South Carolina silversmiths, 1690-1860

the long version

In view of all the things that could happen to silver in that long period, it is remarkable, if not phenomenal, that any silver of local origin is still in existence. As a matter of fact, only a few pieces of seventeenth century English silver, and none of South Carolina during that period, have thus far been found in South Carolina. The names of the silversmiths and jewellers are themselves not easy to recover. No doubt a great number of them will be overlooked in this work. Many of the men were of a restless disposition and could almost be spoken of as itinerant. Since they did not stay long enough in any one place to acquire property, and since there were but few newspapers in which they might have advertised, the modern investigator can have little hope of identifying them all, much less of tracing them in isolated journals or diaries where some of their careers may be recorded. -- Introduction.