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.