How Ruth Miller Came to be...

Ruth Miller is a woman of many traits. She came to talk to our class Monday evening and we learned so many amazing things about the history of Charleston and herself. She is a local tour guide in Charleston, an author, an instructor, and so many more things. Ruth Miller quotes, "Consult for all things Charleston and the Lowcountry", which she does!

Ruth Miller came in and talked about the history of Charleston. She talked about herself for a little but jumped right into the history of Charleston. She talked about how Charleston came to be and the people who controlled it. She also talked a lot about religious freedom and the types of religions. It was a lot of information to take in an hour, but she did a fantastic job explaining it.

Ruth Miller got her start as a tour guide in Charleston in 1979, which she continued for 40 years. She was never really interested in touring the graveyards until a group of Morticians came along for a tour. She said, "Morticians are what got me so interested in graveyards." They explained the graveyards to her and she immediately fell in love. She also became interested in graveyards because of the amazing 18th-century cemeteries architecture. She said, "There's so much architecture and wonderful cravings."

The amazing Ruth Miller

Ruth has also authored many books. She is an author and illustrator of "Charleston Charlie - A Family Activity Book for Kids of All Ages", Co-author of "A Witness to History: Charleston's Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon", Co-author of "The Angel Oak Story", and Co-author of "Touring the Tombstones". "Touring the Tombstones" is a series of books, not just one. (http://www.lowcountryinc.com/)

Ruth Miller is an incredible woman with many different jobs. She works hard at every single one she takes on. She taught me many new things about Charleston history on that Monday evening. She is an inspiration to all of us.

The Mysterious Mrs. Jackson

Elizebeth Jackson's Memorial

While walking to class every day I never knew I was walking by something so special. Tonight in our graveyard class we learned that Elizabeth Jackson, mother of Andrew Jackson, has a memorial grave here. 

Elizabeth Jackson came to Charleston in 1767, but how did she end up in South Carolina. Elizabeth Jackson ended up in South Carolina after the death of her husband, Andrew Jackson, Sr. She had sons named Robert and Andrew Jackson, who were soon to be captured by the British.

When the British took over Charleston on May 12, 1780, Robert, Hugh, and Andrew decided to join the Patriot regiment. Their brother Hugh ended up dying from heat exhaustion in one of the battles. As the wars went on, Robert and Andrew had an encounter near Waxhaw with British soldiers.

Robert and Andrew were both slashed with swards for disrespecting the soldiers. They were then taken away by the British and held at a prison in Camden. They ended up getting smallpox making the two extremely ill. Their mother Elizabeth Jackson came to their aid by offering a prisoner transfer. 

Robert and Andrew ended up out of jail because of their mother. Two days later Robert died due to smallpox he contracted in the prison. Andrew ended up regaining his strength and becoming healthy again.

Once Andrew became healthy, Elizabeth went to help soldiers at the Charleston Harbor. Elizabeth ended up becoming ill with cholera and died November 1781 in Charleston. Andrew searched for his mothers grave for a while, but couldn't find any remains. 

Elizabeth Jackson's memorial stands today because many people wanted to commemorate her for helping the soldiers in Charleston.  

Grave Hunting

Grave hunting was such a fun and thrilling adventure! The other night our class went to visit two different graveyards, Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul, on 126 Coming St. and St. Patrick Catholic Church, on 134 St. Philip St. We were asked to take 10 pictures of different gravestones and describe them. So here we go!

Government-issued Headstone

While walking through the spooky graveyards I came across many different gravestones, all had their own unique style. The first one I came across was a War Veterans grave. His name was Carl Wohlfeil and he died October 22nd, 1992. This grave was a standard headstone, but the reason it is so special is that it is a government issued gravestone. A headstone is just one slab that sits upright.

Cradle or bedstead

The second grave was very deteriorated, therefore I could not make out the writing on it. The type of grave is very unique, it is called a cradle or bedstead. It is usually used for young children, but also used for adults. It symbolizes a cradle that young children or babies sleep in.

Box Tomb

The third grave is a box tomb grave. I also was not able to read the writing on it because of the deterioration. These graves are usually an empty box because the body gets buried beneath it rather than in it.

Obelisk

The fourth grave I discovered is an Obelisk. I could not make out the writing on this either. This grave was popularized by romantic taste. Obelisks can range from massive to smaller structures. This grave would be considered one of the smaller structures. As you can see it has three parts to it, the pillar on top and two different slabs underneath.a

Ledger Stone

The fifth grave I encountered was a ledger stone. This grave was cracked and had a weird black substance all over it, therefore I could not make out the writing. These are large slabs that people are usually buried under. Sometimes these graves include a monument, but this one does not.

Die on Socket

The sixth grave is a die on socket has two pieces that are connected by steel rods. This grave is very hard to read as well, but the first name is Edward and he died October 1885. Die of sockets are very common in graveyards as well.

Bevel

The seventh grave is a Bevel. These are small grave markers that are very common nowadays due to the easy clean up around the graves. There usually isn't much room for writing on these graves. This grave marker shows the writing very well. This man's name was Lawerance H. Moseley who died on January 29th, 2003.

Mausoleum

The eighth grave is a Mausoleum which is one of the biggest graves you can see. Mausoleums are so big that people can walk into them. This mausoleum did not seem to have a name on it anywhere.

Cross Grave

The ninth grave I came across is a Cross grave. This grave is interesting because the cross in on top of a pedestal. There was no writing found on this grave.

Pedestal

The last grave I came to was a pedestal. This picture was taken from the back of the grave, so I'm unable to provide any information about it. A pedestal is usually a very thick structure elevated off the ground by a stone slab.