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.

New Years New Memories

Summerville hasn't always been my home, I was born and raised in Salisbury, North Carolina, up until the day before I moved into college. I left everything and everyone I've ever known, which has been difficult but definitely worth it, but because all of my friends are in Salisbury and I knew no one here over break I decided to may a visit back home. 


I drove down New Years eve, hung out with some of my friends and stayed with my best friend for 3 nights. It was really refreshing to see some old friends and catch up with them. Of course I spent Christmas with my family, we drove to Raleigh to see my siblings and nephew, and we spent a day or two in Gaffney, South Carolina and saw all of my extended family. So for my break, I really was all over the place, but I had a great time.

This is my friend Hannah and I, holding "2019"

 balloons right before the ball dropped, and before

 the balloons started deflating.

 Here is a picture of my nephew and me,
 sometime after Christmas. We took him to the Great Wolfe Lodge for his first time and he absolutely loved it, but I personally think I enjoyed it more (especially the arcade).