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With beginnings dating back as far as the 1700s, Abbeville County, South Carolina, has a history that represents a rich and colorful tapestry of the South Carolina Upcountry. Formally organized into a unit of state government in 1800, Abbeville District extended from Savannah to the Saluda Rivers, but modern Abbeville County includes Abbeville, Calhoun Falls, Antreville, Donalds, Due West, and Lowndesville. Each of these communities has its own distinct landmarks and prominent events, such as Jefferson Davis's last War Cabinet meeting in the city of Abbeville, the moment that dissolved the Confederacy and earned the city the nickname "Birthplace and Deathbed of the Confederacy." Many of the families living here today are descended from the first settlers, and even the famous John C. Calhoun was a native son of Abbeville County.
"Abbeville County was a very important area of migration of early settlers / pioneers heading West. Since many of the land records being lost or burned for this area of SC, makes this pre-Civil War time frame very important in placing a person within the county during this highly trafficked time of migration"--Publisher website (July 2007).
At least five different Weems men settled on Long Cane Creek in Abbeville County, South Carolina before the Revolutionary War. Even today there are Weems living in Abbeville County, both white and black. For years, genealogists have been confused about who is the son of whom, but land records make it clear that '4' men; Thomas (Eleanor) Weems, Redfearn Weems, Thomas (and Elizabeth) Weems, and Henry Weems all were granted land on Long Cane Creek. While the county lines have changed dramatically over the years, Long Cane Creek remained a constant. It was here that thousands of Weems descendants, both black and white, call home. Today, DNA evidence is slowly dividing the different Weems children into family groups. Included here, are the descendants of each of those identified children; regardless of who their parent(s) was. There is most certainly missing information, errors in dates and places, and misspellings. Feel free to scribble on your book and make your corrections, and additions.
The opening chapters of this encyclopedic treatment deal with the Newberry County's formation, early settlers, soldiers, notable citizens, government institutions, and social and economic development, while later chapters are given over to biographies, cemetery inscriptions, family reminiscences and folklore. At the heart of the book is a long section devoted to genealogies of pioneer families of Newberry County.
Twenty-four stories which took place in upstate South Carolina, in and around historic Abbeville, but which reflect the customs and character of the South during the 19th and early 20th centuries.