Unearthing Ancestral Secrets

Much of the Fairfield Museum’s earlier records are on microfilm and have been largely inaccessible by the public because of the museum’s outdated, faulty microfilm reader. Eddie Killian, the museum’s lead genealogy researcher, is show here with the museum’s Director, Pelham Lyles, showing off a ‘new’ microfilm reader recently donated to the museum by the Latter Day Saints (LDS) Church in Camden. “This will allow our patrons to more easily research old records,” Killian said.

Volunteer Fuels Genealogy Research at County Museum

WINNSBORO – Have you ever wondered about the stories – and secrets! – of the ancestors on your family tree? The Fairfield County Museum can be a great place to start your search.

The museum’s genealogical research library houses a trove of historical documentation about people and places in Fairfield County dating back to the mid-eighteenth century. And it’s not just a treasure for locals. An increasing number of visitors travel to Winnsboro to research their family heritage. Part of what makes the collection so valuable is the expertise of volunteers like Eddie Killian, who has been the museum’s lead genealogy researcher for almost three years. He also serves as president of the Fairfield Chapter of the S.C. Genealogical Society, which is headquartered at the museum.

Museum Director Pelham Lyles said that Killian, an Information Technology specialist who began his work at the museum after retiring from Blue Cross Blue Shield in 2011, is a perfect fit for managing the research library and volunteer team. He brings experience as a project manager and analyst, and has been a genealogy hobbyist for 15 years.

“Eddie and his volunteers have done a great job figuring out what resources are available to us. He has worked extensively with local records, and understands the technology side as well. He can fix anything computer-related, can digitize complicated documents, and is constantly working to make our collection easier to access. I really didn’t think we could find anybody better able to handle all that,” she said. “And he’s such a nice guy, too!”

Killian says that helping people dig up their family’s history is at the heart of what he does.

“We go out of our way to make it a good experience for visitors, whether they are from around the corner or across the country,” Killian said. “It’s important for people to see southern hospitality, to know that we will go the extra mile.”

Make that an extra several miles.

“Genealogy research doesn’t just happen in the library and online,” he said. “It’s also about getting to the right places – and getting in touch with the right people – to find what you’re searching for. We have access to many old buildings, and have taken people on research trips to places like the Old Brick Church and Feasterville Academy.”

A recent request from a North Carolina resident, for example, led the team through several Fairfield communities.

“This guy came in looking for his grandmother’s story,” Killian said, “and we helped him do the research. We first took him to the family’s cemetery, then to meet a retired postmaster who was delighted to talk with him about all the people who used to live in that community. The postmaster even came with us to look at the grandmother’s old house. From the cemetery, we found out that the grandmother was a Blair, so we trekked out to Salem Crossroads in the Blair community to show the guy around and introduce him to a distant relation who was able to tell him even more about the past. It was a grand tour of this guy’s grandmother’s life.”

Killian says great stories turn up all the time, like the visit from a researcher in New York City who is working on a project about USC football coach Steve Spurrier. The museum team is working with her and Spurrier to track down his family’s history in Fairfield County, and they’ve recently located the probable site of his great-grandfather’s farm.

“We have located the graveyard of mostly unmarked fieldstone graves which most likely are his ancestors,” Killian said, “and we have figured out many of the names we’ll need to contact for more information. We hope to eventually have tombstone pictures and other documentation about his family’s time in Fairfield County.”

He points out that in many ways, genealogy research can be a recreational activity.

“Especially for seniors. It’s about getting out, visiting with people and going to historical places,” he said. “It’s good mental stimulation.”

Killian says that what drives his interest in genealogy is the concern that histories and memories can too easily be lost to time.

“Family dynamics have changed in the last few generations,” he said, “and we no longer sit around on the porch after dinner, telling family stories while we watch the young ones play together. A lot of family history isn’t getting passed down any more, unfortunately.”

When he started doing his own family research in 1999, Killian came up against a lot of brick walls and dead ends while looking for information about some of his ancestors.

“My search eventually led me to the Fairfield Museum in 2011, which is when I met Pelham and learned about volunteering at the museum.”

Lyles recalls Killian’s elation at the huge prospect of organizing, maintaining and improving the library’s collection.

“Eddie was like, ‘oh boy, I can do this!’” she recalled with a laugh. “He put in lots of hours, and was making an hour-long drive each way. Fortunately, within a few months I was able to use a little bit of money built into the budget and pay him minimum wage. And the County has since kicked in a little more which we are thankful for.”

Killian is paid for 20 hours a week and often volunteers an additional 20 hours, working on projects, helping at events and updating the collection. When he works on consecutive days, he stays at a cousin’s home in Winnsboro to save on the commute from Lexington, where he lives with his wife, Loretta, an elementary school teacher.

“The museum has a great team of volunteers, a great board and the Society is wonderful,” Killian said. “A lot of effort has gone into the last couple of years, as we’ve steadily worked through a big backlog of requests. As of this month, in fact, we are finally caught up to the point that we can work on a request the same month we receive it! As our collection becomes more accessible, public interest continues to increase.”

“We get requests through Facebook and email, from walk-ins and from people who travel quite a distance for appointments with us,” Killian said.

He notes that about 50 percent of genealogy visitors are from out of town, and 25 percent are from out of state.

“That means 75 percent of our visitors are traveling to Winnsboro, where they eat, buy gas and sometimes stay overnight – all of which contributes to the local economy,” he said. “It’s the type of visit that can make people want to stay here, to buy an old house here. The economic impact can be beyond measure, if you just treat visitors right.”

For more information about the museum and the Fairfield Chapter of the S.C. Genealogical Society, call 803-635-9811 or email [email protected]. The museum is located at 231 S. Congress St., Winnsboro and is open Tuesday – Friday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed lunch) and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Admission is free.

Contact us: (803) 767-5711 | P.O. Box 675, Blythewood, SC 29016 | [email protected]