Buoyed by the area's history, one local organization seeks to highlight the contributions and shared past of families in Orangeburg County.

The Orangeburgh German-Swiss Genealogical Society's 29th annual Oktoberfest will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at the First Baptist Church Family Life Center. On Friday, Oct. 9, a dinner and presentation by the University of South Carolina's Dr. David Shields will start at 6:30 p.m. The public can visit family tables on Friday before dinner and Saturday after lunch for free.

OGSGS President Lynn Shuler Teague says the event brings together people who share a love for the history of the old Orangeburgh District and its original settlers.

"The reason the society began in 1981 was because active genealogists here felt that far too little attention was being paid to this area," Teague said. "Most professional historians haven't done anything with Orangeburgh."

"Orangeburgh was first settled in 1735-37 by Swiss settlers," she said. "For a long time, it was the Western frontier for South Carolina. It had all the characteristics you would expect, such as cattle ranchers, Indian traders and fur traders."

The Orangeburgh District was established by the South Carolina colonial government as a judicial district with the courthouse in Orangeburgh. The area encompassed present-day Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Lexington, Orangeburg, and parts of Aiken and Allendale counties. This area also included the townships at Amelia, New Windsor and Saxe-Gotha.

OGSGS Vice President Pam Johnson says the organization is trying to correct what she says are many inaccuracies about the area's history. Many of the area's records were destroyed when the courthouse was burned by Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman.

"There's a lot out of information out there that is inaccurate, but we are trying to correct that," Johnson said. "It is more difficult to research here because of the lack of court and land records. Fortunately, a number of land records from the proprietary period were filed in Charleston. The Calhoun County Museum also has some records."

OGSGS recently donated its family research to the Orangeburg County Historical Society to maintain in its archives.

OGSGS Editor Mary Hutto says Oktoberfest educates people about the value of family documents and information.

"The lack of records is why we encourage people to go and look in their attics," Hutto said. "Old family Bibles and other items are sometimes the only way we have to verify information."

"Even old family stories can be valuable," she said. "In one instance, we were able to find an old cemetery that had never been documented just because of that."

OGSGS also publishes members' research in its publications and currently offers a DNA project to trace family lineage. OGSGS records can also be helpful for black Americans, who sometimes have a difficult time tracing their ancestry, the society says.

Teague says OGSGS doesn't confine its interest to the original settlers.

"We can't understand where we are until we understand where we came from. People have so many misconceptions and a very one-dimensional picture about what Orangeburg has been over the years," Teague said. "We give that picture more accuracy, dimensions and depth by actually understanding who we are."

For more information about OGSGS and Oktoberfest, including tickets prices, call Johnson at 803-534-9848 or visit ogsgs.org.

T&D Staff Writer Phil Sarata can be reached by e-mail at psarata@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5540. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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