St. Mary's Listicles- Eden, Hannah, Mayson

Over the fall semester Hannah, Mayson and I visited and researched St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. We found very many interesting things about this church that allows it to be original and differ from other churches around Charleston. Below you will find some of the most interesting characteristics of the church.

1. The Artistically Beautiful Interior

Above is the ceiling inside the church.

-If you take a look on the inside of St. Mary’s, it is almost entirely covered in 23 beautiful paintings from the walls to the ceilings. Upon entering, above the unique marble altar in gold text are the words, “Hail full of grace the Lord is with thee.” The most eye catching element to the church’s magnificent interior, are the paintings on the ceiling. Sitting in the pews during a service, one can look up at the gorgeously detailed art and almost feel like they are in The Vatican. 

2. The Unborn Memorial

Above is the grave of the Unborn child. 

-Found in the cemetery of St. Mary’s is a modern foot-stone, as stated on the grave, erected “in memory of the unborn.” Amongst the many older, more intricate graves, this foot-stone is not hard to find. It stands out as it is maintained with flowers.










3. Little Annie
-When strolling through the cemetery of St. Mary’s, it is crucial to pay respects to the grave of Annie Amelia, who died at just 6 months old. The statue of a resting young lamb at the top of her headstone symbolizes innocence and youth. At the bottom right corner of her grave, one can find the signature of the artist, W.T. White.

The grave of Little Annie.

4. Stained Glass Windows

Stained glass window in the church.

-Taking a look back at the stunning inside of St. Mary’s, it is hard not to ignore the beautifully intricate stained glass windows along the sides of the church. All windows of the church portray biblical scenes, created by the famous Mayer Glassworks in Munich. When visiting the church during the day, the art within the windows almost seem to come to life as the sun shines through.

Stained glass windows in the church.

5. The Grave of Rémy Mignot

Grave of Rémy Mignot

-The epitaphs in the cemetery are very interesting to read, especially that of Rémy Mignot. His epitaph is interesting because it is one of the only ones that is written in French. It reads "Il mournt se reposant dans La misericorde de son Sauveur, el echangea, Comme nous D'espersnt. Les Peines de celle vie, Qui surpasse tout ce que nous pouvons Imaginer.” This translates to “He rested in the mercy of his Savior, and exchanged it, as we do. The pains of that life, which surpasses all that we can imagine.” Rémy was one of a few dozen French people buried here.






6. Indoor Floor Burials
-When walking up the center aisle of the church you end up at two plaques on the floor. These plaques are two grave markers for The Reverend Claudian B. Northrop and Very Reverend Richard S. Baker. On the floor at the front of the left and right aisles in the church are two more grave markers. They both also have headstones outside in the graveyard along with the rest of the people buried there.

The two graves at the front of the church.

7. Saint Peter's Six Toes

The painting of Saint Peter.

-One very important painting in the church is the painting of Saint Peter located on the balcony. If you glance at the painting you would not think twice about it, but this painting is very different from the rest. This painting depicts Saint Peter as having six toes, which is not something you see often. This painting is one of the important attractions that bring people to visit the church.

A close up view of Saint Peter's six toes. 

8. Vigil Candles

Above is the Vigil candles on the right side of the altar. 

-On either side of the altar in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church there are Vigil candles. In Catholicism, people of the Christian faith, usually members of the congregation, would go to their respective church and light a candle in memory of in prayer for a specific person or cause.







9. Rebuilding of the Church

The exterior of the new church.

-The present day building for Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church was finished in 1839 after they outgrew the first building and the previous building was a victim of the Charleston Fire in 1838. The current church reflects classic Roman architecture, specifically Ionic Order, which was a common style in Greek temples.

The view of the church from the balcony in the rear of the church. 

10. Interior Detailing
The interior of Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church has paintings that date all the way back to 1814, one in particular was from the earlier brick church. This painting is located in the center of the altar and is very popular and known at the painting of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the painting was burned in the fire of 1838, but was able to be restored by its original Charleston artist, John S. Cogdell, after the fire. 

The altar of the church.

Here is our team picture at the church!

Old Charlestonian: The Legacy of Rémy Mignot

I am choosing to study Rémy Mignot for my Charlestonian research project. I chose him because his epitaph is written in French, as opposed to English, which is interesting. He was born in France in on July 15, 1801 and died in Charleston on August 15, 1848. He is buried in Saint Mary of the Annunciation Cemetery. 

Above is the grave of Rémy Mignot.

Rémy Mignot was born in port city of Granville in lower Normandy, France. He arrived in Charleston in 1823 along with other French immigrants who were escaping the disturbances in Normandy following the fall of Napoleon. 

He first got married to Elisabeth whom he had two children with. Following her death, he remarried to a woman named Théonie Marie Louise Alexandrine (de la) Rivière whom he had four more kids with. One of his children, Louis Rémy, would go on to become the most accomplished American landscape painter in the entirety of the nineteenth century

Above is a painting by Louis Rémy.

Growing up, he was raised in a Catholic family, so when he came to Charleston he became part of the congregation of St. Mary of the Annunciation Catholic Church. He was so involved in the church that he became a sponsor for the baptisms of the French families. 

Above is a portrait of Rémy Mignot.

When he came to Charleston, he opened up a coffee shop and a confectionery on East Bay Street. After a little while, the shop moved from East Bay Street to King Street. 

In 1848, Rémy Mignot passed away at the age of 47 from dropsy. Dropsy is “an old term for the swelling of soft tissues due to the accumulation of excess water” according to MedicineNet. 

In the same year, there were 382 people in Charleston, South Carolina, who were diagnosed with and passed away from dropsy. At St. Mary of the Annunciation Catholic Church there are currently 12 people buried who passed away from the same deadly disease. 

The Story of Remy Mignot

I am choosing to study Rémy Mignot for my Charlestonian research project. I chose him because his epitaph is written in French, as opposed to English. He was born in France in on July 15, 1801 and died in Charleston on August 15, 1848. He is buried in Saint Mary of the Annunciation Cemetery. 

Here is a picture of his grave: 

Deep into the Eyes of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church

My group and I recently revisited the church we selected to study, St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, to go into further detail on the types of graves that can be found in the cemetery.

A look at the inside of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church.

Also a look at the inside of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church.

There are various types of grave markers found in the cemetery of St. Mary's. Here is what we found.

Buried here below this bedstead grave is Leonide Picault, wife of C.W. Aymar, born on August 11th, 1836 and died September 6th, 1921.

At this pedestal grave lies James Armstrong, from Ireland. He lived in Charleston for over 30 years and died on October 9th, 1872 at 55.

Here is a die on socket grave. Buried here is Anne M. Lafitte, born August 28th, 1821 and died March 24th, 1898.

This headstone was erected by Margaret Rooney, wife of Paul Rooney, who died October 12th, 1841 at 44.

At this ledger grave is Mlles (mademoiselle: an unmarried French woman) Amelie Maxime Rosalie and Melanie Maxime Veronique De Grasse, both born on August 23rd and died September 19th, 1799.

Here are two obelisk graves. The one on the right memorializes both Martin Roddy, who died September 29th, 1849 at 59, and his wife, Mary F. Roddy who died January 17th, 1857 at 71.

Here is a foot stone, erected in memory of the unborn.

This is an urn-like grave. We could not make up what the last name is depicted at the bottom.

In this photo is a box tomb grave. Here lies Joseph, last name unclear. He was born July 8th, 1859 and died on July 15th, 1852.

The two most common graves we found at St. Mary's were headstones and ledgers. While ledgers are commonly found in the ground, there are also ledger style graves built into the side of the church where the cemetery is located. Furthermore, we found that at St. Mary's many of the people buried here were either French, or of french descent.

Here are some headstones from our grave site. 

Here are some more headstones from our grave site.

The second most common grave found at St. Mary's, a ledger grave.

Ledger-like graves found on the side of St. Mary's.

One year old daughter of John Francis and Mary Magdalene De Lorau (educated guess on the names, the stones are hard to read after nearly 220 years) who died on september 1799.

This grave marker is located in the corner of the graveyard and does not have any information on it other than the initials J.M. and the year 1810. Sometimes gravestones will have information on the back but unfortunately this one did not. According to the church’s inventory listing, this marker most likely belongs to either James Mulligan or Jacques Mossimann.

This grave marker was hard for us to read, for the most part all we can understand about this marker is that this is a recognition plate for the De Grasse family. Amelie Maxime Rosalie and Melanie Maxime Veronique De Grasse, who died in 1799, have a special plate made for them on top of the grave marker. We assume these two are buried here, as it states in the church inventory listing.

We thought this is very impressive, the design of it is beautiful with the flowers on the front. The symmetry of the grave marker is impressive as well. Buried here in this 3 part vault  is John L. Pezant.

We found this headstone interesting because it is written in a different language. Cornelia and Anne Vente are buried here, and also mentioned here are their other family members.

Maria Teresa Mc Hugh died in 1880 and rests beneath this grave marker. We found the flower details on the cross beautiful because of the way it is wrapped around the cross.

One gravesite we found especially sad and poignant was the grave of an unborn child. There was no name on the stone, however the words “In Memory of the Unborn” were written across it. We found this sad because these aren’t seen very often, and it is upsetting that the child lost their life before they were brought into the world. 

One gravesite with an interesting epitaph was that of Eugene Passailaigue. It reads “A prayer for his Spirit. - ’tis never too late.” This is a quote from The United States Catholic Magazine.

Another gravesite with an interesting epitaph is that of Maria Teresa McHugh. It reads “I have loved, o Lord, the Beauty of thy House and the Place where thy Glory Dwelleth. Ps. 25-8”. This is particularly interesting because it is a bible verse. 

Another gravesite with an interesting epitaph is that of Remy Mignot. It reads "Il mournt se reposant dans La misericorde de son Sauveur, el echangea, Comme nous D'espersnt. Les Peines de celle vie, Qui surpasse tout ce que nous pouvons Imaginer.” This is written in French and translates to “He rested in the mercy of his Savior, and exchanged it, as we do. The pains of that life, which surpasses all that we can imagine.”

The Fine Art of Magnolia Cemetery

My classmates went to Magnolia Cemetery on Friday, November 1, however, I was sick and could not attend. Instead, I went later the next week with my roommate and a few friends.

The entrance to the cemetery was very subtle and came upon me very quickly while I was driving. All over the area, there were many trees with moss. The layout of the cemetery was very interesting to me. There are lots of war veterans buried here on the right side of the road, and on the left side are more families buried together. 

My experience at the cemetery was very exploratory and peaceful. There were hardly any people there, and several animals were roaming around- it was overall a very wonderful trip. On our trip across the bridge that overlooks the water, we saw a bird on a tree and found it very beautiful and at peace with its life.

Above is the bird we saw on the tree branch.

One of my favorite memorials was that of Louis Manigault's Die, Base, and Cap gravestone. He lived from 1828-1899, dying just one day after his 71st birthday. The reason he is interesting to me is because he was the founder of the Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity at Yale University.

Above is Louis Manigault's gravestone.

Another one of my favorite memorials was that of Faust Nicholson who lived from 1876-1938. The reason I find his headstone interesting is because of the flag that is next to it. I was not sure what the flag stood for, but after looking it up I found that it was the flag for Christianity. Being of Jewish descent, I was not very familiar with the Christian flag, but seeing this led me to do further research.

Above is the headstone of Faust Nicholson with the Christian flag next to it.

My final favorite memorial was that of Dr. Andrew Simonds Jr. He lived from 1821-1889, dying at the age of 68. His memorial is interesting to me because of its architectural structure. It resembles that of the Parthenon which I find interesting.

Above is the grave of Dr. Andrew Simonds Jr. 

As I mentioned earlier, I went with my roommate and some friends. They had no idea Magnolia Cemetery existed, but we all had a great trip, and will definitely consider going back to explore more of this beautiful land.

Above is a selfie my friends and I took on our walk through the cemetery.

The Mysterious Headstone of Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson

Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson was the mother of 7th President of the United States, Andrew Jackson. She died on November 2, 1781 in Charleston, South Carolina. Her headstone was originally placed near Magnolia Cemetery, but, by request of College of Charleston President Ted Stern, was transported to the Cougar Mall directly outside of the Robert Scott Small building on the College of Charleston campus. 

Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson was born in North Ireland, then moved to America for a better life. She and her family moved to a town just southeast of what is now known as Charlotte. She moved to Charlotte in 1781 to look for and help her two nephews who were on a British ship

Andrew Jackson and his brother, Robert, fought in the American Revolutionary War, which led to Roberts’ death. Elizabeth worked as a nurse in the Revolutionary War, taking care of the sick soldiers while on a British prison ship. As a result, she passed from Cholera, leaving behind only her son, Andrew Jackson.

Her headstone reads “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.’”

Above is a close up view of her marker
on the CofC campus.

Above is a farther away view of her marker
on the CofC campus.

The exact location of her burial site is unknown, as she has several markers and memorials around the area, including one at Magnolia Cemetery. However, her marker on the College of Charleston campus is a significant one, attracting historians to the lovely campus that is today, one of the most historical campuses in the nation. 

Above is a photograph of her headstone in Waxhaw, South Carolina. (photo credit: Tim Bash)