Our Magnificent Magnolia Visit

On a warm Saturday half of my class took a field trip to Magnolia Cemetery. I was not sure what to expect, my Professor spoke highly of this visit and I was excited about the going.

 by the walking bridge
 landscapes of Magnolia.

It first opened in 1850, and is located near the Cooper River, the 150 acre plot is home to wildlife, beautiful landscapes and a wide variety of markers and monuments. I was shocked not only by the size, but at the exemplary upkeep for such a large landscape. The cemetery is a great example of both a rural and Victorian cemetery. Over 35,000 people are buried here and all the grave markers have unique qualities that define them. There were so many ornate details, enormous grave sites, and the overall appearance of the markers and monuments were in decent condition. The trip was well worth it, and I learned a lot about the grave markers and also the people who were buried there.

View from the bridge where we
spotted a bird perched. 

The layout of the cemetery is strategically planned and expertly laid out. The views are breathtaking, as well. Each area of the cemetery is different. The paths are wonderful for walking, and the overall atmosphere of the cemetery is clean, kept up, and pristine. Though there were some areas that had massive fallen trees due to Hurricane Matthew, but it almost added to the experience. The large water bodies added a tranquil and calming effect that romanticized the fact that we were in a cemetery.

There were so many stunning monuments in Magnolia that I had a hard time just picking my top three favorites.

William Huggins Brawley

The first one that caught my attention belongs to Mr. William Huggins Brawley. Who lived from May 13, 1841- Nov. 15, 1916. Some interesting facts about his life were that he was a "US Congressman. During the Civil War he served as a Private in Company F, 6th South Carolina Infantry, and was severely wounded at the May 30, 1862 Battle of Seven Pines, losing an arm. He was elected as a Democrat to represent South Carolina's 1st Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1891 until his resignation in 1894." By using findagrave.com I was able to recover this information. His grave marker was a box with the inverted lit torches on the corners- symbolizing life in the next realm or a life extinguished. A lit torch represents life, immortality and the everlasting life. Conversely, an inverted torch represents death, or the passing of the soul into the next life.

Annie Kerr Aiken

The second grave that caught my eye was Little Annie's. She was born Annie Kerr Aiken, and passed right before her third birthday. Living from Jun. 12, 1853 - May 8, 1856. In the textbook my Professor writes about how she died of diphtheria. She holds a wreath in her hands as well. The use of garlands, wreaths and festoons dates back to ancient Greek times and it was adopted into the Christian religion as a symbol of the victory of the redemption. Her grave marker is a box tomb, with a figure of a sleeping child atop it. 

James B. Boyd

The final grave that I personally found most interesting was James Brown Boyd, who's birth date is unknown but he died on Sep. 17, 1862. He was the 2nd Sergeant of the Palmetto Guards, of South Carolina,and was killed at the battle of Sharpsburg September 17, 1862. His body was removed from near the battle field and brought here to Magnolia. The reason I found this grave so captivating was because of the palmetto plant on top of the pedestal and the detail in the grave marker itself.

Our class outside the gates of Magnolia Cemetery

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Magnolia Cemetery and I am glad I had the opportunity to go explore the gorgeous grounds. Here is a picture outside the grates before we began our exploration.  

Exploring the Evanescent Souls

It was a normal class outing to a cemetery in Downtown Charleston. We had just been given the guideline to our 'Old Charlestonian' blog post. With the prompt fresh in my mind, I walked around the Bethel United Methodist Church cemetery looking for all the possible grave markers that stuck out to me.

Bethel United Methodist Church is located at 57 Pitt Street in Downtown Charleston, and is distinguished as a National Historic Landmark. The church itself was purchased by the Methodists in 1795 as a burial ground. However, they soon decided to construct a wooden church there called Bethel, and the original building was constructed in 1797-1798. In 1852 construction of the current Bethel Church began, and the existing wooden building was relocated to the rear of the lot., but according to the church's website it's roots started farther back with visits from John Wesley. Bethel United Methodist Church's website said John Wesley was the father of Methodism.

While wandering through the graves there were numerous grave markers that caught my attention. After taking notes about the symbols and the type of grave makers I went home and did some of my own research with our textbook, looking into the meaning of the symbols that glorified death and the deceased.

C.D Bateman, Die in Socket
 closer detail

C.D Bateman
Die in Socket

The first grave that caught my eye was this archaic die in socket. The headstone belongs to C.D Bateman who lived from Aug. 29, 1828 -Sept. 22, 1889 . Using Find a findagrave.com I found out the deceased was named Charles Darby Bateman and was born in Ireland. The symbols were flowers which represented the frality of life and I took an educated guess that the main flower in the center of the bouquet was a daffodil or a lily. Since I wasn't sure I found out the daffodil, also part of the lily family, which indicated grace, beauty and a deep regard.

William H. Fleming, D.D.

Cradle 

The second grave I took notes on was Reverend William H. Fleming, D.D. Who lived from Jan. 1,1821 - Apr. 6, 1877. He was born in Charleston, SC and died there too. The inscription on his grave read: Our beloved paster/William H. Fleming, D.D./born/January 1st 1821,/died April 16th 1877/an earnest preacher,/a wise counselor,/a cheerful and pious man/a native of this city/an active member of/the South Carolina Conference/for thirty six years/he began and closed his ministry/at Bethel/called and chosen,/and faithful.
His grave marker was a cradle grave.The top of his grave was fitting for a minister which had symbols that were designed for a congregation to hear a sermon from the pulpit. As well as the wreath at the foot of the cradle which represents victory and redemption. It is normally assoicated with someone who has attained distinction in the arts, literature, athleticsm or the military.

Rosa Mary
die in socket

The third grave was Rosa Mary (on the right) who lived from Oct. 9, 1835 - Nov. 2,1881. She has a die in socket grave marker that is draped with a cloth which represents sorrow or mourning. Then the extending bouquet of mixed flowers represents which indicated grace, beauty and a deep regard.

Lizzie Moore
headstone

The fourth grave on the left belongs to Lizzie Moore. Who lived from Jun. 6, 1870 -Mar. 10, 1871. This small marker was a headstone that had fallen over. At this time in history it wasn't uncommon to bury your children. She was only 6 months and 4 days when she passed.The symbol on her grave marker was simple branch with some kind of flower inside a circle. Since she was a child I made the assumption that the flower could be a daisy. Since that flower represents the innocence of a child, Jesus the Infant.
The fifth grave I noticed was Charles C Seyle. Who lived from

Charles C Seyle

Headstone

Jul. 12, 1823 - Feb. 10, 1880. His grave was a fallen headstone. It was interesting to me because I had yet to see a cross wrapped in ivy. The cross was a sign of christanity and ivy represents memory, immortality, or eternal life. There was also an incription beneath the cross that read, " Rock of ages cleft for me". I am not sure what that means though so I did a bit of digging and found out that is was a popular Christian hymn by the Reverend Augustus Montague Toplady written in 1763 and first published in The Gospel Magazine in 1775.  

Elizabeth O. Benoist
Ledger 

The sixth grave was Elizabeth O. Benoist. It was a ledger grave marker. She lived from Jul. 28, 1787 -Nov. 1, 1804. This grave didn't have any significant symbols but the inscription font was something that drew me tho this grace. The old calligraphic scripture was interesting to me.Especially since the heading read " Sacred" I had to do some research on this grave on findagrave.com and got lucky because I found out that there was a WPA project headstone transcriber, Elizabeth C. Curtis, noting that she was in doubt about year of birth. This was because of the natural weathering.

Julia Prior

Headstone

I found another child grave that belonged to Julia Prior. It was yet another fallen headstone with the inscription of her age. 10 years / 1 month / and 20 days. She lived from Aug. 22, 1844 -Oct. 12, 1854. The symbols were similar to Lizzie Moore with the circle with rosebuds that face downwards. Roses had uniques reprsentations for women and young girls in the Vicorian Age. The maturation of the rose indicated how old the person was when they passed, normally a child under the age of twelve since it was a closed rosebud. 

While this graveyard was smaller than some of the other ones I've visited the history was rich and I had a lot of fun looking for information about the deceased and the symbolic nature of their gravemarkers. 

 Francis W. Capers

Lawnmarker

The eighth marker I found was Francis Withers Capers. His grave marker was different from the other ones, because it was a lawn marker and had its own plot compared to the other graves in the area. He has quite a distinguished life, serving as a College President at the College of Charleston, Civil War Confederate Militia General, and professor. Born Aug. 8, 1819 in Savannah, Georgia -Jan. 11, 1892 where he is resting in Charleston,South Carolina. He has a Latin cross enscribed in a circle which is one of the oldest symbol of Christianity and is know as God's Mark.

Joseph W. Ainger
Headstone

One of the last graves I noticed was propped up against the wall of the Bethel United Methodist Church. It belongs to Joseph Wallace Ainger. Who lived from Jan. 24, 1839 - Mar. 28, 1888. The Inscription read, " In memory/of/"Our Brother"/Joseph W. Ainger. The symbol drew me in because it was a cross through a crown. That reprsented immorality, righteousness,victory, and was symbolic of honor or glory of life after death. 

Elizabeth Moore
Headstone

Elizabeth Moore
Headstone, closer detail

The final grave I found was yet again a fallen headstone. The weathered inscription made it difficult to firgure out the details about the deceased. Searching online I found that Elizabeth M.'s full name was Elizabeth Martha Simons Vinro Moore. There was no information on the deceased birth aside from the year 1796 and her death on Oct. 26, 1861. The inscription read inscription " Consort of Rev George W. Moore Aged 65 years / exclaiming all is well, / in the various relation of life., / She was affectionate, / kind and indulgent". I found out that she had 10 children, and some of them were burried in the Bethel United Methodist Churchyard. The symbols of the angel with wings represents rebirth, and urn with a wreath/garland represents the death of an elderly person. 

This experience of resurfacing history in the Bethel United Methodist Church has been a wonderful experience of getting to know some of Charleston's rich past.

The life of a 2nd Lieutenant

The planes whizzed by his head as he boarded the fighter planes in Italy. The scenery was vastly different from what is currently in Italy. My Great- Grandfather  fought for England in WWII right from the beginning. He was a successful ended up becoming the 2nd lieutenant in the Indian army.  He was a regal man who lived a simple life after the war, he had 3 children and took on the roll as a responsible husband and husband.

ground troops in Italy during WWII

My great-grandfather, Gian Chand Dubey  was born on March 23,1909 in India. He was born in Jammu, India and had 11 brothers and 2 sisters. He went to boarding school in Dehradun which is located in the hills. Trains were the mode of transportation that wound up the mountain. Motion sickness was common but once you arrived, you were expected to stay there until your winter break. After high school he attended university in England. He went to Europe in the late 1920s, and WWII began in 1939. In the next 10 years he finished university and returned to India once again. He worked for the Indian Army gaining the position of being a 2nd lieutenant. Gian also got married to Romila and they settled down in Mumbai, India. But once the war started he was drafted to fight for England in Italy. Before he left for war he found out his wife had become pregnant with their 2nd child. While he was away he received a telegraph that told him that he had a son.

My grandparents on the left at their wedding.
 My Great-Grandparents on the right

Gian Dubey was one of the first men in India to have a sibling in every ranking in the Indian army. With his 11 other brothers they filled every position the army had to offer. After the war he returned home and continued working in the army but in their offices in Mumbai. He lived a simple life until the day he died on January 23, 2002. He passed away at  93, of old age and a broken heart. His wife Romila had died just 3 months prior, and like a swan he was incomplete without her.  Since he was Hindu he does not have a grave site. In that religion the body is immediately embalmed and then cremated. Gian was cremated and his ashes are then taken to where he wanted them to be placed. His ashes were scattered in the bay outside of his home, and with his wife in the Swiss Alps. While there are no grave markers in the Hindu religion, symbols and the process of scattering the ashes are similar to that of gravestones. My Great-Grandfather had a simple but interesting life. He was a successful army lieutenant, husband, and Great-Grandfather.

Family picture of Dubey's