Showing posts with label St. Patrick Catholic Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Patrick Catholic Church. Show all posts
Friday, January 17, 2020
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Churchyards Offer Grave Discoveries
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| Thanks to Harper Richards for taking this photo at Cathedral Church |
Sunday, September 25, 2016
"Beyond the Grave" Students Visit Two Old Charleston Graveyards
The threatening clouds and thunder to the west added a sense of urgency to our Sept. 19 visit to two old church graveyards just blocks from campus.
In our College of Charleston classroom, we've been studying the different types of cemeteries, grave markers and iconography, so this was the first chance to see all of this firsthand, as a group.
We traveled first to the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul, located at 126 Coming Street. This beautiful and impressive Anglican (now Episcopal) church dates to 1816.
According to findagrave.com, there are nearly 600 interments in the small graveyard along the side and back of the large white church. Findagrave lists two "famous" burials here, men with the familiar Charleston last names of Drayton and Lowndes.
I really like this graveyard as a first visit destination for my students. It's close to campus, the graveyard is small and compact, and what's there is a rich array of the different types of markers, monuments and memorials that make these old burial grounds so interesting to study and visit.
The students were assigned to take photographs of at least five different types of grave markers, such as headstones, ledgers, pedestals, obelisks, mausoleums, and others.
There is an interesting story surrounding the large mausoleum set behind the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul.
Last fall I researched it a bit and found out a few things of note. Scroll down on this post to find what I found.
No family name adorns this mausoleum, which is unusual in itself. More research is in order. Students???
After about 30 minutes at the Cathedral Church, with threatening storm clouds in the distance, we quickly walked a couple blocks to St. Patrick's Catholic Church at 134 St. Philip St.
This is a much smaller graveyard than the one at Cathedral Church, but is also rich in history, especially social history. Reading the church's history link on its website finds that the church was first built in 1838 in Charleston's Neck Area and that its parishioners were both white and black. The church had separate sections for each race.
The church was rebuilt at its present location in 1886 and had its first service just a short time after the Great Charleston Earthquake of 1886.
According to findagrave.com, St. Patrick's graveyard has 240 interments. The majority of the markers are headstones, but there are some other types and some excellent examples of grave marker iconography.
This impressive tomb near the entrance to St. Patrick's is the gravesite of Monsignor D.J. Quigley who oversaw the building of the church on St. Philip Street in 1886.
This would be considered a tomb or a die on cap type of grave sculpture.
Rev. Quigley was the pastor at St. Patrick's for 19 years. He died in 1903. "His grateful people have erected this monument" is inscribed on the side.
An elaborate engraving decorates the front of the tomb. In the dark it was difficult to make out what it is, perhaps a bird image.
I will try to go back to St. Patrick's for a better look!
Thank you students for a good Monday night outing!
And I'm so glad we all didn't get soaked!
In our College of Charleston classroom, we've been studying the different types of cemeteries, grave markers and iconography, so this was the first chance to see all of this firsthand, as a group.
We traveled first to the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul, located at 126 Coming Street. This beautiful and impressive Anglican (now Episcopal) church dates to 1816.
According to findagrave.com, there are nearly 600 interments in the small graveyard along the side and back of the large white church. Findagrave lists two "famous" burials here, men with the familiar Charleston last names of Drayton and Lowndes.
 |
| Who's missing? Nineteen of my 20 students are seen here at the St. Luke's/St. Paul's graveyard |
I really like this graveyard as a first visit destination for my students. It's close to campus, the graveyard is small and compact, and what's there is a rich array of the different types of markers, monuments and memorials that make these old burial grounds so interesting to study and visit.
The students were assigned to take photographs of at least five different types of grave markers, such as headstones, ledgers, pedestals, obelisks, mausoleums, and others.
 |
| Mysterious mausoleum at the Cathedral Church |
There is an interesting story surrounding the large mausoleum set behind the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul.
Last fall I researched it a bit and found out a few things of note. Scroll down on this post to find what I found.
No family name adorns this mausoleum, which is unusual in itself. More research is in order. Students???
After about 30 minutes at the Cathedral Church, with threatening storm clouds in the distance, we quickly walked a couple blocks to St. Patrick's Catholic Church at 134 St. Philip St.
This is a much smaller graveyard than the one at Cathedral Church, but is also rich in history, especially social history. Reading the church's history link on its website finds that the church was first built in 1838 in Charleston's Neck Area and that its parishioners were both white and black. The church had separate sections for each race.
The church was rebuilt at its present location in 1886 and had its first service just a short time after the Great Charleston Earthquake of 1886.
According to findagrave.com, St. Patrick's graveyard has 240 interments. The majority of the markers are headstones, but there are some other types and some excellent examples of grave marker iconography.
 |
| Tomb of Rev. D.J. Quigley |
This would be considered a tomb or a die on cap type of grave sculpture.
Rev. Quigley was the pastor at St. Patrick's for 19 years. He died in 1903. "His grateful people have erected this monument" is inscribed on the side.
 |
Interesting image on Rev. Quigley's tomb |
An elaborate engraving decorates the front of the tomb. In the dark it was difficult to make out what it is, perhaps a bird image.
I will try to go back to St. Patrick's for a better look!
Thank you students for a good Monday night outing!
And I'm so glad we all didn't get soaked!
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Preparing for a Graveyard/Cemetery Visit: Cemetery Types and Symbols Prezi
This Prezi gives some things to think about as we prepare to visit two nearby church graveyards.
Be ready to take photographs and notes when we visit the graveyards at St. Patrick Catholic Church on St. Philip Street and Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul on Coming Street.
We will also review the resources available through findagrave.com, which can be helpful in learning more about grave sites and those who call them home...for eternity.
Be ready to take photographs and notes when we visit the graveyards at St. Patrick Catholic Church on St. Philip Street and Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul on Coming Street.
We will also review the resources available through findagrave.com, which can be helpful in learning more about grave sites and those who call them home...for eternity.
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.
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