New Research and Writing Assignment: Hope You Are In The "Mood"!

Greetings Students!  As we continue our distance learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic here is the next blog post assignment.

You all did a great job with your personal ancestor research. Now I'd like to bring us all back to Charleston for the next project.  There is a very interesting man buried in the graveyard at Bethel United Methodist Church who is very prominent but few people today know about him.  Findagrave.com's Bethel UMC site, for example, lists only one "famous memorials" and it's not this person. He should be on such a list and we'll try to make that happen!

Rev. John Mood (courtesy geni.com) 

Rev. John Mood (1792-1864) deserves to be added to that famous/prominent list of Bethel burials.  What I judge the best research post on him I will, with the student's permission, submit it to findagrave to try to get Rev. Mood added as a famous memorial.

Mood was a Methodist minister and also part of a family of Charleston silversmiths.  Today, Mood- made silver products are valuable and highly sought after, from spoons, pitchers and jewelry to slave badges and bits, spurs and other equipment for Confederate cavalry during the Civil War. 

People at antique shops and high-end collectors in South Carolina and beyond, know the Mood name and greatly respect it.

Bethel Church Visit- Rainy But Righteous!

Church administrator Sue Bennett greets the class

Thank goodness Bethel United Methodist Church has a large covered area by its massive white columns and huge front door.

We needed the protection as off and on rain fell during our Oct. 8 visit.

Bethel Church and Graveyard Tour with Sue Bennett

What a treat this past semester to meet Bethel United Methodist Church administrator Sue Bennett, who is also a longtime Charleston tour guide.

We had the pleasure of receiving a tour of Bethel and its older church across the street. I put together this Kizoa slideshow to highlight what she showed us. Thank you Sue Bennett!

Bethel UMC Tour Feb 2018

Small Church Graveyard Big in Charleston History

Such a gentleman letting his back be used for a classmate's notetaking!

Bethel United Methodist Church, just a stone's throw from CofC's Addlestone Library at the corner of Calhoun and Pitt streets, has been a regular stop in my "Beyond the Grave" course.

But during our Feb. 19 visit was taken to the next level thanks to the expert tour given by church administrator Sue Bennett.

The Most Epic Epitaphs

Check out my Prezi here!

Small Bethel Church Graveyard Packs Lots of Interesting Sites and Symbols

Last Monday my "Beyond the Grave" students didn't have to walk far to visit a beautiful, historic Charleston church and graveyard.

Bethel United Methodist Church, at the corner of Pitt and Calhoun streets, is a stone's throw from CofC's Addlestone Library.  The church dates to 1797 when a wooden church was erected. That church was moved across the Calhoun Street in the mid-19th century.  It was replaced by a large white columned church, which continues to serve Methodists in and around the Holy City.

"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: