Jail tour

A few days ago for the last class in Beyond the Grave we took a tour of the old Charleston jail with Glenn Mckenzie.  He gave us some interesting facts about the Jail and told some ghost stories. 

The jail opened in 1802 and closed in 1939 which is a long time considering it was made before Napoleon Bonaparte and closed after Hitler.  It was made for 130 inmates but during the war with all of the prisoner of war it got up to around 600.  Most of them in the prison died, not only from the death penalty but mostly from disease from the trench in the back with all of the human waste in it. 

The first room we went in was pretty much just a holding cell he said on the first floor and it had a thing in it to hold the prisoners still to brand them or do what ever they need to do to them.  The next room had a few cells in it and it was just for the normal criminal. But the top floor was for the worst criminals.  It was the hardest to escape because it was so high and also because they made the inside of the room metal.  And a lot of them died from heat, he said over the summer it could get up to 130 degrees in the room. 

One of the first women to get the death penalty in South Carolina was here Lavinian Fisher.  Apparently she was ver gorgeous but was thought to be a serial killer.  She was guilty for highway robbery and was executed. 

Epic epitaphs

Yesterday the class went on a field trip to  Unitarian Church in Charleston and also went to second presbyterian church in Charleston.  Even though I could not make it because I was out of town I went on Saturday. 



We went to these graveyards to see what the family member choose to put on their grave.  That is what a epitaphs is. It is a way on how to family can remember there loved one.They are mostly bible versus that mean something important to the family. 

Their name was: Augustine Thomas Smyth and Nancy Conner Smyth
Second Presbyterian Church
It is a die on base 
Epitaph: "For him honesty was the nurtrient which gave him the rare strength to be right with God, to be right with himself, to be right with his family and to be true to his fellows."
I do not know the source 

I cant read the name
At the second second Presbyterian church 
die on base
My beloved is gone, down into his garden into the beds of spices to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies."
it is a bible verse in salmon 

Name: Andrew Moffett Adger
it is at the second presbyterian church 
box tomb 
"I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day."

bible verse 

Name: Rev. Samuel Gilman, D.D., Eliza Webb Lippitt , and Caroline Howard Gilman 
this is at Unitarian Church of Charleston
this is a pedestal grave marker
"And now I rest with thee my home." "They were lovely and pleasant in their lives together." "He giveth his beloved sleep."
this is a bible verse 





Melvin Hasell
this is at the Presbyterian church 
grave marker is a tomb stone 
"In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me." 
not sure where this one is from


Lt col charles Irvin
this is atUnitarian Church
" "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. 
john bible verse 

Ancestor project

I'm doing my research project on my great grandma Virginia Watts Richardson.  She is from Prosperity South Carolina which is a small town right outside of Newberry South Carolina. She was 96 years old when she passed away.  She was born on April fifth nineteen fourteen. And she passed away on March twenty second two thousand  eleven.  And when she passed away she had Demetria and died of old age.  She was buried at the church she went to her whole life, Saint Paul Lutheran Church Cemetery.

This is her grave marker.  It is a grass flush with a cross on it to symbolize her religion. 


 When she was active in the community she worked at  Kendal company Oakland plant in Newberry South Carolina.  Which is a textile mill.  She was a quilter and made all of her great grandchildren a quilt when they where born.  She hand one child which is my grandma  Shelby Sheely.  She was apart of the Newberry RSVP which is retired senior volunteer service that do community projects.  They volunteer at schools, day cares, police departments, hospitals and other nonprofit public organizations.  She was a Sunday School teacher for over twenty years at Saint Paul Lutheran Church. Her husband worked at home because they had a large farm.  When she retired she was a gardener and grew there own vegetables and sold them at there general store.  The store sold everything from gas, snacks, some tools, drinks and a few grocery items.  After the grocery store closed they opened up a small women's clothing store with two of her nieces.  She also helped her husband butcher the animals that they raised and sold at there grocery store. She was a cook at a restaurant when she retired. She would cook for the church after every Sunday with the things that she got from her garden or the meat that they had.  And then after that she would host a family dinner every other weekend when everyone from our family would go and have a cook out at her house.  My grandma keep that tradition going by cooking for our family every Sunday after church. 
 
I got my information through my grandma which lives in my great grandmas old house, my mom which spent a lot of time with my great grandma and also through Find a grave.  I got the information about her church from Saint Paul Lutheran church website. 

Magnolia Cemetery

My first impressions on the Magnolia cemetery is that it is massive.  It is very old and historic. I did not see one recent grave.  They have all types of markers and symbols.  There are over 35,000 people buried there and they can be all different types of religion.   There are several civil war veterans and generals buried there. 
  Magnolia Cemetery Picture
Magnolia Cemetery

The layout of the cemetery is 150 acres.  Family's back then could buy there own plot to burry there family. There is also a military section with cannons.  And there is another cemetery right next to it with people from a church in it. 

This grave belonged to C. Lanney Meyer, M.D . They where born in January 17, 1827 and died on December 31 1895.  

This is Sarah Calhoun Simmons. She was born January 19 1839 and she died on February 9 1908.  She Shares this grave with her husband and he was born March 24 1821 and he died on June 12 1889.  

The Special thing about this one is that it is not a grave it is a monument with a lot of different people.  This side has on it Edward Courtney Bullogn, Alexander Black Courtney,Charels Courtney Tew.    

This side has Wiliam Ashmead Courtney. He is the only person on this side.  He was the mayor of Charleston, he got LLD from South Carolina and university of Tennessee .  

This side has Edward courtney,  Edward Smith Courtney and Elizebeth Storer Wade.  

This side shows who the whole monument is for.  It is for Julia Anna Francis. wife of William Ashmead Courtney.

The Magnolia Cemetery was a fun trip.  I saw a lot of different things you would not see at a church grave yard like the big monuments a military grave site and much more.  The most interesting  thing in my opinion was how big some of the graves where and how much detail they put in to them.  They just dont make them like that anymore.  

Elizabeth Jackson Headstone

Elizabeth Jackson gave birth to Andrew Jackson on the way back from her husbands funeral.  When Andrew was 14 she died from small pox in Lancaster, SC.  There have been a lot of different monuments for Elizabeth Jackson the first is at fort Moultrie the second monument was placed in the Waxhaw Cemetery in 1954 and then in 1967 it was moved to the college of Charleston because it is the  closest to the original burial site of Elizabeth Jackson.

Elizabeth Jackson along with her husband Andrew Jackson Sr. and there 2 kids are immigrants from northern Ireland.  She died in November  1781 and no one knows what she looks like exactly.  The old school president Ted Stern asked if they can display Elizabeth head stone because her body is close to the campus but they do not know exactly where it is at so he put it there to honor her.  

Andrew Jackson Jr. was born on March 15, 1767. They where raised on a plantation with there mom after there father  passed away.  He was in the american revolution when he was only 13 years old as a messenger.  During this time Elizabeth Jackson came to Charleston to care for the sick soldiers that where on a British prisoner ship.  Patrick Harwoods VIDEO says that he thinks that Elizabeth Jackson was buried  some where near Magnolia cemetery.  

Her Head stone says " Near this spot is buried Elizabeth Jackson mother of president Andrew Jackson, She gave her life cheerfully for the independence of her country, on an unrecorded date in November 1781 and to her son Andy this advice "Andy, never tell a lie nor take what is not your own nor sue for slander settle those cases yourself.""

This grave is a die in socket with a wreath on it which stands for either the arts, literature , athletics or the military.  Sarah Ann Pelzer is buried here.

This grave is a cradle or bedsted the symbol on it is a bible it stands for religious layperson or cleric. William H Fleming is buried here. 

This grave is a die in socket the symbol on it is a flower that stands for frailty of life.  CD Bateman was buried here.

This is a die in socket and the symbol on it is angles they stand for the agent of god usually pointing up towards  heaven.  Rebecca Jane is buried here.  

This grave belongs to Rosa Mary. It is a die in socket with roses on it they stand for beauty hope and unfailing love; associated with the virgin Mary. 

This grave is Anna's. It is a die in socket and it has a wreath and a dove on it. the wreath stands for victory and redemption. And the dove stands for the holy spirit in Christianity. 

This is a Head stone and has a cross and crown on it. The cross stands for god.  The crown stands for sovereignty of the lord because it is on a cross. Prisoilla Sarah Eason is buried here.

This grave is a Head stone and it belongs to Mrs. Ann Eliza. The symbol on it is a broken rose it stands for her life being terminated or mortality. 

This is a fallen head stone the belongs to Elizabeth M.  The symbol om her grave is a angel and a urn. The urn stands the Greek symbol of mourning, the body as a vessel of the soul. The angle stands for The agent of god often pointing towards heaven.  

This is a die in socket that belongs to Eva Lee. the symbol on it is a rose. The rose stands for beauty hope and unfailing love.

This is Sue Bennett she is the one that gave us a tour of Bethel UMC.   "Bethel UMC has been situated at the corner of Calhoun and Pitt Streets since 1797 and is distinguished as a National Historic Landmark." A quote that she told us is that "Charleston was the forth largest city before the revolutionary war". 

The Church. This is the church from the balcony.

And this is a replica of the United states oldest hymn book to sing with in church.

Ruth Miller

  Ruth Miller is a Charleston historian.  She Became interested  in Charleston grave yards when she was giving a tour to mortician around Charleston and they wanted to stop at a grave yard.  One of her books another one of her books is Book two.  She taught  me many things about Charleston that I did not know.  Like for example when people where getting grave stones and things made out of stone they had to order it from a stone carver from up north such as New England because they did not have any stone down here.  Also king Charles gave the Carolinas to Sir Ashley Cooper that is why the rivers that run together in Charleston one is called the Ashley river and the Cooper bridge.  There are also 2 grave yards that date back to as late as the 1600s in Charleston.  She said "the main two exports in Charleston where rice and indigo."  Also "the main import where slaves."   Ruth went to duke University. She has been all around the world and enjoys going to historic cities in America.  She has been a Charleston guide since 1979.  She knows a lot about history of Charleston churches and 18th century grave yards.  One of her quotes is "By 1710 there we had more africans than Americans." If you think about that it is crazy that the people over here just went over across the world to get people to do there labor for them and before you know it there are more of them over here.  She also mentioned the origins of the churches.  The methodist are from England the congressional are from England and they have a meeting house.  Presbyterian are from England as well. The catholic church is from Spain. And the Episcopal church is from American.