Alicia Rhett

Charleston is a deeply rooted historical place, so much that one of the many attractions are the cemeteries and graveyards. One of the larger graveyards is the St Philip Episcopal Church cemetery and buried there is former actress Alicia Rhett. 

Alicia Rhett 

Alicia Rhett was born on February 1, 1915, in Savannah, Georgia to Edmund and Isobel Rhett. She and her family lived in Georgia until her father's death in World War I (1918). They moved to Charleston, South Carolina with her mother and developed an interest in the arts, specifically theater.

Alica Rhett and Susan Myrick 

While in Charleston, Alica took up painting, illustrating, and theater. Director George Cukor was in town and recruiting for the cast of a film to be based on a novel about the Civil War south, and Cukor found Rhett. Rhett initially auditioned as Melanie Hamilton but was casted as India Wilkes in the renowned film Gone With the Wind. 

Alicia Rhett as India Wilkes in Gone With the Wind

As stated above, she loved painting and sketching. In fact, in between takes of the movie, she would sketch anything she could, even the cast! She later gave thumbnail portraits to the News & Courier as an inside peek into the set of Gone With the Wind. Some of her paintings can be found in homes and public buildings around South Carolina. 

Alicia Rhett on set

However, Gone With the Wind was the only movie role she ever did, she was not a fan of the "Hollywood spotlight" and felt as though she was not right for the parts she was offered. After the movie, Rhett moved back to Charleston and lived a semi-normal life. She became a voice acting coach, focusing on accents, and a radio personality.

Alicia Rhett in a nursing home

Alicia Rhett died of natural causes on January 3, 2014, in Charleston, South Carolina. She spent her last few years in the Bishop Gadsen Episcopal Retirement Community and lived to be 98 years old and lived a long and successful life who we can all learn from. 

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Citations:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122707395/alicia-rhett
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/film-obituaries/10557006/Alicia-Rhett-obituary.html
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0722265/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
http://hosting-24909.tributes.com/obituary/show/Alicia-Rhett-97471932
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/23784704254584414/

Reverend John Mood is THAT dude

Reverend John Mood was born on January 11th, 1792, in Charleston SC to Peter and Mary Dorothy Singwald Mood. He had many siblings and grew up in Charleston SC for all of his life.

Reverend John Mood

John was mostly known for his talent in ministering at the Methodist Church and silversmithing Mood was a high figure in Charleston, he joined the Methodist Church when he was a child and with some assistance, he eventually established the first sabbath school for African Americans in the city of Charleston. During the civil war, John and his son would make a living by producing spurs and calvary equipment for soldiers.

John was inspired by Reverend Alexander Garden to re-establish a sabbath school for both slaves and freed African Americans. The first school was only for freed slaves only and opened in 1743 and provided a basic education but unfortunately closed in 1764.

A product of a Mood in the silver holds great respect and can sell up to six thousand dollars! This silver "beverage jug" had minor damage and was estimated $3000-$6000 and sold for the maximum in 2006.

John Mood coin silver beverage jug

Mood also created other silver products such as spoons, mugs, small bells, etc. You can see some of his work here at this auction website. Other products have sold for more and less than the six thousand beverage jug. However, the cheapest legitimate product I could locate was a mustard spoon that was two hundred and ten dollars.
He lived a long and successful life helping others and supporting his family. He ended up marrying Cathrine McFarlane Mood on May 23rd, 1815 and who would bare many children including five boys and one girl. There is no information on how he died but Reverend John Mood passed in Charleston, SC on March 1st, 1864 (age 72).

Reverend John Mood tomb

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Citations:

“Chapter Nine.” Water from the Rock: Black Resistance in a Revolutionary Age, by Sylvia R. Frey, Princeton University Press, 1992, pp. 316–317.

“Live Auctioneers .” Liveauctioneers.com, 2020, www.liveauctioneers.com/item/2125065_72-john-mood-coin-silver-beverage-jug.

Lythgoe, Darrin. “Reverend John MOOD.” Reverend John MOOD b. 11 JAN 1792 Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina d. 1 MAR 1864 : Singleton and Related Families, 2020, singletonfamily.org/getperson.php?personID=I83774&tree=1.

“Rev John Mood (1792-1864) - Find A Grave Memorial.” Find a Grave, www.findagrave.com/memorial/33275447/john-mood.

“Rev John Mood.” geni_family_tree, 8 Mar. 2018, www.geni.com/people/Rev-John-Mood/6000000000342291393.

Altruistic Ancestry

Eloise Beck Crouch was my great grandmother on my fathers side, she was born on February 24, 1935, to the late Olin and Lenora Beck and was raised in Montmorenci, SC. She lived many years in Graniteville before making North Augusta her home in 1977. She was an active member of Grace United Methodist Church and thoroughly enjoyed her time spent with the Florrie Derrick Circle. She was married to the late Charles William Crouch for forty-four years. Charles William Crouch or "Hookus" to his family was an overseer of 3 of the bearings stores in South Carolina for 45 years

Eloise Beck Crouch

Eloise lived a quaint and calm life. She retired as a research analyst from Graniteville Company after over forty years of service. A research analyst is responsible for researching, analyzing, interpreting and presenting data related to marketing, operations, finance/accounting, economics, customers, and other information related to their field.

Shortly before and for many years after her retirement, she could be found volunteering at Univerity Hospital as one of the "Pink Ladies". A "Pink Lady" was someone who worked throughout the hospital. They would interact with patients, bringing flowers, books, nourishment, or a warm blanket. They would comfort families with information, coffee, or a hug. They would escort those who were unfamiliar with hospital services and locations.

Eloise and family

Ballroom dancing, cooking, baking, sewing, and spending time with her family were among her favorite activities. She was famously known in her community for her chocolate cake. It can be described as the perfect amount of sweet, moist, creamy, velvety frosting, and soul-warming to those who were lucky enough to eat it, and you could not stop at just one piece.  

Her family was an undoubtedly important pillar of her life, after her retirement that's all she had. She was known as"Gran Gran" or "Darling" by her grandchildren. Every holiday she would hold family dinners or lunches and prepare a typical Southern meal with a spread of cakes, pies, and brownies for dessert. She had two children, Charles Martin Crouch Sr and Marilyn Crouch Ried, both still living with families of their own. 

She died this past year of Sarcoma Cancer on August 14, 2019. She was cremated the same day however a tomb was erected in Graniteville Cemetery next to her husband so her family and friends can remember/visit her. 

I was lucky enough to grow up with her in my life and she was a staple in the Crouch family. She is missed every day and was loved by many, She was one of the most selfless people I had ever had the pleasure of knowing

Citations:
Family members (Grandfather, Grandmother, Sister, Father)

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Elizabeth Jackson

Born in 1740 Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, mother of our seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson. She held a great value on family, she loved both her sons and nephews. During the revolutionary War. the British invaded South Carolina and captured Charleston in addition to Andrew II and her nephews. This caused Elizabeth to move to Charleston and bargain for their lives. It's assumed that her nephews and second son died of small pox  but still She arranged for a transfer because of her history with helping other prisoners and soldiers who escaped the British.

Our dear Elizabeth succumbed to cholera which is an bacterial disease that infects the lining of the stomach and cause very watery diarrhea.

Elizabeth Jackson's tomb stone 

Her headstone was actually located many other places before it was transferred here to the COFC campus. It was in Lancaster, SC and they wanted to put it by railroad tracks but the people relocating it decided to place her on the property. According to Mr. Harwood it is suspected that there is a general area where her remains are and that are is about 2 miles from the tombstones current location (outside of the Robert Scott Small building).

Elizabeth Jackson is not buried outside of the Robert Scot Small building, but her memorial tomb stone is. The reason the tomb is in cougar mall is because Andrew didn't know where her remains were, however, there are many theories as to where her remains are. Some say they just threw her into the harbor with the rest of the prisoners she was helping, others say she is somewhere in the Magnolia cemetery, I vote she was thrown from the harbor because it's an interesting way to die and people just wanted to get rid of the body. Still, her remains have never been found.

Citations:
https://www.postandcourier.com/columnists/behre-column-this-history-is-a-mystery/article_f0a6388f-dac2-5f25-ab58-2246049e150d.html
http://www.strangehistory.org/cms/index.php/popular/93-elizabeth-hutchinson-jackson-the-missing-matron

hunting symbols at BUMC

The Bethel United Methodist Church is home to many unique grave markers, and our class went on a scavenger hunt to find some examples of these personalized gravemarkers.

Some history about the church is that it was founded in 1797 in the heart of downtown Charleston, SC. They have services every Sunday and they are obviously a methodist denomination. More information can be found on their website here. 

The following examples of gravemarkers were the ones that caught my eye and made me question the meaning of their burial. 

 The first one I found had these beautiful flowers on the top of the die in socket grave. Buried here is Charles D. Bateman, he was born on August 29, 1828, and died on September 22, 1889 (61). According to his death certificate found here, he killed himself. The flowers on top of his grave signify the frailty of life, meaning he was in the condition of being weak and delicate.

 Next, we have this cradle grave with a book over a podium. The deceased was a pastor by the name of Reverend William H Fleming. He was born on January 1, 1821, and died on April 6, 1877 (56). According to his death certificate, he died of pneumonia and was a very well respected man who attended college and earned the title Doctor of Divinity. The bible on top of the grave represents a religious layperson or cleric.

This die in socket caught my eye because it was up against a wall and clean. Here lies Pracilla Sarah Shepherd, born on June 28, 1809, and died on March 10, 1885 (75). She was a mother to eight children and a loving wife to Robert Henry Eason. There are no details on the cause of death but the symbol on the grave means the sovereignty of the lord, meaning she taught about God.

This die on socket grave is a personal favorite just because it is draped over and meaningful. The deceased is Rosa Mary Burnham Muckenfuss and was born on October 9, 1835, and died on November 2, 1881 (46). There is not a lot of information regarding her death but we can infer that she was a loving person. The drape over the grave represents sorrow or mourning, and the flowers represent the frailty of life.

This pedestal tomb is unique because it was one of the only ones in the churchyard. The deceased is Sarah Heron and there was little to no information about her and her life journey. She was born in 1789 and died on November 12. 1835. I'm guessing there was an urn on top of the cone-like structure because you can see that something was there and that it was chipped or fell off.

 This obelisk grave marker was in the corner of the churchyard and is "home" to Abigail S. Swift Capers. She was born in 1811 and is estimated to have died on August 30, 1846 (34-35). What the obelisk symbolizes devotion to god, an important event or achievement in their life.

 Here lies Sarah Margaret and she was born in 1838 died September 12th, 1855 and aged seventeen years. What really caught me eye was the weeping willow and the urn on the grave. I thought it was interesting because no other graves' insight had the same art on it. The weeping willow signifies natures lament; sorrow and mourning and the urn is the greek symbol of mourning, the body as a vessel of the soul. So we can infer that people were obviously upset about her passing because of her age and possibly how she was as a person.

This petit grave was located near the parking lot and was up against a concrete wall in front of a parking space. The deceased is Casey Poyas, and was born in 1871 and is unknown when they died. However, there is a hand pointing to the sky symbolizing a reward of righteousness. conformation of life after death. Often also associated with someone who was known to practice religion.

The second to last die in socket grave was in the main churchyard. The deceased is Elizabeth Martha Simons Virno Moore, she was born in 1796 and died on October 26, 1861 (64-65). There is no information on how she died but we can gather that she was religious because of the angel and urn on her tomb. The angel symbolizes spirituality and the angel is an agent of god. The urn represents an ossuary.

The final grave I found was also up against the concrete wall in the parking lot. The deceased are Alice Elmina and Samuel Ward. Alice born on April 22, 1852, and died on August 7, 1854 (2). Samuel Ward was born on August 16, 1855, and died March 7, 1856 (6 months). There is no information bout how they died but we can infer they were loved. There is ivy on the die in socket grave and the ivy represents memory; immortality; friendship; fidelity; faithfulness; undying affection; eternal life. 

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Ancestor Research Project

I am choosing to research my great grandmother on my father's side because she lived a very long life and I am unfamiliar with my fathers side of ancestry. I also think that this research project will bring some questions into light about that side of the family. We are typically vague when we don't want the person we're talking to know something and I am interested to see how they feel.

Five Favorites

Our "Beyond the Grave Class" went out on a night expedition to see all of the churchyards around us. We visited ten "houses of worship" and out of those ten "houses", here are my top five:

Starting off at #5, we have Second Presbyterian Church!

The denomination of this church is Presbyterian and is located on 342 Meeting Street. It opened on April 3, 1811. The reason I placed this churchyard at number five was that the church itself was beautiful, the walk up to the building is quaint and has lots of history, however, the churchyard was closed and we could not access it.

Here is a link to the church website: https://www.2ndpc.org/our-living-history





Then at #4, we have the Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (or KKBE for short)!

This denomination is Jewish and is located on 90 Hasell Street. It opened in 1749, I placed this churchyard at number four because I thought the building had a unique structure, especially the large Greek Doric columns. Again, the churchyard was closed and looked a tad smaller than the other graves we visited.

Here is a link to their website: https://www.kkbe.org/



Transitioning into #3, it's St Mary's!

This denomination is Roman Catholic and is located on 95 Hasell St. It opened in 1789. I placed this church third because I really liked the name, it had beautiful architecture, two churchyards. Although the churchyards were closed, I was able to go back during the day and capture the essence of the graves.

Here is a link to their website: http://www.sma.church/

The runner up, we have the French Huguenot Church!

The domination is Protestant and is located on 136 Church Street. This church was also burnt down in 1796 but then reconstructed in 1800, just four years later. I placed this church in second place because the church is this vibrant pink and was very uniform and I like that in any architecture. The fact that it was burnt down is interesting as well.


Here is a link to their website: https://www.huguenot-church.org/


And finally, my #1 Pick is St Phillips Church!

I absolutely loved this one because it is the largest one we visited, both church and churchyard. The denomination of this church is Anglican and is located on 142 Church St. The church opened in 1723. A fun fact about the churchyard is that the first College of Charleston president is buried here, Robert Smith. I placed this church as number one because I really liked the iron gates that were in front of the west side of the graveyard and I saw lots of different styles of  graves

Here is a link to their website: https://www.stphilipschurchsc.org/


Overall, the expedition was interesting and I found out that there are many more churchyards around me than I thought.

Ruth Miller Carcass Box Talk

On February 3rd, 2020 Mrs. Ruth Miller gave an excellent presentation about the history of Charleston. She talked about the creation of the colonies, how Charleston was one of the richest places in the early 1700s-1800s, special descriptions on art on tombstones, what materials make up a gravestone, and so much more

Her reasoning behind getting into graveyards was because of a group of morticians. They were on one of her tours of Charleston and wanted to see churchyards and cemeteries, they were excited about seeing the dead. So when they got to a graveyard they started pointing out what certain things meant to her and she has been captivated ever since

She reminded us that the main reasons why Charleston was rich were because of the crops we had, which were Rice, Indigo, and Tobacco. Another reason why Charleston was so rich was because of our access to the water and our trading abilities, we traded natural resources and slaves.

Charleston was so popular because it offered religious freedom, and she told us that "it only takes seven people to start a religion" or a special community

She spoke on the portraits of tombstones. If you were rich you would have your portrait etched into stone. Some portraits were modest and depicted the deceased in classic clothing and headwear, for example, she showed us a gravestone of a woman who wore a bonnet and a dress that covered her chest area to represent modesty, but the women also showed off her pretty pearls. Then there were portraits that showed buttons, and buttons were very very valuable and represented wealth, therefore the more buttons they were wearing the more money they had.

She made a point about informing us of the structures of the tombstone themselves. She talked about how, "early tombstones are carved by people in London, England. They used slate stone and it was all hand-carved", and that there were trends in tombs. Some had wooden tombstones which she said, "wooden tombstones didn't mean you were poor but that standard was brought over from central Europe". I thought that was pretty cool because I have never seen an actual wooden grave marker except for Halloween decorations.

We looked at some etchings of the lettering and inscriptions on older tombstones and my group was assigned two from different counties in SC. Our first was a former slave who was buried near the whites which means that he was heavily resected and fortunate enough to be buried with them in the "whites opinion".

Overall, I was intrigued by her presentation and impressed by her writings and success.

Sacred Scouting

The "beyond the grave" FYE class took a trip to visit two graveyards, Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul and St. Patrick Catholic Church. The Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Pauls is located on 126 Coming Street, Charleston, SC, 29403 and has been there for a significant amount of time, so long in fact, that it is currently under reconstruction. The St. Patrick Catholic Church is located on 134 St. Phillip St, Charleston, SC, 29403 and was built in 1837. Their first Reverend was Rev. John Fielding.

On this outing, our class was to photograph tomb markers and conduct research on them. We first visited the Cathedral Church where we found a plethora of tomb markers. There are 626 people buried there, including John Drayton (SC Governor) and Thomas Lowndes (US Congressman).

The first tomb is a pedestal, a fancy one, but still a pedestal. The dove represents innocence and purity, what's interesting about this dove is that is descending down, meaning descending into Hell which is kind of contradictory because how can you be innocent but also go to Hell? The name on the grave is Georgeanna Spears Hume, she was born on October 19th, 1819, and died September 7, 1855 (35). Her father died of a common cold a month before she was born. 

Here is an example of a column grave marker. A column grave marker symbolizes a life cut short, the life cut short here was Dr. Christopher Gadsden Hume. He was born on May 13th of 1825 and died on September 30th of 1849 at the age of 24.

Buried under this traditional headstone is Stephen Elliot, one of the most prominent men in Charelston during his time here. He was born on November 11, 1771, and died on March 28, 1830, at the age of 58. He was an "intellectual leader of his time" because he was an elected legislative official and was a co-founder of MUSC. 

This large cradle grave is shared by a husband and wife. Mrs. Sue and Percy Gueraro died almost exactly 9 years apart. Percy was born on December 14th, 1816, and died August 10, 1901. While Sue was born on February 4, 1832, and died on August 3, 1910. There is a small stone at the foot of the cradle grave that says "At Rest". Ther is not a lot of information about them other than Mr. Gueraro died at the age of 85 and Mrs. Gueraro died at the age of 78. 

This Grave is special because it is a box tomb, the stone says "Wife of William Simons/Aged 21 Years 3 Months and 2 Days". She was born on December 6th, 1830 and died March 8, 1852. There is a raised cross on top of her tomb and crosses symbolize Christianity, meaning she regularly practiced her religion. 

The spectacular building gravesite is called a mausoleum, they can house multiple tombs, usually six or more above-ground tombs. This particular mausoleum is for the family of William Johnston. The small plaque on the front of the structure says "This mausoleum built in 1844 by the family of William Johnston 1776-1840 as a resting place for his remains and for those of his descendants who wish to be placed herein". Obviously, William Johnston was placed here but his wife (Anna Maria Pickney Johnston, 1778-1853) was also placed with him. His children are all buried in Horry county.

After the class collected their photographs from the Cathedral, we then went to St. Patricks Catholic Church and found other interesting gravesites. Although this site was much smaller (249 people buried), you could still find out a lot about the area and the people who used to love here.




The following grave is called a ledger, a thick slab of stone covering the entire grave. It belongs to Patrick O'Connell, but what is interesting about this grave is that his daughters are also buried with him. From what it legible from the ledger, it reads "To The Memory of Patrick O'Connell / His Daughters / Mary Ann O'Connell / Catharine O'Connell"  

In the St. Patrick churchyard, I found this tombstone with impeccable artwork and detailing signifying that this man was a devout Christian and the vining represents friendship, therefore we can conclude that this man was a friendly Christian. His name was Dr. John Bellinger, he was born on September 24, 1804, and died August 13, 1860, at the crisp age of 55. However, he did marry three women who were much younger than him. He also had three children. 

The unfortunate events that led to this broken die on socket marker could have been a number of things, someone intentionally broke it, erosion of the rock/stone, flooding, etc. there is not much information you can find about the person buried underneath because the stone is too damaged. 

This is another example of a box top grave. The deceased name is Simon Kennedy, born in 1808 and died on January 20, 1852, estimated 44 years old. His tomb reads "Aged 44 years/ a Native of Ballyrouke / County Tipperary / Ireland Resident of Charleston 18 years/ May he rest in peace". There are no records to indicate if he had a spouse or children. 

Thank you for reading my blog! For more information about me and who I am, look at my previous blog "maddie manifesto"

Maddie Manifesto

I was born in Lexington, South Carolina and graduated from River Bluff High School. I have lived in Lexington most of my life but I moved around a lot when I was little. We moved from Lexington to Charlotte to Wilmington and then back to Lexington. I have two older siblings and a dog named Toby. 

I am happiest when I am outside surrounded by trees and mountains. I played softball around five years and was a pitcher, then I started playing volleyball in middle school and was the captain of my volleyball teams all throughout high school. I love longboarding and paddle boarding with my friends in the summer. I also love having my picture taken and often model for my friend who is a photographer. 

I plan to major in Psychology and minor in Crime, Law, and Society. I chose Psychology as my major because of my love of learning about the mind, and I love crime, so I think it would be really engaging and exciting if I were able to figure out the underlying reasons why criminals actually commit their crimes.

After college, I plan to move somewhere far from my hometown and become a criminal psychologist. Preferably in Washington D.C, Oregon, or Virginia because they are beautiful places but have an interesting level of crime for their areas.