Did you know it was five months ago when I started writing this series about the historic district churchyards  of Charleston, S.C.?

Most of the information I gathered and photos I took were from a single day in May 2018 when author/educator Frank Karpiel kindly showed me around some of his favorite haunts. A few I’d been to before and a small number of my photos are from those previous visits. My visit to Bethel United Methodist Church took place in 2013 but I felt it was worth including.

Today, I’m finishing the adventure by wrapping things up at the Circular Congregational Church (CCC) burial ground with a final look around at this unique collection of grave markers and monuments.

Hutson-Peronneau Vault

The largest grave site in the CCC burial ground is the Hutson-Peronneau brick vault, measuring 10X10X10. An archeological survey done in the early 1980s revealed that at least 18 persons were interred inside of it, many that are listed in church records.

Some of the markers I shared last week belonged to the Peronneau family. Arthur Peronneau (1735-1774) may have been the first person placed inside of this vault. I could not find much information about him. He married Mary Hutson at St. Philip’s (whose West Cemetery is right next door) in June 1762.

Arthur died on Oct. 15, 1774 at the age of 39. His will mentions his wife, Mary, and the four oldest children, all of whom lived to adulthood. It does not mention his youngest daughter, Ann. Sadly, she was born nine days after Arthur died on Oct. 24, 1774.

Lawyer, Politician, Lieutenant Governor

The most famous person interred in the Hutson-Peronneau vault is Arthur’s brother-in-law, Richard Hutson (1747-1795). A plaque detailing his storied career was placed on the vault by his family’s descendants in 1995.

Richard Hutson graduated from Princeton University in 1765. He studied law afterward and gained admittance to the South Carolina bar in 1768.

Hutson also played an influential role in Charleston’s political circles. He served five terms in the South Carolina House of Representatives between 1776 and 1788. After the British captured Charleston in 1780, he was held prisoner at St. Augustine, Fla. until July 1781. After he returned to Charleston, Hutson served as the eighth Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina under Governor John Mathews in 1782 and 1783.

Hutson also served as Charleston’s first intendant mayor, serving in 1783 and 1784. The position was known as intendant until 1836, and has been known as “mayor” since that time. He died in Philadelphia, Pa. in 1795.

The Actor Who Became a Pastor

I’d like to share the grave marker of Richard Hutson’s father, the Rev. William Hutson. It might look familiar in style because it was carved by William Codner, who also produced the Rev. Nathan Bassett’s marker that I shared about in the previous post.

Born in 1720 in England, William was a stage actor who made his way to America. He was working on the stage in New York when he attended a revival where George Whitfield was speaking. Whitfield was part of the Great Awakening, a religious revival sweeping the new country. As a result, William became a pastor and eventually led the Circular Congregational Church. I wonder if William’s acting skill helped him in the pulpit when delivering sermons.

The Rev. Huston died in 1761 at the age of 41. The top of his marker fascinates me. Like the Rev. Bassett, there are two cherubs flanking a portrait bust. But if you take a close look at the cherub on the left, he’s leaning on an hourglass. That fits right in with the 18th-century notion that we have little time on the Earth. The other cherub is leaning on a skull, tapping into the motif that we’re all going to die so it’s best to live a good life so we end up in Heaven and not Hell.

“His Turn is Come”

This next marker is truly striking. While much isn’t known about John Warham (1751-1773), we do know his stone was carved by Rhode Islander John Bull. An hourglass dangles on the blade of a scythe, a favorite motif he used on some of his stones.

Over toward the Parish House is a plot that Frank Karpiel pointed out to me during our 2018 tour of Charleston cemeteries. It’s a domed brick vault in the plot belonging to the Simmons family. Dating from 1695, many believe this to be the oldest crypt in Charleston. Around it are markers other pioneer families like the Peronneaus and Vanderhorsts.

Two Remarkable Portrait Stones

There are two portrait-style grave markers I don’t want to leave out. Attributed to carver William Codner, the stones for Isaac Holmes, Jr. and his wife, Elizabeth Stanyarne Holmes, capture details some of his others do not. Note that neither has angels/cherubs flanking the portraits, something Codner liked to do.

The son of Isaac Holmes, Sr., a native of Boston, Isaac Jr. was a prosperous merchant who was born and raised in Charleston. He married Elizabeth Stanyarne in September 1755 when she was around 16 years of age. She died only three years later on May 18, 1758 at age 19. It looks like they’ve had to repair her stone due to cracks.

If you get a good look at Elizabeth’s portrait, the detail is amazing. Codner does a lovely job of detailing the curls of her hair, the folds of her gown, and even the ties of her bodice.

“A Heap of Dust”

Isaac remarried in 1759 to Rebekah Bee, who was 30. One of their children, Susannah, is listed on Isaac’s marker. She died at the age of nine months on April 11, 1763.

I think Codner did an equally amazing job on Issac and Susannah’s marker. Again, the detail of the hair is apparent. Note the button and buttonhole of his coat. Even the folds of Isaac’s cravat are included.

Isaac died only seventh months after his daughter, Susannah, on Dec. 17, 1763. Here’s part of the inscription on their stone, with the spelling exactly as it was carved:

How lov’d How valu’d once avails Thee not
To whom related or by whom begott
A Heap of Dust alone remains of Thee
Tis all thou art and all the Proud shall be
Blessed are the Dead that die in the Lord
May my latter End be unto theirs

“Arrested by the Hand of Death”

There are a few more grave stones I’d like to share that date a bit later than previous ones but are still remarkable. This one is for Mary Jane Smith (1740-1765). She was the wife of a CCC deacon, Josiah Smith, according to her stone.

Her marker features an urn flanked by two weeping women, which is keeping with the movement away from soul effigies and portraits. The Classical influence is more heavily felt in this era. Let’s take a look at the top closer up.

You’ll notice that the urn is quite detailed, from the flame to the draping of the ribbon. I have a notion that the mourners were added later and with less attention, although they are still well done. I think someone else, even much later, added the additional arms bearing handkerchiefs. The face of the mourner on the left was vandalized, sadly.

What’s in a Wreath?

This last monument is for Major David Ramsay (1830-1863), whose life is memorialized by a cut-off column topped by a wreath. A broken off column often meant a life cut short. It was carved by one of Charleston’s best known stone masons, E.B. White (his name is on the base).

Wreaths are ancient symbols, going back to the ancient Greeks, who wore them to signify their occupations, achievements, or status. They also crowned Olympic game winners with laurel leaf wreaths as a symbol of the Greek god Apollo, who embodied victory and achievement.

During the 1800s, in grave iconography, an oak leaf wreath meant strength. Laurel wreaths still meant victory but could also signify the arts/music. The bay leaf wreath often stood for death and mourning.

Major Ramsay’s marker actually gives a good account of his life:

Educated in the Schools of Charleston he completed his collegiate studies at the University of Heidelburg, Germany. There his natural gifts of intellect aided by industry and stimulated by an honorable ambition secured for him the highest honors of his alma mater.

Returning to his native country he embarked in the practice of law and soon reached an honorable rank of the profession fame and fortune seemed equally with in his reach when at the call of his country he repaired to the field of battle, there as Major of battalion. He fell mortally wounded gallantry fighting in the defense of Battery Wagner on Morris Island.

A well-educated man, David Ramsay was practicing law and had attained a seat in the state legislature when the Civil War began. As a Confederate Army officer, Ramsay served as a major in the First South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Battalion, also known as the Charleston Battalion. He died on Aug. 6, 1863 after he was mortally wounded at Battery Wagner on Morris Island, S.C.

David’s grandfather, also named David Ramsay was an American physician, public official, and historian from Charleston. He was one of the first major historians of the American Revolutionary War. He is also buried at the CCC burial ground, albeit with a much humbler marker that I missed seeing when I was visiting.

Farewell to Charleston

It’s hard for me to leave Charleston behind. I’m not totally done with this city because I’ve not yet written about Magnolia Cemetery, which I’ve visited numerous times. So look for that to be accomplished in the near future (fingers crossed).

In the meantime, I’m going to leave you with some more CCC markers that I think you ought to see. Thanks for joining me on this long but amazing adventure through Charleston’s historic church yards.

It’s the last stop on my 2018 Charleston cemetery adventures. I’m ending on a true high note at the Circular Congregational Church (CCC) burial ground. If you visit Charleston and only have time to visit one cemetery/church yard/burial ground, pick THIS one because the rarity of what you can see here in the Southeast will literally blow you away.

Visually, it’s apparent where the church got its name. If you visit their web site, they do a good job detailing their history so I won’t talk too much about that. There are too many awesome stones to share.

Some important things to know are that the first meeting house on this site gave Meeting Street its name. While the CCC congregation was established around 1680 on this spot, the current building is its fourth and was built in 1892.

The church yard or burial ground (as it is listed on Find a Grave) was established around 1695. As a result, you get a true microcosm of the history of funerary style/art over two centuries. The skull and crossbones of the earliest slates evolve into the skull with wings, the angel’s head with wings, and then portrait busts, first primitive and then classical.

Most of the carvers of these stones never stepped foot in Charleston but lived in New England. So how did their work end up in South Carolina? Wealthy Charlestonians wanted to keep up with their Northern neighbors when it came to representing their wealth when they passed on. A simple gravestone would not suffice. So they paid top dollar to have New England carvers produce the same stones their society peers were demanding up North.

The CCC burial ground is located right behind the West Cemetery of St. Philip’s, which I wrote about a few weeks ago. Most of the time, the gate between the two is unlocked and you can walk through. The day we took this photo, it was locked but all we had to do was walk around the block to where the bank beside the CCC is located. That entrance wasn’t locked.

According to the CCC’s web site, while many gravestones have disappeared, more than 500 remain, with about 730 individuals named on those stones. Another 620 people are named in church records with indications they were most likely buried in the graveyard.

Statistics for gravestones currently in the graveyard:

• Earliest unmarked grave: 1695
• Earliest inscribed gravestone: 1729
• Number of burials before 1776: 150
• Number of burials for people who were born before 1800: 450

One of the oldest stones in the CCC burial ground belongs to one of its pastors, the Rev. Nathan Bassett, Jr. It’s located right beside the church building itself.

Born in 1701 in Roxbury, Mass. to blacksmith Nathan Bassett, Sr. and Mary Huckins Bassett, the Rev. Bassett arrived in Charleston in 1724 to pastor the CCC. The lengthy inscription on his marker is written completely in Latin. He died on June 26, 1738 of smallpox at the age of 36.

There are some important things that set the Rev. Bassett’s marker apart. For one, scholars believe it’s the first example of a portrait-style stone in America, predating any seen in New England by a handful of years. Second, it was created by one of New England’s top carvers, William Codner. His signature, a rarity in itself, is on the bottom. Unfortunately, I didn’t know this when I photographed it. The grass was obscuring it so I never noticed it at the time.

There are at least 30 Peronnneaus buried at the CCC and a number of their markers were also carved by William Codner. This stone for Henry Peronneau (1667-1743) is just one of them. It’s another great example of a portrait stone.

Born in La Rochelle, France, Henry Peronneau came to Charleston in 1687 when he was 20. He and his family were some of the early Huguenots in the colony as well as members of the Independent Congregational Church in Charleston. A merchant, Henry Peronneau, his wife Desiree, many of their children and grandchildren were buried in the church yard.

Henry’s grandson, Alexander, is buried near him and his stone is another Codner creation that embraces the portrait style. In this photo, his grave is on the left.

To the right of Alexander’s marker is that of his mother, Mary Peronneau. She passed away when Alexander was seven years old. Her marker is thought to have been carved by the Lamson family of carvers in New England. You can find their work in graveyards all over Cape Cod. One distinctive trait of Lamson’s winged skulls are eyebrows with hooked ends.

Another Lamson marker was done for Mary’s son (and Alexander’s brother) John, who died at the age of two in 1736. While Mary’s stone has a winged skull and John’s features a soul effigy, many of the decorative elements like the amoeba-like swirls on the border are very much the same.

Elizabeth Simmons’ marker is another portrait-style marker but it was done by Boston carver Nathaniel Emmes (1690-1750). William Codner apprenticed in his shop. You can see Codner’s influence on Emmes quite clearly in Elizabeth’s stone.

Some of the features Emmes liked to include were ornate borders, graduated discs in the fineals, along with indented skulls and cross bones over the winged skulls.

Another carver whose work you can find at the CCC is that of Capt. John Homer of New England. Homer enjoyed using the combination of a skull and crossbones over a soul effigy. He did an especially fine job on this stone for Charleston merchant David Stoddard, who died at the age of 30 in 1769.

Finally, let’s take a look at the graves of the children of William and Sabina Ellis. From what I can tell on Ancestry, the couple had at least nine children. The eldest and the youngest are the only two whom appear to have lived well past their 20s. Five of their children were buried at the CCC between 1753 and 1765. Let’s take a look at the four that I managed to photograph.

Second son William was four months and 19 days old when he died on June 14, 1753. He is buried to the left of his younger brother, John, whose marker I did not get a complete photo of. The soul effigy on William’s marker has a happy expression, with its wings folded down on the sides. 

Next was daughter Sabina, who lived 11 months and 20 days before she died on June 6, 1757. Her stone was probably done by the same carver who did William’s marker.

Finally, we have John and Margaret Ellis. John lived only a month and 11 days before he died on July 19, 1758. Margaret, who is to his left, lived three months before she died on Jan. 4, 1765.

The contrast between Margaret and John’s two markers is quite interesting. Margaret’s marker is more like William and Sabina’s, with the soul effigy having down-turned wings. But John’s marker has a soul effigy with its wings turned up. They’re also not nearly as well detailed.

There’s so much more to discover at the Circular Congregation Church burial ground. Join me for more stories among the stones next time.