DK Gadsden
The chart identifies DK Gadsden as the parent of Richard Gadsden and Renty Ruety Gadsden. A spouse is not named in the portion shared.
“DK” is preserved as written. A full name has not yet been confirmed.
Our ancestors · Our island · Our inheritance
The names behind
our journey.
We are the Gadsons of Saint Helena Island, South Carolina. This is a place to honor our family beginnings, celebrate our Gullah Geechee heritage, and carry our stories into the next generation.
Our family history · shared by our aunt
The Gadson / Gadsden
family line.
A family chart shared by our aunt adds names and connections to our story. This roadmap follows the upper Gadson/Gadsden branch, keeping the spellings shown in her chart.
Richard Gadsden & Mary Gadson
Richard Gadsden
Shown as a child of DK Gadsden and paired with Mary Gadson.
Mary Gadson
Shown with Richard in the family chart. Her name is preserved as recorded.
Richard’s sibling in the chart: Renty Ruety Gadsden. This spelling is transcribed from the shared chart and can be refined if the family provides a clearer record.
Joseph Gadson
Shown as a child of Richard Gadsden and Mary Gadson in the chart shared by our aunt.
His place on this roadmap connects the earlier Gadson/Gadsden generations to the family stories we continue to preserve.
Source & family review
Family-provided genealogy chart shared by our aunt. These connections are transcribed from that chart and have not been independently verified against original records. Dates are left off this summary until a clearer copy or family confirmation is available. Gadson and Gadsden are retained as shown rather than silently changing anyone’s recorded surname.
The family photo album
Mary Eliza & Family
Mary Eliza is remembered here as a beloved great-grandmother in the Gadson family story. Her story is part of the family history we hope to preserve for the next generation.
ANCESTOR PROFILE · FAMILY-SHARED HISTORY
Mary Eliza
- Relationship
- Great-grandmother of Breahna Harris
- Family heritage
- Gadson family of Saint Helena Island, as shared by the family
- Full surname & dates
- Awaiting family confirmation
- Parents, spouse & children
- Awaiting records and family details
Source: family identification shared by Breahna Harris. Mary Eliza has not yet been linked by records to either Richard & Hagar or Richard & Mary.
Our family beginnings
We remember their names.
Our family roadmap begins with Richard & Hagar and Richard & Mary—the ancestral names shared by our family for this reunion.
A BEGINNING TO HONOR
Richard & Hagar
A place of honor in the Gadson family story. Their names stand at the beginning of our reunion roadmap.
- Family connection
- Identified by the family
- Dates & life story
- To be added from family records
A BEGINNING TO HONOR
Richard & Mary
A place of honor in the Gadson family story. Their names stand at the beginning of our reunion roadmap.
- Family connection
- Identified by the family
- Dates & life story
- To be added from family records
Family history in progress: names and Saint Helena Island roots were supplied by the family. Biographies, dates, children and connections between these ancestral pairs await family records and elder recollections.
Gullah Geechee heritage
A living culture.
A legacy we carry.
Gullah Geechee communities descend from enslaved West and Central African people whose descendants preserved distinctive cultural traditions along the southeastern coast. Saint Helena Island is part of this living heritage.
Language & storytelling
Language, oral history and stories passed between generations are central parts of Gullah Geechee culture. Listening to our elders helps keep family memories connected to the people who lived them.
Traditions & creativity
Sweetgrass basketry, foodways, spiritual traditions and other art forms are part of the wider Gullah Geechee cultural legacy. Our family archive can document the particular traditions our own relatives remember and practice.
Place & community
Saint Helena Island is home to Penn Center, which grew from Penn School, founded in 1862. Its history connects education, community life and the preservation of Gullah Geechee heritage.
Cultural background: National Park Service and Penn Center. These sources describe the wider heritage; they do not establish individual Gadson family relationships.
Our connection to home
Saint Helena Island.
Tom Fripp Road.
For this reunion, our family has chosen to mark Tom Fripp Road on the Gadson roadmap—a place to recognize as we celebrate our island roots.
As relatives share their memories, this page can grow to include the homes, gatherings and everyday moments that made this road part of our family story.
Explore Tom Fripp Road ↗A story still unfolding
From their names
to our next generation.
Our roadmap celebrates the people who came before us while leaving room to learn more. Each named photograph, remembered story and carefully saved record adds another connection.
Family photographs and memories can be added as relatives share them and identify the people pictured.
Preserving our stories
Ask. Listen.
Remember.
Use these prompts when talking with relatives. Write down who shared each memory and when. Keep uncertain details marked as uncertain until the family can confirm them.
For personal use. Nothing is uploaded or sent from this page.
- What do you remember about Richard, Hagar or Mary? Who first shared their story with you?
- What names, nicknames and family connections do you remember?
- What memories connect our family to Saint Helena Island or Tom Fripp Road?
- Which foods, sayings, songs or traditions do you want the children to remember?
- Who is pictured in your family photos, and about when were they taken?
- Are there family Bibles, letters, obituaries or other records we should preserve?
Following the family trail
Our ancestry research journal.
We are building the Gadson family history one documented connection at a time. An initial public-web search did not establish the family relationships. Our aunt has since shared a genealogy chart linking DK Gadsden, Richard Gadsden & Mary Gadson, and Joseph Gadson; see the family-provided roadmap above.
Our starting points
- Richard & Hagar and Richard & Mary are the ancestral pairs honored on the reunion roadmap.
- Mary Eliza is Breahna Harris’s great-grandmother; her family history details are awaiting further documentation.
- Saint Helena Island and Tom Fripp Road are places the family identifies with its story.
These are family-provided details. Our aunt’s chart adds a connection recorded in the shared chart from DK Gadsden to Richard Gadsden & Mary Gadson and Joseph Gadson. Connections to Hagar and Mary Eliza still need family clarification and supporting records.
Begin with Mary Eliza
- Confirm her full maiden and married names and an approximate birth or death year.
- Identify her spouse and at least one child to distinguish her from people with similar names.
- Locate an obituary, death record or family Bible entry and compare the names and dates.
- Work back through households and supporting records before connecting earlier generations.
Local records to explore
Beaufort County Library’s obituary index and local-history resources ↗
The library provides an obituary index and can help locate published obituary copies. Beaufort District Collection: 843-255-6468 · bdc@bcgov.net.
International African American Museum: Beaufort District labor contracts, 1867 ↗
A regional record collection for investigating earlier generations once names, places and dates have been established. It does not by itself prove a connection to this family.
Research status: no new ancestor relationships confirmed from historical records in this first search. Matching a surname alone is insufficient to add someone to the family history.
Keep exploring
Heritage resources
National Park Service · Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor ↗
Background on the region's history, language and cultural traditions.
Penn Center · Saint Helena Island ↗
Learn about Penn School and Penn Center's heritage preservation work.
Every generation has a place here
Build our family
photo roadmap.
Add the people, places and memories that belong in our family story. New photos become portrait stops along our growing family roadmap automatically after a successful upload. Tap any portrait to open the full photograph and its story.
Choose a family connection to explore the photo trail. Portraits use decorative cutout-shaped frames; the full original photograph stays available. Road connections celebrate shared memories and do not establish parent-child relationships.
Share only photos you have permission to post. Include names and approximate dates when known. Uploaded photos are visible to everyone who has access to this site.