The Life of John Geddes

The person I chose to do research on is John Geddes. John Geddes was born on December 25, 1777 (Christmas day) in Charleston, SC and he died on March 4, 1828 of a stroke. He is buried at First Scots Presbyterian churchyard in Charleston, SC. His religion was known as Presbyterian and he represented the Political Party as Democratic-Republican. I chose him because of his historically background from around the Charleston area.

Geddes was the son of Scots-Irish merchant Henry Geddes. Geddes was married to a woman named Harriet Chalmers first who died in 1803. He then married Ann Chalmers in 1805, who died the following year. The marriages produced at least 3 children.  He received his education at The College of Charleston, but I also saw in research that he studied at South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina). He later studied Law and was admitted to the bar in 1797.

Death card found in the Public Library

Geddes was very active in Politics. He won the election for South Carolina’s House of Representativesand became a speaker of the house for two years in 1808. In 1816, he continued to be a member of the House of Representatives until his election to the South Carolina Senate. He was the 47th Governor of South Carolina from 1818 to 1820.

After his two-year term in 1820, he was given the position as Brigadier General of the South Carolina militia. Later in his years, he continued to remain active in politics as he also ran for mayor of Charleston in 1823 as he served from 1824-1825.

Geddes grave site at the First Scots Presbyterian church is very old and not well kept. The site now is very hard to see but it is noticeable once found.  I selected him because he was a very influential person in Charleston’s political outlooks. He made a difference in Charleston’s views of society.

Old Charlestonian Proposal

The person I choose to do research on is John Geddes. John Geddes was the 47th Governor of South Carolina from 1818 to 1820. He was born in Charleston, SC and I chose him because of his historically background from the Charleston area. He is buried at First Scots Presbyterian site. To find out more about him, check back next week on my blog!

First Scots Presbyterian Church Grave Hunt

Here at the First Scots Presbyterian church grave site, there is roughly about 200 people buried here. This site is not very well kept, making some grave markers very hard to see and it is also old which makes a lot of the markers very hard to read.

My teammates Jaxon, Bryce, and I spent nearly two and a half hours trying to identify what most of the tombstones read and seeing which three was the oldest. To name a few markers here, there were headstones, footstones, plaque markers, obelisk, bedstead, die in socket, box tomb, government issue general type, die base and cap, table tomb, pedestal tomb-vaulted roof, ledger, and fussed top. Below, you will find examples of each.

Pedestal tomb vaulted roof
Buried here is Frances G. Carew wife of
John E. Carew (1820)

Table Tomb

Die. Base and Cap

Buried here is Caroline McDowell Welch 1849-1935

Samuel B. Welch 1819-1872

Eliza W. Welch 1815-1910

Fussed Top

Government issue general type
Buried here is Capt. John Morrison
1821-1852

Bedstead

Box tomb

Far left: Obelisk

Ledger

The most common grave markers found here were the ledgers or flat bed and footstones. Many of the flat beds here are very hard to read. Many of the footnotes don't have dates, just initials of the people who may be buried there.

Harriet Chisolm Wilson
June 9, 1908 - February 22, 1999

Gabrielle McCoil Wilson
March 9, 1911- April 4, 2009
Robert Wilson, M.D.
May 3, 1905-August 20, 1985
Robert Wilson VI, M.D.
April 27, 1936

The oldest grave site my teammates and I saw were from from the early to mid 1800's. We are sure that there are many older grave sites here, but with the graveyard not being well kept, grown in, and monuments being very old, it was hard to read some of the older markers. Also, we did't find many interesting except for the baby marker and the Lieutenant US Navy marker.

Many of the grave markers here that had epitaph's were very hard to read. However, it was one that was very clear which we found interesting.

The Magnificent Magnolia Cemetery

The Magnolia Cemetery is such a beautiful and historical cemetery. On Friday, November 1, 2019, my Beyond The Grave class took a trip to learn more about this amazing cemetery. I've never seen such a huge cemetery so well kept. Here, at this cemetery I was so amazed I took over 100+ pictures.

Professor Harwood telling us a little about the
cemetery before we get started with our tour.

Fun Facts: The Magnolia Cemetery was founded in 1849 but opened in 1850. It is 150 acres of land with approximately 35,000 people buried there. It is such a historical cemetery with seven confederate generals, 14 ordinance of secession signers, and 2,200 confederate veterans and war dead buried here at this very site. You can find out more fun facts about this cemetery by visiting the cemetery, looking on it's website, or even buying my Professor's book online!

The site of the Magnolia Cemetery is so beautiful. The layout of the stones can be as large as families would like them to be. They are called Stone Clots. Some stone clots only have one tombstone in it because over time, many people forget about the sites of their families. The layout is in such as where families have an area to themselves. The spaces between the stone clots are very spacious to where you can drive through the cemetery. Also, there is this beautiful bridge that takes you from one side of the cemetery to the next. They have many goose here and you can hear the frogs near the water. The trees are very big and tall and at this site it also has one of the oldest trees there is.

This is the bridge that takes you across the cemetery.
My classmates and I even got a chance to walk it.

Here is one of the oldest trees. Through many
hurricanes it is still standing.

This is a view of a stone clot with many family
members buried inside. 

Three monuments that stood out to me were the Lipinski monument, W.m B. Smith monument, and the Vanderhorst monument. These three monuments stood out to me for various reasons. The Lipinski monument stood out to me because it nearly looks like a house built. The monument is built already for the family if anyone passes away. Buried here already is Harriet and Henry Lipinski.

Professor Harwood talking to us about the
monument.

Here is a picture of the inside of the monument
that I took through the door.

This is a picture of my teammates and I.
(Bryce, Me (Gee), and Jaxon) 

The W.m B. Smith monument stood out to me because it is shaped like a pyramid. According to the book "In The Arms of Angels" about Magnolia's cemetery, William Burroughs Smith (1894) was a wealthy merchant, banker, investor, and financier. The Smith's pyramid is not only prominent in size and design, but also in location. It enjoys a shady spot amid Spanish moss and Palmetto trees along the cemetery's back lagoon (Harwood, pg. 18). Buried here is William Smith, his wife Frances Susan and 6 other descendants. 

This is Bryce going to look in the inside of the
monument. 

The last monument that stood out to me was the Vanderhorst Mausoleum monument. Much is known about the life and times of Ann Elliot Vanderhorst. Here in Charleston, SC they have a street named after her which is very close to The College of Charleston. At this monument, you are able to look inside the door where it had three engraved tablets listed against the wall.

Visiting this cemetery, or “necropolis” as I should say has been such a great experience. I have learned so much here at this site. It is such an amazing historical cemetery with lots to learn about. This has honestly been the best site I have visited and would highly encourage anyone to go and learn more about. Make sure to choose a bright and sunny day.

Class picture.

Memorial Site on CofC Campus

Imagine walking on your campus and not knowing there was a memorial of someone there the whole time. Here at College of Charleston, there is a memorial of a woman named Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, that of passing by for a whole semester I never knew was there. I'm sure most students walk by this memorial everyday which is located in the heart of Cougar Mall and never pay attention to the fact that it is here.

Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson was the mother of the 7th president of the United States who died in the fall of 1781. She became ill with ships fever also known as cholera. Jackson was only 14 when she died. President Andrew Jackson, has wondered the whereabouts of where his mother's final resting place remains. On her maker, it notes that "Near this spot is buried, Elizabeth Jackson" who is most likely not.

 

After Elizabeth's death, she was buried on a hill in a simple unmarked grave. Andrew Jackson has been attempting years to find the location of her bones to bury next to his father but was unable to do so. Jackson was told by James H. Witerspoon of Lancaster that "Your mother is buried in the suburbs of Charleston about one mile from what was then called the Governor's Gate, which is in and about the forks of Meeting and King street Railroads." 

In 1942, Elizabeth Jackson's gravestone was moved to Charleston on the corner of King Street and Heriot Street. After controversy about the gravestone having weeds obscure it and being in an unsanitary area, small repairs were also done and the gravestone moved to the Cougar Mall where it has been placed since 1967.

During much of the 20th century, the unsolvable mystery of Mrs. Jackson's final resting place is less important. The mystery of the burial site is more than just a historical footnote.