St. Helenas Parish, South Carolina

United States   South Carolina    St. Helena's Parish

History
St. Helena's Parish serves Beaufort County, South Carolina. At one time, it had a chapel of ease.

In addition to religious roles, South Carolina's "Anglican parishes were used as election districts and had responsibility for road development, care of the poor, and education."

Founded

 * 1712

Boundary

 * Borders Prince William, St. Bartholomew's, and St. Luke's parishes. For a map, see: Early parishes in South Carolina. An overlay of districts is available at Carolana.com.

Cemetery

 * "Inscriptions from St. Helena Churchyard, Beaufort, South Carolina," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Apr., 1931):131-147; Vol. 32, No. 3 (Jul. 1931):205-237. 975.7 B2s v. 32 (1931); digital version at JSTOR ($).

Hundreds of graves at St. Helena's are described at Find A Grave. Includes transcripts and select photographs.

Parish History

 * Baumhofer, Hermine Munz, "Economic Changes in St. Helena's Parish, 1860-1870," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 50, No. 1 (Jan., 1949):1-13. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * History Committee, St. Helena's Episcopal Church. The History of the Parish Church of St. Helena, Beaufort, South Carolina. Beaufort, S.C.: The History Committee and the Vestry of St. Helena's Episcopal Church, 1990.

For an early history of the parish, see Chapter 22, St. Helena's Parish, Beaufort, pages 375-381, in:


 * Dalcho, Frederick. An Historical Account of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina from the First Settlement of the Province, to the War of the Revolution; with Notices of the Present State of the Church in Each Parish and Some Account of the Early Civil History of Carolina, Never Before Published. Charleston: E. Thayer, 1820. ; digital versions at Google Books; Internet Archive.

Parish Registers
"An explanation of the way in which this register was saved during the Confederate War, may be of interest. Capt. Edward Barnwell for many years warden of St. Helena's Parish had it in his possession when he died in 1860. When Beaufort was evacuated in November 1861, his widow, Mrs. Sarah Caroline Barnwell (born Richardson) took it with her, preserved it during the war, and after it was over sent it to Mr. Robert Barnwell Rhett, Editor of the Charleston Mercury at his request, to allow him to obtain certain information about his family. He kept it until he removed to Huntsville, Ala., and left it with the Charleston Library Society. Some years afterwards, at the request of the Vestry, it was returned to them."

In 1951, FamilySearch microfilmed a typescript of the parish register: Abstracts have been published:


 * Barnwell, Joseph W. and Mabel L. Webber. "St. Helena's Parish Register," [1752-year], The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Jan. 1922):8-25; Vol. 23, No. 2 (Apr. 1922):46-71; Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jul. 1922):102-151; Vol. 23, No. 4 (Oct. 1922):171-204. Digital version at JSTOR ($).

Barwell and Webber's reading of the marriage register was also reprinted:


 * Holcomb, Brent H. and Thomas L. Hollowak. South Carolina Marriages, 1688-1799. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1980.
 * Holcomb, Brent H. and Thomas L. Hollowak. South Carolina Marriages, 1800-1820. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981.

The following registers have been indexed in the International Genealogical Index:

Vestry Books
The vestry books have been published:


 * Salley, A.S. Minutes of the Vestry of St. Helena's Parish, South Carolina, 1726-1812. Columbia, S.C.: Historical Commission of South Carolina, 1919. ; digital versions at Google Books; Internet Archive.

Websites

 * St. Helenas 1712 (official website)
 * St. Helena's Church Marker, The Historical Marker Database
 * St. Helena's Episcopal Church Marker, The Historical Marker Database
 * Chapel of Ease Marker, The Historical Marker Database