Post on the Old Charlestonian "Arnoldus Vanderhorst"

Following the war, Vanderhorst spent most of his time in Charleston. He operated a mercantile firm and came to own considerable property around the city.

Arnoldus Vanderhorst 

Governor. Vanderhorst, the son of Arnoldus Vanderhorst and Elizabeth Simons, was born on March 21, 1748, in Christ Church Parish. He married Elizabeth Raven on March 5, 1771, and they had six children together. A successful planter and slaveholder, Vanderhorst owned a 1,350-acre plantation on Kiawah Island as well as substantial landholdings elsewhere in South Carolina     

1790 United States Census

Vanderhorst's carrier began in 1772, when he was elected to the Thirtieth Royal Assembly by Christ Church Parish. As the Revolutionary War approached, he served on the Committee of Ninety-Nine (1774) and representing his home parish in the First (1775) and Second (1775–1776) Provincial Congresses. During the war, Vanderhorst served as a militia captain at Haddrell’s Point (1776) and as a colonel under General Francis Marion (1782).

Following the war, Vanderhorst spent most of his time in Charleston. He operated a mercantile firm and came to owned numerous properties around the city. He also became an active figure in civic affairs, serving twice as the mayor for Charleston (1785– 1786, 1791) and as a trustee for the College of Charleston (1785–1791). Still a landowner in Christ Church, he represented that parish in the General Assembly nine times between 1776 and 1794, twice in the House and seven times in the Senate.

Vanderhorst mansion present day,
listed in the National Register of Historic places in 1973

Vanderhost Plantation 1801

Vanderhorst’s Federalist connections, led to his election as governor on December 17, 1794. While in office he requested improvement of state jail facilities and sought revision of the criminal code, proposing “instead of the indiscriminate punishment of death …inflict a long or short term of solitary confinement on the offenders, in some measure proportionate to their crime.”(Vanderhorst)

State Penitentiary 1866 to 1994

Vanderhorst served a final term in the House as a representative for St. Philip’s and St. Michael’s Parishes (1798–1799). He died in Charleston on January 29, 1815, and was buried at St. Michael’s Churchyard.

               

Arnoldus Vanderhorst headstone

St. Michael's Episcopal Church 

             

Bethel United Methodist Grave Symbols!

https://prezi.com/p/2buvyamsh6zq/

Going "Beyond the Grave" with George E. Dickinson

"Like the cleaning lady, we all come to dust” (Peter De Vires).

I got this quote from Dr. Dickinson’s worksheet he handed out to our class last monday. I found this quote he included to be blunt and funny. Dr. George E. Dickinson is a sociology Professor at the College of Charleston. He came to our FYE class to talk about “The American Way of Death”. He is filled with interesting stories and explanations about how Americans cope and fear death that i’d like to share in this blog post.

Dickinson states that Americans more so than other nations are uneasy with the thought of dying. He also says we like to use euphemisms instead of bluntly saying he or she died. Some euphemisms he mentions are:

“We don’t die in America, we go to sleep”

“Passed away”

“Fell”

“Went to heaven”

“Rest in peace (RIP)”

Along with euphemisms Dickinson says that we like to avoid death conversations by making jokes. He says that we “joke about sex like we joke about death”. People are afraid of the unknown and losing things in life that we love such as family, friends or as Dickinson said “cheesecake”. We are also afraid of losing self control/independence because when we are dying we are bedridden, and revert back to helplessness. Almost like a giant wrinkly baby in that we cannot do anything without help. For example we can’t even use the bathroom without assistance and sometimes need to wear adult diapers.

Dr. George Dickinson and professor Patrick Harwood

⇨ Some more facts and interesting things I learned:

❖ 1960s: First human heart transplant. Used heart from a pig the patient did not live more than 2 days. Dickinson says that “it’s crazy to think that heart transplants are now an everyday occurrence. He also says that “maybe someday we can replace the human brain”. Some things that were once thought to be impossible were made possible by the use of technologies and learning from past failures… So who knows maybe brain transplants aren't such an abstract idea.

❖ The word “cemetery” is a Greek word. It means “put to sleep”. Another euphemism that goes along with this is “rest in peace”.

❖ Middle aged people have highest death anxiety. Dr. Dickinson says middle aged people are in the “Buffer Zone” because you’re not young and irresponsible but you're not old and accepting that you're going to die. He gives an analogy that “it's like standing in the middle of the line at the movie theater and how we move up in line as soon as the person in front moves.” Like moving closer and closer to death, or to get your ticket at the movies in his example.

❖ Rumor has it that Walt Disney is frozen?? Some people choose to be cryopreserved, which according to Wikipedia is an attempt to preserve enough brain information to permit future revival of the dead person. Cryonics uses temperatures below 130 C. Dickinson says this process is crazy expensive and finds it to be a waste of money that he could be spending on other things while he's alive, like traveling.

❖ 80% now die in an institutional setting, away from home. The Ideal death for most Americans is at home in bed and while you're asleep. This is also how I would like to die so that it’s painless.

⇨ Four Awareness Contexts of Dying (Glaser and Strauss)

❏ Closed Awareness- When you scoot around the topic and pretend that nothing is wrong.

❑ Suspicion Awareness- suspects but is uncertain that the illness is fatal.

❑ Mutual Awareness- Patient, staff, and family members know that the illness is terminal but do not discuss it openly.

❏ Open Awareness- When the patient is made comfortable and everyone knows that he/she is going to die. Sometimes the patient is taken care of by a hospice who is there to make them feel comfortable in their final days. 

⇨ Three places for "final disposition of dead human remains"

❍ Earth burial, can be very expensive, averages around $10,000.

❍ Cremation, which is becoming more and more common, it's cheaper on average at $2,000- Dickinson said that in 1975 10% of Americans were cremated. Today it's jumped to 42% and by the year 2020 50% is expected. England is up to 90 percent.

❍ Donate body to science, he said that sometimes people have to pay for the body to be transported which I found shocking.

Trip to the One and Only Magnolia Cemetery!

Last Monday I visited the one and only Magnolia Cemetery with my FYE classmates. My overall impressions of the historic cemetery were all positive. I enjoyed learning and hearing stories about some of the people buried there. We also got to walk the paths and actually go into some of the mausoleums which was a very unique experience.  I found Magnolia to be chillingly beautiful and different from any cemeteries I visited prior. I'm glad I got to explore/experience it along with my "Beyond the Grave Classmates"!

Pictured is one of the ponds and the bridge that leads
to the other side of the cemetery. 

I enjoyed walking the beautiful grounds that the cemetery sits on. Magnolia has a prime location, with views of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, and the Cooper River. According to magnoliacemetery.net the cemetery first opened in 1850, and sits on what used to be a rice plantation. In the past people would come to the cemetery for picnics, play, and to visit lost loved ones. I can see why people would picnic there and enjoy the grounds and its many offerings like ponds, old oak trees and lots of green space perfect for picnicking. Magnolia's many paths make it easy to walk around and observe the graves of the 35,000 people buried there. 

Pictured above is one of the many beautiful old oak trees at Magnolia Cemetery. I've always found oak trees very beautiful, and I think that they add a lot of character and uniqueness to Magnolia Cemetery.

William Burroughs Smith Pyramid (1894)

The William B. Smith Pyramid is one of my favorite monuments that I saw at Magnolia. It's one of my favorites because of it's large size and unique pyramid shape that immediately drew my eyes to it. This monument is featured in Patrick Harwood's book, "In the Arms of Angles". The book says that William B. Smith was a weathy merchant, banker, investor, and financier. He became a successful cotton merchant who went on to have a long carrier at the Union Bank in Charleston. His estimated wealth was $2 million, which would be about 20 million in today's dollar. The pyramid was an idea his 3 daughters come up with, they chose to memorialize him in a style of Egyptian Revival funerary architecture. One of a few dozen massive mausoleum's found in America. Was designed by Francias D. Lee, an associate of Magnolia Cemetery designer Edward C. Jones. 

Inside of the William Burroughs Smith Pyramid

When you peak through the entrance of the monument you can see Tiffany-styled stained glass. I found this beautiful and had to take a picture of the light shining through the colorful glass. I find it amazing that after more than a hundred years the glass is still vibrant in color. Engraved in the glass you can see multiple flowers and ivy leaves. The flowers symbolize the frailty of life and the leaves symbolize memory, immortality, friendship, fidelity, faithfulness, undying affection, eternal life.

Vanderhorst Mausoleum (Circa 1856)

This is another monument that stood out to me, the door in particular is what caught my eye first. Its marble finish and abstract cross design make it hard to miss. This monument is dedicated to the Vanderhorst family. They had a plantation on Kiawah Island in the 1700s. There is actually a street named after them near the College of Charleston's campus. Arnoldus Van Der Horst was a Revolutionary War hero, he also served as Charleston's mayor twice. According to "In the Arms of Angles", the Vanderhorsts likely saw themselves as tycoons and  wanted their wealth to live on through such an iconic monument. The stucco collored columns symbolize mortality and the prominence of the Vanderhorst family. 

Charles Otto Charlotte Sophia Reeves Witte Monument (circa 1890)

When we walked by this monument I remember asking myself what the image on the face of it is. It is still a mystery to me but my best guess is that it's a Native American, because she looks like he's wearing a headdress. But I also think it has some similarities to a goddess because she has wings. The top of the monument is a Celtic Cross which symolizes hope and eternal life.

This monument was designed by the famous Louis Comfort Tiffany, the son of Charles Tiffany who founded New York's Tiffany & Co.. Tiffany designed this monument for Charles and Charlotte Witte. Charles was born in Blomberg, Germany into a wealthy family. In 1846 at he age of 22, Charles immigrated  to New York City. Then moved he moved to Charleston in 1847 because of a job opening. In just two years he started his own business. At the age of 43 he met Charlotte(Lottie) who was only 21. After getting married they moved to Europe but after only a year they were back in Charleston where Charles become the president of People's National Bank until 1899. Lottie passed away in 1890 at the young age of 44. Charles lived another 18 years before he passed at age 85 in 1908.

Pictured: Me (Erin Hogan) and Hannah Harvey 

Overall I really enjoyed my first trip to this "Grand Victorian Necropolis". I'm glad I had the opportunity to visit and learn about Magnolia's history and some of the people  buried there. I also enjoyed walking the paths and the beautiful location that magnolia sits on. I would like to revisit Magnolia Cemetery sometime in the future to discover and notice more about the unique monuments. 

My Great-grandpa Hedrick

Todays blog post is about something very special to me. I'm writing about one of my ancestors on my mother's side of the family. Growing up spending a lot of time around my mom and grandma, I heard countless stories about my great-grandpa Hedrick. In this post I will be sharing some things I learned and found interesting about my great-grandpa. I hope to stress that he was a great and caring father and husband.

His full name was Veril Clifford Hedrick, born May 14th in 1901. Died Dec. 3rd, 1991 at age 90 1/2. Was proud of that 1/2. 

insert picture

He owned and operated an appliance store called "Hedrick Electric" for 70 years and was still working everyday there when he died of a bad cold. He was a good and honest man. During the 1929 depression when many people lost their jobs and couldn't pay their bills, he never reposed a refrigerator, stove etc. because he knew these people had families to take care of. He also gave money out of his own pocket for those who needed a meal. Sometimes he would go with them if they had a whole family to feed, to a restaurant that was right next door to his business. He married my great-grandma, Violet Helen (Loy) Hedrick who was from Sweden. He was of German descent with a little English in there too. He and great-grandma had four children. My grandma was the "baby of the family ". They all lived in Rockford, IL. That is also where my mother was born. Grandpa Veril was very loving and caring for his family. He cared deeply for his grandchildren, too. Through the years, he employed at different times his own father, his children, his nieces, eleven grandchildren everybody loved to go down to "grandpa's store. " He had the mind of an engineer but was poor and couldn't afford to go to college. He became a very wealthy man but never flaunted it! He was a very devote person in a quiet way. 

Who Exactly Was Elizabeth Jackson??

Have you ever asked yourself who Elizabeth Jackson was? Well... Probably not because I hadn't either. But after researching her I asked myself a different question,  how on earth did I not know who Elizabeth Jackson was? I hope you ask yourself the same question after reading this blog post.

Origins

She was born in Carrickfergus Ireland which is just 11 miles from Belfast. Born in the year 1740 to the last name of Hutchinson but married Andrew Jackson Senior in 1761, therefore taking on his last name. The newly webs soon emigrated to America just 4 years after they were married. In those 4 years they had 2 sons, who also came with them to America. Their reason for emigrating to America was to escape religious persecution and tariffs from the ruling Anglican faction.

New Life in America

Andrew and Elizabeth Jackson started their life in America with 200 acres of land sitting on the Waxhaws settlement in the Carolinas. But in 1767, at the early age of 29 Andrew Jackson senior died unexpectedly. Just three weeks after his death, Elizabeth Jackson gives birth to Andrew Jackson II.

After Andrew Jackson's Birth

After Andrew was born Elizabeth moved to the home of James and Jane Crawford, where she  worked as a house keeper. She took care of her sister Jane, who after moving to United States of America had some health problems. Then Jane’s health took a rapid decline and soon became an invalid.  When asked to move into the Crawford household, she wasn’t invited just out of family love, but instead out of necessity. Ms. Jackson needed a home for her son and herself, and Mrs. Crawford needed a care taker for his wife Jane.

Elizabeth’s Death

During this period of the war, all of Elizabeth’s children and herself where captured.  Andrew and his brother where held together at the family home where they were ordered to destroy furniture, but when asked ordered to clean the mud off of the British solider that had invaded their home, Andrew replied “sir I am a prisoner of war and claim to be treated as such”. This didn’t sit to well with the soldiers as one took a swing at his head leaving his most famous scar. While this was happening Elizabeth was aboard a British prisoner ship and managed to secure a prisoner exchange, then she soon perished aboard the ship. 

Elizabeth Jackson's Headstone in Magnolia Cemetary 

A Look Into Some of Charleston's Church Graveyards

Our class took a trip to two of Charleston's church graveyards. Our first stop was to the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul on Coming Street. After that we headed to St. Patricks Catholic Church. In these old graveyards our task was to photograph and identify 10 different types headstones. 

At the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul we had a member of the church, Mrs. McCants share an interesting story about how the church had very little information about the individuals who are barred in the graveyard. She told us that it's her hard for of finding out more about the people and to make records of all who are married there.  

Identified below are a few of the grave markers I photographed in the Cathedral Church Graveyard and the St. Patricks Catholic Church Graveyard!

Pedestal Tomb-Valted Top

This grave marker is in memoriam of Matthew Sully Reeves. He lived from 1814-1862.

Pedestal Tombs are similar to obelisks, but are shorter and wider, they also tend to have more carving on them. 
As you can see in the photograph his last name "Reeves" is engraved in all caps towards the base of the grave marker.

Obelisk Cross

This grave marker belongs to Seattie H Dawson. She was born in 1859 and died in 1879.

Appears to be a marble headstone, and contains a leaf and an easter lily in the center of the cross. The easter lily symbolizes purity and Chasity.

Headstone

Headstone beloning to Allyson Jordan Key. Lived from 1975-2013 being one of the more recent grave markers in the graveyard.

One of the more simple markers I noticed in the church's graveyard. Engraved on it, a cross and a quote at the bottom.

Die in Socket

Memoriam belongs to Samuen Wragg who lived from 1771-1844 and his wife Mary Wragg 1782-1872.

The crown in the top of the grave marker usually symbolizes triumph over death.

Ledger

This is a ledger grave marker that belongs to Constance Wigfallsimons. She lived from 1842-1929

At the top of the ledger is a laurel which represents the "evergreen" memory of the deceased.

Sarcophagus

Grave of Catherine Simons, died in 1862 at the age of 21.

Hidden in the side of the graveyard but one of my favorites. The lion feet on the bottom of the coffin make it unique.

Column

Site of Mary 'Ion Lucas, who lived from 1831-1891

Her grave read a scripture from Proverbs 31:28, "Her children arise and call her blessed."

Box Tomb

This Tomb is from the saint Patricks church graveyard, it's  regular in shape with a ledger on the top. 

I found out that these were most likely opened by homeless people looking for shelter.

Slant Marker

Arnoldus Vanderhorst, he lived from (1860-1921).

Unique slant design made from marble. 

Gov't Issued


Carl H. Wohlfeil was a Lieutenant Colonel of the US Army that served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Also a silver star recipient

Ruth Miller's Class Talk

Ruth Miller

A very ventured woman, with interesting facts and stories about topics relating to Charleston's history. Ruth Miller owned a tour guide business for over 30 years and this took her to many different places around the United States. Living in different areas she grew a passion for history.

Ruth's Interest in Cemeteries

In society today and the past, death is feared and unknown. But after Miller visited with a group of morticians, she discovered that it's the opposite. We all know that death is inevitable and that we cannot escape it. After talking to the morticians she began to explore different cemeteries and acquire many facts about the people buried in them. Ruth wrote books about what she saw and learned at the different locations. The book is titled Touring the Tombstones -A Guide To Charleston’s Historic Graveyard.

In Ruth talk she says that "graveyards tell you who is important and who isn't". To give a little context to this quote, Miller was addressing the fact that Baptist churches didn't bury blacks in the church graveyards. Though both whites and blacks made up the church congregation, they were not treated as equals. For every one white person there would be four blacks. However, the graveyard was used for the whites while blacks were buried in separate burial grounds. 

Charleston Graveyards and Cemeteries

Ruth discovered that the graveyards in Charleston are congregations of religious groups from all over the world. She said that "we had more religious freedom than any of the 13 colonies". She also states that "Charleston has more 18th centenery graveyards than any city in colonial America". Each graveyard was distinguished by religion and ruth was able to determine were people migrated from in the 1600s. 

Immigrants of European descent were the primary occupants of the grave sites. Many different religions from Europe had their own church or meeting houses in Charleston. One example being the St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. It is the oldest English speaking church in the Carolina's and Georgia.  

More about St Mary's Roman Catholic Church...

Originated from the French after they fled from Haiti. The Roman Catholic church contains lots of iconography, because like some may not know, the Roman Catholics attending at that time couldn't read or write and much of the sermon was given in Latin, so they depended on such images to make correlations to biblical figures according to Miller. 

Charleston's Religious Freedom

Ruth Miller talks about the colonial times, a time when religious freedom wasn't allowed. Charleston was the only city that allowed people their religious freedom. This became somewhat of a business deal for the city. It resulted in large groups of people with all kinds of religious backgrounds to pour into our city of Charleston. 

A little about the Quakers(Anglicans)...

Newbold-White House: A Colonial Quaker Homestead
Oldest known brick house in North Carolina that is open to the public

The Quaker religion converted to the Anglican Church in the 18th century. The Quakers were given all of James Island. Fun fact: Quakers don't meet in churches they meet in meeting houses. According to Carolana.com, the Quaker's meetings were held in private homes until 1715, when a meeting house was finally built in Charleston. This meeting house is on Meeting Street, which is how meeting street got its name! Many of the early members were buried in the Friends Burying ground. By 1791, there were only fifteen members in Charleston.