Dr. Walter B. Curry, Jr., is a native of Orangeburg, South Carolina. Dr. Curry received a bachelor’s degree in political science from South Carolina State University, and has earned graduate degrees in education, which includes a doctorate degree in Curriculum & Instruction from Argosy University, Sarasota. In 2018, Dr. Curry launched Renaissance Publications, LLC., a self-publishing company, which publishes books that focuses on African American history through ancestry. Dr. Curry has published two award winning books, The Thompson Family: Untold Stories from the Past (1830-1960), and The Awakening: The Seawright-Ellison Family Saga, Vol.1, A Narrative History. Both books consist of stories that covers the lineage of Dr. Curry ancestry from slavery, The Civil War, The Reconstruction Era, and family life in Aiken, Barnwell, Orangeburg, and Richland Counties, South Carolina. Dr. Curry has done book signings and presentations at local conferences, workshops, bookstores, and schools across the state and nationwide. Dr. Curry is the Author-In-Residence at the Aiken Center for the Arts. As an Author-In-Residence, Dr. Curry provide learning engagements though exhibits to Aiken County Public Schools that brings the stories from his books to life. Dr. Curry has received numerous accolades for his work and service which includes two African American Historical and Genealogy Society book awards; legislative resolutions from the South Carolina General Assembly for his significant work in service to African American History and Heritage in South Carolina; Literary Titan Gold Awards; a recipient of the Martha Schofield “Work The Legacy” Award; member of the Inaugural South Carolina State University 40 Under 40; and selected as a 2022 Richland Two School District Black History Month honoree. Dr. Curry also serves as member of the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum Commission, Board of Advisors of the Friends of Charleston National Parks, and the South Carolina Arts Directory. Dr. Curry currently lives in Columbia, South Carolina with his wife, Takiyah S. Curry, who is a registered nurse and graduate of the University of South Carolina. They have two sons, Braxton & Braylon.
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Narrative history is the practice of writing history in a story-based form. It tends to entail writing based on reconstructing a series of short-term events about individuals or specific events in a broader context. Learn about how to write a narrative history about your relatives and the process in writing your family history book using … Read more
A narrative is a story or an account. While there is no mainstream research design in family history, narrative inquiry is a research method that uses narratives as units of analysis to contextualize and interpret to create meaning. Learn about how to incorporate narrative inquiry to research and write your family history book. Examples from … Read more
Through the stories of enslaved ancestors and notable relatives, The Thompson Family: Untold Stories from The Past (1830-1960) chronicles the rich history of a prominent African American family from the Wagener and Salley communities of Aiken County, South Carolina and features stories of individuals who were enslaved, served in the Civil War, achieved entrepreneurial success during the … Read more
Martha Kitchings Seawright Ellison was born enslaved on November 20, 1849, in Barnwell County South Carolina. This presentation tells the contextualized story of her life, featuring local history of the antebellum period and Civil War in Barnwell County during Martha’s enslavement; a personal account of Martha’s life on the Phillips Plantation during the Reconstruction Era … Read more
This presentation explores the reasons why South Carolina used African American labor during the war; the diverse roles of African American labor during the war; SC approval of Confederate pensions for African Americans; notable features of the pension application; and notable South Carolina African American Confederate Pensioners.
Lavinia was born enslaved on June 3rd, 1844, in Aiken County, and this presentation tells her personal story of slavery and survival during the Civil War. Lavinia would follow her master into battle in the Civil War, serving the Confederate army as a cook. Six decades later, she would be among about 100 black South … Read more
