Quotable...

"If you are walking in Charleston, you are walking on someone's grave."--Sue Bennett, Charleston tour guide

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Monday, December 14, 2015

The headstone that was never noticed

Madison's extra credit post.

My Graveyard memories

Madison's experience in Beyond the Grave class!

Haley's Final Year Project

Click here to watch Haley's final year review project!

Ty's new and improved Kizoa post

click here

Year in Review!

click here to view kaitlin's video

Avery's End of Semester Videos

Click Here to view Avery's final video.

Click Here to view Avery's extra credit video.

Addison's Extra Credit Video

Click here to view Addison's Blog.

The Last View: Beyond The Grave Video

Click here to watch Zoie's final project in her Beyond the Grave FYE

Eli's Finale for a Lifetime

Click here!

Diana's End of Semester Video

click here to watch my movie!

Evan's "Beyond the Grave" Final Video

click here to see Evan's blog

Freshman Year Seminar: Blogs and Burial Grounds (Sarah Zschunke)

Click here to watch my video on our Beyond the Grave class!

Sophie's End of the Semester Video

Click here to see my post

Patrick's End of the Class Movie

Click here for my movie.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Adventures Beyond the Grave

Click here to see Annie's video recapping the Beyond the Grave class experience!

And click here to see her extra credit video on the magnificent crosses of Charleston! (Make sure your sound is turned on)

Beginning at the End of Life

Click here to see Anna's Kizoa video on this semester's Beyond the Grave class!

Monday, December 7, 2015

What a Wonderful Semester!

Ty's Charlestonian Blog

Click here to see more about Elizabeth Jackson.

The blog of Patrick Finkelstein

Click this link right here

Evan's Charlestonian Post

Click here to view my post

Eli's Charlestonian

Click here

Addison's Charlestonian Post

Click here to view Addison's Blog!

Slave turned Top Charlestonian Chef

Click here to see Haley's Charlestonian post!

A Charlestonian Jack of All Trades: David Ramsay

Here is Olivia's Charlestonian Post

Sophie's Charlestonian Post

Click here to view my post on William Aiken Jr.

Avery's Charlestonian Blog Post

Click here to view Avery's Charlestonian blog post 

John and Edward Rutledge!

Click here to see Rebecca's post about the Rutledge brothers! 

Wanna learn about someone from the 1800's ?
Click here to learn about Edward Rutledge Lowndes

Samantha's Old Charlestonian Research

Click here to read about Francis W. Capers and our similar stomping grounds. 

Saturday, December 5, 2015

A Simple Ending for an Eventful Life: Robert Adger Bowen

Click here to be just as impressed as I was by the incredible life of Robert Adger Bowen.

Friday, December 4, 2015

Monday, November 23, 2015

Beautiful but Epic Epitaphs
Click here to see 12 graves you may not have noticed before
It is Proposal Time!!!
Click here to view Lindsey's proposed research project

Sophie's 10 Best Epitaphs

Olivia's Second Presbyterian Post

Click Here to see Olivia's post on Second Presbyterian

Lives Summarized in Stone

Here is Olivia's Prezi about epitaphs

The Last Words-Epitaphs: By Sarah Zschunke

From the Unitarian Church in Charleston, to Bethel United Methodist Church, to Holy Cross Cemetery, then Mount Pleasant Memorial Gardens, and finally back to the famous Magnolia, these special epitaphs varied throughout.

Avery's Epic Epitaph




For my Epic Epitaph project I visited Bethel United Methodist ChurchSt Patrick Catholic Church, and St. Luke Episcopal Cathedral.

Diana's Epic Epitaphs

Rebecca's Epic Epitaphs

Click RIGHT HERE to see Rebecca's prezi presentation about Epic Epitaphs

Kaitlin's Epitaph Presentation

click here

Eli's Epitaph Findings

Ty's Epic Epitaphs

Patrick's Blog

If you're reading this, click here.

Evan's Charlestonian

Click here to see Evan's Charlestonian

Sophie's Charlestonian Research Post

Click here to view my post

SAMMI'S EPIC EPIGRAPHS

Haley's Epic Epitaphs

Click here to see my top 10 epic epitaphs!

Addison's Epic Epitaphs

Ty's Charlestonian

Click here to see Ty's Charlestonian

My Charlestonian Proposal

Click here to view Avery's Charlestonian Proposal.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Addison's Charlestonian Proposal

Click here to view Addison's Blog!

Annie's Epic Epitaphs

Annie's Charlestonian Proposal

Click here to see Annie's Charlestonian research proposal!

Madison's Epic Epitaphs

Exceptionally Epic Epitaphs

Our mission for this weeks FYE class was to find exceptionally epic epitaphs in Charleston graveyards. View my Prezi to check them out!

My Charlestonian Proposal

Click here to see MJ's Charlestonian.

Churchyard Visit in the Dark

Click here to see MJ's night time visit at the churchyard.

Kool Kreations With Kizoa!

Kizoa is a really neat, fun, and easy-to-use slideshow program. It is free- just go to the website and do the steps to set up your account.

Kizoa has a vast library of special effects, animations and music that can turn a so-so slideshow into something fun and engaging. Check out this Kizoa slideshow I did not long ago about Charleston's beautiful and historic Magnolia Cemetery, about which (plug alert!) I have written two books.



Magnolia Birds - Kizoa Online Movie Maker


The College of Charleston's First Year Experience is really top notch. Its purpose is to better acclimate freshmen to life in college with all of its many challenges and opportunities. 

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Click here to see Rebecca's blog post about her Charlestonians

Apple iMovie Editing Video Tutorial

I produced this video specifically for the Mac students who may use Apple's iMovie to create a final project in our "Beyond the Grave" First Year Experience course at the College of Charleston.

I am hopeful that this may benefit these students in the future as well when they may have other chances to produce amazing videos. The tutorial runs 10:50. 


Ironically, I edited this iMovie tutorial in Windows Movie Maker. I don't have a Mac computer. The video was shot at South Carolina State University where I am an instructor in the emerging Communications Program. 

Thursday, November 19, 2015

After Hours

Click here to read about the trip to Bethel United Methodist Church!

A Confederate Ghost Walk

Click here to read Haley's experience at the Ghost Walk!

Addison's Flashlight Cemetery Tour

Click here to view Addison's Blog!

Visiting the graves in the Dark

Click here to view Kaitlin's post about our night visit to Bethel United Methodist

Patrick's Blog

Click here for a sick blog.

Evan's Blog

Click here too see Evan's blog
Casually Visiting Graveyards Past Dark, Typical Beyond the Grave
Click here to visit Lindsey's Night Time Experience

Flashlight class trip

click here to see Ty's flashlight trip blog.

Caution: Don't Try This Alone

Click here to read Zoie's blog post on a night time graveyard tour!

Nighttime Cemetery Visit

Click here to view Avery's blog post about the nighttime cemetery visit.

"Flashlight" Graveyard Tour Change of Venue a Hit

I'm one for two with Presbyterian churches this semester!

First Scots downtown was wonderful, inviting me to speak recently about my Magnolia Cemetery books, and having first class attendees, food and audio-visual equipment for my presentation.

But 2nd Presbyterian Church , also downtown on Meeting Street, earned second (last place really) place status with me after not allowing my students and I to visit on the night of Nov. 16- this after weeks of speaking with an administrator there and having her approval. I won't give the details but it left a bad, bitter taste...

Plan B, though, worked out nicely. Bethel United Methodist Church, located at the corner of Calhoun and Pitt streets next to CofC's Addlestone Libary, has a lovely small graveyard. Dating all the way back to 1797 at this location, Bethel UMC has a very rich and interesting history. 

So the students and I visited there. The objectives were to see and photograph "epic" epitaphs for an upcoming assignment and also for the students to scout the old Charlestonian gravesite that each will write about in a research project due at the end of the term.

Some photos I took during our Nov. 16 visit:












Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Night Time Flashlight Tour

Click here to see Sammi's post about our class trip to Bethel United Methodist Church.

Haunting Midnight Stroll

Click here to see Anna's blog on a midnight flashlight tour!



Monday, November 16, 2015

A Nighttime Visit...

Click here to see Annie's post about the Bethel United Methodist Church visit!

Eli's trip to Magnolia after dark

Click here! 

Addison's Ghost Walk Post

Click here to view Addison's post!

The Unitarian Church in Charleston

Click here to look at Madison's visit.

Evan's Ghost Walk

Click here 

The Blog Of Patrick Finkelstein

Come hither to be enlightened.

Avery's Ghost Walk Post

Click Here to view Avery's ghost walk blog post.

Ty's Ghost Walk

click here to read about my ghost walk.

Sophie Meserve's Ghost Walk Post

Click here to see my blog post on the ghost walk at Magnolia Cemetery!

The Circle of Life

Click here to view Annie's alternate assignment visit to the Circular Congregational Church!
Click here to see Samantha Sinrich's alternative post about my visit to the Second Presbyterian Church on Meeting St. in downtown Charleston!


The Circular Congressional Church

Click Here to see Kaitlin's post about her visit to the Circular Congressional Church

No Spooks on Friday the Thirteenth

Click here to check out Zoie's view on Magnolia Cemetery's 24th Annual Confederate Ghost Walk!

Life After Death

Click here to see Anna's alternative assignment about her trip to the Unitarian Church in Charleston, South Carolina






Sunday, November 15, 2015

In Perpetual Care


Graveyard Recommendation

If it is a beautiful day, this is the place to be.
For the alternative assignment to the Magnolia Ghost walk, I decided to check out The Second Presbyterian Church of Charleston. Located at 342 Meeting Street, this beautiful church and graveyard is right in downtown Charleston.

I like this picture because it shows how big the church is in comparison to the graveyard.
Not only is this church the 4th oldest standing original church in Charleston, it also has a rich history. The church started being built in 1809 and was finished in 1811. Since then there have been people buried there from almost every war including The Revolutionary War.

Talk Takeaways: Dr. George Dickinson Goes "Beyond the Grave" with FYE Students

"My family didn't all die in a plane crash," quipped esteemed College of Charleston sociology professor Dr. George Dickinson as he opened his talk to my "Beyond the Grave" First Year Experience course students on Nov. 2 in our Robert Scott Small classroom.

No, it wasn't a personal tragedy that launched the Texas native decades ago on his career academic expertise: death, dying and bereavement, which is part of the name of the book he co-authored in 1993 that has since been updated and expanded a pretty amazing 14 times!

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Monday, November 2, 2015

Haley's Top Ten Places

Click here to see my Top Ten Places to Experience!

Madison's prezi

Click here to look at 10 things on my bucket list!

Evan's Prezi

Click here for Evan's Prezi.

Patrick's Prezi

Click here

Eli's Top 10 Movies

Diana's Top 10 Dream Destinations

The Keys to my Happiness- Sarah Zschunke

These are the top 10 things/people/places that I enjoy most in this world and would have trouble living without.
http://www.frippislandresort.com/?utm_expid=36377256-1.zBa5Rq8XSJ2chEQb65jpIA.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
http://www.cofcsports.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPID=7053&SPSID=64077


Annie Arneman's 10 Places

Olivia Gartner's Top Ten Favorite Places in the World Prezi Presentation!




Sammi's top 10 things that make her happy!

Click here to see the 10 things that make me the happiest!

Sophie's Top Ten Reasons Why New England is Special

Click here to see Sophie's blog post about New England.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Prezi Presentation: Funeral and Cemetery Evolution

This Prezi was shown to the class on October 12. Please review it for the Midterm Exam.


Prezi Presentation: Cemetery Types and Symbols

This Prezi was shown to the class on Sept. 14. Please review it for the Midterm Exam.


Monday, October 12, 2015

http://allenla1.blogspot.com

Samantha Sinrich's Ancestor Blog

Click here to see my ancestor blog!

Olivia Gartner's Great Grandfather Post

Click here to see Olivia's post on her great grandfather

Olivia Gartner's Magnolia Cemetery Post

Click here to see Olivia's Magnolia post

Olivia Gartner's Church Graveyards Post

Click here to see my post about our class visit to church graveyards near campus

Patrick Finkelstein's Ancestry Blog

Click here for a good time.

Evan Sisk Ancestor blog

click here

Diana Colen's Ancestor Blog

Click here to read more about my ancestor.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Sophie Meserve Ancestor Post

Click here to view my ancestor post!

Sarah Zschunke's Ancestor Post

Click here to read more about my great uncle, Russell Donald Erickson.

Haley Surface's Ancestor Post

Click here to see Haley Surface's Ancestor Post!

Madison's ancestor story

Click here to read about my great granddad.

Kaitlin's Ancestry Post

Click here to see my ancestry post

Zoie's Ancestry Post

Click here to read Zoie's ancestry post!

Sammi Sinrich's Ancestor Blog

Click here to view my blog about my ancestor!

Avery's Ancestry Post

Click here to view Avery's Ancestry Blog Post!

Monday, September 28, 2015

Madison's view of Magnolia Cemetery


Lindsey's Trip to Magnolia Cemetery
Click here to see Lindsey's Blog


Diana Colen's Trip to Magnolia Cemetery

click here to read more about my visit

Sarah Zschunke's Magnolia Cemetery Visit

Click here to learn more about my time at Magnolia.

Eli's Trek Through Magnolia Cemetery

Want to know more? Click here!

Rebecca's Trip to Magnolia Cemetery

Click here to see the link!

Kaitlin Eakin's Post on Magnolia Cemetery

http://kaitlinesays.blogspot.com/

Evan's blog

click here

Patrick's Blog

Click Here.

Haley Surface's Visit to Magnolia Cemetery

Click here to see Haley Surface's Visit to Magnolia Cemetery

Ty Hoecker Magnolia Cemetery September 27, 2015

Annie Arneman's Magnolia Cemetery Post

Click here to see Annie Arneman's Magnolia Cemetery post.

Zoie Kelly's Magnolia Cemetery Trip

Click here to see Zoie's blog post on the class trip to Magnolia Cemetery.

Samantha's Trip to Magnolia Cemetery

Click Here to view Samantha's trip to Magnolia Cemetery. 

Friday, September 25, 2015

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Monumental Magnolia Cemetery Field Trip!

The temperatures and bug activity were fairly moderate on Sept. 21 for our highly anticipated (by me anyway!) visit to Magnolia Cemetery, as part of the "Beyond the Grave" First Year Experience course I am teaching this fall.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Click here to see Lindsey's Blog http://allenla1.blogspot.com

Madison Jennings

click here to see Madison Jennings' blog post

Beautiful and Historic Charleston Graveyards

file:///Users/annagulick/Desktop/vintageblonde22.blogspot.com.weblochttp://vintageblonde22.blogspot.com

Evans Blog

Click here to link to my blog from September7, 2015

Read Ty Hoecker's Church Graveyard Post

Click here to see Ty's post about the class field trip on Monday, September 7th, 2015.

St. Patrick's Catholic Church and St. Luke's Episcopal Cathedral

http://kaitlinesays.blogspot.com/

Diana Colen's Blog

Click here to read about my visit to the local Charleston graveyards on September 7th.


Diana Colen's Blog

Click

Graveyard visit 9/7/15



This headstone is for Georceanna Hume who was born on October 19th, 1819 and she died on September 7th, 1855. There is a bird on the headstone which is symbolic of the winged soul. 




This headstone belongs to Harriet Sarah Nowell, who was the beloved wife of John Lasgelles Nowell. The crown on a cross signifies the Sovereignty of the Lord. 



I found this mausoleum at the Cathedral when I went to visit with my class. This one was unique because of the pillars and that it was the first thing you saw when you walked into the graveyard. 


This tablet stone belongs to the sacred John Dircy, for some reason his stone is broken in half at the top. The cross signifies religion and his stone was engraved but unfortunately it is not readable in the picture. 


The tombstones above are a man and wife who were buried next to each other, so they could always be together forever. On both of their gravestones they had bible passages. 


Above is a picture of the Episcopal Cathedral graveyard taken from outside of the gate that surrounds it. 


Sarah Zschunke's Blog Post

Click here to read Sarah Zschunke's blog post about the September 7th visits to The Episcopal Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul and St. Patrick Catholic Church.


Click here to read Patrick Finkelstein's blog post about graveyards.

Eli Sobel's Blog Post

Click here to see Eli's pictures taken on the Sept. 7th trip to the graveyard.

Zoie Kelly's Gravyard Visit

Click here to read about Zoie Kelly's September 7th graveyard visits in Charleston, SC.

Haley Surface's Blog Post

Click here to read Haley Surface's blog post about our class visit to 2 graveyards on 9/7/2015.


Sunday, September 13, 2015

Sophie Meserve's Graveyard Visit

Click here to see Sophie Meserve's post on the graveyards visited on 9/7/15.

Read Samantha Sinrich's Blog Post

Click here to see Samantha Sinrich's post on our class visit to two old Charleston church graveyards on Sept. 7.

Read Addison Byrd's Church Graveyard Post

Click here to see Addison Byrd's post from the graveyard trip on September 7th.

Read Annie Arneman's Church Graveyard Post

Click here to see Annie Arneman's blog post about the September 7 trip to two Charleston graveyards.


Read Avery Jackson's Church Graveyard Post

Click here to see Avery's post about the class field trip on Monday, September 7, 2015!

Week 3 Prezi Presentation: Funeral and Cemetery Evolution

In this Week 3 Prezi on Sept. 14 we will explore the evolution of funerary and cemetery customs in the world and America.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Church Graveyards Visit a Hit!

During class on Sept. 7 I took my "Beyond the Grave" students to two nearby churches to see their graveyards. Both churches are very old. The Episcopal Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul on Coming Street dates to 1810. St Patrick Catholic Church on St. Philip Street opened in 1838.
Graveyard at St. Luke's 

St. Luke's features a rich array of grave markers, monuments and memorials, including headstones and flat ledger stones seen in the forefront and mausoleums seen in the background. The ledger stones were designed to keep the spirits from escaping and haunting the living!






St. Luke's graveyard

An ornate iron gate surrounds this family plot. Two pedestal tombs with vaulted tops are seen along the left side of this photo. Next to the pedestal tomb in the forefront is a pedestal with a draped broken column on it. The broken column symbolizes a life cut short, often men who died in their twenties or thirties.

The drapery connotes mourning and sadness.





Mausoleum at St. Luke's graveyard

Students pose in front of a large  mausoleum behind the St. Luke/St. Paul Church.

Notice the inverted torches on both sides of the door. This is a symbol of an extinguished life. If the upside down torch is lighted, as these two are, there is the promising message of eternal life after death in Heaven. When the torch is inverted and not lit, this means the end to the family name because there are no sons to carry it on.

The Latin inscription at the top of the mausoleum reads "Qui Christo Vivit Perire Nescit" ("He who knows Christ never perishes").

I found online someone who also wrote about this mausoleum in a blog called "Cocktails in Charleston."

The long narrow graveyard at St. Patrick Catholic Church 


A short walk from St. Luke's, on St. Philip Street, is St. Patrick Catholic Church, which has a smaller graveyard than St. Luke's.

This one consists mainly of neatly arranged in rows headstones, many dating to the pre-Civil War or Antebellum times.






A beautifully inscribed obelisk


A tall obelisk is an example of the elaborate Victorian Era grave monument. This one is not as tall as many that can be found in Charleston. But it makes up for its modest height with a litany of words and a handsome family crest.

Obelisks, a design dating to ancient times, is a symbol of a family or person's power, strength and wealth.

To the obelisk's right is a cross mounted on a platform of boulders. The boulders may also be interpreted as symbols of strength and power. But they can also refer to the earlier gravesites in ancient times when stones and boulders were placed over buried bodies to keep the dead from rising out of their graves.


Graveyard at St. Patrick's church on St. Philip Street


The view from the back of the graveyard at St. Patrick Catholic Church. The family plot seen in the forefront has several classic grave marker styles.

From left to right, we see a headstone that's angled at the top, a style common to the 18th and early 19th centuries. The smaller rounded headstone is characteristic of the mid-18th century and later. Another cross-on-boulder marker is next to that (see notes on this style above) and on the far right is a small pedestal tomb with vaulted top, a nod to power, wealth and stability.

Many thanks to the folks at St. Luke's and St. Patrick's churches for allowing us to visit their most interesting graveyards!