So... Why Does the College Have a Grave on Campus?

How did CofC get so lucky as to be the home of Elizabeth Jackson's headstone? 

Unfortunately, not much is known about the life of Andrew Jackson's mother- not even her final resting place. 

All that is really known is that she died in Charleston in 1781 after arriving in the area to assist in caring for some family on a ship.  She succumbed to what was presumably cholera.

Her son, Andrew Jackson

It is also known that President Jackson spent much of his life in regret and agony over the death of his mother, spending years to find where she was buried and never succeeding.

The marker on Cougar Mall states that she was buried "near this spot"; However, in a letter addressed to President Jackson, a man named James Witherspoon informs him that his "mother is buried... about one mile from Governor's Gate, which is in and about the forks  of Meeting and Kingstreet roads".

Plus, the marker was moved two and a half miles from its original placement uptown to arrive on campus.  It was moved in 1967 after a plethora of complaints about the condition of the stone and how no one tended to it.   

No one has ever found Mrs. Jackson's grave, although many believe her legacy and final words are more important than actually finding her- words live longer than a person does.

Her headstone is engraved with an epitaph of her last words to her son- an important message teaching him to "never tell a lie nor take what is not your own nor sue for slander. Settle those cases yourself".

Elizabeth Jackson's headstone at the College

Colonel James W. Curry

My 5th great Grandfather was a man named James W. Curry.  He was born in Belfast, Ireland, on January 29, 1752.  His family wanted him to be a minister, and he went to school for such; however, at 10, his father packed the family up and boarded the Good Return- a ship headed for Philadelphia.  From there, the family made their way to Staunton, Virginia, and at 14 James was teaching a school for the children in the area.  He spent his adolescence trading farm work in the summer for teaching in the winter.

According to his children, he had very traditional values and "insisted on perfect obedience", yet was kind and giving. Curry was an avid reader as "about every newspaper then published in America
came to him as a regular subscriber". He took great care of his appearance unless he was working on the farm.  He is said to have been about "5'10", 200 pounds... hair... dark and coarsely cut... eyes hazel".

At 22, he enlisted as a private, and fought in the Battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774.  After suffering a shot to the right arm, Curry returned home for 2 years- only to reenlist for the Revolution.  He became Lieutenant in the Eighth Virginia on June 24, 1777, and a Captain in the Fourth Virginia on September 23, 1779.

In February 1781, Curry was one of 700 veteran soldiers to march from Philadelphia to Charleston.  They entered the city by boat on April 7, 1781, and fought until May 12, when the General surrendered.  He apparently stayed there as a prisoner of war for some time, yet he is reported to have been at the Battle of Yorktown on October 19, 1781.

After leaving the army, he married a woman named Mary Burns on November 20, 1784.  He convinced her to change her name to Maria Magdalene because he did not like how her original name sounded.  
A year later, the couple and their first child moved to Harrisonburg, a town around an hour and a half away- by car, at least.  Here they had several children, many of whom died, and on October 5, 1797, began their six month journey to Ross County, Ohio after James received a large land grant in the area.  For two years, the family lived in a cabin without a door, floor, or window before relocating to Highland County.  

Land given to Curry (outlined in blue)

He worked as a Brigade Inspector while he lived there, sometimes as a physician as well because the nearest doctor was miles away.  
After some time, he followed his son, James, to Jerome Township- a nearly completely unsettled land that all of Curry's neighbors warned him about.  

He served as a representative in several legislation sessions and as a judge when he returned home.  He retired at 67.

On July 5, 1834 at 10 am, Curry died from an attack of apoplexy, or a stroke.  

I found a majority of my information through talking to my Dad, who had to write a history of the Colonel in order to be accepted into the Society of the Cincinnati, and this amazing excerpt I found from a History of Union County, where James Curry died.  

Meet my 5th-Great Grandfather

So this week I'm very excited for our homework- we get to choose someone in our family to do research on.  I'm super fascinated with my ancestry and spent a good amount of my senior year researching my family and tracking my genealogy back to Charlemagne.  However, he is not my topic.

The person in my family I'm most interested in learning about is a man named Colonel James W. Curry.  I chose him because he was a Captain in the Revolutionary War, the reason my Dad is a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, and because my brother is named after him.  

James was born in Belfast, Ireland on January 29, 1752.  He immigrated to Staunton, VA in 1762 and most of my family is still living in that area.  He moved around a lot due to the war- even ending up in Charleston at one point as one of the 700 veteran Virginians sent to defend the city from the British and ended up being captured and taken prisoner until the end of the war.

He died in Marysville, Ohio, on July 5, 1834, most likely due to a stroke because it was said he just "fell down dead". He was 82.

I think it's interesting that he worked as a judge in Ohio after his days in the army- he was given a land grant in the area, so he uprooted his family to make them live in a log cabin in the Plains.  Also, he didn't like his wife's- Mary Burns - name and had her change it to Maria Magdalene.

The cemetery he is buried in looks like a public one to me, although the pictures aren't great.  I'm so excited to learn more about him.

James Curry's Grave

Touring KKBE

In a make up for the class we missed du to Dorian, this Saturday our professor took us to the Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim synagogue's cemetery for a tour with two very knowledgeable guides.  

One of our guides

Unfortunately, I was running behind and made a very rude, very late entrance to the cemetery during their presentation.  

Luckily I was allowed to just blend in and listen after that, and I found some very interesting things.  For example, there are "800 people buried six feet underground" there.  This includes 12 revolutionary war soldiers, 8 from the war of 1812, and 23 from the civil war. 

Along with that, the guides, Anita Moise Rosenberg and Randi Serrens, explained to us that "death is viewed as unholy in Judaism", thus providing an explanation as to why the synagogue is nowhere near its graveyard.

A ledger stone in restoration

Towards the front of the graveyard, there is a sink- which I found quite strange until one of the guides explained that it is customary in Judaism to wash your hands after visiting a cemetery.  I thought that was very cool, but I'm wondering where the running water comes from if the church isn't nearby.  Do they pay for a separate water supply just for the graveyard?

I thought that this trip was extremely interesting- the guides were very kind and knew what they were talking about and had a plethora of information.  The graveyard itself was beautiful, too, and I loved the different types of grave markers found there.

Lopez family area

Visiting Bethel United Methodist Church

Last Monday, our professor took us to a church named Bethel UMC, near school, to look at gravestones. He asked us to take pictures of the different gravestone symbols we saw, and I was honestly very surprised to find such a plethora of different designs.  The church was founded in 1797 as a primitive wooden building.  I find it surprising that it was not segregated in the beginning and only really became so around 1852 when the current church was built.  Luckily, there was no malicious will and the old church was given to the black congregation.

Rosa Mary's Grave

The first one I saw belonged to a woman named Rosa Mary. She lived from 1835 until 1881.  This was probably my favorite grave I saw, because although it was a basic headstone, the craftsmanship was incredible.  Someone carved a sheet or a veil over the top and it looks so beautiful and so real.

    

Olin Davis

The second grave belonged to Olin B. Davis, who lived a short life- only from 1844-1866.  This grave, also a headstone, consisted of a rose and some leaves surrounding it.  The rose is a symbol of promise or new beginnings, so I guess it was his family attempting to come to terms with the abrupt ending of his life and remembering that Heaven is his next destination.

     

Charles Seyle

Another one is where a man named Charles C. Seyle was buried and he lived from 1823 until 1880.  His headstone has a cross on it with ivy crawling up and fell during the years, leaving it embedded in the ground.  The cross obviously symbolizes God, but the ivy I'm guessing means attachment or growth through something very difficult.

Elizabeth Ainger

Elizabeth M. Ainger lived from 1807-1872.  Her headstone, which probably fell and was relocated to the wall of the church, was decorated with a dove carrying a leaf which I assume means something relating to peace.  That and even before her name on the stone it states in large letters "Our Mother", probably meaning she was a very kind and caring woman, hence the peace symbol.

Elizabeth M.

Another woman named Elizabeth M.is buried at Bethel under a fallen headstone. She lived from 1796-1861 and was consort to Reverend Moore.  It never says her full name, so I assume the M is her maiden name or stands for Moore.  This probably explains the angel her grave is decorated with.  That and she died peacefully in her sleep, leading one to believe an angel took her in the night.

Frances Jones

The next one, another headstone because all of the cool symbols were on that type of grave, is Frances Rebecca Jones'.  I'm not happy with her grave because it literally says her name and when she died- all of the other information is about her husband, a doctor, and her father, a reverend.  Her grave, which fell and was relocated to the church wall as well, consists of a cross inside of a crown, probably to symbolize the power of God due to her religious background. 

Caroline Lord

Next we have Caroline Lord, whose relocated headstone is so weathered that I could barely make out her name, much less the dates of her life.  The biggest words on the grave say "SACRED", and the grave is decorated with a wreath and ribbons.  Wreathes symbolize eternity due to the fact that they have no beginning or end.

Hannah Pelter

Hannah Maria Pelter's headstone was probably the coolest shape of a headstone that I saw.  It curves slightly at the top to form a point and is decorated with a wreath.  She lived from 1792-1874 and obviously cared for her children because the quote on the bottom of the stone says "Her children arise up and call to her."

Anna Chrietzberg

The next headstone, belonging to Anna Chrietzberg (1921-1972), was also carved in a unique way.  At the top, it curves over slightly into a shape I can't really describe.  Her decoration is a dove and a wreath, once again probably symbolizing peace.  She was also married to a reverend.

Elizabeth Furchess

Finally, we reach Elizabeth Furchess.  Born in 1788 and died in 1858, her grave is carved with a squiggle kind of pattern at the top and depicts a willow tree.  Hers also fell over through the years, but was not relocated like some of the others.  Willow trees symbolize life, so I'm going to assume that's what they were going for.

Ruth Miller Popped Off

This week during my FYE, our professor gave us the luxury of bringing in a guest speaker, Ruth Miller.  She is a tour guide and historian of Charleston and the lowcountry.  Also, she has written several books.

I personally thoroughly enjoyed her presentation.  I find history extremely fascinating, and getting to learn about all of the rich history of Charleston was very cool.  Many of the things she said I hadn't heard before, and she kept me intrigued the entire time.  

Mostly, I think I was so wowed because at the beginning she said "History is written by the winners", which is extremely true.  I thought it was amazing because even though she said that, Ms. Miller still managed to provide details about the south before the Civil War that I had never heard.  

Not only that, but it is always so pleasing to me to see people who are genuinely passionate about what they do.  I find it incredibly inspiring, and it brings me hope and motivation that I will find something that makes me feel the same.  I don't remember what she said exactly, but for a solid ten minutes she stood at the board and pointed out different designs in the headstone she had put up.  

Here's an picture of it ->

Overall, I thought her presentation was a great use of class time.  Ms. Miller is such a kind woman and speaking to her afterwards provided more insight on to both the history of Charleston and her life in general.  I would love to talk to her again sometime and learn more because I honestly didn't think there was enough time for me to learn all I could from someone with so much knowledge.  I'm very thankful for this wonderful opportunity, but I was also so wrapped up in what she was saying and therefore forgot to take notes.  I really enjoyed learning from her, though.

Graveyard Intro

This week in my FYE, my professor asked us to choose a church from a list he provided.  We walked around Charleston to see all of them in person, and my favorite was St. John's Lutheran Church.


St. John's is very close to campus, at 5 Clifford St, so I liked that about it as well as the architecture of the building.  It is absolutely beautiful and very old.

The church was founded in 1742 with the arrival of Dr. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, a German settler who was originally just passing through to Georgia.  He ended up coming back for three weeks and holding services for German families in the area.  

The original, wooden, building's first cornerstone was laid in 1759, but it was destroyed and the current building was built between 1814 and 1816.  The rectangular building with stucco brick was designed by a man named Frederick Wesner, and the doors were painted red due to a common Lutheran symbol for the blood of Christ.  The steeple, however, was not added until 1859 by a man named David Lopez.


Unfortunately, the gates were locked when I went to visit, but I could still see a good amount of the graveyard.  I would say it's pretty decently sized- not large, but also not very small.  Many of the markers were decorated; however I couldn't make out what the words said due to how faded they were.  







Overall the church is beautiful, and I'm excited to go inside sometime when it's open.