Resource for Research
Story by Lawrence Conneff
Photography supplied
There’s a suite in a Hilton Head office building that contains a trove of information about the island’s history.
At the Heritage Library, volunteers help patrons research their family trees. The nonprofit also preserves a pair of historic sites, hosts tours and other programs, and houses a collection of “historical information, old photographs, and maps of Hilton Head Island and the Lowcountry.”
The library offers annual memberships and daily fees that provide access to its facility and research resources, but it’s not just locals who use these services.
“Many of the island’s visitors also visit the library as part of their vacation, and work with our volunteers on starting or growing their family trees,” executive director Barbara Catenaci said.
In addition to historic books and documents, the library gives patrons access to paid online databases including ancestry.com, HeritageQuest, fold3.com, and americanancestors.org.
In early June, Catenaci said, a group of 15 from the Women’s Association of Hilton Head Island came in to work with library volunteers. Groups can make appointments to reserve time with volunteers, she said, and library personnel also “welcome folks coming in to research independently.”
“Our greatest resource for anyone coming in to do family research is our volunteers,” Catenaci said. “We have a great group of volunteers with experience in genealogy research and they work with visitors one-on-one or in groups.”
The library showcases some of its work in online video series called “Our Storied Island” and “The Name Project.” The short documentaries highlight island stories and history through the eyes of locals including Gullah storyteller Louise Cohen, charter boat captain Fuzzy Davis, fisherman Ben Green, restaurant owner Barbara Hudson, and artisan Michael Smalls.
“Our Storied Island” also features the historic sites the library owns and operates: Fort Mitchel and Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery. Catenaci said filming for more videos is planned for this summer and fall.
Tours of Fort Mitchel and Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery are offered from April to October, conducted “by a library docent who is aided in leading the tour by living history characters,” Catenaci said.
There’s a suite in a Hilton Head office building that contains a trove of information about the island’s history.
At the Heritage Library, volunteers help patrons research their family trees. The nonprofit also preserves a pair of historic sites, hosts tours and other programs, and houses a collection of “historical information, old photographs, and maps of Hilton Head Island and the Lowcountry.”
The library offers annual memberships and daily fees that provide access to its facility and research resources, but it’s not just locals who use these services.
“Many of the island’s visitors also visit the library as part of their vacation, and work with our volunteers on starting or growing their family trees,” executive director Barbara Catenaci said.
In addition to historic books and documents, the library gives patrons access to paid online databases including ancestry.com, HeritageQuest, fold3.com, and americanancestors.org.
In early June, Catenaci said, a group of 15 from the Women’s Association of Hilton Head Island came in to work with library volunteers. Groups can make appointments to reserve time with volunteers, she said, and library personnel also “welcome folks coming in to research independently.”
“Our greatest resource for anyone coming in to do family research is our volunteers,” Catenaci said. “We have a great group of volunteers with experience in genealogy research and they work with visitors one-on-one or in groups.”
The library showcases some of its work in online video series called “Our Storied Island” and “The Name Project.” The short documentaries highlight island stories and history through the eyes of locals including Gullah storyteller Louise Cohen, charter boat captain Fuzzy Davis, fisherman Ben Green, restaurant owner Barbara Hudson, and artisan Michael Smalls.
“Our Storied Island” also features the historic sites the library owns and operates: Fort Mitchel and Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery. Catenaci said filming for more videos is planned for this summer and fall.
Tours of Fort Mitchel and Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery are offered from April to October, conducted “by a library docent who is aided in leading the tour by living history characters,” Catenaci said.
“Having characters join in the tours provides guests to the sites with the opportunity to have conversations with the people who made history at our sites,” she said.
“Visitors might meet William Baynard, a colonial period planter that built the Baynard Mausoleum – the oldest standing building on Hilton Head Island. They also might meet Captain Jack Stoney, Mary Kirk, Lydia Davant and more of the people that lived on our Island in the 1700’s.”
Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery tours are at 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Fort Mitchel tours are at 10:30 a.m. Thursdays. Reservations are recommended at heritagelib.org.
Catenaci said more events are planned for this fall: Ghosts & Myths, “a Halloween themed program that brings together Island history, folklore and a visit or two from the ghosts of our past,” and Historic Holidays, which “brings together local authors and artists in a great market setting for holiday shopping.”
The Heritage Library also has partnered with the Hilton Head Island Branch Library on a quarterly book club “focusing on local, county, regional, and state history.” The club will discuss its second book, “Coffin Point: The Strange Cases of Ed McTeer, Witchdoctor Sheriff” by Baynard Woods, at 11 a.m. July 12 at 11 Beach City Rd.
“The library will also be presenting history and ancestry classes in the fall as well as workshops focused on our Heirs Property Family Research Project,” Catenaci said.
Looking further ahead, Catenaci said officials are already working on programs to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution in 2026.
“We are planning for classes and forums as well as building up our resources so that we can provide our community with as much history and information on the subject as possible,” she said. “There were more battles in our fight for independence fought in South Carolina than in any other state and we want to make sure that we can provide residents and visitors with all the information they need.”
The Heritage Library is located at 2 Corpus Christi Place, Suite 100, Hilton Head Island. It is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and can be reached at 843-686-6560 or heritagelib.org. The library’s website contains more information about genealogical research and island history dating back to its earliest settlements.
“Having characters join in the tours provides guests to the sites with the opportunity to have conversations with the people who made history at our sites,” she said.
“Visitors might meet William Baynard, a colonial period planter that built the Baynard Mausoleum – the oldest standing building on Hilton Head Island. They also might meet Captain Jack Stoney, Mary Kirk, Lydia Davant and more of the people that lived on our Island in the 1700’s.”
Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery tours are at 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Fort Mitchel tours are at 10:30 a.m. Thursdays. Reservations are recommended at heritagelib.org.
Catenaci said more events are planned for this fall: Ghosts & Myths, “a Halloween themed program that brings together Island history, folklore and a visit or two from the ghosts of our past,” and Historic Holidays, which “brings together local authors and artists in a great market setting for holiday shopping.”
The Heritage Library also has partnered with the Hilton Head Island Branch Library on a quarterly book club “focusing on local, county, regional, and state history.” The club will discuss its second book, “Coffin Point: The Strange Cases of Ed McTeer, Witchdoctor Sheriff” by Baynard Woods, at 11 a.m. July 12 at 11 Beach City Rd.
“The library will also be presenting history and ancestry classes in the fall as well as workshops focused on our Heirs Property Family Research Project,” Catenaci said.
Looking further ahead, Catenaci said officials are already working on programs to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution in 2026.
“We are planning for classes and forums as well as building up our resources so that we can provide our community with as much history and information on the subject as possible,” she said. “There were more battles in our fight for independence fought in South Carolina than in any other state and we want to make sure that we can provide residents and visitors with all the information they need.”
The Heritage Library is located at 2 Corpus Christi Place, Suite 100, Hilton Head Island. It is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and can be reached at 843-686-6560 or heritagelib.org. The library’s website contains more information about genealogical research and island history dating back to its earliest settlements.
