As I await the delivery of my new book (update: it has been delivered), I thought I would create a blog post sharing 10 of my favorite graves that are part of "Stories from the Underground: The Churchyards of Charleston." Hundreds of graves are shown and written about in the 228-page large format, full-color hardback book (with a dust jacket too!).
This will not be an easy list to compile! I include the graves in my book because I feel there is something interesting, special, and/or unique about each and every one of them. The 10 featured here are in no particular order. So, without further ado....
1. Catharine Simons Sarcophagus- Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul, 126 Coming St.
There are many things I like about this gravesite. The sarcophagus design is rare and expensive. I think this is the smallest one I've ever seen, befitting Catharine Simons who was just (as inscribed in the stone) "21 years, 3 months, 2 days" old when she died in 1852. I was unable to determine her cause of death.
Other than "Catharine" and her age at death, the only other words are "Wife of William Simons."
This site was particularly difficult to research because there is very little to be found about the short time Catharine had on earth. Malcolm Hale at the Charleston County Public Library's South Carolina Room was a huge help in what little we did find. In an old genealogy book, Malcolm was able to find a Catharine Simons Hume born in 1830. She was the daughter of Dr. William Hume and Catherine Simons Lucas. There are many Humes and Lucases buried in this graveyard, and her father's grave is very close to Catharine's.
Earlier in my research of this grave I went down a rabbit hole that this Catharine Simons may have been a freed slave, this after finding that name in another source. I thought if this is true, what a story we have here. But I am confident that what I later found out, with Malcolm Hale's assistance, is the true story of the young woman.
2. Rev. Thomas John Young's Curious Symbol- St. Michael's Church, 71 Broad St.
Well, the story is that what is today called the Star of David has a history going back to ancient Egypt. The six-point star has been used since then by different religions, cultures and organizations, including the Masons. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler appropriated the star for his hate-filled purge of Jews in Europe.
Another interpretation is that the star represents the Old Testament and the long cross on the tomb symbolizes the New Testament.
When he died in 1852, Rev. Young was an assistant minister at St. Michael's Church. Educated at Yale and ordained in the Episcopal Church in 1827, he served for 20 years at other area churches before coming to this church.
