Researching Ravenel

Hundreds of grave sites are present throughout the historic city of Charleston, South Carolina. Not surprisingly, many of the thousands of buried bodies are historical figures who can easily be researched on to find information about their lives. That is exactly what our FYE class was assigned to do in this "Old Charlestonian" project. Dr. St. Julien Ravenel was who I chose to do my research on.

Ravenel was born December 15, 1819  in Charleston, South Carolina. He was the oldest child of merchant and ship owner John Ravenel and his wife Anna Eliza Ford.  He lived in the city and finished grammar school there, before leaving for Morristown, New Jersey to continue his education. In 1840 he graduated from the Medical College in Charleston after studying medicine under J. E. Holbrook. Ravenel continued his studies for a summer in Philadelphia and a year at Paris, France. He was a well educated man and when he returned to Charleston he began to practice medicine and was named Demonstrator of Anatomy at the Medical College.

Medical College in Charleston, SC 1840

He then changed his mind about medicine and was an associate to Professor Louis Agassiz, studying microscopy, natural history, and physiology. This lead to him studying chemistry in 1852 at his  Stony Landing Plantation along the Cooper River. He experimented with the production of lime from marl deposits located along the river banks. After cement was discovered under the limestone layers, in 1856 he partnered with Clement H. Stevens to establish the Colleton Lime Works at his plantation this company would provide most of the lime used by the southern states during the American Civil War.

War breaks out

Dr. St. Julien Ravenel grave
 Magnolia Cemetary

In 1861 the Civil War broke out where yet again Ravenel used his medical and chemistry background to help him with his various careers. He volunteered with the Phoenix rifles and served as a private during the siege of Fort Sumter. Then he was commissioned as a surgeon with the 24th South Carolina infantry, under the command of Colonel Clement H. Stevens, who was his business partner. The following year, he was placed in charge of the Confederate Hospital and laboratory in Columbia, South Carolina that was used to manufacture nearly all of the South's medical supplies, including drugs and medicines. The Confederate Hospital held Confederate soldiers from Virginia and elsewhere were being treated.

Then in 1863, the first purpose-built torpedo boat was conceived and built near Charleston, South Carolina using private funding. Using an earlier concept of Ross Winans, Dr. Ravenel provided the initial design for the vessel and the construction was completed with the aid of David C. Ebaugh. Named the "David" a type of torpedo that was thirty feet long with a diameter of five and a half feet at its middle and was ballasted so as to float deeply in the water. This torpedo was used on October 5, 1863. The CSS David was used to attack the USS New Ironsides near Charleston Harbor.

Post War

After the war he returned home to Charleston where he continued to experiment with chemistry for improvement of agricultural conditions. He discovered the benefit of using phosphate of lime in agriculture. He was able to increase the cotton yield in one section of his plantation from 100–150 pounds per acre up to 300–400 pounds. In August, 1867, Ravenal and N. A. Pratt discovered a rich concentration of this mineral at Lambs, South Carolina.As a result, he helped to found the fertilizer manufacturer Wando Phosphate Company. Ravenel served as chemist to the larger phosphate companies. Among his accomplishments were the development of simpler fertilizer manufacturing techniques, a method of growing abundant short grain and hay on the sandy South Carolina coast.

5 East Battery, Ravenel's home

Personal Life

Right before war broke out he married writer and historian Harriott Horry Rutledge (1832–1912), the sole child of Edward Cotesworth Rutledge and Rebecca Motte Lowndes on March 20, 1851. Between 1852 and 1872, St. Julien and Harriott would have nine children and live in the inherited house from his parents at 5 East Battery in Charleston until his death. St. Julien Ravenel died of cirrhosis of the liver, March 15, 1882, at the age of 62 and was survived by his wife, four sons, and five daughters, he is buried in Magnolia Cemetary.

Dr. Dickinson desensitizes Death

The College of Charleston sociology professor, George E. Dickinson, joined our "Beyond the Grave" FYE lecture last Monday to give us his explanation of the way the United has handled death from the past to present times. He spoke about how people's perception of death has evolved over time, and how it's just a natural process in life that leave many scratching their heads wondering what happens next.

The first eras of death that people can identify is in the 1600s, known as "Living with Death". This is because child fatality was common and due to poor sanitation and illness that plagued towns and cities. This caused people to be very accepting of death. The next phase, people chose not to think about death. Cemeteries such as Magnolia cemetery were built out of sight and out of people's minds. Vast cemeteries were built on the skirts of cities, but soon people began glorifying death and creating monolithic tombs with intrinsic detail work. 

As time went on people became interested in the human life cycle, and wanted to know how to keep a person alive. Curiosity killed the cat and biomedical breakthroughs such as the first heart plant, helped humans live longer than previous generation. Now the two leading causes of death are cancer and heart disease which are classified as chronic diseases, versus the two main leading causes of death back then were pneumonia and tuberculosis. "Pneumonia was known as "the old folks' friend," according to Professor Dickinson.

While death became a common topic yet again, people were uncomfortable due to the unknown aspect of death. Professor Dickinson says, "Euphemisms are used to make death softer." Some examples of these euphemisms are "passed away," "did not make it," or humorous ones such as "kicked the bucket". People use humor as a coping mechanism to help deflect people's true emotions in these situations. Professor Dickinson mentioned Kubler Ross' book, "On Death and Dying". In her book she mentions the five coping stages, which most people go through when dealing with a loved one's death.

• Denial – The first reaction is denial. In this stage individuals believe the diagnosis is somehow mistaken, and cling to a false, preferable reality.
• Anger – When the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue, they become frustrated, especially at proximate individuals. Certain psychological responses of a person undergoing this phase would be: "Why me? It's not fair!"; "How can this happen to me?"; '"Who is to blame?"; "Why would this happen?".
• Bargaining – The third stage involves the hope that the individual can avoid a cause of grief. Usually, the negotiation for an extended life is made in exchange for a reformed lifestyle. People facing less serious trauma can bargain or seek compromise.
• Depression – "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"; "I'm going to die soon, so what's the point?"; "I miss my loved one, why go on?" During the fourth stage, the individual despairs at the recognition of their mortality. In this state, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors and spend much of the time mournful and sullen.
• Acceptance – "It's going to be okay."; "I can't fight it; I may as well prepare for it." In this last stage, individuals embrace mortality or inevitable future, or that of a loved one, or other tragic event. People dying may precede the survivors in this state, which typically comes with a calm, retrospective view for the individual, and a stable condition of emotions.

Dickinson also presented her concept of the Glaser and Strauss awareness of dying. This included:

• Closed Awareness- no one knows
• Suspicion Awareness- when one thinks they know but are not sure
• Mutual Pretense- only the doctor knows
• Open Awareness- when you know

While discussing the stages of coping Professor Dickinson spoke about the different types of euthanasia 

• active euthanasia – where a person deliberately intervenes to end someone’s life – for example, by injecting them with a large dose of sedatives, 
• passive euthanasia – where a person causes death by withholding or withdrawing treatment that is necessary to maintain life, such as withholding antibiotics from someone with pneumonia. 

Euthanasia can also be classified as:

• voluntary euthanasia – where a person makes a conscious decision to die and asks for help to do this
• non-voluntary euthanasia – where a person is unable to give their consent (for example, because they are in a coma or are severely brain damaged) and another person takes the decision on their behalf, often because the ill person previously expressed a wish for their life to be ended in such circumstances
• involuntary euthanasia – where a person is killed against their expressed wishes

Professor Dickinson tied his presentation up with the various burial styles. From being cremated, having a special burial (earth or regular), to donating their bodies to science people have and will always have to deal with death one way or another. 

Professor Dickinson was a very intelligent well spoken man who is genuinely passionate about death and it's role in everyone's lives. I learned quite a bit and I look forward to learning more about this topic. To read more about Dickinson's ideals on death, one can read his book called "Understanding Dying, Death, and Bereavement".

My Top Ten

Remember when life used to be simple and watching cartoons and playing outside was all we did? Well I did my Prezi on my top favorite shows from Cartoon Network. It was a nostalgic moment looking through all the various shows I used to watch. This was not the first time I made a Prezi, but it's a twist on a power point presentation. This project is very different from what we normally do, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.