The Mysterious Monument in Cougar Mall

Interesting fact I learned today! 

The mysterious monument in Cougar Mall belongs to the mother of a United States President.

Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson is the mother of President Andrew Jackson, our seventh President, and she has a memorial marker on the College of Charleston campus. 

According to The Post and Courier, she is not buried in this spot but some wanted to move the marker from its original location to "rescue" it from "unkempt roadside surroundings". It was moved in 1967 to the Cougar Mall thanks to Ted Stern, College of Charleston President at the time.

This is the monument in Cougar Mall

This is not the only memorial for her, in 1954 the Daughters of the American Revolution donated a monument which stands in Washington Park located near Charleston City Hall.

According to Women History blog, Elizabeth Jackson immigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1765 with her husband, Andrew Jackson, and their two oldest children. In 1767 her husband died unexpectedly just three weeks before Andrew Jackson II was born.

When Andrew Jackson II was 14 years old both of his brothers had died and his mother went to Charleston to find and help her two nephews being held prisoners on ships in the Charleston Harbor while doing that she helped tend to soldiers also being held prisoners. Through all the hard work she got sick and died due to cholera in November 1781.

The epitaph on Elizabeth Jackson's memorial in Cougar Mall are the last words she said to Andrew Jackson.

It talks about how he needs to treasure the things she has already told him, be a good and honest friend to others and to face any problems with a calm mind set.
It can be found, in detail, on the Women History blog.

This monument is in Lancaster, SC 

The photo to the left is from RoadsideAmerica.com, this is located in Lancaster, South Carolina. This is not a statue of Elizabeth Jackson but what the Daughters of the American Revolution best guessed she may have looked like.











According to Women History blog, Andrew Jackson knew his mother died in the Charleston area, however was never able to find where she was actually buried.

World War I Survivor!

My great-great grandfather survived World War I and lived to tell about it!

Curtis Othaniel Groom, Sr. is my great-great grandfather on my mother's side. He was born December 13, 1896 in Platte, Missouri and was the third of seven children.

There were five boys and two girls and they were all over six feet tall. My great-great grandpa was 6' 4" and I did not get my height from him. Everyone else is short in my family, my great grandpa must have gotten his height from his mother and passed to me.

I used Family Search to find a lot of information on my great-great grandpa as well as the help of my mother and grandmother.

I was able to find several censuses he was a part of. In the 1900 census they were still living in Missouri and by the 1910 census they had moved in Los Angeles, California.

1900 US Census - Lines 35-40 - Photo from Family Search

1910 US Census - Lines 97-100 - Photo from Family Search

A World War I Survivor!

A World War I survivor!

I will be posting a blog, in detail, about my great-great grandfather, Curtis Othaniel Groom, Sr. on my mother's side.

He served in World War I, his son Curtis Othaniel Groom Jr. is my great-grandfather and he served in World War II at the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

So far I have been able to his death certificate, several censuses, some marriage licences for his children, and my great-grandfather's WWII registration card.

I decided to choose him because I do not know that much about him, I had never meet him. I did meet my great-grandfather but I wanted to know more about his father.

There will be many more pictures to come after I get a chance to talk to my grandmother.

The Elegance of Headstones

The meaning behind these elegant headstones. 

Last week I visited Bethel United Methodist Church with my Beyond the Grave class. Grave markers can tell stories about the departed. The beautiful art work on the markers can symbolize many different things and can be interpreted differently. 

The book, Stories Told in Stone  by Gaylord Cooper, has many different symbols listed with their meanings, such as, birds, animals, hands, geometric symbols, stars, plants, and objects.

The meaning of the symbols on the grave markers below will come from the book, Stories Told in Stone.

Each has its own meaning, some will have multiple meaning that are relatively close.
 to one another

The grave marker of Fleming, to the right, shows wreath with a ribbon tied at the bottom.

This is an ivy wreath which symbolizes conviviality, which means to be friendly and lively.

Second Trip to Second Presbyterian.

Second trip to Second Presbyterian!




Today I went back to Second Presbyterian Church of Charleston to take a closer look at the grave sites, however, the gates were locked. I was able to get some good pictures of the grave markers from the gate.













This time I was able to get a picture of the column where the plaster has come off of the brick. It is interesting that they covered over the brick to mimic a different style.