Elizabeth Hyde Botume - After receiving an appointment from the New England Freedmen’s Aid Society to teach in Beaufort, South Carolina, Elizabeth Botume sailed from New York City on October 28, 1963. Botume’s assignment was to open a school in what had previously been John Joyner Smith’s home adjacent to his cotton plantation. Botume taught writing, reading and about cleanliness and domestic skills and served as an advisor and doctor. In 1892 her book, First Days Amonst the Contrabands, was published. Her observations have served as a valuable resource for historians. The house where she taught, pictured below, is no longer standing. Located nearby was the Union’s Camp Saxton and the place where the grand celebration was held on January 1, 1863 for the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation for the first time to those who would be freed by it. This site is part of the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park and is located on the grounds of the Naval Hospital Beaufort.