Ruth Miller: Graveyard Expert and Tour Guide

An inspiring and knowledgeable speaker came to our class this past week and left us wanting to know more about the graveyards around Charleston. Ruth Miller was born in 1943, and taught high school until 1979. She became a licensed city guide for Charleston, and has written multiple books, including Charleston Charlie (1989) and co-author of The Angel Oak Story: Johns Island Reminiscences (1989) and Charleston's Old Exchange Building: A Witness to American History (1986, 2005). Miller became interested in grave sites because she found it interesting learning about the history of this old town in as many ways as she possibly could. Miller informed us that "In 1776 Charleston’s population was as big as Boston, Massachusetts.” When learning about the history of Charleston, we usually don’t hear much about the wealth aspect of it because the north won the war which pretty much erased the history of Charleston. 

Above is me and classmate, Hannah Lees, posing for a picture with
Ruth Miller, graveyard expert and tour guide. 

  Although there was a large slave port in Charleston during this time, there are “no African-Americans buried in this graveyard since slaves were not seen as humans as were white people”, states Miller. In 1670, the first boats came to Charleston not directly from England, but the West Indies. The West Indies was a colony of people who grew up with slave labor, which led to Charleston becoming the only colony that had slaves on its very first boats. 

Ruth Miller also spoke about property rights within families in the 18th century. During this time, women had the bare minimum when it comes to gender roles. They could not own property, they would to get any property if their husband died, and they could not vote. They were expected to act as a servant for their husband and kids: cook for them, clean for them, etc. 

The reason Charleston is so wealthy is because it was a combination of slave ports and rice farms, hence the reason Charleston, South Carolina is known as the “rice bowl” of the world. This made it overall very wealthy. Ruth Miller states that "We also had more money than New York City, while being the richest city in Colonia America.”

Overall, it was very exciting listening to and learning about Ruth Millers experience as a graveyard tour guide, as well as her knowledge of the history of Charleston.