstree after he grew up, becoming an auto mechanic who owned his own business. But what sent me back to the newspapers was his death certificate. Dr. E.T. Kelley listed his cause of death as homicide. I wanted to see if I could find out more.

In the July 30, 1946, Florence Morning News, I found what I was looking for. It was only a paragraph, but it told the sad story. "Sheriff (Pearless) Lambert is holding John T. (Moot) Speights, Negro farmer, in connection with the fatal shooting of Melvin McClam, well-known Negro man, at an eating place on State Highway No. 52 near here last night. Speights, carrying the .32 pistol which is said to have shot McClam, and the .45 automatic, which he said McClam drew on him, according to Sheriff Lambert, gave himself up to Policeman James Benton immediately after the shooting affray." The little boy who survived a snake bite had become a murder victim 35 years later.

I filed it away, thinking I could tell the snake story along with the misadventures of other long-forgotten citizens in Black River. But I was to find out that I wasn't finished with the McClam family.  Less than two years later, Melvin's father Harvey died on January 19, 1913. The County Record's obituary was most impressive.

It should be noted that sad-to-say, in those days few African American residents' passings were published in the newspaper. There were some, but usually it was a line or two acknowledging the death and its date. Harvey McClam rated approximately 14 column inches in the January 23, 1913, issue. And, oh, what a tribute it was! He was called "one of the truest and most loyal citizens of the Town of Kingstree." His funeral at Mt. Zion Methodist Episcopal Church was largely attended by both black and white citizens, including Mayor Percy Kinder.

Harvey, according to his obituary, was born into slavery in 1851 on the Singleton plantation just north of what was then the Town of Kingstree. Today, Williamsburg Presbyterian Church would be the southern border of the plantation, which encompassed all of the old Kingstree Elementary School property, much of Kellahan Park, the old W.I. Nexsen home, the site of today's Kingstree United Methodist Church and westward all the way to Gilland Memorial Park.

These are two of three small houses that sit on property that runs from 

W. Academy Street to Singleton Avenue. I've often wondered if they are

what remains of outbuildings from the Singleton Plantation. From what I've

read, they would have been located to the right of the original

 T.D. Singleton house, if looking at it from today's Jackson street.

If anyone knows the origin of these houses, please share it.

The obituary notes that when Harvey was five years old, he fell into a fire, suffering burns that would leave him with scars he carried the rest of his life. After that incident, Virginia Singleton, who had by that time married Dr. James Brockinton, took Harvey to her home, where he became an inseparable companion to her children. After the Emancipation Proclamation, Harvey decided to remain with the Brockintons, although when Louise Brockinton married Thomas McDowell Gilland in April 1877, Harvey moved with them to the old Scott place, where he used his talent for cooking, skillfully managed the Gillands' pair of spirited horses, helped look after the Gilland children, and after T.M. Gilland was paralyzed from a stroke, served as his primary caregiver for 15 years. T.M. Gilland survived Harvey by barely 11 months, dying in December 1913.

The home of Dr. James and Virginia Brockinton. I will now always 

wonder if the man at the far right of the photo is Harvey McClam.

The home situated on the Brockinton property today was built

by W.I. and Barbara Nesxen.

But Harvey also had a life of his own. He married Stacie, and they had seven children, two daughters, Etta and Virginia; and five sons, Harvey, Jr., Gilbert, Arthur, Louis, and Melvin. In the 1900 census Harvey listed his occupation as farmer. By 1910, he was also working as a waiter at the Kellahan Hotel.

One small section of Harvey's obituary was also picked up by the Associated Press wire and reprinted in a number of papers across the state. That small section included the names of Harvey's pallbearers–six white men who carried their black friend to his final resting place. They were Louise and T.M. Gilland's three sons: Wilmot, Louis, and Dessie, with Hugh McCutchen, Edwin Hirsch, and Otis Arrowsmith. Melvin McClam, whose middle name was Hirsch, was no doubt named for Edwin Hirsch's father, Melvin.

These two stories illustrate so well that history is more than the "big" events that make it to the history books. It is also the small, everyday things that show how inextricably connected we are to each other and to the events that have gone before and to those that will occur long after we're gone. And sometimes if you pull on one tiny thread, you find more stories, more questions–more evidence that everyone plays an important role in the overall history of a community. 

UPDATE: On April 4, we looked at three African-American barbers who were much a part of Kingstree in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One of them, John D. Mouzon, ran the barbershop in both the Coleman House Hotel and later the Kellahan Hotel. He disappeared for a time but re-opened the barbershop at the Kellahan Hotel in 1911, announcing in an ad in The County Record, "Thankful for past favors, I respectfully solicit a share of your patronage." Not long afterward, though, the shop was again closed. I now know he moved to Asheville, NC, where he was a barber at the Buckeye Parlor. Charles C. Mouzon, perhaps a relative, also worked as a barber at that shop in Asheville. John Mouzon appears in both the 1912 and 1913 Asheville City Directories. On March 1, 1913, he died there. The County Record announced his death but did not elaborate on its cause. His remains were brought back to Kingstree for burial. The Record did note that in addition to barbering, Mouzon was also a musician and the leader of the Mouzon String Band that played at many, many dances at the Coleman Hotel and other places during the 1890s and early 1900s.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR:

AUGUST 7:  Training session for the Design Committee for Main Street Kingstree. Randy Wilson and Jenny Boulware will explain the Design Committee's role in the overall Main Street approach to anyone interested in joining the committee. Design will work on helping downtown present an inviting appearance, pedestrian orientation, signage, parking management, and master planning. The session is from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Main Street office at the depot.

AUGUST 9:  Training session for the Economic Vitality Committee for Main Street Kingstree. Jenny Boulware will explain this committee's role in the Main Street approach to all who are interested in volunteering to serve on this committee, which will work with demographics and statistics, business retention, business expansion, and business attraction. The committee will meet from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Main Street office at the depot.

AUGUST 10:  Main Street Live at the Depot will present its big back-to-school bash from 7-10 p.m. The Band Punch will provide music. There will be food trucks, face painting, and free shaved ice available.

AUGUST 14:  Training session for the Promotion Committee for Main Street Kingstree. Jenny Boulware will provide background information on this committee's function to anyone who wishes to serve on the committee. The Promotion Committee will work with image and branding, special events, and retail promotion. Time is 5:30-7 p.m. in the Main Street office at the depot.