That's a Wrap!

For this final video I chose to highlight all of the major things I accomplished and experienced in this class. When browsing through first year experience classes during orientation over the summer, this course was my top pick. I am so glad I got to take this class and participate in all that this class has to offer. 

This video project I compiled pictures I had taken throughout the semester. This was fairly easy to do considering I had taken so many pictures along the way! I hope you have enjoyed my blog post, and enjoy this final video as well! This is K8 signing off for the last time, thanks!

Engage in These Epic Epitaphs

Street Smarts or Book Smarts? Francis Capers Had Both

Francis Withers Capers was born on August 8, 1819 in Savannah Georgia. He was the oldest son of Bishop William and Susan MeGill Capers. He is known for his distinguished careers in both academics and in the military. This unique and dynamic combination of skills allowed him to live a very successful and notable life.

Francis W Capers' education journey began with the completion of school into the college level. He attended Randolph Macon College in Ashland Virginia, but graduated from your very own College of Charleston in 1839. He was college president, completing his degree with the highest rank of honors.

Post graduation was when Capers began his impressive career as an educator. Francis taught math at the College of Charleston for some time, before becoming one of the founding professors at The South Carolina Military Academy, now known as The Citadel. He was part of the original faculty there as a professor of mathematics, and began there in 1843. However, he resigned in 1848 and moved to Kentucky where he furthered his career in education. In Kentucky he taught as a professor at Transylvania University.

Francis Capers, although from Georgia must have felt a connection with South Carolina, as he returned there from Kentucky to take the position of Superintendent of The Citadel. He held this position for 6 years, or from 1953 to 1959. Capers once again left South Carolina, embarking on another academic career path.

Francis Capers was the founding Superintendent of The Georgia Military Academy, located in Marietta. He remained the Superintendent through the start of the civil war. He provided drill instructions to the schools cadets, in hopes to train them well for the war, producing strong Confederate soldiers. He served at several Georgia training camps.

Capers was appointed Brigadier General of Georgia troops on November 11, 1861. General Capers' most significant war contribution involved him commanding a brigade guarding the coast and halting the advance of Union troops into Georgia. He also used his brains to engineer the building of defensive works. He built the defenses at Reseca and oversaw construction of many other efforts.

After the war Capers ran a private school in Augusta, Georgia until once again returning to South Carolina after he was appointed professor of mathematics and civil engineering at the College of Charleston in 1869. He was president from 1880 to 1882 and retired in 1889. His death followed shortly after on January 12, 1892.

Francis Withers Capers is buried at Bethel United Methodist Church, located in Charleston, South Carolina. His grave is no where near extravagant. In fact, it is quite bland considering how interesting and significant of a person is buried there. His grave has only a small symbol, a cross with a circle around it. This depicts perfection and eternity in the afterlife, while the cross is a general symbol for Christianity.

 I find this to be interesting, the simplicity of Francis W Capers' grave. It takes more detective work to figure out and see what kind of person is underneath that stone, and what all they had to offer in their lifetime. I am glad I had the opportunity to uncover and discover all about the great General and Professor, Francis W Capers. I hope all of you reading this blog post learned something too!

Jail Sentence: Eternal

There are more than just tourists passing through the walls of the Old Charleston Jail. After learning about the horrible conditions inmates suffered through, one would think those spirits would flee the premises. However, as tour guide Paulette Foley told us, there are still many spirits that inhabit and haunt what is claimed to be "Charleston's most haunted building."

Our tour guide Paulette Foley with Bulldog Tours explained to us off the bat how she was simply looking for a part time job and did not believe in ghosts whatsoever. Little did she know, after joining the team she would experience her first supernatural encounter only days after. Here are some photos of the room Paulette experienced a cement piece of the wall fly across the room, only to miss her head by fractions of an inch, inexplainable by anything other than the supernatural. 

In order to understand these spirits frustrations, we must first understand the buildings history. The Charleston jail, was not merely a jail, but a federal prison. Built in 1802, it was one of the first five federal prisons built in the United States. The aim for this type of punishment was to eliminate public humiliation and torture to become more civilized. People believed that long term incarceration would solve crime.

The prison was built to hold 150 prisoners, but it was always horribly overcrowded. The prison was closed in 1939 when the federal government came for inspection. They closed the place down in 48 hours because they deemed it unfit for humans. There was no indoor plumbing, no electricity, and many bugs, reptiles, rodents, and bats infesting the building. A journal entry from a guard at the prison describes the crunching of bugs he would hear under his boots, as he made his rounds at night by candle light. 

Throughout its 137 years of operation, 14,000 inmates died, 600 of those by execution. The prison held men, women, and children. The majority of people died of neglect and incredibly poor conditions. Surprisingly there were not many suicides or murders within the walls of the prison. This is likely because the inmates did not have the energy to kill themselves or others, they were just barely making it by, day by day. 

During our tour we were taken to the spot where hangings would occur. I learned that the youngest hanging was of a 15 year old boy for attempted murder. This jail also housed the first female in South Carolina to receive the death penalty, Lavinia. She was publicly hanged and is famous for not only haunting the jail, but also for her last words, "if anybody has a message for Satan give it to me now and I'll deliver it to him." July 7, 1911 was the last hanging done in South Carolina outside the Old Charleston Jail. The hanging took 39 minutes, and after that the state declared it inhumane. 

How Hangings Occured

The Room That Lavinia Haunts

Overall I had a great tour and learned a lot about the history of the building as well as the history of some of the spirits that still make their presence known to this day. It was so neat to be able to see the actual rooms where some legendary spirits roam. I even enjoyed the spook that our tour guide gave us. The eerie, dark, and empty rooms set the stage for a great haunted evening. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here. This type of tour is right up my alley, or should I say jail cell!

The Deceased of Dayton

There are some pretty important people buried at The Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum. This cemetery is located in my hometown of Dayton, Ohio, and founded in 1841. It is a beautiful cemetery, and rather different from the cemeteries and graveyards we have been routinely going to in downtown Charleston.

The Woodland Cemetery is spread over a great amount of hills. This is quite different than Charleston's flat terrain. The cemetery also is home to over 3,000 trees, and no, none of these are palm trees like the ones found in Charleston! I like to climb to the very top of the biggest hill, where there is a gazebo that gives you an awesome view. This gazebo is the highest point in Dayton, Ohio.

I have personal experience with the crazy hills the cemetery is built upon. My high school cross country team used to take busses to the cemetery, which was only about ten minutes from our high school, and complete a hill workout there. It was a bit odd my first year on the team, running around the cemetery. Definitely slightly eerie change in scenery.

When I visited the cemetery over break, I was sure to finally locate the graves of the famous Wilbur and Orville Wright, inventors of the airplane, as well as the famous poet, Paul Dunbar. The Wright Brothers are buried with the rest of their family. Many people have brought shells from North Carolina to place around their grave, because they first flew their plane successfully there.

I also took several photos of grave markers that caught my eye because they were something we learned about in class. I took photos of types of grave markers that I particularly understood the meaning of because of this class, as well as any symbols that I recognized from prior posts or assignments. On top of this I simply took photos of grave markers I found interesting or unique.

Enjoy the series of photos taken at my trip to The Woodland Cemetery!

Cross Country's One Hill of a Sport!

Over the Lake and Through the Woods to Magnolia Cemetery We Go!

My adventure to Magnolia began with a 2.5 mile run to the cemetery. One foot after the other I made it to the miraculous burial ground. It was quite an adventure, running there, which in my opinion made the trip even better! Despite running into a snake on my way, I still enjoyed it as I love running.

Magnolia has their own blog, http://www.magnoliacemetery.net/ where they proudly state Magnolia as "One of America's most beautiful and historic cemeteries." Not only is it beautiful and historic, it's also interactive too! Magnolia hosts an anual Confederate Ghost Walk in the middle of October, with more than 200 re-enactors!

When I first entered Magnolia the lake and bridge caught my eye. All the water reflecting the perfect blue sky was truly breathtaking. Magnolia Cemetery is very old, being that it was built in 1850, but it has been very well kept up since then. Props to the grounds crew, who were so kind as to give me bug spray after getting eaten alive the first couple minutes of wandering around the cemetery.

the sun dazzling off the lake

The overall landscape of the cemetery was breathtaking. I especially liked the bridge and the lake. The covering of big, beautiful trees, and dynamic layout of grave markers made for a very unique feel. The palm trees added a very nice touch to graves surrounding them. The walkability of the course was good, and paths were wide enough for cars.

palm tree next to grave sight

big, beautiful tree casting shade over path

open landscape and large path

bridge across lake

Palm trees lining lake

The extravagant grave markers added to the uniqueness that makes Magnolia Cemetery one of the greatest in the country. The Victorian Era captured such art in the stone that makes up this cemetery. My favorites include the infant grave of Rosalie Raymond. She was born in January 1882 and died in September 1882, not even reaching her first birthday. This was one of my favorites because of the design. It is made to look like a baby cradle, and there is an infant face in the cradle. This makes it very apparent that the particular grave is one of a baby.

My next favorite grave sight of Magnolia is the monument dedicated to Elbert P. Jones. Born in Kentucky on September 23, 1814, and died in Charleston on April 1, 1852. This grave sight is truly a sight to see. The thing is so massive in size, it is truly amazing. It includes an extremely tall, pointed top and a lady holding a bible sculpted out of the stone. There are several tiers leading up to the main part of the monument. So miraculous in size, this is one of my favorites.

Last but not least is the memorial for the Confederate soldiers in Magnolia Cemetery. This was one of my favorite sights to see because of its beauty and history, both things that Magnolia Cemetery is known for. the organization, and sculpting of this memorial is very visually appealing, making it another one of my favorites sights of the trip. The simplicity of the lines of small headstones paired with the lavish statue of a soldier made for the perfect memorial recipe.  

Overall, I was very pleased with my experience on this trip! It was nice to explore on my own the many places this cemetery had to offer. It was such wonderful weather, making for a wonderful day, in a wonderful place! Here's a picture of me jumping for joy after my walk through the magnificent Magnolia Cemetery.

Until I LEAP into my next blog post, bye bye for now!

What Lies Beneath Bethel UMC?

Bethel United Methodist Church harbors great history in its existence. This church is nearly 220 years old and holds the title of the oldest standing methodist church in Charleston. It has been established since 1797 and is distinguished as an National Historic Landmark.

Bethel served both black and white members in its early years, during the 1800's. This fits Bethel's welcoming personality to this day. As described on the website, Bethel UMC is overwhelmingly open to participants of diversities, and embrace these differences in the community as a gift from God.

We went to Bethel UMC together as a class on October 17. The graveyard itself was smaller in size, but what it lacked in acres, it gained in graveyard symbols!

This first symbol, picture above, is that of a wreath. I researched this symbol online, using the website http://msghn.org/usghn/symbols.html to find its meaning. The United States Genealogy and History Network stated that the wreath symbolized victory in death. This dates back to ancient Greeks and was adopted by Christians as a symbol of victory and redemption, I read in the book, Stories Told in Stone by Gaylord Cooper.

The next symbol depicted is more of an illustration. In this illustration, an angel is seen to be possibly weeping in front of an urn with a wreath in her hand. As we found out prior, the wreath symbolizes victory in death. The angel represents spirituality and the mourning of an untimely death (because this one has her hand over her heart.) The urn represents immortality and is the greek symbol of mourning.

The weeping willow is the most common of all Victorian symbols. It is popular throughout 19th century gravestones. This tree symbolizes perpetual mourning and grief for the deceased. 

The next symbols depicted are more light hearted than the previous. In the above picture, a dove is descending with a twig in its mouth upon flowers. The dove is an important symbol in Christianity, representing the holy spirit. The descending bird symbolizes the Spirit from heaven upon the deceased.  

The next symbol is a broken flower which symbolizes a life terminated, or mortality. Flowers in general represent the frailty of life as they are dainty and delicate in nature. 

This symbol is simply a cross inside a circle. The circle signifies perfection or eternity in the afterlife. The cross represents, in general, Christianity. The man buried here was a graduate of the College of Charleston in 1839. He became a Citadel mathematics professor in 1843. nearly 20 years later during the Civil War he was Brigadier General of the division of Georgia troops. 

This headstone depicts a crown over a cross. This symbolizes sovereignty or extreme power of authority of the Lord.

The flowers as previously stated represent the frailty of life. Draped cloth over the top of a grave represents mourning and the separation of the living and the dead. This I read on a website describing gravestone symbolism, http://www.graveaddiction.com/symbol.html

This particular grave has four symbols. The first three are symbols which I have already described, those being the flowers representing the frailty of life, the wreaths representing victory in death, and the drapery representing mourning. The bible on top of the cloth represents a religious layperson or a cleric. 

The final symbols I am going to share come from my favorite illustration in Bethel's graveyard. This headstone depicts a weeping woman under a weeping willow in front of an urn. The weeping woman and the weeping willow both represent mourning of the deceased. The weeping and sorrow meant to be shown in this particular headstone is immense. 

The Pizza King

Victor "Vic" Cassano Senior was born on June 4, 1922 and passed away January 1, 2002. Vic Cassano is my great great uncle, being that he is my grandma's uncle. Vic was originally a grocer, from Kettering, Ohio in Dayton who established the "Cassano's Pizza King" restaurants on June 4, 1953 along with his mother in-law Caroline "Mom" Donisi. The restaurant Cassano's currently is operating in 34 locations in Dayton, Ohio.

I spoke to my grandma about my great great uncle and she shared with me the following, "Mom Donisi was Vic's mother-in law and she had the recipe. Vic owned a small grocery store and opened the pizza house in the front. I am the only living one who was there opening night. I was 14 and sat on a stool and answered the phone and took orders as they came in. It was the first pizza in the Dayton area and it was an instant success. Adding a second store within a year where I worked summers and weekends."

Photos from the early days of the restaurant 

Harry Cassano (my great grandpa on the left) along side his brother Vic

The business was booming, so expansion was inevitable. In the mid 1970's Cassano's was ranked by The National Restaurant Association as one of the top 4 pizza chains in the United States. I used ancestry.com as a resource to find some of my great great uncle's advertising mechanisms, a lot of which were put in the ad section of local yearbooks. Below are a few examples of yearbook ads made by my great great uncle. 

Chaminade-Julienne High School 1958

University of Dayton, 1962

He reached great success with his restaurant, but my great great uncle didn't always have it so easy. From his obituary of March 20, 2002 in the Dayton Daily News:

".... A son of Italian immigrants, Cassano faced a life of challenges from very early on. When he was only 2, his father died, and his mother, who neither spoke nor read English, was forced to place her three boys in a Cincinnati orphanage. Years later, the mother reunited the family. Cassano went on to become a well-known humanitarian in throughout Ohio, knowing well the struggles of others and eager to give them a hand. According to a Dayton Daily News story printed in 1981, Cassano attributed his kindness to knowing he'd be held accountable after death. "When you get to those pearly gates, you're going to be judged by what you do for your fellow man," he said. He also attributed his success to growing up in the U.S., and to going the extra step for the customer. "The fun of the free enterprise system is that you can go as far as you want if you are willing to offer a little more than the average person," he told the Daily News. He is survived by two brothers, his wife, Anne, two sons, two daughters, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren." Vic Cassano is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio. He is buried with his wife Anne Marie. Underneath their last name says "Together Forever" which is a display of how much he loved his wife. The plaques are decorated with dainty flowers represent the frailty of life, according to the Stories Told In Stone Cemetery Iconology by Gaylord Cooper.  Vic Cassano left a legacy behind in Dayton. In the magazine article "A Slice of Dayton" Vic "Chip" Cassano III says about the hometown pizza brand, “It’s kind of what Dayton grew up on...Everybody knew my grandfather" I am very proud of my great great uncle for his entrepreneurship and success. I am happy to call "The Pizza King" an ancestor of mine and have enjoyed so much learning about the history of the business.

Gravely yours, Ruth Miller

"They're fascinating. That's why I think it's so important. They are a value to everybody." - Ruth Miller

So what exactly is it that Ruth is talking about that is so important? History? Religion? Culture? The answer is a combination of the three; gravestones. Studying gravestones and cemeteries will give you insight to all three of those categories. In fact there an entire organization of people dedicated to exactly this, called the AGS, Association of Gravestone Studies. https://www.gravestonestudies.org/ This nonprofit organization dedicates itself to education, appreciation and conservation of gravestones and burial grounds.

The history involved with the analyzation of gravestones is immense. I could tell from when Ruth spoke to our First Year Experience class "Beyond the Grave" on September 12, that she was largely interested in the history surrounding these burial sites. She joked about how she could go on about the history forever and had to cut off the conversation about the history to get to the rest of her presentation.

Gravestones demonstrate religion, depicting different religious symbols and beliefs about the afterlife. As Miller stated, back in the 1800's "any seven people can constitute a faith. Baptists, Quakers, Congregationalists, etc" These faiths were represented uniquely through the gravestones they produced. 

Cultural significance is a main topic of discussion when referring to the study of graveyards and gravestones. Cultures vary by place and time. "It's interesting how these things...it's the culture that moves around." -Miller. Locally, we have an array of 18th century cemeteries. In fact, Charleston has the best collection of 18th century cemeteries in the United States, as I learned from Miller during her presentation. This was for two reasons, the first being that Charleston has no natural stone. Miller joked, "If you go to the beach and you get a pebble between your toes, somebody hauled it there." Wealthy Charlestonians had their stone transported here. The carvers of that time demonstrated the culture and emphasis on art in the 1800's. The second reason being Charleston has more of these types of tombstones than anywhere else.

All this and more makes me excited to get out and explore what I've heard such great and interesting things about, the gravestones of Charleston! Here is a picture of two intelligent and dedicated people to the study of Charleston's grave sites. I have already learned so much through both of them, I can't wait to see what fun the rest of the semester holds!