QUINBY, S.C. (WBTW)– People gathered at the historic Roseville Plantation to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its construction. The house was once surrounded by fields of cotton worked by more than enslaved people.
Three women presented about the history of the plantation and their ancestors that worked there, both free and enslaved.
“Well, my dad came out here in 1986 and the day he saw it was the day he bought it,” Scott Tucker said.
Tucker now owns the Roseville Plantation, which is named for the confederate roses that grow on the property. The plantation was owned by the Bacot family leading up to the Civil War.
“My mother never talked about them,” Vivian Guyton said. “She did know about her grandfather, but I don’t think she ever met him.”
Guyton started researching her family history at 50 when she saw a statue with her mother’s maiden name on it — Bacot.
“My stepmother was in the passenger seat and she said, ‘That person is in your family.’”
She did some research and found out her great-grandmother, Minerva Cato Brockington, was enslaved at Roseville until she was freed after the Civil War. She later married Washington Murphy Bacot.
“I became very curious about this and Scott helped me a lot,” Guyton said.
She said turner brought her together with the rest of the Bacot’s descendants.
“It’s just been a pleasure,” Guyton said. “It’s like I’ve met the other side of my family.”
She said learning about their shared history and visiting the planation helped her get in touch with her past.
“I guess it’s difficult to explain with words,” Guyton said. “It’s like their spirit or something is there.”
The celebration also included presentations by Anita Clarke Curl and Gale Harllee Dixon, both descendents of the Bacot family.