Archives, Catholic Diocese of Charleston South Carolina

Print finding aids for the earliest collection, Pre-Diocesan and Episcopal Records (1727-1951), include name/correspondent index cards and a calendar inventory.  The correspondent index cards cross-reference all the items in the collection by the name of the correspondent (writers and recipients).  They are currently only available for on-site viewing.  The calendar is a chronological, item-level inventory of all items in the collection.  It generally provides the date, names of the correspondents, and the location in which the letter was written.  The calendar is available via downloadable PDF scans.  The downloads require the installation of a PDF reader if one is not already installed on your computer.

To keep download times manageable, the calendar is divided into files of 2.0 Mb or less:

The second oldest collection, the Father William C. Burn's Subject Files (c.1950s-c.1980s), include subject index cards (c.1950s-c.1980s). The subject index cards cross-reference files that contain original correspondence, reports, photographs, and a wide range of other record types that are physically arranged in a non-standard classification scheme.  Archives hopes to provide an online subject listing in the near future.  Currently they are only available for on-site viewing.

In accordance with our General Access Policy, portions of the recent collections in the Archives (c.1951-present) are searchable via an online catalog.  Please note that the online catalog is NOT an exhaustive description of Archives' recent collections.  Feel free to contact Archives staff for assistance with your research request after review of our research procedures.

The Lowcountry Digital Library has digitized the Lynch Family letters, 1858-1866.  These letters to Patrick N. Lynch, Bishop of Charleston from 1858-1882, from his family touch on a variety of topics including Catholicism and convent life, the Civil War and slavery, and Southern life in the mid-19th century.  The original letters are viewable and keyword searchable at the Lowcountry Digital Library.