Roots and Reunion: Binyard-Finley Family Reunion

Photo By Sgt. Ashley Phillips | Descendants of the Binyard-Finley family visit Edgerly Cemetery during their first ever family reunion aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, Oct. 6. Nearly 14 years ago, Kimberly Morgan found the head stone of Stephen Binyard alone and neglected in the woods. She and Akosua Moore began research that would eventually lead to the cultural and historic preservation of the Binyard-Finley family. During the reunion Moore and Morgan took small groups to the Edgerly Cemetery.  

BEAUFORT, SC, UNITED STATES

10.30.2018

Story by Cpl. Ashley Phillips 

Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort

For anyone who has ever spent time aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, amidst the buzz of flight operations, pilot training centers, runways and even nature trails, you may find it odd to see cemeteries, tucked away in quiet corners of the base. These seemingly out of place grounds are a vital part of the history and even more importantly, have brought together long lost family members. The efforts of a few dedicated researchers and genealogists have preserved history, and breathed new life into the history of an entire family, bringing them together for the first ever Binyard-Finley family reunion.

Kimberly Morgan and Akosua Moore hosted and organized a three-day reunion for the descendants of Stephen Binyard, whose grave is at Edgerly Cemetery aboard the air station. The family reunion began with a meet and greet, Oct. 5 at a hotel in Beaufort, South Carolina. The second day of the event was held aboard the air station. Nearly 100 family members from all over the country gathered for a cookout and were given the opportunity to visit Edgerly Cemetery. The last day of the reunion was held at the Tabernacle Baptist Church where Morgan and Moore gave a history and genealogy presentation about the Binyard-Finley family.

The Binyard-Finley reunion is the product of years of research by Morgan and Moore. For Morgan, it began nearly 14 years ago during a walk. She and a friend were walking on a path just behind the Bachelor Officer’s Quarters aboard MCAS Beaufort. Based on a hunch they ventured off the path and into the woods. What they discovered set into motion countless discoveries and a new passion for uncovering an entire family’s history.

“We went into the woods with a machete and found an aged, old tombstone that read: Stephen Binyard, USCT,” Morgan said. “That was the start of my journey. Who was Stephen Binyard, and why was he buried seemingly alone in the woods by a parking lot? My background was in criminal justice and I approached it like a cold case.”

For Moore, her curiosity began with her Mema’s storytelling. She was enraptured by the stories of three-time great grandmother, Dorcas Finley. According to her Mema, Dorcas Finley was born into slavery in Beaufort, but in 1863 after the Emancipation happened, Finley marched to Charleston and freedom with her baby in her arms.

“For years, both Akosua and I worked on filling in the details of these stories,” Morgan said. “We each had different puzzle pieces of information—family stories for her, just a name for me. We both spent hours and hours searching for literal needles in haystack.”

It seems strange that these two women living separate lives, one searching for a name on a tombstone and the other researching based on her family’s oral history would cross paths during their research. According to Akosua, she posted a note on an online message board in 2008. Morgan found that post years later, in 2013.

“She’d been researching Stephen Binyard for over a decade,” Moore said. “Stephen Binyard was Dorcas Finley’s brother!”

As Morgan recalls it, she and Moore spent hours on the phone when they first talked and made plans to meet. Moore’s family made the trip to MCAS Beaufort, where Morgan showed them Stephen Binyard’s burial site. She also showed Moore the binders of research she had compiled and the two women discovered they had been researching in very similar ways. Their research also complimented each other well, filling in gaps that the other was missing.

“Originally, the land where the air station sits was made up of three plantations, one of which was Edgerly Plantation,” said Morgan. “In November 1861, the Union Army advanced into Beaufort after easily taking a nearby fort on Hilton Head Island. The white citizens of Beaufort, primarily wealthy plantation owners, panicked. They hastily packed a few bags and promptly fled town, leaving behind their homes, a cotton crop ripe to pick and basically the entire population roughly 10,000 enslaved persons in the town.”

According to Morgan, Stephen Binyard was born around 1840 on Edgerly Plantation and enlisted in the Union Army after the slave owners fled. The Union Army set up a headquarters in Beaufort. Beaufort became the testing grounds of re-entering the newly emancipated citizens back into society. They enlisted, opened bank accounts, and went to school. Northern missionaries and educators came to Beaufort and coordinated with the Union Army.

“In 1866 Binyard returned to Beaufort and married his high school sweetheart,” Morgan said. “After this Stephen was among hundreds of newly freed men of African descent who, after the Civil War ended, purchased almost a third of the 102,000 acres of confiscated land in Beaufort.”

Based on witness accounts, Morgan says that in 1882, a week before Christmas, Stephen fell overboard and drowned while loading lumber into a boat. The military provided him with a headstone for his service and it was placed where it can be seen today.

“In 2015, I worked with the MCAS Beaufort Cultural Resources and Preservation office,” Morgan said. “We were able to convince the base commander to approve a beautiful historic marker for the Edgerly Cemetery.”

Throughout their research process, Morgan and Moore were able to track down and reach out to many of the descendants of Dorcas Finley and Stephen Binyard. Through DNA tests and ancestry search engines, many of these family members were able to travel to MCAS Beaufort to learn their family history and meet each other. For three days they celebrated, shared and learned together.

“The journey to find out who you are, where you come from and find your roots can be sparked in many ways,” Moore said. “Even if you aren’t necessarily that interested in your family’s genealogy right now, please talk to your elders: your grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles. Ask them questions, write down their stories, label old photos and record them talking. This is our history and we need to preserve it.”

• Date Taken: 10.30.2018
• Date Posted: 11.09.2018 22:45
• Story ID: 298242
• Location: BEAUFORT, SC, US