Cheesy Grits: John S. Thorne of Edisto and the Art of the Deal

Botany Bay Road
Edisto Island, SC
Photo by Jane Godfrey Jan. 2018

Jane and I recently took another family history trip to Charleston. Well, they do have great restaurants down there, plus, the winters are warmer than they are here. All good reasons to go.

The central part of the family history agenda was to spend time on Edisto Island, which we've come to love. But it wasn't just for the drive down Edisto's Botany Bay Road; no, no. In recent years, Edisto has come alive with efforts to preserve its singular history, including the African American history, and we were there to help spread the story of John S. Thorne, one of the two "Black Kings of Edisto."

Thorne's story is important because within two decades after the end of the Civil War, he had helped make landowners of perhaps as many as 60 formerly enslaved Edistonians. These were folks who came out of the War owning little more than pockets filled with dreams—dreams that included making livings for themselves and their families from their own land. It's part of the American Dream.