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"
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"
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