My Dope Ancestors

My ancestors I chose to research for this ancestor project are my moms grandparents, Tillie Besen Ostrie and her husband, Joseph Abraham Ostrie. Tillie was my great-grandmother. They are both buried at Riverside Gordon Memorial Chapels at Mount Nebo in Kendall, Florida. Tillie was buried in a grave with a single marble stone flush with grass. Her headstone reads, "Beloved Wife, Mother and Grandmother. 10/20/1911-7/13/1994". She is buried next to her husband, Joseph Abraham Ostrie, who is my great-grandfather. Joseph was buried in a single marble stone laying flat and flush with the grass. His headstone reads, "Beloved Husband, Father and Grandfather 12/24/1908 - 6/1/1975". Both stones had a Jewish star engraved in the top center of the marble, since they both were Jewish. I chose to research them because I did not ever have the chance to meet them, so I wanted to get a better understanding of them and their lives both as individuals and as a married couple. I resorted to asking my mother and uncle for information about them, since they knew them the best out of my family. In addition to asking my mom and uncle, I called the funeral home to gain information about their graves and any information they had on them and their lives. 

Above is the census from 1940, where their names are located on the left side towards the middle/bottom of the list

Joseph Abraham Ostrie was born in Poland and moved here at a young age. When he moved here, they did not know his actual date of birth, so they made it up as December 24, 1908. Tillie Besen Ostrie was born in New York, and lived there her whole life, up until the day she met Joseph. They moved to Miami where he started the Zamora Temple in Coral Gables, Florida. He also was a production manager for a sports coats Company. Tillie was a stay at home mom, and never worked. They married and had my moms’ adoptive mom, Harriet. Harriet and Bert, my grandpa, adopted my mother, Faith, and my uncle, Evan. Harriet passed in early 2000’s, and Bert remarried his second wife, Sharon. Tillie and Joseph both lived very interesting lives, traveling from Poland to New York, and growing a big family together. According to my grandpa, Bert, "Tillie was a very lovely grandmother", and "Joseph was a hard worker, who never stopped working until he was done with his task."

Above is a picture of Tillie and Joseph.

My Ancestry

My ancestors that I will do a blog post about are my moms grandparents, Tillie Besen Ostrie and her husband, Joseph Abraham Ostrie. Tillie was my great-grandmother. She was buried in a grave with a single marble stone flush with grass. The headstone reads, "Beloved Wife, Mother and Grandmother. 10/20/1911-7/13/1994". She is buried next to her husband, Joseph Abraham Ostrie, who is my great-grandfather. Joseph was buried in a single marble stone laying flat and flush with the grass. The headstone reads, "Beloved Husband, Father and Grandfather 12/24/1908 - 6/1/1975". Each stone had a Jewish star engraved in the top center of the marble, since both were Jewish. Both are buried at Riverside Gordon Memorial Chapels at Mount Nebo in Kendall, Florida. 

Bethel United Methodist Church: Scavenger Hunt

Last week, my class took a trip fo Bethel United Methodist Church to complete a scavenger hunt for symbols in the cemetery. Here are 10 of the ones I found:

Above is the flat headstone grave of  Elizabeth M. Its symbol is an angel which represents the agent of God and spirituality.

Above is the flat headstone grave of  Ellen Amelia. Its symbol is a rose which represents unfailing love, beauty, and hope.

Above is the upright headstone grave of  Priscilla Sabah Eason. Its symbol is a crown on a cross which represents the "sovereignty of the Lord".  

Above is the upright headstone grave of  Elizabeth M. Ainger. Its symbol is a bird flying which represents divine mission.

Above is the upright headstone grave of  Rebecca H. Martin. Its symbol is a flower which represents love, grief, and sometimes happiness.

Above is the upright headstone grave of  Mrs. Eliza Caeder. Its symbol is a flower which represents love, grief, and sometimes happiness. 

Above is the upright headstone grave of James F. M. Lord. Its symbol is a draping tree which represents the love of Christ and the Tree of Life.

Above is the flat headstone grave of an unknown person. Its symbol is a cross which represents love, faith,  and Christianity.

Above is the flat headstone grave of an unknown person. Its symbol is a lion which represents power of God and guards the tomb against evil spirits. 

Above is the flat headstone grave of Catharine Frances. Its symbol is a flower which represents love, grief, and sometimes happiness. 

Above is the upright headstone grave of  Priscilla Sabah Eason. Its symbol is a crown on a cross which represents the "sovereignty of the Lord". 

Above is the flat headstone grave of  Mrs. Elizabeth Furchess. Its symbol is a tree over a fountain which represents hope or deep mourning and looking over something or someone.

Above is the upright headstone grave of  Priscilla Sabah Eason. Its symbol is a crown on a cross which represents the "sovereignty of the Lord". 

Above is the upright headstone grave of Rosa Mary. Its symbol is a toga which represents the power in patriarchy.

Coming Street Cemetery/ KKBE

On Saturday evening our class took a trip to the cemetery associated with the Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim synagogue which is located on Hassle Street. We met at the Coming Street Cemetery which was established in 1762. We met with tour guides Anita Moise Rosenberg and Randi Serrins, and were given a tour of the cemetery. 

Above are the two tour guides, Anita Moise Rosenberg and Randi Serrins.

Above are two Obelisk tombs in the cemetery.

Above are three Die-in-Socket headstones in the cemetery. 

This Coming Street Cemetery is different from most of the others we have visited like the Protestant and Catholic churches, whereas the cemetery is not located near the actual place of worship. The reasoning for this is that the members of the Jewish faith believe that life and death should not mingle. They think that death is seen as unholy in Judaism, therefore separating life and death into the synagogue and the cemetery. 

Above is a Die-in-Socket grave that is open and ready for burial.

Above is an aerial view of a Ledger headstone.

While there, we learned that the Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim synagogue is the “oldest surviving Jewish cemetery in the South.” We also learned a lot about the graves and the people buried there. Our tour guides, Anita Moise Rosenberg and Randi Serrins, informed us that every person buried there is buried 6 feet under the ground. There are around 800 people buried there including 12 Revolutionary War soldiers, 8 soldiers of the War of 1812, 2 soldiers from the Seminole Wars in Florida, 23 Civil War participants, 6 rabbis of the congregation, and 20 past presidents of the congregation.

Typically, families are buried together all in one grave, making great use of the cemeteries’ space. Often times, you will see rocks placed on top of the headstones. Anita Mouse Rosenberg informed us that “the symbolic reasoning for this is the belief that the rocks help to bury and keep the negativity and aura of death out of the world and only in the grave.”

Above is a water fountain which is located right inside the front gate entrance to the cemetery. The purpose of the water fountain is to wash your hands before and after you leave to keep everything in the cemetery in, and everything outside the cemetery out. 

Overall, it was very interesting getting to see the differences between typical graveyards and a Jewish graveyard.

Scavenger Hunt

Last class we visited the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul and St. Patrick's Catholic Church.

This is a Foot stone at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul. Lila Barks Dale Pickens who died February 7, 1942.  

This is a Die in Socket tomb at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St Luke Paul. It is unknown who was buried here based on the picture. 

This is an Elevated Box tomb at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St Luke Paul. It is unknown who was buried here based on the picture.

This is a Celtic Cross tomb at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St Luke Paul. Emerson Cobb Cook is buried here. She died in 2004. 

This is a Family tomb at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St Luke Paul. The Johnson family is buried here, but the death dates are unknown. 

This is a Pedestal tomb at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St Luke Paul. Matthew Sully Reeves is buried here. He died in 1902.

This is an Obelisk tomb at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. It is unknown who was buried here based on the picture. 

This is a Headstone tomb at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. It is unknown who was buried here based on the picture. 

This is a Ledger tomb at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. It is unknown who was buried here based on the picture.

This is a Calvary Cross tomb at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. It is unknown who was buried here based on the picture.

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. 

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church

Above is an eye level view of St. Mary's Roman
Catholic Church, located at  95 Hasell Street

The church we chose to study is Mary's Roman Catholic Church, located at 95 Hasell St in Charleston, SC. My group and I were drawn to explore this church because we were immediately infatuated by its modern beauty it relays on the outside. Furthermore we were especially captivated by the simultaneous historic depths it entails behind in the churchyard. 

Founded in 1788, St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church was the first established Roman Catholic Church in the Carolinas and Georgia. After Reverend John Caroll sent Reverend Matthew Ryan to Charleston from Ireland to start a parish, they began to worship in a methodist meeting house in August, 1789. The congregation’s second worship center was a brick sanctuary which was unfortunately a victim of the Charleston Fire in 1838. On June 9th, 1839 the present building held its first service, being the third landmark to serve its congregation. Despite the damage from the Civil War, the earthquake of 1886, Hurricane Hugo in 1989 along with other natural disasters, St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church is still an ongoing church and you can find their hours of operation on their website. 

The picture above shows myself, Eden Kirn, posing in the
graveyard in front of headstones.

The Church has undergone a few restorations over the years due to these disasters, for example a recent project found faux charcoal marbling beneath the white finish of exterior columns and the columns were restored in a similar pattern to reflect historic detail. The Church reflects classic Roman architecture, specifically Ionic Order which was a common style of Greek temples. The interior of the church has paintings that date all the way back to 1814, one in particular was from the earlier brick church. This (painting of the Crucifixion) was able to be restored by its original Charleston artist, John, S. Cogdell after the fire in 1838. Other paintings in the church were painted in Rome before being installed in the church around 1896. Stained glass arched windows and the polished marble altar were gifts to the church and are considered masterpieces in the church. 

The above video gives the 

perspective of someone standing

on the front porch of the church.

After Reverend Matthew Ryan came to Charleston, the board of trustees and many of the congregations first members were Irish immigrants. The church has its own graveyard where many of the church's earliest members rest, including many french refugees from the West Indies escaping the slave insurrection (1793) in Santo Domingo. 

The church has a very large golden cross on the top, as well as four large columns which have a tie-dye aesthetic to them. The church also has three gates in the center of the front of the church, which they close after hours. 

Above shows the layout of the gravestones,
making good use of the space. 

The graveyard was relatively small, but has about 550 headstones, making very good use of its space. The graveyard consisted of mainly upright headstones with very few flat headstones. The night we went, the graveyard was open to the public, allowing us to walk through, observe, and take pictures. The last name “Lapenne” was a popular one that came up multiple times in the cemetery, as well as the last name “Riley”.