This collection was donated in early 1997, from the family library remaining in the home of Miss Malinda Barnwell of Florence, South Carolina. It comprises two distinct groups of books:
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* books from the library of Robert W. Barnwell, President and later Librarian of South Carolina College, and of clerical descendents, including Miss Barnwell's father. While these books cover general belles-lettres, they also have a strong theological (high Episcopalian) element. Notable among them is a first edition of 'George Eliot's' first book, The Life of Jesus, by David Friedrich Strauss, 3 vols. (London: 1846), in original boards, and many volumes of the Tractarian series Lives of the Fathers.
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* books from the library of Angelica Singleton Van Buren (1816-1877), the South Carolina-born daughter-in-law who was President Martin Van Buren's hostess at the White House. It includes the literary annuals and album poems of her schooldays in Philadelphia, books bought during her European honeymoon tour in 1839, and books reflecting her later interest in social conditions. Additional items with the collection include books from her niece Mary C. Singleton (a group with many volumes by or about women, from the 1840s and early 1850s), and books from her three sons, Singleton, Travis and Martin.
This library is a congressionaly designated depository for U.S. government documents. Public access to the government documents collections is guaranteed by public law.