Monday, September 28, 2015
Sunday, September 27, 2015
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
Beautiful and Historic Charleston Graveyards
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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.
Zoie Kelly's Gravyard Visit
Click here to read about Zoie Kelly's September 7th graveyard visits in Charleston, SC.
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 Annie Arneman's Church Graveyard Post
Click here to see Annie Arneman's blog post about the September 7 trip to two Charleston graveyards.
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.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Read Patrick Harwood's Church Graveyard Post
Click here to see Patrick Harwood's impressions, research and photos related to our classes' Sept. 7 visit to two old Charleston church graveyards.
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| Students at a St. Luke's graveyard mausoleum |
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.
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!
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.
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."
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 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.
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!
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| 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!
Monday, September 7, 2015
Week 2 Prezi: Cemetery Types and Symbols
This Prezi presentation will help students prepare for the class visit to two nearby Charleston church graveyards. On Sept. 7 we will walk to these churches, which have their own graveyards.
Today's "Plain Jane" Cemeteries
In sharp contrast between the interesting and unusual things seen at the old church graveyards and large "rural" cemeteries of the 19th century are today's memorial park (or memorial garden) or lawn park (or garden) cemeteries.
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