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.