Learned a lot about how archives are stored here in Columbia today.  The workshop is being held right at the South Carolina Archives and History Centre.  There was a presentation by Senator McDowell of SC on the restoration of the Hunley.  The Hunley was the first submarine ever.  It was a Civil War (!) underwater ship that sank a northern ship that was blockading Charleston harbour.  The thing is it never came back to port.  In the days before radio it was a big mystery.  It has been found and raised and is being restored and the senator showed us the amazing story.  More about the Hunly here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._L._Hunley_(submarine)

We toured the state archives and I got some GREAT tips on doing research.  So many new leads in fact that I might not spend a night in Savannah after all, and instead buy more time to research.  Its a dweebishdecision but I can always come back again and bring some of you with me.

One thing I want to show you all from today is below.  It is a picture or a copy of the Ordinances of Secession.  This is the document signed by representatives of the Confederate States of America basically declaring their independence.  We saw the original today.  I might have mentioned this before, but the 15th from the bottom in the far right column is the signature of one of the South Carolina representatives.  He signs his name as J.S. Sims.  This same J.S. Sims signed my GG grandfather’s will and is buried in an ancient cemetery that not many people know about.  We were there Thursday and her too is a picture of his gravestone.  A signer of the Confederate Declaration of Independence was, as a young man, a friend and neighbor of my John Foster.