The Man in my Dining Room

   

The painting in my living room

Every day since I was old enough to walk I was always passing this painting of this older man who honestly looked just like my father, I assumed it was him of course. He was just dressed in some weird looking suit thing but I mean I would expect it out of my father. Later in my old age (the ancient age of 10), I would find out this kind of creepy looking man pictured in my dining room was John Zacharias Siegling. He is my great great grandfather on my fathers side. For this project, I had to talk to my father a lot about his and my own heritage and found out that we are more connected to Charleston than I thought.

He was the first Siegling to immigrate here from Erfurt, Germany. He was the second of seventeen children and had a very well educated background since his father was a mathematics professor. John would soon leave Germany and go to Paris at the age of 15. He had a prior apprenticeship with a cabinet maker that helped him learn a lot for his later occupation here in Charleston. The Siegling's were very wealthy back in the day, the uniform he was wearing is a sign of his wealth.

Siegling Music House

He arrived here in 1819 where he bought a building right on king street and named it the Siegling Music House. He repaired and tuned many instruments, his music house had a huge outreach, a branch was even opened in Cuba. This was Charlestons first music house. It continued into the family into the late 1970's. In the 1970's the Siegling's decided to sell the music house, now the house is a nun bookstore, but the name Siegling Music House on the top still makes us proud.

Gravestone of John Zacharias Siegling

John Siegling passed away in 1867 at the age of 76 due to what was believed to be natural causes. He was married and had children. Even though he had a life in America he still kept in close contact with his family in Germany. He is buried in Saint Johns Lutheran Church in Charleston, South Carolina. This cemetery is just a normal church cemetery with a lot more of my ancestors buried in it. His grave is a not so classic die in socket, it is very unique actually. The base makes it the die on socket and how the cross is perfectly centered up.

Overall the project made me learn a lot about where I am from and taught me a lot about me and my family. It made me see my connection to Charleston and how my family helped Charleston expand and become a better place. Knowing that the Sieglings have been here for almost 200 years makes me feel like we may never leave.

As the Sun Set

As the sun set across the peninsula, there we were, squished into cabs and on the way to yet another graveyard. This graveyard was Magnolia Cemetery, one of the most well known in Charleston. The weather was nice and cool but the mosquitoes did not seem to care as they tried to suck every ounce of blood out of everyone. It was well worth it though to see the gravestones of the people and to be able to tell their story it was amazing.

Dye in Socket

This is a huge dye in socket grave. It is one of the cleanest looking gravestones in the cemetery in my opinion. This is a stone from the Rustin family, not one specific person but a family. If you look in the bottom right corner you see a lawn marker, this is where one person in the family was buried.

The flowers across the front are symbols of humility and innocence. Showing how cared for this family was and still is.

Masterpiece

The gravestone to the right is my favorite grave of all time. There is no need to see the symbolism in this grave when it pretty much slaps you in the face. This is the gravestone of a young child, a baby. Most children gravestones are just small barley marked gravestones, but this is a pure masterpiece.

This is for a child who had passed away and her grave was made into a carriage. This is a pure masterpiece and one of a kind grave, not to mention that she has her face carved into the grave. This child was obviously very cared about and loved and her gravestone reflects that.

This is yet another masterpiece. This gravestone is a part of the Pinkney family and is a huge cross. Yet again there is no one buried here, but it marks the whole family plot.

The cross represents religion and the afterlife. The symbolism of the cross, especially this large cross, just shows the power and authority of Christ and the life after death.

This trip was one of my favorites despite the mosquitoes the weather was good and the gravestones were remarkable. This is one of my favorite cemeteries I have ever been to simply because of the size and pure beauty of it. Aside from being squished into a cab with my classmates, I had a great time and it was something I will never forget.

Mystery on Campus

Elizabeth Jackson

Walking down Cougar Mall it is odd to look around the beautiful campus and see a gravestone. It causes you to wonder first of all, Who that is? Why they are there? and of course, Am I walking on their body right now?

The headstone of Elizabeth Jackson is located in Cougar Mall, it is one of the most underrated headstones in Charleston in my opinion. Elizabeth Jackson was most obviously known for being Andrew Jackson's mother, but she was also a caring woman.

Close up of Jackon's Headstone

According to Patrick Harwood in his Clay the Cougar video he says that she came to Charleston to help her two nephews and other soldiers on the ship that they were on. Which explains the part of her headstone where it says "she gave her life cheerfully for her countries independence" she loved her country and family so much she would end up giving her life for it as she passed away due to the smallpox disease that was being carried on the boat according to Roadside America.

Once she passed away her headstone was in disrepair, the president at The College of Charleston, Ted Stern, heard of this and put his foot down. He asked for it t be repaired and when it got repaired he decided to place it on the Colleges campus. Making The College more historically relevant than it already was.

According to the Clay the Cougar video, when you walk over or near the headstone of Jackson you have no worries. You are not stepping on her for she is buried in the Magnolia Cemetery. Jackson was a great woman who had raised not just one great son but many. She was a great caring woman and tried to pass that along to her sons.

Rain or Shine

Walking to Bethel United Methodist Church you could smell the rain in the air. The darkness that surrounded you almost made it impossible for you to even think that it was only 6 o'clock. About a block away from the church we felt one drop, then two, then after that the bottom dropped out. I half expected us to turn around and go back, class dismissed, but I was wrong. As we neared Bethel United Methodist, I thought to myself man it was a bad day to wear a white shirt.

Die in Socket

 Bethel has a multitude of gravestones. The gravestone to the left has flowers that appear to be lilies. The lilies symbolize purity and chastity. 

Headstone

This headstone was found leaning up against the church. This is where Joseph W. Ainger was buried, he was 49 when he passed away. 

The cross with the crown on it speaks to the all the power the lord has and how he is the one king and the ultimate decision maker. 

Cradle Grave

This grave has pretty self-explanatory symbols. William Fleming was a pastor in the 1800's and was 56 years old when he passed away. 

The book on top of the pulpit is more of a memorial of what he stood for and how he was always preaching, it was his life. 

Die in Socket

This grave is home to Rosa Mary a wife. She was very loved and you can tell by the two symbols on her gravestone. She was 46 years old when she passed away. 

The bouquet of flowers shows the grief the family feels over her death. The drapery represents the mourning the family is going through because of her death. 

This is possibly the most meaningful gravestone in the whole graveyard, the raw emotion of these symbols makes it so much more meaningful. 

Die in Socket

Due to the weathered condition of the grave marker, you cannot tell much more information that the name and the symbol. This woman was Olin Davis. She was likely loved and cared about deeply.

The rose is an example of undying love. This is one of the most romantic things to put on a gravestone, especially the gravestone of a loved one.  

Angel Gabriel

Die in Socket

This gravestone belongs to Rebecca Jane who passed away in the 1800's as well. She was only 19 years old. She was a daughter and was well loved. 

The angel symbolizes spirituality. This angel specifically is Gabriel you can tell this by the fact that he is carrying a horn in his hands. He represents resurrection and the day of judgment. 

Die in Socket

This gravestone was made for Hannah Pelfer. She was a wife, her gravestone eas even made in the early 1800's. This explains the amount of weathering on it. 

The symbol appears to be in perfect condition though. It is a wreath of many different flowers. Symbolizing memory and love. 

Headstone

This headstone is for Casey Poyas, there is no death or birth date. This headstone is actually in the parking lot of Bethel United Methodist Church. 

The finger up symbolizes how this individual is going to heaven. Making sure there is no worrying or anything like that, just making it known to all. 

Headstone that has fallen 

Due to how weathered this stone is there is no way of reading it. The symbol on this is a lamb, this is a way of symbolizing innocence. This is common on a child's grave, even though we can not read the writing we can think that this was a child's grave due to the symbols. 

Headstone that has fallen 

This headstone belongs to Charles Seyle who was 57 years old. This is headstone from the late 1800's. You know it is a headstone that has fallen due to how this is cracked. 

The cross with the ivy around it is symbolizing religion obviously. But the Ivy adds an aspect of eternal life. Meaning that with Jesus you have eternal life. 

Overall though all the rain, I had a great time. Walking into the church we learned a lot of cool information from Sue Bennet. She said that "Bethel is the oldest Methodist Church still standing". She had so many more cool fact like how" Charleston was the fourth largest city before the revolutionary war" being a native I thought I knew everything about Charleston but I was wrong. 

It was one of the best graveyard trips I had been on. Thank you everyone!!

The Dead of Night

The class in Saint Paul's Catholic Church

Last Monday, in the dead of night, the class and I went to Saint Paul's Catholic Church and Saint Patrick Catholic Church. As the cool breeze rustled the trees you could not help but get a kinda wierd feeling almost as if you were being watched.

Both of these churches have graveyards dating back to the 18th century, which I believe made me more uneasy knowing that the people around me had been dead for over 200 years. Not to mention my phone suddenly died as we walked into the second church yard...it was on 30 percent. It was very interesting and cool seeing all the different markers and seeing how old they were.

Die In Socket
Located at: Saint Paul's 

The first church we went to was Saint Paul's Catholic Church. Both churches were extremely scary in the middle night and just walking around in the graveyard late at night made it one hundred times worse my anxiety was through the roof.

The gravestone seen to the right is what is called a Die in Socket. There were many of these in both church graveyards but this one was found at The Cathedral Church. Though I can not make out the name of the person buried here I can make out the date in which she passed away, well slightly, she passed away sometime in the 18th century. Yet again speaking to how old this graveyard is.

Pedestal Tomb
Located at: Saint Paul's

Turning the corner from the die in socket grave we discovered a towering pedestal gravestone. It is absolutely stunning. Yet again on this gravestone we could not find a date nor a name of the person. But the gravestone itself gave us plenty of clues.

The rose on the grave suggests that first of all this was a female, someone in which someone was very close with. The rose symbolizes love and beauty. This was by far the nicest of all of the pedestals there. The quote "my second morn shall shine brighter than my first" is a sign of the religion they once had back in then and how many had faith that though there was bad, they were hopeful for their new beginning.

Box Tombs
Located at: Saint Paul's 

This next grave stone is probably the most interesting in my opinion. It is obviously aged, which I think makes it ten times cooler. These are called box tombs. And I do not know if you all thought what I did. But I thought that in box tombs the people are actually buried inside of the boxes above ground...these where the ones I was the most scared of as a kid I was always terrified someone would jump out of these tombs like a zombie.

Well I was wrong obviously, in these tombs the people are actually buried beneath the ground but they have the box above them as their tomb stone, honestly I find this a little strange to this day, but in theory I guess this would make it harder for their graves to get robbed.

Obelisk
Located at: Saint Paul's 

Near the Box tombs was probably one of the most legible gravestones I found. It was a Obelisks, these normally are huge and tower over the other grave stones but this one did not. This grave marker was made for two people who lived in the late 1700s and mid 1800s.

This gave marker is actually the grave marker for two people, they were husband and wife. The husband was named Edward and the wife was Martha Bounetheau. This grave even though extremely simplistic I think is beautiful, the saying till death do us part is something that is said in many marriage vows. But in this relationship even in death they were together.

Ledger 
located at: Saint Paul's

Next on the ground there was a large slab of what just appeared to be some cracked concrete. Later I would find out this is actually a type of grave stone this is a ledger stone. Yet again I could not make out anything on this one due to the darkness, the cracks, and the sheer age of the stone. The sheer size of these stones are honestly amazing they are very long about three or four feet.

Column
Located at: Saint Paul's

The next gravestone I found still did not even come close to the height of the pedestal tomb but on the left you will see a picture of a column. This column is specifically very intersting this one has a specific meaning.

If you look you see that this column is not one that has a clean top, it is cut and cut at a slant. This signifies a life cut short. This is one of the saddest ones I took a picture of, the person was likely in their 20s or so when they passed away.

Me in front of the Mausoleum
Located at: Saint Paul's

One of the most impressive ones in Saint Paul's was the Mausoleum, it is shaped like a little house and though we could not go inside (which honestly I am okay with these graveyards give me the creeps) it looks extraordinary from the outside. It looks like a small house. There are said to be six or more above ground graves on the inside, this looks like it could easily fit about ten or more.

 Headstones
Located at: Saint Paul's

Soon after I actually almost tripped over these gravestones while walking out. These are headstones.  Not just normal headstones but small headstones; these were the headstones of infants.

The infant fatality rate back then was alot and it is so sad to walk through graveyards and see that now. The rows of tiny headstones unmarked and unnamed. Really pulls on your heartstrings.

Slant Markers
Located at: Saint Paul's

These clean cut stones are known as slant markers, they are very common in grave stones today. They are very clean cut and usually made out of granite.

This stone was made in memory of someone who passed in the mid 1900s and is in pretty good shape. Even though some of it has deteriorated it still looks pretty good.

Cradle Graves
Located at: Saint Paul's

The final type of stones I found are called Cradle Grave stones. This happens to be a double cradle grave though.

Most are for children but this appears to be a couple or someone who was at least both relatives like brother and sister. They were older than a child, but they still had the outline a cradle grave has.

These grave stones showed me alot of the similarities that we have with the people even in the 1800s. I find it extremely interesting how they use symbolism and even just the type of headstone to convey a certain thing. I think it also is very interesting how much time and effort they put into creating and designing their headstone and making sure it had a lasting impression even on people 200 years later.

Ruth Miller's Tour Of Charleston

Ruth Miller presenting in class

Ruth Miller was a very interesting woman, the way she was able to charismatically talk about graves and keep it interesting was very impressive. She was very good at keeping our attention, I am a Charleston local and have been learning about the history of South Carolina since 5th grade, she kept coming up with new facts I had never heard before and was keeping it very interesting. She has also written many books including "A Short History Of Charleston" and "The Old Dog".

Saint Johns Lutheran Church

According to Ruth Miller "Charleston has more 18th century graveyards than any city in America." and even "some 16th-century graveyards", this is extremely interesting because many people know Charleston's buildings are historic, but so are their graveyards.

Due to the "absolute freedom of religion in the Carolinas", these graveyards range from lots of denominations. Including but not limited to the Methodists, Jewish, Baptist, Lutheran, Quaker, and Catholic. My own church, Saint Johns Lutheran Church, was even on the list of 18th-century graveyards which was wild and eye-opening to think that the church I go to most Sundays has a graveyard over 200 years old.

Something else Ruth mentioned that shows the horror slavery brought to the Carolinas was that there are no slaves buried in these church graveyards. Charleston being the empire of slave import and having the large plantation system back in the 1800s, that was surprising to know that they did not even consider them members of the society enough to go and bury them in the church graveyard which many of them did attend as well. 

Something else interesting about Charleston was that it was the richest state in colonial America. We made most of our money of crops like rice and tobacco, but it was thanks to the slaves that we were able to come into all of this money.

 Even though Charleston was one of the richest cities according to Ruth Miller "Charleston had no stone, Gravestones had to be imported.", the irony in this is that Charleston had all this money and literally spent it on gravestones. Ruth Miller's talk was not just interesting but taught me a lot about my own city that I did not even know. 

Hurricane Florence evacuation

My dog Hugo

Braves game Saturday!

When we were told to evacuate, since my family lives in Charleston I decided that I was going to go to Atlanta with some girls from my softball team.

 I was not really panicked since every year ever since I have been born we always have a hurricane warning or watch.

Usually, my mother does not let me leave because she thinks it would be safer to be at home, but this year she let me leave since I was going with the team she let me go.

 The traffic evacuating was not bad at all since we left at 5:00 in the morning. Once we got to Atlanta  the first night we stayed at one of my friends' houses then the next couple days we stayed in a couple RVs. We even brought our dogs. On Saturday we even got free tickets to the Braves game because we were evacuees, I even got a tattoo while in Atlanta.

On the drive back with how packed the interstates where we ended up taking a lot of backroads and getting back here in plenty of time for classes Tuesday.