Solving the Cougar Mall Headstone Mystery!

My students tonight are researching and writing blog posts to try to answer a question that it's safe to say most people on campus cannot. Why is there a headstone inscribed with the name of a U.S. president's mother in front of the Robert Scott Small Building?

Answers to come. Stay tuned!

Photo courtesy Caroline Stewart (Feb. 2019) 

The Untold Story Behind Elizabeth Jackson Headstone at COFC

Everyday when I walk to class I notice a headstone outside of maybank hall but I never really looked into why it was there and who's headstone it is. Tonight in our Beyond the Grave class our Professor Patrick Harwood took us outside to look at the headstone and we did some research on it. Continue reading to find out about the mysterious headstone located on the campus of COFC.

Elizabeth Jackson is the mother of President Andrew Jackson and died in Charleston in the fall of 1781. She was from North Ireland, Elizabeth Jackson chose to volunteer as a nurse aboard a pair of British prison ships in the Charleston harbor that had been stricken with cholera and smallpox. A few weeks later, she contracted the disease and died.

Elizabeth's Jackson's headstone  is located on The College Of Charlestons Campus in the main square called cougar mall. Many students and staff pass by the headstone everyday and do not notice it, myself included. 

Professor Patrick Harwoods VIDEO says that he thinks that Elizabeth Jackson was buried some where near Magnolia cemetery.There is no  photos on her online.

Her Head stone says " Near this spot is buried Elizabeth Jackson mother of president Andrew Jackson, She gave her life cheerfully for the independence of her country, on an unrecorded date in November 1781 and to her son Andy this advice "Andy, never tell a lie nor take what is not your own nor sue for slander settle those cases yourself."

Check out the Mystery

Check out my blog about Elizabeth Jackson's headstone.

Who is Elizabeth Jackson? And Why is her Headstone in Cougar Mall?

Elizabeth Jackson Headstone 

Before coming to class I wasn't even aware that there was a grave marker located in Cougar Mall. But after doing some research I found out the grave marker belongs to Elizabeth Jackson who is the mother of President Andrew Jackson and died in Charleston in the fall of 1781. She is originally from North Ireland and immigrated with her family to the American colonies.

Her and her family left due to political unrest and religious persecutions against Protestants. According to the website "Strange History" Elizabeth and her family first entered Philadelphia and made the journey to the rural Waxhaw Settlement. The Waxhaw Settlement was located between the North Carolina and South Carolina border.

She later passed away from small pox due to taking care of sick Revolutionary War soldiers while abroad a British prison ship.Years ago her granite marker moved to the College of Charleston campus.Her marker is now located right off of Cougar Mall. 

Elizabeth Jackson Statue 

Not only does she have a grave marker located in the College of Charleston campus but she also has few a monuments honoring her. The first monument was donated by members of the United States military stationed at Fort Moultrie. The second monument is located in the Old Waxhaw Cemetery and then the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated their own monument to her that is located in downtown Charleston's Washington Park. The reasoning behind Elizabeth having so many monuments is because she was an ardent patriot during her time who gave birth President Andrew Jackson.

Mysterious Campus Headstone Solved?

Ruth Miller and me- and friends! (photo by Lexi DeJesus)

For decades now, the headstone of a 19th century U.S. president's mother has been seen (or not even noticed) by passersby on the College of Charleston campus in front of the Robert Scott Small building.

The name etched in stone is that of Elizabeth Jackson, whose son Andrew Jackson would be America's seventh president from 1829-1837. Not sure who is or was? Well, look at a $20 bill and there he is.

Charleston historian Ruth Miller knows more than most about how Mrs. Jackson's headstone came to be at CofC.

It's an interesting and far reaching story that includes the Revolutionary War, British prisoner of war ships in the Charleston Harbor, the Daughters of the American Revolution, World War II troops stationed at Fort Moultrie and past CofC president Ted Stern.

Charleston Post and Courier writer Robert Behre in 2011 wrote a column that does the best job I've seen of connecting the dots in this history mystery.  For the sake of brevity and my desire to move on to other Ruth Miller topics in this post, I encourage readers to check out Behre's very detailed piece on the Elizabeth Jackson headstone.

Miller's long career has included being a teacher, writer, author, speaker and tour guide. On her website, she lays claim to co-founding Charleston's first daily walking tour in 1979.

Years ago, while giving a tour to 30 visiting morticians, they turned the tables on her by wanting to go into some of the church graveyards on the tour and telling her unique and interesting stories about some of the graveyard markers and symbols and the people buried under them.

This sparked in Miller a passion to learn more about Charleston's rich graveyard tradition- and to share her knowledge with authors. She was written booklets on several of the Holy City's most distinguished graveyards such as the ones at the Circular Congregational and Unitarian churches.

Speaking to my CofC "Beyond the Grave" students on Feb. 6, Miller detailed how Charleston had "more religious freedom than any of the other 12 colonies."

"Our (South Carolina) constitution defined a congregation as needing only seven people," she said.

Miller recounted how, from England to Charleston, would come Anglicans (later Episcopalians), Dissenters (later Congregationalists), Quakers and Baptists. From France would arrive the French Protestants called Huguenots and Roman Catholics. Lutherans would arrive in Charleston from Germany and Presbyterians from Scotland. Jews would also come over from Europe.

Indeed, Charleston's nickname the "Holy City" would be richly and rightfully deserved!

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church on Hassle Street 

Charleston's religious tolerance, according to Miller, would lead to many firsts, such as:

• Organized in 1682, Charleston's First Baptist Church, located on Meeting Street, is the earliest in the South 
• St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, still active on Hassle Street downtown, is the oldest English speaking Catholic church in the Carolinas and George.
•  Also on Hassle Street is the Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim synagogue, which boasts the fourth oldest Jewish congregation in America 
• KKBE's Coming Street cemetery is the oldest surviving Jewish burial ground in the South 

Researchers have identified more than 100 graveyards on Charleston's peninsula dating to the late 1600s. Miller said the oldest existing grave site dates to 1680 and is located at the Circular Congregational Church graveyard. 

"What a treasure as a cultural attraction" are these sites, Miller said. "We are a heaven for graveyard people. Graveyards tell you who is important and who isn't." 

September 2016 (photo credit: Megan Wright)

This was Miller's second visit to my First Year Experience "Beyond the Grave" class. Last semester I posted this piece after her talk. 

Thank you Ruth Miller! You are a wealth of information and an excellent teacher and historian!