Frederick Augustus ("Gus") Haddock account book

Manuscript volume, 1861-1863, of Frederick Augustus ("Gus") Haddock is a
valuable acquisition relating to the subject of the mid-nineteenth-century
turpentine industry in South Carolina.

The coming of the railroad promoted the development of Williamsburg District's
pine forests. Turpentine beat cotton as a cash crop; it boosted the region's
economy. In the early 1850s, experienced North Carolinians began moving in and
buying up pine lands cheaply. They set up turpentine farms and distilleries,
established a skilled labor force, and gained membership in the community.

Haddock was a native of North Carolina; his tombstone in Union Cemetery says
that he was born 29 August 1829 and killed by a falling tree 22 October 1892. He
settled near Black Mingo Creek along the Georgetown-Williamsburg county line,
and in addition to his turpentine business he superintended river dredging in
the area. His account entries begin in the spring of 1861 and end in the summer
of 1863 about the time he left home to enlist in Co. A, 7th South Carolina
Cavalry.

The accounts are indexed by name and record dealings with a number of local
firms and families: J.F. Carraway, McConnell & Britton, Ange & Brothers,
Furnifold Rhem, J.B. Anderson, J.A. Hemingway, Dr. J.J. Steel (for medical
attention to slaves), Marion Britton, and James Snow. The listed items refer
most frequently to barrels of turpentine, tar, and rosin, but the book also
includes a list of hides in tan, including "22 Hides from Gov. [R.F.W.]
Allston." In a separate account appears a reference to "Elm Grove distillery,"
evidently owned by Haddock. And like many plantation account books, this one
contains a register of Haddock's slaves.

Source: http://www.sc.edu/library/socar/uscs/1997/haddoc97.htm

The Manuscripts Division of the South Caroliniana Library collects and preserves
a wide variety of unpublished materials significant to the study of history and
culture in the Palmetto State.  This represents only a small portion of the
finding aids available in the Manuscripts Division. For further information,
please contact the Manuscripts Division staff by e-mail or at the following
address:

Manuscripts Division
South Caroliniana Library 
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
Tel: (803) 777-5183
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