Daren Hinds
palmettoreport@gmail.com

(McConnells, S.C.) — York County’s Historic Brattonsville Museum features a group called the Descendants, which is comprised of the relatives of former slaves and slave-owners who have ties to the site that dates back to the Revolutionary War.

Margaret Crawford, whose relatives were enslaved at Brattonsville, said she believes in preserving the legacy of the group.

“A descendant to me is someone is going to carry on the legacy of our ancestors,” Crawford said. “I’m proud because our ancestors went through so much. They went through sicknesses and death and just all kinds of disappointment to get us to where we are now.”

Winson Bagley, a member of the group, said he has seen a lot of changes in race relations over his lifetime.

“The schools were not integrated when I started school in about the 1960s. I was in the 7th grade of Highland Junior High School when schools were integrated and that resulted in two white kids coming to Highland. The reverse was not in effect. If the school was in a predominantly Black community, whites did not enroll their kids,” Bagley said.

While the Descendants are a group full of black culture, there are also while members of the group.

Nancy Holmes said she has struggled with being the descendent of slave owners.

“My mother was Martha Robertsons Bratton and her father was Rufus Andrel Bratton and they were direct descendants of Bratton family,” Holmes said. “It’s an interesting feeling knowing that someone in your family thought it was alright to own another human being…and this group has been amazing in helping me come to terms with that.”

Crawford said she values the relationships she formed with the other members of the group.

“This is something that I do not want to forget to say. The relationship within the descendants is very tight knit. We do everything together; we go to church together, we sing together and we laugh together,” Crawford said.

Will Cathcart, another member of the group, says he hopes the Descendants can help foster change in society and bring hope for the future.

“I haven’t seen the change that I would like to see, but I have seen improvement and that’s good and I’m hoping we can continue to get better as we get through the years and learn to love each other,” Cathcart said.

Members of the group say they hope to carry on their legacy by working with future generations through the Museum of York County.