Joseph Kershaw Chapter, NSDAR
Camden, South Carolina
South Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution
Welcome to the Joseph Kershaw Chapter, NSDAR, web page! Our chapter was organized on May 18, 1997. We are a varied group of career women, full-time mothers, and retirees who have Revolutionary War Patriot ancestors. Scheduled meetings are every other month on Saturday. We welcome membership inquiries from any woman eighteen years of age and older who believes she may be a descendant of an American Patriot. For more information about becoming a member, visit the National Society membership site.
Who was Joseph Kershaw?
Joseph Kershaw was born in Yorkshire, England. He came to America before 1748 and worked in the mercantile business in Charles Towne, SOUTH CAROLINA. Within ten years, he came to a settlement on the Wateree River known as Pine Tree Hill and built a store called Kershaw and Company. He built sawmills, a tobacco warehouse, a brewery, and a distillery. Capable and ambitious, Joseph Kershaw benefited his community while also establishing his own financial independence.
He was elected to the Assembly in 1769 from St. Mark's Parish and was appointed in 1770 as one of the Commissioners responsible for building jails and courthouses in the Upcountry. Later, he served as Sheriff of the Camden District, and was a member of the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth General Assemblies.
When war broke out, Joseph Kershaw served as a Colonel in the militia. He fought and was captured, along with his brother Ely. They were sent by ship to a prison on the island of Barbados, but Ely died in route. Joseph Kershaw managed to escape and returned to SOUTH CAROLINA to continue the fight for independence. While a prisoner, he mortgaged his landholdings in order to hire, equip, and supply a ship to assist American Forces. The British sank the ship before it ever reached its destination.
The British Army, during their eleven-month stay in Camden, occupied Kershaw's home, pictured above. Now known as the "Kershaw-Cornwallis House," the home has been reconstructed on its original foundation and overlooks the family enclosure in which Joseph Kershaw is buried on land he gave to the Episcopal Church.
Chapter Patriot List
