While scouring the internet, looking for info on my Hinson ancestors, I discovered this interesting excerpt from the South Carolina Historical Magazine.  I tried to track down the complete article online but alas, it was not to be found. It is however, available to anyone with a JSTOR access. (schools and some libraries) I'll check with my local library later today. This looks like it might be interesting reading.

I also checked out the website for the South Carolina HIstorical Society and spent a while browsing. A quick search on "Hinson" turned up a multitude of hits. If you live near Charleston this is a go-to site for information on South Carolina Hinsons.

The DIARY OF WILLIAM G. HINSON

DURING THE WAR OF SECESSION

April 6th, 1864

Part I

Edited By Joseph Ioor Waring

April 6th, 1864 1 have determined to keep a diary from this date; the order has arrived for our squadron to go to Virginia. My company, the Rutledge Mounted Riflemen was mustered into Confederate service Feby 22nd, 1862, but had been in state service off and on since the organization of the company, which was at the commencement of the "war clouds" (Nov. 9, 1860]. We were on duty during the bombardment of [Fort] Sumter in 1861, in St. Andrews at Simmons under command of our Capt. C. K. Huger, one squad being at Battler]y Island and one at Jame Lawton's at Wappoo Cut. (W. L. Trenholm, First Lt., Legare J. Walker, 2nd and E. L. Rivers, 3d. I was a corporal.)

 We were mustered in state service April 1861 and sent to Fort Johnson in July, 61 for a few days, after which we returned to the city where we remained, keeping up our organization, drilling etc. until the 19tb of Sept 1861 when we were ordered to Sullivan's Island, with the exception Lt. [Edw. He] Barnwell (who bad been promoted to Lt. and Trenholm to Captain. Rivers had gone to Virginia and John Warley from St. Johns had been put in his place) who was sent to Morris IsId. with a squad of…[end of excerpt]

 * William Godber Hinson, 1838 1919, was a native of James Island, near Charleston. At the outset of the War of Secession, he joined the Rutledge Mounted Ptillemen, later known as the Seventh South Carolina Cavalry, in which he became a lieutenant. He served for the duration of the war from 1861 1865 and was wounded three times in the line of duty. At the close of hostilities he returned to James Island, where he went into extensive agricultural operations. He was an expert on the subject of subsoil drainage and spent much time promoting agricultural organizations. A member of various agricultural societies and for many years an officer of the South Carolina Agricultural Society, lie was recognized as the last of local planters of the long stapled cotton, for which the Sea Islands were famous.

 Mr. Hinson was a devoted collector of historical material dealing with South Carolina. The library which be gave to the Charleston library Society provides much valuable information. His diary is in the possession of that society and Is printed with its permission. The diary covers the years of 1864 18M and is of considerably more length than appears here.

More biographical material on W. G. Hinson may be found in Men at Mark in South Carolina by J. C. Hemphill (Washington, 1908) 11: 204

• .I. Preparation before using archives or libraries:
• A. Have your pedigree charts and family group sheets filled out as much as possible, with names, key dates (birth, marriage, and death), and locations (including county and state).
• B. Make sure you have interviewed your relatives and obtained information from them.
• C. Use resources available to you here, before you travel to another location:
  • 1. Films ordered from the Family History Library (can do your research for films at home on your own computer: http://www.familysearch.org, go to the tab for library, then to the Family History Library Catalog). 2. Use Interlibrary Loan through the Leon County Public Library. Find items (books, newspapers, periodicals, etc.) in your areas of interest using WorldCat: http://www.worldcat.org; also PerSI, the Periodical Source Index, maintained by the Allen County Public Library, to articles of genealogical interest, is available through www.ancestry.com. (Ancestry.com is available free through the Leon County Library and the State Archives.)
• D. After preparation, decide what information you want to find at the archive or library. Be specific and focused.
• E. Use the on-line catalog of the archive or library to help pinpoint the material you want to see.
  • Examples:
  • Florida Archives: http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/index_researchers.cfm
  • State of Alabama Archives: http://www.archives.state.al.us/ge.html
  • State of Georgia Archives: http://sos.georgia.gov/archives/
  • Birmingham Public Library genealogy (Tutwiler Collection): http://www.bplonline.org/sou/
  • Anderson County SC Library genealogy (SC Room): http://www.andersonlibrary.org/scroom.htm Church libraries and archives can be an invaluable source: Samford University Library Special Collections (Baptists in Alabama):
  • http://library.samford.edu/about/sc/collections/other.html College and University libraries: theses and dissertations. National Archives also a great resource.
    Note: Important points to keep in mind when going to a library: Do not expect the librarian to listen at length or do your research for you! Have very specific questions in mind. The librarians do not care about your family history—they haven’t got time! Check to see if you can bring in your laptop. See what copying facilities are available. Look for vertical files at the library: surname files, manuscript collections, local publications for review and/or sale, and which may not be in the catalog (e.g., Anderson County Library). Also, city directories, telephone directories, census records. Allow time to browse to find materials you may not have known about. (Example, History of Tuscaloosa)
    Good resources: The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, Third Edition, edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking (Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry, Inc., 2006).