History Can be Spooky Too! A Trip to the Old City Jail

Facade of the Old City Jail

Last week my class and I had the opportunity to take a journey through time and visit one of the most historical structures of Charleston, The Old City Jail. When I first laid eyes on the building, I immediately felt chills all over my body from how thrilling the facade was. Soon after we arrived, we met our guide Randy, who was eager to take us inside eager to share some amazing facts about the people who once spent time in this jail. 

Randy 

Randy told us that the jail ran from 1802 to 1939, and housed many different people who committed all different types of crimes, some of whome were completely innocent. 

The first room we entered was a small round room with ropes hanging in the middle. Randy told us that the ropes were used to keep a prisoner in place while he or she was getting slashed with a whip that was made out of "Cat's tails" 

The second room was much larger with replicas of the actual cages where prisoners were kept. I was surpirsed by how small they were. The jail held many notorious criminals. Two of them were Lavinia Fisher and her husband. Randy explained that the room we were standing in, was the one she stayed in when she was an inmate. Lavinia and her husband were convicted of a highway robbery and a bunch of other crimes. On September 13th the couple made plans to escape however, their plans did not fall through. As a result of this, they were brought to the gallows and hanged together. 

Window from Inside the Jail

Woth each room that Randy took us to, the stories seemed to get scarier and more vivid. I felt like I was a prisoner myself! The rooms we visited were: the torture room, a typical cell room, the morgue, a cell room designated for highly dangerous criminals, and the final terror. 

The last room on the tour was a space thst was by far the worst. Randy advised us to keep all lights off in order to respect the spirits and ghosts that haunt the room. He also mentioned that one of the ghosts that haunt that were is a little boy who was nicknamed "animal" because he runs on his hands and feet and has a tendency to brush against the back of visitors legs!  

back wall of a cell room

overall, it was great to learn about some of the dark sides of our history. Unfortunately Randy and Bulldog Tours may not have that much time left to open the doors of the jail, due to the fact that its future is unclear. Some say that the building will be made into office rooms or apartments. The incredible amount of human suffering that happened here is part of Charleston’s history, even if it is a side that is darker and more hidden. It makes me see this as a coty of the dead!

Old Charlestonian

Introducing John Bennett! 

John Bennett

John Bennett was born on May 14, 1865 and died December 28, 1956. He was an whose career is best known for his children's books. John was very talented and even illustrated these books himself! This was because at a young age, he learned to draw and became skilled at cutting silhouettes. During the years of his early teens, he struggled and ended up dropping out of high school. His next path was working for a newspaper and by then was established as a freelance author and illustrator. with some mental health and drug addiction factors holding him back, he made a strong recovery and his career started to bloom. 

By the date 1895, he had written and published a few books. Mainly intended for children. One of his best known books is called Master Skylark and is considered a classic for children's literature. One of his illustrations from the book is below:

Master Skylark illustration

As Bennett aged, he began to experience more health problems so he was advised to move down to Charleston SC in the year of 1898. There, he met his wife Susan Smythe who was born into a well known Charleston family. His goal while in South Carolina was to promote culture in the city, he started to incorporate black folk tales into his literature and combined these with the Gullah language  publishing books with these new concepts and ideas was definitely a risk Bennett was willing to take.  The Charleston upper class began to ostracize him due to their opposite opinions of black culture. His  addiction to drugs resurfaced and he ended up taken a break from his writing for a while. 

During the time of the two World Wars, Bennett partnered with some other authors and founded the Poetry Society of South Carolina. Overall, he had a very successful career with some bumps along the road which is to be expected with any writer. 

As I was walking around Magnolia Cemetery, I came across on a ordinary headstone and thought that there might be a bigger story behind it. Fortunately there was and I got to learn and research all about the life of John Bennett. 

John Bennett's headstone 

Magnificent Magnolia

Last Monday, my class and I got to spend some time at one of the most beautiful cemetery I have ever seen, Magnolia Cemetery. Everywhere you looked, you would find exquisite headstones, die on sockets, obelisks, and incredible mausoleums!

Plaque at entrance of cemetery

The picture above is of a plaque that you see at the front of the entrance of Magnolia Cemetery. When you first walk in all you can see for what seems like miles and miles are magnificent gravestones each with their own uniqueness. 

Sun Dial

I took this photo of this sun dial that is surrounded by headstones with the writing in fancy fonts. If you look close enough you can see one of these fonts written on the headstone in the background of the picture. In terms of the sun dial, it is basically a device that tells the time of day when there is sunlight by the apparent position of the sun in the sky.

Headstone with Monument

These two photos above are of a headstone and monument with beautiful carvings all around. The amount of detail on this gravestone really caught my eye. The woman on top is an angel which I am assuming is the guardian of home this gravestone belongs to which is Pattie Bird. 

Mausoleum with stained glass 

These three pictures above are of a Mausoleum with amazing stain glass windows that illuminate wonderful colors when the light hits them at the right angle. One thing that my Professor, Patrick Harwood explained, was that if you walk up to the door and peak inside, you can see the Olympic rings carved into the glass!

Aiken Kelly (1871-1907)

This die on socket belongs to Aiken Kelly and carved onto the facade, is a moving epitaph that reads, "After life's fitful fever comes rest. 

column with detailed carvings

This last picture is of a column that lays next to a step leading to a bunch of headstones. This column caught my eye because of the very detailed carvings that are on the front. At first I thought that the carvings were all leaves and other foliage, however, when I took a close look I noticed an anchor. I am a sailor and I am glad that I took a second look!

Overall, Magnolia Cemetery is my favorite visit of the semester. I could really get an understanding of the beauty of the after life in a way. Each gravestone has its own story and characteristics that represent the one who once lived.

A Different Religion

Last Monday, I had the chance of taking a journey through a different religion, the Jewish religion, and learned some pretty interesting facts! as well as a couple ghost stories, Boo!

My class and I walked up coming street to visit Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim's Jewish Cemetery. There we were met by two tour guides, Randi Serrens and Anita Moise. One thing I noticed right away before we even got into the cemetery was that it was enclosed in an area with a very tall wall all around the perimeter. The previous cemeteries we have been to have been enclosed with a iron gate where viewers on the outside can see into the cemetery, that was not the case at this one.

Anita Moise

I learned a lot from Anita who took us around the cemetery making stops at some of the most beautiful gravestones with wonderful stories behind them. During our tour Anita stated, "The first group of Jews to come to Charleston were called Sephardic Jews The term originates from Sepharad Spain or the Iberian Peninsula.

Jacob Lazarus (1794-1870)

This is an Obelisk belonging to Jacob Lazarus who was President of the congregation during his lifetime.

die on socket with drapery

The picture to the right is a die on socket that belongs to the Mouse family. Our tour guide Anita told us that, "the drapery symbolizes a women's modesty."

Israel and Robert

The picture above displays two headstones that were built together. To summarize the story behind this grave, Israel and Robert were two cousins who passed at a very young age. The cause of these little boys deaths was yellow fever. 

Hartwig Cohen (Ledger close up)

The photo above is a close up of a ledger belonging to Hartwig Cohen. According to Anita, "Hartwig Cohen was the Rabbi of Beth Elohim." As you can see in the picture, there are some stones that have been placed onto the ledger. Anita told us that this is a common practice in the Jewish religion to pay respects for the dead by leaving stones. 

Scott Morton Who?

William Scott Morton

Architect, artist, craftsman, and decorator all describe that man who is named above, my great great grandfather.

William Scott Morton

The Scott Morton family has scattered around Scotland for many many years. Even today, my cousins aunts, uncles, and most of my extended family on my father's side make multiple appearances in Scotland for various events such as weddings and holidays. 

My great great grandfather, William Scott Morton, was born on March 16 1840 in Carluke, Lanarkshire. He moved a few times throughout his life spending quality time in London and Glasgow. 

Glasgow was really where his career started and where he gained knowledge to start his own business which is exactly what he did! 

While in Glasgow, he took classes at a design school and started an apprenticeship for an architect by the name of James Smith. 

In 1850, the Scott Morton family moved to London. There he and his long life friends from the apprenticeship got married to two sisters. William married Eliza Alexander. 

William became a skilled designer and craftsman's therefore heading his own tapestry and furniture companies. One of the advantages of moving to London was that the stables of his house were turned into his working studio. He was able to create beautiful chairs and fabric designs right from his very own home! 

In terms of Williams death, there is not much that has been recorded. My family members vaguely remember his last resting place to be, "North Merchiston, Edinburgh". After some deep research, I was able to find that he indeed was buried at this location in the St. Michael's Parish graveyard. 

St. Michael's Parish Graveyard 

My family was also uncertain that there is a gravestone that exists however, they have not been to the Parish to check it out. Moreover, the next time I go to Scotland I plan to make a quick stop at St. Michael's Parish to see if I can solve the mystery of William Scott Morton's gravestone! 

St. Michael's Parish

     

These pictures above are some of the creations that William Scott Morton accomplished. On the very left and middle pictures above, are some of his tapestry designs and sketches. To the right are some chairs that he designed and built with his wood working talents!

     

            

Bold, Beautiful, Bethel

Last week my class went to see the wonders that lay in the graveyard at Bethel Church. The main focus of this post will be to display and explain some of the symbols that are found on gravestones. 

Bethel United Methodist Church has been around for quite some time. It was founded in 1797 and is distinguished a national historic landmark according to the churches website. This church is known for accepting black and white congregations. The website also states that the first building now called "Old Bethel" was donated to the black congregation in 1876. Both buildings today, have combined with a common goals to strengthen bonds between sister churches, united methodists, and christians.

Flemming, Die on Socke

            

Rosa Mary, 1835-1881

                                                                       

The photo to the left depicts a wreath of foliage which symbolizes a bunch of emotions however, the more common ones being; love, grief, and happiness. 

The photo to the right contains carve work of flowers and a drapery on the top. The flowers symbolize different emotions while the drapery or curtain symbolizes the allowance of mounting longer. 

Priscilla Sarah Eason

1809-1885

                                                                 

Both the picture on the left and right is a headstone with a lot of symbolism. The symbolism is displayed at the top of the stone in the form of a cross and a crown. What it is symbolizing is the sovereignty of the Lord. 

Elizabeth M. Ainger

1807-1872

                                                               

This next headstone above is beautiful and the symbolism is beautiful. The carvings of flora and fauna symbolize those same different emotions, and the dove is a very important symbol in the christian religion. It is commonly seen on a gravestone to show the presence of the Holy Spirit. 

Charles C. Seyle

1823-1880

                                                           

The picture on the left is another headstone that contains a cross however, this one does not have a crown on it. It does have some leaves and plant like structures around, and we know what that symbolizes. However, a cross on its own like this, usually just symbolizes salvation. 

The photo on the right is a beautiful gravestone with lots of carvings. We know what the flowers mean but what I am still trying to figure out is if there is a scroll. If you can figure it out let me know!

Casey Poyas

Mary Crukshanks

                                                           

This photo on the left is small in person but has lots to offer in terms of symbolism. Body parts are common on gravestones and even the same type of body part can have different meanings when carved in different positions. For this one, the finger is pointing upwards, this symbolizes the reward of the righteous. In other words, the confirmation of life after death. 

The photo to the right contains symbolism within the tree that has been carved onto the stone. This tree is a weeping willow, symbolizing mourning. 

Due to formatting I will explain these last two photos down here. The top photo is the inside of Bethel United Methodist Church. While spending some time inside taking in all of the beauty more specifically the glass windows, it was great to gain more history from our guest speaker who is the women in the bottom photo. 

the sources from where I interpreted the symbolism on each gravestone are The Cemetery Club and Stoneletters.com

Ruth Miller - Historical Genius

On February 18th, my class had the pleasure of meeting Ruth Miller, a true expert on the religious history of Charleston. I say expert because she has been a historian and local tour guide for a few decades by now and shared a boatload of information with us in just sixty minutes!

Ruth Miller

The main focus of Ruth's lecture was the religious history of Charleston and a direct quote from Ruth stated how "graveyards can be pictures of history." We traveled through years and years of history with Ruth and discovered how we can see the influences of the various religions throughout the graveyards in Charleston.


Some facts that I found to be interesting from her lecture were how much history exists in our city. for example; Meeting street is named after "meeting houses" that existed in the Quaker religion. Another interesting fact is that the burial grounds of free colored people are located right behind our very own Addlestone Library!

Click here for Ruth's website.