Charleston Old City Jail

Last Monday, my class and I visited one of the most haunted buildings in Charleston. To say it was eery would be an understatement, as soon as you took one step in the building, you could feel the presence of something inhuman.

outside view of the jail

a "haunted" wheelchair

The Charleston Old City Jail opened in 1802 and is still standing to this day. They also still do haunted tours through the building. This jail housed the first woman serial killer in the US, named Lavinia Fisher, and although she never first handedly killed anyone, she was apart of a large gang of highwaymen. She was executed in the jail when she was 26-27.

Another cool story about this jail was the youngest criminal there was a 10 year old little boy who was actually wrongfully committed of murder. 

This jail was known for violent punishments that made it almost impossible for the criminals to make it through alive. If you were to survive the inhuman types of punishments, then you were set free, but that was almost impossible. 

Cages for the "worst" criminals, also where
Lavinia Fisher was placed

a type of punishment

Epic Epitaphs

Out of all the cemeteries we visited and all the gravestones we saw, here are some of my favorites:

Jewish Cemetery on Coming St:

Die in Socket

Penina Moise

Died Sep, 13th 1880

She was 83 years old

Pedestal tomb-urn

"Falk"

Bethel United Methodist Church:

Ledger

-Seth T. Prior, born January 24, 1813 and died May 24, 1871

-Rebecca Prior, born February 22, 1814 and died April 22, 1889, wife of Seth T. Prior

-"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord"

Magnolia Cemetery:

Cradle

Rosalie Raymond

Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul:

Die, Base and Cap

Georgenna

Consort of Thomas M. Hume

Born Oct 19th, 1819

Died Sep 7th, 1855

Bedstead

Samuel Bonneau Picken
Born on July 13th, 1839
Died on Sept. 17th, 1891

Double Monument

John Coming Ball 

Born on April 26th, 1923

Died April 26th, 2018

Helln Jervey Jingle Ball

March 3rd, 1925

March 7th, 2009

Headstone on a Base

Eliza Moore Wigfall

Born in 1786

Died on August 7th, 1864

Monument

Susan Henrietta

Born on June of 1822

Died Dec. 13th, 1891

"My second morn shall dawn brighter than the first"

The Ghost of Theodore Belitzer

During the tour of the Jewish cemetery we visited a few weeks ago, we were told a ghost story about a man who was buried there. His name was Theodore Belitzer served as a private in the German Hussars. He was taken as a prisoner to Wilmington, NC, and died on a steamer carrying prisoners when it caught fire at sea.

He was buried in the Jewish Cemetery on Coming St in Charleston, along beside members who fought the same war with him. Not much was known about him except that one of his parents was from Prussia, and he came to Charleston in 1850.

Not much was recorded about his personal life so it is unknown whether or not he was married but he joined Captain Disher's cavalry company then was transferred to German Hussars. His final service was Absent without leave since 5th November 1864.

Something that is very interesting about Theodore Belitzer is that one day when a man was working on cutting down tree in that cemetery, he took a picture of the cemetery and in the corner, he saw a figure that looked like a man in a uniform. They inferred that it was Theodore Belitzer, because he was buried there but had no headstone, so a family dedicated money for Belitzer to have his own headstone made. It sits in the exact spot where he was seen.

Photo by: Patrick Harwood

Magnificent Magnolia

Last Monday my class and I went on our last field trip to a cemetery, and it was by far my absolute favorite. We visited Magnolia cemetery, and it was nothing like I had seen before.

There was acres and acres of unique headstones, surrounded by flowers and trees with Spanish moss. It also has a lake with a beautiful bridge in the middle that you can cross over to go to another side.

Magnolia cemetery was first opened in 1850 on the land of a former rice plantation, so there is a lot of history on those grounds. It really is the Beyoncé of all cemeteries, the view really is breathtaking and the graves were very creative.

I really enjoyed the layout of the cemetery, although it's very easy to get lost in (I found that out the hard way). There were mini "streets" and dirt roads that you could walk on, and it was very cool how on one side of the lake it was mostly gravestones then on the other side, there was rows of headstones for the confederate soldiers who died in the confederate war. In the middle of the rows there was a large statue of a confederate soldier that looked out over his fellow soldiers.

Cradle

My overall favorite memorial was the cradle for a baby that passed away quickly after birth. There was a lot of detail on it and I loved how in the middle of the cradle there was dirt and a spot for flowers to grow in it. Her name was Rosalie Raymond, the other information wasn't clear on her grave marker.

Cross

The second grave marker that I was fond of was this beautiful cross with designs in it. It belongs to a girl named Emma. There wasn't any additional information except the saying "asleep in Jesus" underneath her
name. It was surrounded by palm trees that made the sight even more beautiful.

Cross

The last grave marker I thought was unique was another cross, but it was designed differently than the other one. It has a smooth outline and what looks like a vine growing in the middle of it. It belongs to someone with the last name Pickney. The names weren't visible in my picture but the design caught my eye.














Overall I was very amazed with how beautiful this cemetery was. Normally when you think about a cemetery you think about death or sadness, but this really changed my perspective on graveyards. The contrast of the bright colors of the flowers and the light shades of the headstones really made it that much more enticing.

The Birthplace of Judaism in Charleston

Growing up, the only religion I really knew about was Christianity, until a few weeks ago when my class members and I took a trip to a Jewish cemetery on Coming St. here in Charleston. I learned all about this religion and how unique it is from the help of our two tour guides, who are loyal members to the Jewish Synagogue a few blocks down. "The cemetery was established in 1764." We were told when how long ago it was built.

One thing that really surprised me is that their cemeteries and Synagogues aren't connected, something very different from what I've grown up knowing. Any time I passed a church, there was a cemetery either behind it or beside it.

In this particular cemetery, there is 800 people buried but there's only 500 headstones. Another thing I learned on this field trip was that "South Carolina is the birthplace for reformed Judaism" we were told from one of our tour guides.

Here are several headstones that I discovered in the cemetery:

Headstone

Theodore Besitzer 

Confederate soldier 

My tour guide mentioned that one day (in the past few years) when they hired a man to come cut down a large tree in the back of the cemetery, he took a picture while he was raised a few feet above the cemetery and later discovered a shadow of a soldier around this area. They believed it was Theodore, and assumed he was upset over not having a headstone next to his friends so a family donated money for him to be given one right in the very spot he was seen!)

Die in Socket

Penina Moise

Died September 13th 1880

She was 83 years old

Die in Socket

Charlotte Lazarus

Wife of Dr. Jacob DeLamotta

Born on December 19th, 1804

Died on October 22nd, 1891

2 people die in socket

Rosenberg

Ira Rosenberg

March 14th 1937 - January 21st 2017

Beloved Father, Grandfather and Friend

Anita Moise Rosefield Rosenberg

Die in socket

David Lopez

Jan 16th 1809 - April 21st 1884

Die in socket

Isabel Tobias

October 20th 1855 - March 23rd 1825

Pedestal tomb-urn

"Falk"

Obelisk

"Moise"

Morris Israel 

February 14th 1835? - October 20th 1911

Rebecca Israel

October 16th 1839 - December 5th 1858?

Stories Behind (and under) Grave Markers

Grave markers aren't just pieces of concrete in the ground, they have a significantly deeper meaning to them. When you pass away, will you want a plain piece of slab, or do you want something that means something to you that everyone else can see?  Headstones are important for some people to show who they are even after they're gone.

Camille Wish

Last Monday my class and I went on a field trip to another cemetery (this time being in the light so it wasn't as scary, but I did have to say sorry to every "body" I stepped over.

We visited Bethel United Methodist Church, which was originally founded in 1797 but a newer building was created in 1851 which is the main building today. We were given a tour by a member of the church, Camille Wish.

"This church also homed a few Yankees during the Civil War, where they stayed to be nursed back to health, but left on Sundays so the church could proceed with their services" as Camille said. Some of their drawings on the church walls were recently discovered during renovation.

The documentation for the burials in the graveyard were also lost during the war time, so the amount of graves that are known today in that cemetery isn't accurate, seeming that there is probably hundreds of lost memorials there. We were asked to identify 10 different headstones in the graveyard, so here are the 10 I decided to document:

Headstone

-Left: Eleanour Julia Stewart, wife of John William Miles. She was born April 18, 1860 and departed Earth on May 5, 1901.

-Right: Simon Verdier Stewart. He was born on November 25, 1856 and died May 21, 1897

It seems as though they are relatives, maybe even siblings because of their same last name and similar dates of birth.

Ledger

-Seth T. Prior, born January 24, 1813 and died May 24, 1871.

-Rebecca Prior, born February 22, 1814 and died April 22, 1889, wife of Seth T. Prior.

-"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord"

Headstone

-Veronee
T.W. Veronee
his widow
-Adeline Veronee

-"At Rest"

Die in Socket

This headstone is for all of the unknown/lost people who were buried there before but were never found. 

They were all members of the church, some being free and some enslaved. 

"All share this hallowed ground. Their lives will be an inspiration forever. They are not forgotten."

Die in Socket

-Margaret, wife of J.F. Steinmeyer. Born June 28, 1811and died October 14, 1884


-"She is not dead but sleepeth"

Die in Socket

-John Fredrick Steinmeyer, born December 20, 1807 and died August 5, 1894.

-"Asleep in Jesus"

Die in Socket

- Adolph B. Steinmeyer, born February 4, 1831 and died July 21, 1900

-Most likely the son of John and Margaret Steinmeyer

Ledger

-Left: Emily Andrew, 3rd daughter of Jas. R. & Martha K. Mood. Born sept. 28th, 1850's, died June 28th, 1870. She was 12 years and 9 months old when she passed away. Roses symbolize beauty, hope; unfailing love

-Middle: Catherine Frances, daughter of Jas. R. & Martha K. Mood, she died of yellow fever on September 6th, 1858. She was 3 years old. Birds symbolize christianity or peace.

-Right: James Just, only son of Jas. R. & Martha K. Mood, born May 24th 1800, and died Dec. 27th 1869. He was 9 years, 7 months and 3 days old. Roses symbolize beauty and hope.     

Headstone

- "In memory of 'our mother' Elizabeth M. Ainger"

Born October 14th, 1807 and died October 6th, 1872

-The Dove with the flowers represents peace.

Headstone

-"In memory of 'our brother' Joseph W. Ainger". Born on Jan. 24th, 1839 and died Mar. 8th, 1888.

The crown symbolizes triumph over death and the cross represents Christianity.

Together it can mean immortality in heaven.

Her Legacy Lives On

In my FYE class "Beyond the Grave", we were assigned to write about an ancestor who was most interesting to us and luckily for me, I get to write about someone interesting to me and has impacted my life a great amount.

My choice of ancestor was my great grandmother, her name was Annie Karick. What stood out about her the most for me was her personality. I was lucky enough to meet her before her time was cut short, and she was an outstanding woman.

She was known to never talk bad about absolutely anyone, and I mean anyone, seems impossible right? But that was her. She cooked for anyone that came to her house, or really for anyone that she went to visit. "Granny" had the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met, which is why I plan to get a tattoo dedicated to her too and I will definitely make sure my kids know who she is.

Annie not only dedicated a lot of time to help others, but she also dedicated a lot of money to a Kidney Foundation she had been helping for years, and even after she died.

Annie Karick

One thing that stood out the most about her is during her first marriage (to the blood father of my grandfather), her husband came home drunk one day, grabbed his shotgun and was planning to kill not only her but their children as well. She took my grandfather, who was less than 5 at the time, and his siblings and ran to her fathers house where her dad came out and shot her husband before he could do anything to him.

Even after all of that, she went right back to work to take care of my grandfather and his siblings. She worked for as long as she could, and she was the most driven person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. And what makes this story interesting is the house that she lived in before she passed away is the house I just moved into in August. It makes me feel that much closer to her because she lived in that house for so long.

Her headstone; the cross signifying her
dedication to God

I found out most of my information through my grandfather and grandmother, and findagrave.com. There I found a picture of her gravesite and the exact dates of her birth and death. She is buried at the Carolina Memorial Park in North Charleston, next to her second husband.

How Holy is the history of The Holy City?

Ever wondered why Charleston SC is famously known as "The Holy City?" I did too, until last Monday when all of my questions were answered by our special guest speaker, Ruth Miller.

 Ruth Miller is a well-known historian and tour guide for the city of Charleston, who is also known for her pieces of work on graveyards around this area. How she became infatuated with graveyards is very iconic actually, one day while she was giving a tour to a group of morticians, she realized that they had disappeared, which she then found them touring around a graveyard on their own. She quickly realized how interesting graveyards were. 

Taken by Patrick Harwood

Ruth claimed "Graveyards can actually be pictures of history," then started writing about Charlestons well known cemeteries. 

She then taught us about the actual religious history behind the nickname of the city in which we live in.

The College of Charleston was actually founded because Englishmen didn't want to send their songs back to England to get an education because of the differences in religion, which was very surprising to me. 

I also found out that two of the most famous rivers in Charleston were named after Lord Anthony Ashley-Cooper, who was a noble selected by the King of England to rule this territory. He then went against the King and established his own set of rules (and religion) in the area of which he controlled. 

She then educated us on the history of some famous churches and how they were founded, most having to do with breaking away from England which led to war. 

Ruth then stated "When you win a war, your write your own version of history" which is the complete truth. Every war has more than one story, which is important because significant attributions of the foundation of Charleston was a result of war on another country.

Overall, I learned a great amount about the history of my favorite city in the world, from the religious background to the history of our cemeteries.

Cougar Mall: Home of the grave marker

It's not every day that you pass a grave marker for someone famous in U.S. history, unless you go to the College of Charleston. The cougar mall is home to several main buildings on our campus, it's the most popular spot for the college, but what a lot of people don't know is that it hosts a grave marker for Elizabeth Jackson. For those who don't know who Elizabeth Jackson is, she was the mother of the 7th president Andrew Jackson. Elizabeth was known to have died in Charleston in 1781.

Grave Marker in Cougar Mall, College of Charleston

The Jackson family immigrated to the states from North Ireland, and journeyed to the "Waxhaw Settlement" which was between North and South Carolina. Elizabeth died from an illness from tending to sick soldiers of the Revolutionary War on a British prison ship docked at the Charleston harbor.

The exact location of where she was buried has yet to be found, the closest thing that is known to state her whereabouts is a letter from James H. Witherspoon claiming she was "buried in the suburbs of Charleston, about one mile from what was then called Governor's Gate," although it's not exact, it has given a general idea where she would be.

Grave Marker in Washington Park, Virginia

Because of the fact that her burial was never found, she has more than one grave markers. One being in Washington Park, Virginia, which was donated by the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was known to have been a true patriot for her time. Her grave marker in Charleston was hidden behind shrubbery until it was brought back out for people to see in 2005.

Her son, Andrew Jackson, was dedicated to finding where his mother was buried so that he could bury her bones next to his father and brothers' graves in the Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Cemetery. 

Destination: Graveyard

Monday nights normally consist of doing homework and eating dinner, except last Monday night, I ended my day being surrounded by dead people, in the dark. Being in my FYE class "Beyond the Grave" requires us to spend a good amount of our time in a place where 50+ decomposed bodies are lying just a few feet beneath us. So on the freezing night of February 4th, my classmates and I took a trip to 2 graveyards in Charleston, the first one being the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul  As we approached the graveyard, my stomach started to turn, being because I am the most paranoid person on the planet, and my phone was dying so I wouldn't have a light to guide me for long.

What surprised me though is how fascinating graveyards really are. To see a headstone and know that was a person just like you, breathing and walking around just like you're doing, makes you feel somewhat connected to the people that those headstones belong to. That's why I had an urge to apologize to every dead person I stepped on, that and the fear of being possessed because I was invading their personal space. Overall, my thoughts on cemeteries did change, they are more interesting than I thought. 

Die, Base and Cap

The first headstone I found belonged

 to a woman by the name of Georgenna

 Hume. It states that she was the "consort 

of Thomas M Hume", consort meaning 

husband or wife. She was born October 

19th 1819 and met her end on September

 7th 1855. She was just about to celebrate 

her 36th birthday when she passed away. 

Bedstead

 The tombstone on the left belonged to a man named Samuel Bonneau Pickens. He was born on July 13th, 1839 and left the earth on September 17th 1891. He was 52 when he took his last breath

Double Monument

The third monument I found was the headstone for a husband and wife, the husband being a Reverend of a church. His name was John Coming Ball, and his wife was Helln Jervey Jingle Ball.  

He was born on April 26th 1923 and died on his birthday in the year 2018. He was 95 years old when he passed. She was born on March 3rd of 1925, and passed away on March 7th of 2009. She was 85 at her time of death. 

Obelisk

  To the left is a headstone for a man

 named Matthew Sully Reeves, who was born in 

1814 and died in 1862 and his wife,

 Ellen Jackson. She was born 

in 1814 to Edward Weyman Bonuetheau 

and Matha Glen Bounetheau. 

Headstone on a base

The tombstone to the right belonged to a woman named Eliza Moore Wigfall. It doesn't state the exact date that she was born on, but it says that she was born in 1786, but died on the 7th of August in 1864. She was a widow of Thomas Wigfall who was buried at Brick Church.

Monument

This headstone was for a woman named

 Susan Henrietta, she was the wife

 of John Hanckel. She was born on June

 19th of 1822 and died December 13th of 1891. 

Headstone on a base

The headstone to the right belonged to Susan Henrietta's daughter, Susan Henrietta. Her fathers name was John Henrietta. She was born on August 6th 1849 and died February of 1905. She was buried next to her parents. Susan died before getting married.

Ledger

This headstone was actually quite different than the others, it was in the ground, covered with grass. It belongs to Sophia M. Elfe. She was buried next to her husband Albert Elfe. She died may 31st of 1870's. It seemed to have a type of scripture on it. 

Pedestal tomb vaulted roof

The 9th headstone I found was very unique. I wasn't able to find out who's headstone it was because my phone died, but the monument had a poem and a rose engraved into it. It says "My second morn shall dawn brighter than the first". 

Obelisk

The last tomb I found was the headstone of a man named Edward Weyman Bonetheau born in 1781 and died in 1862, and his wife Martha Glen who was the daughter of William and Martha Glen. She was born in 1777 and died in 1849.