Jean-Pierre Purry (1675-1736) and Purrysburg Settlement : A List of Links & Materials

Jean-Pierre Purry, 1675-1736, led the settlement of one of South Carolina’s earliest townships, Purrysburgh, in 1732. The townships were established to help provide buffers against the enemies of the English colony. This list was prepared by Grace Morris Cordial, MLS, SL, CA, Manager of the Beaufort District Collection of the Beaufort County Library, SC. Latest update: 7 December 2021 ; Created 10 November 2008

ONLINE resources:

“A Description of the Province of South Carolina” by Jean Pierre Pury, 1730.

Entry for “Purrysburg” in South Carolina Encyclopedia 

Check out these materials from A SCLENDS Library:

Entry for “Purrysburg” in South Carolina Encyclopedia, 2006.  

A Colonial Complex: South Carolina’s Frontiers in the era of the Yamasee War, 1680-1730 by Steven J. Oatis, 2004.

Colonial South Carolina: A Political History, 1663-1763 by Marion Eugene Sirmans, 1966. 

Cities and Towns of Early South Carolina : The Historical Writings of Henry A.M. Smith: Articles from the South Carolina Historical (and Genealogical) Magazine,1988.

To Make This Land Our Own : Community, Identity, and Cultural Adaptation in Purrysburg Township, South Carolina, 1732-1865by Arlin C. Migliazzo, 2007. 

Moving Finger of Jasper by Grace Fox Perry, 1962. 

The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina, Volume 1, 1514-1861 by Lawrence Sanders Rowland, Alexander Moore, and George C. Rogers, Jr., 1996. 

Come to the Beaufort District Collection to see these items:

Beaufort County Historical Society Papers #29 “Purrysburg” contains a letter written by Purry about his settlement in Carolina.

Purrysburg [BDC Vertical File]

SC 975.799 DES https://archive.org/details/descriptionofpro00purr A description of the Province of South Carolina [Pamphlet] : drawn up at Charles Town, in September, 1731 by Jean Peter Purry, James Richard, Abraham Meuron and Henry Raymond, 1837.

SC 284.557 TRA NO. 39 “The Swiss background of the Purrysburg settlers,” by F. Harold Fercken; and “Purrysburg as it is today,” by Henry L. Beck in Transactions of the Huguenot Society of South Carolina No. 39 (1934) [Fragile, ask for assistance]

SC 975.7 PUR Lands of True and Certain Bounty : The Geographical Theories and Colonization Strategies of Jean Pierre Purry by Jean Pierre Purry, 2002.

SC 975.702 CRA The Southern Frontier, 1670-1732 by Verner Winslow Crane, 1929.

SC 975.702 MER The Expansion of South Carolina, 1729-1765 by Robert L. Meriwether, 1940.

SC 975.702 PUR Memorial [Pamphlet]: presented to His Grace My Lord the Duke of Newcastle, Chamberlain of his Majesty King George, &c., and Secretary of State : upon the present condition of Carolina, and the means of its amelioration by Jean Pierre Purry, 1880.

SC 975.702 SMI VOL. 2 Vol. 2. Cities and towns of early South Carolina The historical writings of Henry A.M. Smith: articles from the South Carolina historical (and genealogical) magazine,1988.

SC 975.7 SOU “A tarnished legacy revisited: Jean Pierre Purry and the settlement of the Southern frontier, 1718 – 1736” by Arlin C. Migliazzo, South Carolina Historical Magazine 92 (October 1991): 231- 252.

SC 975.7 SOU “Compilation of Lists of German-Speaking Settlers of Purrysburg” by George F. Jones, South Carolina Historical Magazine 92 (October 1991): 253-268.

Note: The Beaufort District Collection (BDC) exists to acquire, preserve, maintain and make accessible a research collection of permanent value which records the history, culture, and environment of the South Carolina lowcountry wedged between the Combahee (pronounced “kum-bee”) and Savannah Rivers.

Contact the Beaufort District Collection at 843-255-6446 or e-mail bdc@bcgov.net for additional information about local history and archives relating to the people, places, and themes of the history, Gullah culture, and natural environment of Beaufort County, Jasper County and Hampton County, South Carolina.

Please check the Beaufort County Library (SC) system’s homepage for terms of access to the Beaufort District Collection and current hours of operation and locations.