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Genealogical Resources

Please e-mail specialcollections@furman.edu with comments & questions.

 

Our Special Collections and Archives is a frequently used center for research into family history. This page briefly describes the most commonly used sources available here.

Please remember that our primary role is to facilitate the research activities of the University. We are nonetheless pleased to help you when you visit, although we can not do your research for you, and can only spend a limited amount of time on each email or telephone inquiry.

Please call us at (864) 294-2194 or e-mail Special Collections to schedule a visit. We are a small department and we want to ensure that we have staff and materials available to meet your needs. Plus it will save you time!

Manuscript and Archival

Family Bibles

Books and Published

Newspapers

Furman Alumni Searches

Web Sites

Manuscript and Archival

 

Baptist Biographies
South Carolina Baptist ministers and other important figures in the South Carolina Baptist community; information on each individual differs. We collect biographies, newspaper and periodical articles, obituaries and information relating to the churches where they preached.

Manuscript Collections

  • Alester G. Furman, Jr. Papers, 1919-1980
  • Furman Family Collection, 1784-1980, genealogy of Furman and Davis Families
  • Richard Furman Collection, 1775-1825
  • The Firmyn-Furman Genealogy, Prepared by Harry Greenwood Grover, 1960. Includes family members in England (1490-1630) and in America (1630-1960). Map case.
  • The Furman Family of South Carolina, by Thomas deSaussure Furman, Sr. in 1970. Updated in 1988. (family tree) Map case.
  • The Greenville Branch of the Furman Family of South Carolina, by Thomas deSaussure Furman. (family tree)
  • Rev. J. P. Isenhower Papers, genealogy of Lyle Family. 
  • William Marion Whiteside Collection, genealogy of Whiteside Family
  • Genealogical information on families connected with Fairforest Baptist Church, Union County, SC

Family Bibles

Date Title Call No. Notes
1803 The Old Testament, translated out of the original Hebrew SpecColl Oversize BS185 1803 Wood Furman (1779-1840) Family Bible "Family record" p. 677 [not in the record note]
1808 Bible. English. Authorized. Furman Oversize BS185 1808 .P5 "Family record" (p. 677-680) contains entries in manuscript on Furman family, written by Richard Furman through Maria Dorothea Burn Furman
1816 Bible. English. Authorized. Furman BS185 1816 .P5 Family records (marriages, births, deaths) of the Furman family. Bible belonged to Harriet E. Furman
1818 The Holy Bible containing the Old and New Testaments : translated from the original tongues SpecColl BS185 1818 .B6 This book has James C. Furman inscription
1819 The Holy Bible, containing the Old and the New Testaments : translated out of the original tongues and with the former translations diligently compared and revised Furman BS185 1819 .B64 Belonged to Rev. Jonathon Davis, father-in-law of James C. Furman [info not in record note]
1822 The Columbian family and pulpit Bible : being a corrected and improved American edition SpecColl Folio BS185 1822 .B6 "Family register": Bible belonged to William Baker and Lydia Dick Baker, descendants of Furman family.
1823 The Holy Bible, : containing the Old and New Testaments / translated out of the original tongues Furman BS185 1823 .N4 Card inserted in Bible: “This Bible presented December 18, 1908 by Rev. H. H. Furman to John Richard Furman, Jr. from his grandfather Theo. B. Furman. Bible of your great grandfather, Rev. Richard Furman of Tuskaloosa, Ala.”-- "Richard Furman, 1827, Beaufort, S.C., bought from the American Bible Society"--Endpaper
1842 The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments,... Furman BS185 1842 .N48 Library's copy has Judson family records (marriages, births, deaths) on pages between the Testaments
1857 The Holy Bible : containing the Old and New Testaments, translated out of the original tongues SpecColl Folio BS185 1857 .N48 Blank pages for "Family record" ([8] following p. [883]) Births, deaths, and marriages in the Basil Manly family are written in on the "Family record" sheets Stamped in gold on cover: Rev. Basil Manly, D.D
1857 The comprehensive Bible; containing the Old and New Testaments, according Baptist Oversize BS185 1857 .P44 Includes some Tupper genealogy listed in family records section

Books and Published Materials

Books

  • A brief guide to South Carolina genealogical research and records, Brent Holcomb, c1979<
  • A guide to South Carolina genealogical research and records, Brent Holcomb, c 1986
  • Genealogical Abstracts from Greenville County, SC: The Earliest Minute Books of Ten Baptist Churches, 1794-1850, Storey & McCuen, 1992.

Catalog Searches

Catalog Searches for General Collection

Newspapers


An index is available onsite for the following microfilmed newspapers:

  • The Baptist Courier, indexed from January 1894 to September 26, 1942; (formerly The Working Christian), indexed from July 8, 1869 to December 14, 1874
  • The Biblical Recorder and Southern Watchman, indexed from March, 1838 - December 26, 1840
  • The Confederate Baptist, indexed from October 1, 1862 – January 25, 1865
  • The South Carolina Baptist, indexed from April 1866 – December 25, 1868
  • The Southern Baptist, indexed from June 5, 1847 to December 15, 1860
  • The Southern Baptist and General Intelligencer, indexed from January 3, 1835 to December 30, 1836
  • The Southern Intelligencer, indexed from January 5, 1822 to March 29, 1823
  • The Southern Watchman and General Intelligencer, indexed from January 7, 1837 to February 8, 1838

Furman Alumni Searches

  • Furman University Catalogues beginning in 1852. Issues until the 1900's contain a register of students and/or alumni. For PDF version through 2014-2015, see Academic Records Catalog Archive.  For Digitized version beginning 2014-2015 see Digital Collections Center.
  • Furman University Bonhomie Yearbooks, 1901 to 2019 available online and to present onsite.
  • Greenville Woman's College Catalogues, 1857 to 1937, some contain a register of students and/or alumni. Available online.
  • Furman University Alumni: 1830-1908
  • General Catalog of Furman University, 1852-1899, by C.C. Brown, 1899, available onsite. Brown attempted to correspond with each person listed, so most of the information in this book was supplied by the person listed, which included alumni who attended and those that actually graduated and received a diploma.

Greenville Woman's College Graduates, 1858-1932, available online in an excerpt from Academy and College written by Dr. Judy Bainbridge - This book gives a history of the Greenville Woman's College. It is important to note that everyone who attended Greenville Woman's College did not necessarily graduate, and therefore may not be on this list. *Note: This is a large PDF document consisting of twenty-seven pages. It may take a minute to fully load.

Alumni directories, available onsite.