The Old City Jail and the Ghost of Lavinia Fisher

Charleston Old City Jail, 21 Magazine Street

Halloween is on its way with its creepy crawlies and things that go bump in the night.........and so a good old Charleston ghost story might be in order! The Old Jail is certainly the right place to look for a spooky story. Built in 1802, it housed the most guilty along with the wrongly imprisoned.  Of those spooky stories, none is more spell-binding than that of Lavinia Fisher.

You may wonder how John and Lavinia Fisher came to be housed in the Old Jail. Here is the story: mostly true....maybe part legend. You be the judge!

In 1820, both John and Lavinia Fisher were executed after being found guilty of highway robbery (which was punishable by death in those days). Lavinia has often been given the dubious honor of being the first female serial killer, but wicked and rough as she was, there is no actual proof that she ever murdered anyone. John and Lavinia owned an inn six miles out of Charleston known as the Six Mile Wayfarer's Inn. Many weary travelers stopped for respite before they made their way into or out of Charleston. It was a congenial place with a hospitable host and a beautiful hostess. The trouble began when several people who had checked into the inn apparently went missing.  The authorities were notified by the families of those missing and an investigation was made; however, there was not enough evidence to determine that any of the missing had become the victims of foul play at the Fishers' inn. They did, however, determine a group of Highwaymen who used the inn as their headquarters and took the means they thought were necessary to shut them down. One man, David Ross, was left behind to spend one night at the inn. He was accosted by some of the men and when he turned to Lavinia for help, he was shocked when she began to choke him with her bare hands and ram his head into a window! He escaped with his life and headed back into town to tell what had happened.

In the meantime, a man by the name of John Peoples innocently stopped by the inn with the intent of finding a bed for the night.  At first, Lavinia told him that there were no rooms available, but she invited him in to rest by the fire and have a cup of tea. Mr. Peoples welcomed a rest before he continued his journey, but he did not like the tea Lavinia served him. Not wanting to hurt her feelings or to be impolite, he emptied the cup into a plant while she was out of the room. On her return, she plied him with so many questions that he began to feel uneasy. She did bring the news, however, that there was, indeed, a room available for him. Weariness won out over his unease and Mr. Peoples decided to take the room for the night. (Now we are moving in that wonderful land of legend!) The story goes that Mr. Peoples, uneasy about the situation, decided to sit in a chair for the night which would give him a clear view of the door.  In the middle of the night, he heard a great creaking and cracking and watched in amazement as the mattress flipped over into a pit below the room.  Supposedly, Lavinia would poison the tea, or at least lace it with a sleeping potion and John would turn a crank to drop the unsuspecting guest in a pit where he would, sadly, meet his end.........or so the legend says.....

In truth, John Peoples was attacked and robbed and promptly headed into Charleston to the police station to make his report. This report, combined with the report of David Ross, gave the authorities all the cause they needed to arrest John and Lavinia. They were taken to the Old City Jail and shared a cell as they awaited trial. They made a plan to escape by tying sheets together and climbing out of their cell. John went first and made it out, but the ladder of sheets broke and Lavinia was trapped.  He returned to jail rather than desert Lavinia.

The Fishers were tried, convicted of highway robbery and sentenced to hang. Their sentence was carried out in February of 1820. John went to his death with relative calm, but Lavinia used every ploy she could think of to change her fate. She invoked a law that exempted a married woman from being executed, so the judge promptly determined that John would die first, thus leaving Lavinia a widow - and an UNmarried woman.  She tried to seduce any man she saw to marry her (she knew there would be a priest in attendance at the execution) and save her from the noose. When all else failed, she railed, screamed, cursed, kicked and had to be forcibly carried to the place of execution. Newspapers of the time reported that over 1,100 people were present to witness her execution. From the stream of curses and vindictive screams came her last words:  "If you have a message for hell, give it to me. I'll carry it."

It is said that Lavinia's ghost haunts the old jail and many "ghostbusters" have tried to prove it.  If you're not too SCARED, have a look at one of the many videos made there and posted on youtube.

The Old City Jail has undergone a welcome transformation from its ignoble past and now houses the American College of Building Arts,  "dedicated to educating the next generation of building artisans and to preserving the building arts in a manner never before seen in America. Under the direction of our experienced faculty, students have the opportunity to receive a quality liberal arts education while they learn the skills needed to excel in their chosen field. This combination of education, training, and access to highly experienced faculty is available nowhere else in the United States."

Be sure to watch this video clip from The Early Show on CBS, highlighting the American College of Building Arts. This College is the only one of its kind in the nation and moves this historic building from serving as a place of shame to housing a college worthy of great pride.

The first "Free" Church...St. Stephen's Episcopal and the Three Sarahs

67 Anson Street

     Nestled comfortably among the historic homes and gardens of the quiet neighborhood of Ansonborough is a church that bears a distinction no other can claim. In a time when, in order to attend church, you were required to pay rent on or purchase your pew, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church was established as the first "free" church in America-- where anyone who wanted to worship was welcomed no matter their race, financial  means, or social status. The early congregation (established in 1822) was a diverse mix of white and African-American (both free and slave), wealthy and destitute members. In recent years, it has returned to that diversity with both white and African-American members coming together in both worship and service.

     

     St. Stephen's owes its earliest existence to a trio of ladies dubbed "The Three Sarahs". The first of the three Sarahs was Sarah Hopton Russell, wife of wealthy merchant Nathaniel Russell and mother of two daughters, Alicia and Sarah. They made up the family that built the beautiful Federalist home at 51 Meeting Street, the Nathaniel Russell house, which now serves as a home museum maintained by Historic Charleston Foundation.  Sarah Russell was an advocate for those less fortunate and spent much of her energy and means in providing relief for the destitute.  Along with her daughter, Sarah, who married Theodore Dehon, Second Episcopal Bishop of South Carolina, and Sarah Rutledge, daughter of Edward Rutledge, signer of the Declaration of Independence and Governor of South Carolina, Sarah Russell set out to provide a place of worship for those who could not afford the pew rent necessary for worship in other churches. Together they founded the Ladies Benevolent Association in 1819. They began to elicit funds to make this a reality. Sarah Rutledge authored a cookbook entitled "The Carolina Housewife", with the proceeds going to establish a free church. Sarah Russell donated land on Guignard Street to be used for the construction of the new church building.  In 1924, the new building was consecrated.       
     
     Sadly, the structure burned in the fire of 1835. A few items, including the organ and a tablet for Mrs. Russell were saved from the fire and are in the present church. The new church was built on Anson Street and was probably designed and built by John and Henry Horlbeck who owned Boone Hall Plantation in Mt. Pleasant. Their brickyard supplied the bricks used in the chapel. The Anson Street chapel, beautiful in its simplicity is constructed of stuccoed brick in a simple Greek Revival style. It stood unscathed in the Great Fire of 1838 which miraculously spared the church by a sudden change of the direction of the wind. 

     In a church built on inclusiveness, they insisted that no one would ever be turned away. All who enter this historic church are reminded of this promise with the words engraved over the door:  "My house shall be called a house of prayer for ALL people".



     

      

The Confederate Home......Mary Amarinthia Snowden's Legacy of Sanctuary

The Confederate Home, 62 Broad Street

     Perhaps you have glimpsed this stately Victorian building as you hurried along Broad St. It sits solidly along the street known for law offices and business buildings. Yet, if you simply hurried by, you missed the gift inside -- the sanctuary of retreat, reflection and safety that has marked its history and its story.

       Built in 1800 by Gilbert Chalmers, the building does indeed border Chalmers St. as it fronts Broad St. In the beginning it was the home of Chalmers' daughter and her husband, Gov. John Geddes, and it bore witness to the political entertaining that was an integral part of the office they represented. Many prominent citizens were hosted here, including President James Monroe in 1819. In 1834, the property was sold to Angus Stewart and became the Carolina Hotel. In the years preceding the Civil War, the U.S. District Court was held on the second floor. When Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, in a pronouncement and action that must have been dramatic at least, Judge Andrew Gordon Magrath closed the courtroom with the words, "The Temple of Justice is now closed".  From 1861 until February of 1865, the Confederate court met here.

     The heart of the story of the Confederate Home begins in 1867 when Mary Amarinthia Snowden and her sister, Isabell, saw a need that they longed to fill. Their goal was to provide a home -  a sanctuary if you will - for mothers, widows and daughters of Confederate soldiers. The old Carolina Hotel on Broad Street was the object of their attention. With seven other like-minded women and one Huguenot minister, they began meeting in earnest at the Snowden home. In the years immediately following the war, Charleston was struggling on every level....from economic impossibilities to physical devastation. Fund-raising was challenging at best. There was only one dollar in the coffers for the Confederate Home and it had been contributed by a Baltimore widow!  The Snowden sisters mortgaged their own home in order to pay the rent on the Carolina Hotel ---and set it on the road to accomplishing the vision that Mary Amarinthia had held. The education of young women was not a high priority in the general public during those lean years; however, for the young women who came to be a part of the Confederate Home, education was a critical means to a better life and a better community. By 1900, The Confederate Home became known as The Confederate College and was chartered by the state. Many instructors, including Dr. Charles Vedder, pastor of the French Huguenot Church, taught the young women at The Confederate College - and did so without benefit of salary.

Courtyard of The Confederate Home

          Today, The Confederate Home fulfills a purpose not far removed from the one Amarinthia Snowden envisioned -- one of sanctuary for women, reflection for artists and education for the greater good - and a promise of a better life. The dormitories have been converted to apartments and fifteen older and economically-challenged women call this place home. In addition, fifteen studios provide space for Charleston's artists and writers to reflect and create. The old courtroom is used for lectures and other events and young couples have said their wedding vows in this place that once gave hope and promise to young women of a different era.
   

Rev. Daniel Jenkins and the Jenkins Orphanage Band

Portrait of Rev. Daniel Jenkins displayed in the City Council Chamber  in Charleston City Hall, 80 Broad St.

         On a cold December day in 1891, Rev. Daniel Jenkins happened to come across four young black boys, all under the age of 12, huddled together in an abandoned warehouse. He discovered that they were all orphans and were left to fend for themselves on the streets. Rev. Jenkins immediately took them home with him and gave them a place to live and a sense of family. Unfortunately, these four boys were simply the tip of a huge iceberg that represented the hundreds of young black orphans in Charleston who had no place to live and no parents to care for them. While there were nine orphanages in South Carolina for white orphans, none existed for black orphans. Rev. Jenkins set about to change the lives of the boys he encountered and the many others they represented......and the Jenkins orphanage was born.
        In January of 1892, Rev. Jenkins petitioned the city for the use of the abandoned Marine Hospital on Franklin Street and received permission for its use and a small stipend. Robert Mills, who designed the Washington Monument, as well as other famous national, state and local buildings, was the architect. The building was built in 1834 and had once served as a hospital, but was badly damaged during the war. It was located right beside the City Jail which was, no doubt, a source of both fear and motivation for the young boys living at the orphanage. 

Site of Jenkins Orphanage, formerly Marine Hospital, 20 Franklin St.

        Rev. Jenkins' primary goal was to teach each of his young charges to become self-sufficient so that as adults they would no longer need to rely on the charity of others. To achieve this goal, he felt that farm land need to be purchased to teach the boys the skills the would need to become self-sufficient. He petitioned the City of Charleston for funds, but was denied. He could barely afford to make the orphanage livable and provide for the basic needs of the children. Funds were not readily available for South Carolina's only black orphanage even though over 360 orphans lived at the orphanage now, instead of on the streets of Charleston. In desperation he searched around for ideas that could help raise the necessary funds.....and the Jenkins Orphanage Band was born.  His plan was based on the military bands of the day. His requests for funds were not very successful; however, a request for instruments yielded more fruitful results. Old instruments were donated, with a large donation of new and used instruments from Siegling Music House on King St. Graduating Citadel cadets donated their old uniforms which became the first uniforms of the Jenkins Orphanage Band. Rev. Jenkins was not a musician himself and so he hired two local musicians to teach the boys: "Hatsie" Logan and Francis Eugene Mikell. They learned not only to play instruments, but music theory and music history, as well.

        Soon the band was playing on street corners all over Charleston to try to raise as much money as possible to keep the orphanage open. Unfortunately, funds were much too meager but, instead of giving up, Rev. Jenkins used his last remaining funds to take the 13 member band on a tour of some northern cities. Their success was less than they had hoped, but, once again, Rev. Jenkins was not ready to give up. With the last bit of money they had, he took the group to London. There they performed on the streets of London....and were promptly arrested for disturbing the peace. The group, which had become a favorite on the streets of London, suddenly received the support of the churches in the area and a favorable support in the newspapers.

          By1896, the band had established regular tour routes up and down the Eastern coast and in Europe. They played in Paris, Berlin, Rome, Vienna and London. In 1905, the band played in President Roosevelt's inaugural parade and President Taft's inaugural parade in 1909. In the 1910s and 20s, the band included the styles and rhythms of the jazz beats sweeping the nation and the Gullah songs and dances of their lowcountry heritage. DuBose Heyward insisted that the band play for the two year run of his play Porgy on Broadway and they performed at each performance. By now, there were five separate bands and two vocal ensembles. 

       Follow this link to a rare audio tape and early pictures of the
Jenkins Orphanage Band

        Some of jazz music's finest players received their musical training in the Jenkins Orphanage Band. Among them, Jabbo Smith (contemporary and rival of Louis Armstrong), Cat Anderson (who was a lead trumpet player in Duke Ellington's Band), Freddie Green (famous jazz rhythm guitarist) and Edmond Thornton Jenkins (famous clarinetist and composer and son of orphanage founder Rev. Daniel Jenkins).  I would encourage you to explore the many video and audio tapes found on the web and particularly on youtube of each of these musicians, remembering their beginnings as members of the Jenkins Orphanage Band.

       In the August 26, 1937 issue of Time Magazine, an article and picture were published honoring Rev. Daniel Jenkins and the Jenkins Orphanage Band.

       Rev. Jenkins' dream continues even today with The Jenkins Institute for Children. Explore their website and see the plans of Rev. Daniel Jenkins still impacting children of the 21st century who need a dream just as much as those who went before them. They are deserving of our support!

Elizabeth Timothy.......America's First Female Newspaper Editor and Publisher

 

97 King Street, Timothy Printing Shop

     In 1731, Louis Timothee, his wife Elizabeth and their four children - ranging in age from one to six -  arrived in Philadelphia from Rotterdam as members of a group of French Huguenot immigrants. The family settled in Philadelphia where Louis advertised in Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette seeking work as a French tutor. Franklin evidently was impressed with the young man and taught him what he could of the newspaper and printing business. Timothee soon anglicized his name and became Lewis Timothy. 

     Benjamin Franklin had sent a young man named Thomas Whitmarsh to Charleston to set up a newspaper there called The South Carolina Gazette. Unfortunately, Whitmarsh died after being in Charleston only two years and the position became available for Lewis Timothy. Lewis and Elizabeth moved their family to Charleston where Lewis assumed the publication of The South Carolina Gazette in partnership with Benjamin Franklin -  and Elizabeth went about the equally challenging business of raising their growing family, now consisting of six children. 

     Just before Christmas in 1738, Lewis died suddenly in an accident. Elizabeth was expecting their seventh child any day at the time of her husband's death. No one would have blamed her if she had thrown her hands up with the overwhelming future she faced as a widow with seven children under the age of thirteen --- but that was not Elizabeth's way. Not an issue of The South Carolina Gazette was missed. Elizabeth Timothy took over the operation of the newspaper and the print shop  - becoming the first female newspaper editor and printer in America. Adding to her loss, two of her children died in the fall following her husband's death. Yet, Elizabeth Timothy upheld her husband's contract with Benjamin Franklin -- even being (according to Franklin, himself) a far better business person than her husband had been! She trained her thirteen year old son, Peter, to take over the business and actually published the paper in his name.

    Elizabeth Timothy ran the newspaper and was the official printer for the colony until her son, Peter, turned twenty-one -- at which time she turned The South Carolina Gazette over to him -- even though his name had appeared as editor since the death of his father.

    Peter Timothy was quite politically active and was an advocate for freedom before the Revolutionary War. He was a well-respected journalist in his own right. Sadly, he was lost at sea in 1782. Following the tradition set before her, his widow, Ann, continued publication of the newspaper -- eventually turning The South Carolina Gazette over to their son Benjamin Franklin Timothy.

     Elizabeth Timothy played a critical role in the development of the colony and the yearning of a people for freedom. In 1973, Elizabeth Timothy was inducted into the South Carolina Press Association Hall of Fame and into the Business Hall of Fame in 2000. 

             



                                                                               

Porgy and Bess....the Charleston connection

Catfish "Cabbage" Row, Church Street

  

The setting.......the fictional Catfish Row (based on the real Cabbage Row) in Charleston, SC

The characters.......the African American inhabitants of this poverty-stricken row---Porgy, a crippled man of Catfish Row who makes his way around in a makeshift cart---Bess, the woman who comes into Porgy's life----Crown, the local bully who was once Bess's boyfriend---Sportin' Life, who puts a humorous perspective on an array of near impossible situations---and all the other colorful characters who make their lives and their livelihood on Charleston's Catfish Row.

The music!......"Summertime", "I've Got Plenty of Nuttin'", "It Ain't Necessarily So", "Bess, You Is My Woman Now", "Street Vendors Calls"......and many more!

Catfish Row

 The author.....Dubose Heyward was born in Charleston in 1885, just one year before the great earthquake of 1886. Although he was descended from an illustrious family, (Thomas Heyward, Jr., signer of the Declaration of Independence was an ancestor), he grew up in a family of poor means. Heyward's father was killed in a work accident when he was just a boy, leaving he and his mother to manage on their own.  Young Heyward suffered from a range of serious ailments throughout his life (He contracted polio when he was 18) and dropped out of school at the age of 14. He had, however, a lifelong passion for literature and poetry. As an adult, he worked as a pay clerk on the docks until he was able to devote himself to writing full-time. The time Heyward was living and writing in Charleston became known as the Charleston Renaissance. The first half of the twentieth century brought many artists, musicians and writers to Charleston to become a part of this climate of creativity. DuBose Heyward flourished in this atmosphere and, along with his friend, Hervey Allen, helped form the Poetry Society of South Carolina.

       Heyward was exposed to the Gullah culture of Charleston by the African Americans he encountered and especially by his mother who was a great lover of the Gullah songs. She sang in a group which performed Gullah songs and sometimes DuBose joined her. All of these influences worked together to to culminate in his novel Porgy, published in 1925. It was quite a success and Heyward and his wife, Dorothy, wrote a play based on the novel. This led to the collaboration with George Gershwin which produced the American folk-opera, "Porgy and Bess".

DuBose Heyward's home, 76 Church Street

The composer......George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn in 1898. George and his brother, Ira, became a formidable composer and lyricist team. When he came across DuBose Heyward's book, Porgy, Gershwin knew that he had found the vehicle for a folk opera using the jazz and blues sounds he longed to explore. George and Ira Gershwin had created a name for themselves on Broadway with a number of successful productions under their belts, but this was an enormous undertaking for both the Gershwins and the Heywards. George came to Charleston and stayed at a home on Folly Beach to immerse himself in the culture and the atmosphere of Charleston. Ira and DuBose worked together on the lyrics with much of the recitative sections taken directly from the novel. This was the first opera for George Gershwin and, sadly, would be his last. "Porgy and Bess" opened on Broadway 1935 and in only two years, George Gershwin died from a brain tumor. He was only thirty-eight years old.

The Performances....."Porgy and Bess" opened in Boston in 1935 before its Broadway run instead of Charleston because of the issue of racial separation in Charleston. Would black audience members be allowed to sit in the theater next to white theater goers or would they be relegated to the balcony, as was the general practice of the day? Sadly, the white audience could not see past their bias and the show was cancelled in Charleston. Enjoy this clip of "Summertime" from the 1959 movie version: 

Today, "Porgy and Bess" has undergone a revival on Broadway and is thrilling audiences more than 75 years after its original Broadway debut.  This clip of Audra MacDonald, Norm Lewis and the cast members of "Porgy and Bess" is a medley of songs from the current revival. 

"Porgy and Bess" at Footlight Players (performed at historic Dock Street Theatre)
       I hope that this bit of history about this "one-of-a-kind" folk opera has whetted your appetite for more. If so, you are in luck, because the Footlight Players are treating us to their production of "Porgy and Bess" running from August 3rd - August 19th. All performances will be at Dock Street Theatre. Don't miss the opportunity to see this classic opera presented in the city of its origin by actors and musicians who call Charleston home. This production is directed by Henry Clay Middleton. For more information, follow this link to Footlight Players.

The Grimke Sisters, Sarah and Angelina -- and the Remarkable "Rest of the Story"

329 East Bay St., home of the Grimke family

Prominent jurist and Revolutionary political leader, Judge John Grimke and his wife Mary enjoyed their place in the Charleston society scene, as well as their life on their Beaufort plantation. Little did they know that two of their fourteen children would spend their lifetimes rallying others against the very thing that made the Grmikes’ life possible -- slavery. 

Their daughter,Sarah Grimke, was born in 1792 and, even as a young child, could see the inhumanity that slavery brought to her own household. She spoke out against slavery essentially all of her life. All around her she saw the way of life of which she was a part made possible on the backs of the slaves her father owned. Each of the Grimke children (three died in infancy) was assigned a “constant companion” -- a slave child close to them in age who served their every whim. Even as a child, Sarah rebelled against this idea and when her young slave “companion” died at the age of eight as a result of a fever, she grieved greatly and adamantly refused to be assigned another “companion”. Unfortunately, Sarah was alone in her beliefs and her distress over the plight of the slaves and she became an outcast in her own home.

Sarah’s life changed dramatically when she was thirteen years old. The youngest of the Grimke children, Angelina, was born in 1805. Immediately, Sarah took charge of her youngest sister - even begging her parents to name her as Angelina’s godmother, to which they agreed. In the years ahead, the two girls became inseparable. Angelina shared her older sister’s view on the issue of slavery and Sarah was no longer alone in her own home.

Judge Grimke became quite ill and Sarah accompanied him to Philadelphia for medical treatment. The treatment was unsuccessful and after several months, Judge Grimke died in New Jersey in 1819. Sarah, by this time, had enjoyed living in a place where others shared her views on slavery and she decided to leave Charleston behind and relocate to Philadelphia where she became a vocal abolitionist. She left the Episcopal church and became a Quaker. With Sarah’s encouragement, Angelina soon joined her sister. They lived together and became outspoken advocates for ending slavery. As they became more well-known and were invited to address more and more groups, they ran into another sort of prejudice. They were scorned for their activism, not so much because of what they believed, but because they were women. Women who held strong opinions and were willing - even adamant - about expressing them in public forums were the brunt of anger and ridicule. Sarah and Angelina began to see that in order to proclaim their message against slavery, they also had to address the inequities faced by women. Sarah wrote, “All I ask of our brethren is that they will take their feet from off our necks and permit us to stand upright on the ground which God intends for us to occupy”.  This short video is an interview with Eric Foner concerning the Grimke sisters:

".........and now for the REST of the story!"

 Sarah and Angelina had a brother named Henry who raised his family in his Charleston townhouse and on their plantation outside of Charleston. When his wife died, Henry raised another family -- with one of his slaves, Nancy Weston. From all indications, it was a marriage of mutual affection and Henry, discovering that Charleston society did not look acceptingly on the idea of an interracial couple living openly in the city, moved his new family to the more private plantation. Henry and Nancy had three sons, Archibald, Francis, and John. When Nancy was pregnant with John, Henry died. Because it was illegal at that time in South Carolina to free your own slaves, Henry willed the family to his oldest son, Montague, with directions that they “be treated as members of the family”. Instead, Nancy and her sons were ignored for several years and, even though they were technically still slaves, they lived in the free black community in Charleston. They received no support from the Grimke family and Nancy was forced to take in laundry and whatever menial work she could do to keep the family fed. Imagine their surprise when Henry’s oldest son summoned them, not to help them, but to treat them as servants in his home! The boys were educated in Charleston and were accepted to Lincoln University. John chose not to go and stayed with his mother. Archibald and Francis went to the University with first year tuition paid by a church committee who saw the promise in the young students. Their room and board was not covered and they struggled to survive, as well as to study.

By chance, Angelina saw the name “Archibald Grimke” in an abolitionist magazine which reported on a speech the young man gave. She wrote to him to see if they might be related and was astonished to find that she had three nephews she had never known! She and Sarah immediately welcomed the young men as family, assumed the cost of their education and became an influential part of their lives.

Archibald Grimke was one of the first African-Americans to graduate from Harvard Law School and soon became a well-respected lawyer, journalist and community leader in the Boston area. He married a white woman from the midwest. Even though the marriage did not survive, the couple had one daughter whom they named after the sister who had found and claimed him - Angelina. (more about young Angelina in a minute!) Archibald was appointed as consul to the Dominican Republic.

Archibald’s brother, Francis Grimke, became a Presbyterian minister and studied at Princeton Theological Seminary. Most of his ministry was at the 15th Street Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. He was active in the community and in working for equal rights for African-Americans and helped found the NAACP. He wrote, “Race prejudice can’t be talked down, it must be lived down.” He and his wife, Charlotte, who was a well-known writer herself, had one daughter who died as an infant.

Angelina Weld Grimke, Archibald’s daughter, was sent to live with him at the age of eight when her mother died. When her father was sent as consul to the Dominican Republic, Angelina was sent to live with her uncle and aunt, Francis and Charlotte. Angelina grew up to be a poet and playwright, focusing on the theme of equality for all - carrying forward the ideas and words that were a part of her direct heritage from two little girls who dared to see an injustice and were courageous enough to speak up and to speak out to the world.

A Stroll Through Washington Park

Washington Park, Meeting Street

       

          Washington Park, sometimes called Washington Square, is a green oasis of great, moss-draped oak trees, located at the corner of two of Charleston’s most historic streets: Meeting and Broad. A beautiful wrought iron gate at each entrance welcomes you into a tucked away part of Charleston and invites you to slow down, rest, and enjoy this bit of retreat from the heat of the day and the noise of the city.

       This area was developed as a park as early as 1818, but it was not until October 19, 1881 that Washington Park was dedicated in honor of George Washington, who visited the city in 1791, and in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of General Cornwallis’ surrender to General Washington at Yorktown. Only five years later, the park became a virtual tent city housing many of the thousands left homeless after the great earthquake of 1886. The earthquake struck a little before 10:00 PM on August 31, 1886 and has been estimated as having an intensity of 7.3 on today’s Richter scale. Aftershocks kept the frightened citizens out of buildings for weeks and the earthquake demolished or damaged countless homes and historic buildings in Charleston. It is said that the quake was felt as far away as Canada!

Statue of George Washington

            Facing the Meeting Street entrance, the statue of George Washington, for whom the park was named, is the most recent addition to the statues and memorials in the park. More than 100 years after Washington Park was dedicated, Mayor Joe Riley appointed General William Westmoreland to chair a committee to raise funds for a statue of George Washington to be placed in the park that bears his name. The statue, created by sculptor, John N. Michel, was dedicated on Dec. 14, 1999.

Washington Light Infantry Monument

The obelisk at the center of the park is the Washington Light Infantry monument and is dedicated to the soldiers of the Washington Light Infantry who fought in the Civil War. This impressive four-sided monument was dedicated in 1891 and reads in part, “This shaft commemorates the patience, fortitude, heroism, unswerving fidelity to South Carolina, and the sacrifices of the Washington Light Infantry in the War Between the States, 1860-1865. One company in peace; three full companies in for the war.”

P.G.T. Beauregard Memorial

           Just a few steps away from the Washington Light Infantry statue is a marker honoring P.G.T. Beauregard, commander of the Confederate forces in South Carolina. A few steps from this marker and mounted on the rear wall of the park, is a prayer composed by Ellison Capers who was an Episcopal Bishop and a Confederate soldier.

In keeping with the Confederate theme, facing the Broad Street entrance to the park is a bust of Henry Timrod, known as the poet of the Confederacy. Henry Timrod was born in Charleston in 1829 and this memorial was erected, according to the marker, “with the proceeds of the recent sale of very large editions of the author’s poems by the Timrod Memorial Association of South Carolina”.

Bust of Henry Timrod

       Other notable monuments in Washington Park include a marker honoring Francis Salvador, “the first Jew in South Carolina to hold public office and to die for American Independence” and a marker to Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, mother of President Andrew Jackson, given by the Rebecca Motte Chapter of the D.A.R. The inscription reads: “In memory of Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson.......who gave her life in the cause of independence while nursing Revolutionary soldiers in Charles Town and is buried in Charleston.”


        A stroll through Charleston's earliest park is a microcosm of the history of the city herself. From tributes to Revolutionary War heroes and heroines, to Civil War history, to a statue of an eighteenth century leader dedicated on the eve of the 21st century, Washington Park offers not only rest and respite, but reflection as well. 

The Patrick O'Donnell House

The Patrick O'Donnell House, 21 King St.

   
     Patrick O'Donnell was an Irish immigrant in mid-nineteenth century Charleston, a builder with an eye for elegance and fine details --- and a man in love. He was engaged to a young woman in Charleston and swore to build a house as beautiful as she was herself. He spared no expense or detail as he went about this purpose - for it became apparent, he was also in love with the Pygmalion of a house he had created. He took so long in finishing his house (eight years!) that his lady fell in love with someone else and left him alone with his spectacular home! "Spectacular" is certainly not an overstatement for this beautiful home built in 1856 in the elaborate Italianate style that was quite popular in Charleston in the mid-1800's. Built as a Charleston single house, this 10,000 square foot, three and a half story home is resplendent in its attention to detail. Because of Patrick O'Donnell's unfortunate loss, this house was dubbed "O'Donnell's Folly" and the name still stands today.

     This house has been home to some well-known names in Charleston's history. Novelist and poet Josephine Pinckney lived in here from 1907 - 1937. This was during a time known as the Charleston Renaissance when a wealth of artists, writers and musicians flocked to Charleston and created a unique culture of creativity. The Poetry Society of South Carolina was organized in this house in 1920. The Patrick O'Donnell House was also where Susan Pringle Frost, the moving force in the early part of the twentieth century of what would become the Preservation Society of Charleston, was born in 1873. She had returned to this home at the time of her death in 1960.  At one time this was also the home of Mrs. Thomas R. McGahan, who was said to have been the person Margaret Mitchell used as a model when creating the gentle character of Melanie Wilkes in Gone With the Wind.


     In 2008, then candidate Barack Obama visited Charleston during his presidential campaign. He spoke from the piazza of this house on King St. as he addressed his supporters. Later, in his inaugural speech, he referred to people he met during his campaign "from the porches of Charleston" to other locations across America.

     Patrick O'Donnell may have lived his life alone, but he left a beautiful legacy at 21 King St. to be admired and enjoyed by generations of people who have come here since and those yet to come.

Charleston's Liberty Tree, Christopher Gadsden and the Sons of Liberty

Site of the Liberty Tree, 80 Alexander St.

In 1766, the pot of liberty was being stirred by many of the colonists who sought to be free of the imposing hand of England. Many of these early "pot stirrings" took place underneath, or near, a Liberty Tree. Like the Boston Liberty Tree, similar meeting places rose in each of the thirteen colonies. In Charleston, Christopher Gadsden, a wealthy merchant, possessed the ability to stir the common man with his words. He met with like-minded revolutionaries, who became known as the Sons of Liberty, underneath a large oak tree in a Mr. Mazyck's cow pasture and there they shared a dream and rallied together.

      Ten years later, the people of Charleston first heard the words of the Declaration of Independence read under the branches of this Liberty Tree.

   When the British occupied Charleston in 1780, they chopped down the Liberty Tree lest it become a rallying point for the colonists. Then, in an act that could only have been motivated by vengeance, they burned the stump that was left.

      But that is not the end of the story of the Liberty Tree! After the Revolution, the root of the Liberty Tree was salvaged and was made into cane heads. One of these canes was given to Thomas Jefferson. 

      The root of liberty is strong......and once freedom has been tasted no weapon or fire or act of vengeance can quell that longing.

The Miles Brewton House and the Story of Rebecca Brewton Motte

Miles Brewton House, 27 King Street

        Miles Brewton built this beautiful Georgian Palladian home in 1769. It is one of the finest examples of this 18th century architectural style in America. Over the main doorway is the earliest example of a fanlight in Charleston. The details, both interior and exterior, make this house one of exceptional note.  Miles Brewton made his huge fortune as a merchant and a slave trader. He had a number of plantations and grew rice and indigo. He was active in the Pre-Revolutionary Charleston political scene and was  elected to the second Provincial Congress. He took his wife and children with him when he left Charleston in 1775 headed for Philadelphia. Unfortunately, the entire family was lost at sea. If MIles Brewton could have foreseen the future, he would have seen his magnificent home occupied by the officers of two enemy armies, during both the American Revolution and the Civil War. The "chevaux-de-frise" - iron bars with spikes topping the fence and gate - was installed in 1822 in reaction to an alleged slave insurrection plot led by Denmark Vesey. It gives this stately home an air of fear and danger and an undeniable reminder of a painful past......not the usual Charleston welcome we have come to expect.



        After Miles Brewton's death, his sister Rebecca Brewton Motte inherited this home, as well as a plantation on the Congaree River, known as St. Joseph (later renamed Fort Motte.)
Rebecca became a Revolutionary War heroine and her story is one of strength and ingenuity -- both, without a doubt, characteristics of a "Strong Southern Woman"!  Rebecca Brewton was born in 1737 and married Jacob Motte in 1758. The couple had seven children - and therein begins Rebecca Motte's journey with grief and loss. Of her seven children, only three daughters lived to adulthood. In 1775, her brother Miles and his family were lost at sea. She moved with her family into the home her brother had built on King Street. Rebecca Motte was a strong supporter of the Patriot cause and gave all she could to advance it. Imagine her horror when Charleston fell to the British in 1780 and, to add insult to injury, her home was commandeered as the headquarters for the British officers Sir Henry Clinton and Lords Rawdon and Cornwallis! She locked her three daughters in the attic of the house to keep them away from the presence of the British soldiers. Jacob Motte was, by this time, quite ill. Rebecca was given permission to take her family to her plantation home on the Congaree River in the Orangeburg district. Jacob Motte died shortly afterward in January, 1781.  When the Motte family reached the plantation -- longing, surely, for some respite from grief and war, the British had also occupied her plantation home! She and her family were exiled to a small overseer's house. The British now occupied what had become know as "Fort Motte". General Francis Marion ("Swamp Fox") and Colonel Henry Lee were sent, along with their troops, to capture Fort Motte. After five days, Francis Marion approached Rebecca with a difficult scenario. The only apparent way to rid her house of those pesky British was to burn it down! Rebecca did more than just agree! She remembered a quiver of arrows that had been given to her brother by a West Indian sea captain. The arrows were supposed to be combustible. Rebecca Brewton supplied the arrows to burn down her own home! 


             The plan succeeded and both British and American soldiers worked to put out the fire before the house was completely destroyed. Always the epitome of the "Strong Southern Woman", Rebecca Motte then prepared and served dinner to the American officers and their captive British officers!  










         

Charleston Ironwork - Philip Simmons

Philip Simmons Heart Gate at St. John's Church on Anson St.

           Any stroll through Charleston will bring you in close encounter with another of Charleston’s treasures -- decorative ironwork. From gates to rails to windows to balconies, Charleston’s love affair with the beauty of finely crafted wrought iron is evident. Charleston’s affinity for decorative wrought iron came about early in the history of the city. In 1772, a wrought iron communion rail was imported from England and installed in St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. Blacksmiths, who had made a career of providing nails, horseshoes, and wagon wheels to the growing city, now began to expand their craft to include patterns and scrollwork. The earliest designs were taken from British pattern books, but it didn’t take long for the ironwork of Charleston to develop its own style. Unfortunately, much of the earliest ironwork did not survive the multitude of of fires and natural disasters that plagued those early inhabitants. 

Sword Gate, 32 Legare St.

Of the nineteenth century ironworkers, Christopher Werner is one of the most well-known. He created the Sword Gates at 32 Legare St., as well as the elaborate ironwork at the John Rutledge house at 116 Broad St. which incorporates the motifs of the palmetto tree and the eagle as an homage to John Rutledge’s service to the state and to the nation. The Sword Gates were installed at the Legare St. house in 1849, nearly a decade after Christopher Werner had been commissioned to make gates with Roman swords signifying authority for the Guard House at Broad and Meeting streets. He made one more pair of the gates than was needed, thus allowing for the gates at 32 Legare to be added. The beautiful ironwork at Hibernian Hall (105 Meeting St.) is also thought to be by Christopher Werner.

Hibernian Hall, Meeting St.

           The name Philip Simmons is synonymous with twentieth century wrought ironwork in Charleston. There are few names as beloved in twentieth century Charleston as that of Philip Simmons. Born in 1912 on Daniel Island (long before tennis centers and condominiums!) he lived the rural island life until he was 8 years old. Then the year came that the school district did not send a teacher to the children of Daniel Island and Philip’s grandfather sent him to live with his mother in Charleston during the school year. In the summers and weekends he returned to his grandparents' home on the island until he was thirteen years old. On the way to and from school, Philip passed by the blacksmith’s shop of Peter Simmons (no relation) and in 1925 he began to work for him. From the mentoring of Peter Simmons emerged what would become “Charleston’s Blacksmith” -- Philip Simmons.

Philip Simmons died in 2009 at the age of 97, leaving the city, the nation, and the world the gift of hundreds of pieces of wrought iron artwork. His work is on display at numerous museums including The Charleston Museum, The South Carolina Museum in Columbia, and the Smithsonian. He has been honored by local, state and national leaders. Mr. Simmons was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1982. While in Washington, he was invited to lunch with President Reagan. All of these accolades must have seemed strange for a blacksmith who still used the tools he inherited from Peter Simmons which had been made 150 years before. His workshop on Blake Street had no electricity and he made with his hands anything he needed to use in his craft.  Explore a wealth of information at the website for the Philip Simmons Foundation. There you will find more about Mr. Simmons, as well as a listing - including pictures and locations - of his most prominent ironwork. It is well worth a visit, as is his workshop at 30 1/2 Blake St.

   
       Please take a few minutes to watch this excellent video about Philip Simmons which was produced  by SC ETV:


                                                                                      Philip Simmons

       
   
     

The Bells of St. Michael's

St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 80 Meeting St.

          The bells of St. Michael's Episcopal Church are among the greatest treasures in a city filled with treasures of the heart. St. Michael’s is the oldest church building in Charleston, having survived hurricanes, earthquake and fires – not to mention the devastation left behind by the bombardment and occupation of two wars.

            The bells of St. Michael’s have quite a remarkable “travel history” of their own. In 1764, a ring of eight bells was cast in England and exported to St. Michael’s.  When the British withdrew from Charleston after the Revolutionary War, they took with them all the silver they could find and anything else of value they could carry, as well as 5,000 slaves, 3,800 loyalists – and the bells of St. Michael’s. This was no small feat, as the bells ranged in weight from 509 lbs. to 1,945 lbs.!  Shortly afterward, a merchant in London secured the bells and returned them to a grateful Charleston. Years later, two of the bells cracked and had to be shipped back to London to be recast.

 As the events leading to the Civil War began heating up, Charleston became a focal point. When Sherman made his deadly march through the South, Charlestonians fully expected to be in his path……so the bells were sent to Columbia for safe-keeping, even during a time when most church bells were donated or confiscated to be recast as artillery.  Sherman set his sights on Columbia instead of Charleston and the shed in which the bells were stored burned- along with a great portion of the city. The metal was salvaged and the bells were, once again, sent to London to be recast. When they returned to St. Michael’s, a new frame had been incorrectly installed and the bells could no longer be rung in the traditional way, but had to be chimed instead (Instead of pulling a rope that would physically move the bells full circle, a device was built that would move the clapper against the bell without having to actually move the bells. The bells were rung in this manner from 1868 until 1993.)

After Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the bells once again crossed the Atlantic to have all the fittings replaced. During that time, a new wooden frame was constructed so that when the bells returned they could be rung in the traditional way. Quite a travelogue for a set of bells!

        

             But what of the people who rang those remarkable bells through the years? Do we know anything about them?  Church records indicate that Washington McLean Gadsden, born in slavery in 1824, rang the bells of St. Michael’s for 61 years! Since he retired in 1898, that means he would have begun his ringing career at the age of 13. Because of the fact that the bells were rung in the traditional manner up until the Civil War, one could imagine that, perhaps, the bells were rung by young slave boys. What they must have seen and talked about as they pulled those eight ropes in the bell tower of St. Michael’s! But unlike the others, Washington McLean Gadsden continued to be in charge of the bells. When the bells could not be rung, but instead had to be chimed, he played the clavier-like instrument that moved the clappers of the bells. Since he was ringing an eight bell diatonic scale, he was able to ring the melodies of hymns and spirituals that were recognized by the people. He was a musician in his own right! After the fierce hurricane of 1885, George Williams wrote of the comfort Washington McLean Gadsden gave to the ravaged city as he rang out the old hymns that were so dear to the hearts of those who had been through another terrible ordeal.

      

Today, the bells are rung in the ancient art form known as change ringing…and so the Bells of St. Michael’s have come full circle, bringing with them the history of the past into the promise of the future. May we all have learned a few lessons along the way!

Enjoy this video of the bell ringers of St. Michael's performing a change ring pattern.