A Place Called St. John's

The Story of John's, Edisto, Wadmalaw, Kiawah, and Seabrook Islands of South Carolina

Authors: Laylon Wayne Jordan and Elizabeth H. Stringfellow

This book begins with the geologic history of the region and then through the first findings of the land by England, France, and Spain.  It has truly been a fascinating book, and gave me far more than I had hoped in terms of information on my family history from this area.  Inside I found maps, pictures, diary entries, family genealogies, and other stories.  There are too many to list here, but I will list a few:

1. Robert Seabrook was a merchant of County Bedford, England.  He arrived in Charles Town in 1679.  Arnoldus Vanderhorst, a merchant and planter of Charles Town and the Wando River region whose family came from Holland in 1694. John Calder was a doctor on Edisto Island in the 18th century (1700's)
2. About 1772, planter on Wadmalaw Island Frank Whaley donated two acres of land to build a sanctuary (possibly of the St. John's Parish church).  Whaley was listed as a Patriot for a Voluntary Company of Edisto in 1776 along with others.
3. Sarah Jenkins (d/o Benjamin Jenkins who lived 1735-1782) married Archibald Whaley sometime in the mid 1700's.