Many former slaves remained on the island as free men and women. The northern portion of Dataw was sold to William Irwin of New York. He divided the land into small parcels and entered into crop-lien agreements with at least eight African American farmers. In those hard times, none o f these families was able to fulfill its liens. Some families likely stayed on, paying rent and working for themselves. The tenant period came to an end in 1928 when Kate Gleason, a New York entrepreneur, banker, and engineer, purchased the island from Samuel Stoney.
Articles from this era address the period 1865 to 1983.
“Having passed the half century mark, I now can look back with more complete understanding and appreciation for the noble, kind, generous, understanding gentleman of the old school whom through the graciousness of Heaven I have the privilege of calling my father.”
Written by Mrs. Travis Johnson (Katie Lucia Sams), great great granddaughter of William and Elizabeth Sams.
This two-part article from the South Carolina Historical Magazine is one of the finest genealogical sources on the Sams Family. It was published in 1963 and authored by two of William Sams’ gggranddaughters. It begins,
“Bonham Sams, II, the progenitor of the Sams family of South Carolina, was baptized 2 February, 1663, in St. Mary’s Parish Church, North Petherton Parish, County of Somerset, England, as “Bonham Sam, son of Thomas Sam” and his wife, Mary Bagge, also of this parish. He was the third generation of his family known to have worshiped here in the faith of the Established Church of England. In St. Mary’s ancient church- yard are buried his parents, also his grandparents—Bonham Samme, I, and his wife, Mary Shutte.
Bonham Sams, II, was the only one of his father’s sons to leave for the New World. His brothers, Thomas, Edward, Daniel, William, and Roger, are buried in England; and from available records it appears that
the male line of descent died out in England by 1735.”
Kate Gleason’s Adventures in a Man’s Job, This American Magazine, by Helen Christine Bennett, 1928. “She wished she had been born a boy, so she decided to do a man’s work—and this is the story of Kate Gleason’s adventures in a man’s job.”
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Reporter N.L. Willet begins her article thusly, “Restoration work appeals to my soul and in the doing of it, I am having the time of my life.” So said Miss Kate Gleason of Rochester, New York (and of Beaufort) to Miss Elizabeth Sanders of Montclair, N. J., and myself, who were her guests for the day, as we were all sitting on the top of the cabin of the “Blanche.” This short article goes on to outline the dreams of Miss Kate Gleason for Dataw (today’s spelling) Island some 90 years ago.
This is a copy of the wall display you see when visiting our History & Learning Center on Dataw Island.
Tom Watkins of the Dataw Historic Foundation gave this presentation January 15th, 2019 at the Community Center on Dataw Island, SC.
The legend of a giant Indian named King Datha, the source of Dataw Island’s name.
The Rev. James Julius Sams Memoirs of Datha. Written circa 1905, they tell about his life as a child on Dataw. His reflections reveal how close he felt to his brother Horace Hann Sams, and why Horace’s death in the Civil War cut him so deeply.
