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.