Delaney, Joseph, May 16, 1995
Scope and Contents
The Avery Research Center Lowcountry oral histories collection contains 56 oral history interviews arranged in six series according to the decade that the interviews were conducted. Most of the oral histories were conducted by Avery Research Center employees, but there are also a handful of oral histories that were done independently of the Avery Research Center and later donated that are included in this collection. Within each series, the oral histories are arranged alphabetically by last name. Greater detail about the contents of each oral history can be found at the file level abstract of each oral history interview. Each oral history, when available, includes a transcript and any supporting documentation like questions, notes, and interview release forms. Transcripts do not currently exist for every interview and work to create them is ongoing.
A wide range of topics are discussed in these oral histories representing the wide variety of life experiences found in the Lowcountry. Topics include music careers, sweetgrass basketry, organizing and activism, education, civil service, military service, life in Colleton County (Catholic Hill, Spring Hill, and Green Pond), Charleston County (Mt. Pleasant, Charleston, Drayton Hall Plantation, and McLeod Plantation), and Atlantic Beach, and passed-down stories from ancestors enslaved on Lowcountry plantations in Colleton County (Cypress Plantation and Muckle Grove Plantation/Myrtle Grove Plantation).
Series I: Oral History Interviews, 1976
Series II: Oral History Interviews, 1980-1987
Series III: Oral History Interviews, 1995-1997
Series IV: Oral History Interviews, 2000-2009
Series V: Oral History Interviews, 2014-2019
Series VI: Oral History Interviews, undated
Dates
- Creation: May 16, 1995
Access Restrictions
Edna Richardson's oral history is restricted to the public per her donor agreement and has been separated from the collection. All other oral histories in the collection are open to the public. A cassette player will be made available to researchers in the reading room. The Avery Research Center does not currently have a player that can read the data disc of MP3 files located in series 4 or any of the CDs.
Full Extent
From the Collection: .63 linear feet (1 Hollinger box, 1 half Hollinger box, 52 audiocassette tapes, 6 CDs, and 2.39 gigabytes (audio files and transcripts)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Abstract
Joseph Delany describes his birth, upbringing and employment on Elis Plantation, and his life, from age 24, with his wife and family on McLeod Plantation. Delany shares memories of working conditions on McLeod, and generally favorable impressions of its owner, Willie McLeod. He recalls political and legal changes, from Herbert Hoover to Franklin Roosevelt, that limited the number of hours he was made to work, slightly increased his pay, and enabled him to vote for the first time in 1936, for Roosevelt. Delany left McLeod during World War II, he went to work at an unspecified "factory" in 1942 and the Charleston Navy Yard in 1944.
The oral history is conducted by Liz Clarke and Dr. Marvin Dulaney.
Repository Details
Part of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture Repository
125 Bull Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424 United States
843-953-7608
averyresearchcenter@cofc.edu