The Oldest Charlestonian

KKBE (courtesy of kkbe.org)

Many things in Charleston are, for lack of better word, old. This includes the Jewish synagogue, Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE), which was founded in 1749 along with its cemetery, the Coming Street Cemetery that was founded just fifteen years later. While it was established later than KKBE, the cemetery is the oldest Jewish burial in the South, and it is the resting place of one of the oldest people to ever live in Charleston.

Barbary States (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Starr Barrett was born in 1699 in a Barbary State that was under the Empire of Morocco. It is said that Barrett “possessed a constitution truly Arabian,” and never got sick. She was known to be a traveler, someone who had seen “the four quarters of the globe.” This worldliness showed in her abundance of knowledge. She spoke English, Spanish, Italian, and French, but she also spoke the mixed languages of the traders of the southern Mediterranean. She was familiar with Hebrew and even wrote, and spoke, Arabic with ease.

Around 1780, Barrett moved from London to Charleston where she attended KKBE. Here, she became well known for her cheery personality and knowledge of the world. Just shortly after moving to Charleston, these characteristics were put to the test when, in 1786, two Algerian men arrived in Charleston. Because of their different customs, the people of Charleston were confused by their presence, and law enforcement stepped in to question them. However, the new men did not speak English. This is where Barrett’s knowledge and kind soul step in to play. She housed them and spoke to them, in their language, and found out that they were also Jewish. Digging deeper, Barrett learned that the men had sailed from Algeria to Virginia but were arrested because they were suspected of being Algerian. They had fled to South Carolina after that.

Barrett's Ledger (courtesy of  jhss.org)

Despite her being 80 at the time of moving here, Barrett would get to enjoy Charleston for a while longer, more specifically, for 40 more years. That’s right! Starr Barrett is said to have been upward of 100 years old when she passed away, according to a Charleston obituary, making her the oldest resident of the Coming Street Cemetery, and probably all of Charleston. It is said that she never really got sick like one would expect, rather she “withered away like some majestic tree which gradually loses its moisture.” Leaving behind a remarkable legacy of empathy and intrigue that we can all learn from, Starr Barrett passed away on January 9, 1820 and was laid to rest in the Coming Street Cemetery.

Charleston's Moody Man

Rev. John Mood (courtesy geni.com)

Charleston sets the mood in antiques with the help of one silversmith, Reverend John Mood. Even though I currently live in Charleston, I had never heard of the name John Mood before, and neither had a lot of other people. However, once I found out who he was, I could not resist digging a little deeper. Reverend John Mood was born on January 11, 1792 in Charleston SC. Silversmiths ran in the Mood family with John’s father, Peter Mood, also being a silversmith and John’s brother, Peter, was also in the trade.

An 1835 slave badge made
by the Mood brothers

John and Peter worked together in their shop called “Wholesale and Retail Dealers and Manufacturers of Silver and Gold Ware,” and were able to make a name for themselves when in 1832, they were contracted to make slave badges. These were badges made only in Charleston that slaves were required to wear. Made out of copper and tin, badges were handed out to the City of Charleston to slaves for a fee. These badges had the slave’s type of work on it and allowed those not being used on a plantation to find work in the city. With out a doubt, this was a very profitable contract for the Mood brothers, and two years later, they were contracted again.

However, there was one confusing aspect of making slave badges for John Mood. He was a Methodist and Methodists at this time were known for favoring abolition. So, what was such a fervent Methodist doing making slave badges? Well, that was a question Mood asked himself and prayed over with Bishop Francis Asbury. Together, they decided the best course of action was to illegally teach black ministers to read and write. Mood himself became a preacher and opened a Sunday school for the black children in his community. Mood showed his bravery and faith when, even though he was being threatened, he decided to maintain the school for years.

John Mood's ledger stone
(courtesy of Patrick Harwood)

Mood would maintain his shop with his brother until about 1841, when they ran into a little bit of financial trouble. An employee had managed to get the head clerk inebriated and then took off with the keys and stock. After this tragedy, Mood’s brother would move to New York, but Mood hadn’t finished his business in Charleston. He decided to restart his business “with no capital but an honest name, skillful hands and an abiding trust in God.” He would continue out his life in Charleston educating the black youth as a well known Reverend and silversmith until his death on March 1, 1792.

It Runs in the Family

My Great Grandfather, Yon Miyasaki

Growing up, I never heard much about my dad's family. They lived all the way across the country, so for a while our only communication was the occasional Christmas card. In the summer of 2015, I finally got to sit through a 7 hour flight, packed full of delays, and go see them for the very first time. Meeting the family on my dad's side was an honor as they had so many interesting stories to tell and much to teach me, mainly about my great grandfather, Yon Miyasaki.

My great grandfather and his father

On April 21st, 1908, my great grandfather was born near Los Angeles, California. I don't know much about his childhood other than he was born and raised a farmer. He lived a pretty average life, until the 1940s, when WWII began. 

The entrance of Manzanar

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US government decided to initiate the forced relocation of Japanese Americans into places called internment camps. They were forced to give up their belongings and houses and taken to be locked up in their designated camp. My great grandfather was placed in the Manzanar camp in California. Here, my grandfather and all of his siblings were raised alongside 10,000 other incarcerated Japanese Americans.

Life on the camp was hard for the people living there. They had no privacy in the barracks, often sharing a room with strangers. The lines to get food and use the bathrooms were always long, yet the people at the camp were determined to make the best of it.

"Manzanar Co-op Fish Market"

"Yon Miyasaki Manzanar Railway Express Clerk Unloading Fish Cargo from PMT Truck Destined to Co-op Fish Market"

My great grandfather worked as a railway express clerk, unloading fish from the trucks that arrived and taking them to the fish market. But in his spare time, he was practicing his new hobby, photography. Pictures were not exactly allowed inside the camp, the privilege only being granted to a special few, but my great grandfather decided to ignore that rule and throughout his years living there, he would create dozens of scrapbooks filled with pictures from his daily life, showing the good and bad of daily life.

One of Yon's Scrapbooks

Yon with his father

The thing my great grandfather cherished most was his family. All of his scrapbooks are full of pictures of his neighbors, sisters, brothers, and children. Everyone around him was his family. After speaking to my grandfather, I learned that Yon was a very charismatic man who "liked to joke around." My grandfather explained that one time, he had a date and was planning on wearing a nice suit. To embarrass him, my great grandfather put a hammer in the pocket of the suit to stretch it out, forcing my grandfather to wear something else. However, to make up for it he let my grandfather borrow his car. 

Yon with my father, Paul Miyasaki

Unfortunately, I never got to meet my great grandfather. He passed away on June 23rd, 1995 and is buried at Rose Hills Memorial park. Despite not knowing him, he taught me a lot about the importance of family, not only through your direct relatives, but with those in your community.

Who is Buried at C of C!?

Elizabeth Jackson's monument in Cougar Mall

Today my Beyond the Grave class was told that we would be going down the center of campus to look at something interesting. Used to walking around graveyards, this shocked me as I was pretty sure there were no graveyards on campus. I was right, there are no graveyards, but there is a monument dedicated to none other than Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson.

If this name seems familiar, it's because Elizabeth Jackson was the mother of Andrew Jackson; the 7th President of the United States. Andrew Jackson's death could be seen as a crazy coincidence. While living near the border of the Carolinas, Elizabeth's husband, Andrew Jackson, fell ill and died. Astonishingly, Elizabeth gave birth shortly after the death of her husband to the Andrew Jackson we all know today.

Jackson had two brothers named Hugh and Robert. Together, Elizabeth and her sons moved to the upstate of South Carolina to live with family members. It was her that Elizabeth would become a housekeeper and nurse to her sister and her sister's husband. This house would be Andrew Jackson's home for the first thirteen years of his life, and throughout those years, he would live in a guest in his own home. His mother's love was evident, however, as she kept the family spirit alive through telling wildly adventurous tales of her family's fight for freedom against the British in Ireland. Later, she would find that these stories inspired Jackson and the rest of her sons more than she ever could have imagined.

Several years later, the Revolutionary War began. In 1780, British forces invaded Charleston and captured the port city on March 12th. Not stopping there, the soldiers began to pillage Charleston while massacring the American patriots, leaving more than a hundred dead. The Jackson found themselves tending wounds of their neighbors in a local church. Outraged by what the British had done and calling upon their ancestors legacy, Jackson and his brother's joined a patriot regiment. Unfortunately, one of Jackson's brother would die shortly after.

The fighting continued and Jackson ended up trapped by British forces in a family house with his brother Robert. The two were struck hard by swords and faced severe lacerations that led to them developing smallpox. Still infected with smallpox, they were held in a prison in Camden, SC. Robert would pass due to smallpox, but Jackson survived. After seeing he would live, Elizabeth went to Charleston to tend to wounded soldiers. While working with soldiers coming off of ships, Elizabeth contracted cholera and died. Andrew Jackson never knew where his mother was buried as she was buried by a friend who simply said she buried Elizabeth on a hill.

In 1942, a marker dedicated to Elizabeth Jackson was placed in Charleston near King Street Extension and Hariot Street. However, the monument received no care and eventually started to lean from the amount of people leaning on it while waiting for their bus to arrive. In 1967, it was moved to the College of Charleston where it can now be seen on Cougar Mall.

So, to answer the question, 'Who is Buried on C of C's Campus,' Elizabeth Jackson is not, but we still don't know exactly where she is buried.

Ancestor Proposal

For my ancestor research project, I would like to learn more about my great grandfather on my dad's side, Yoneichi Miyasaki. He was a very interesting man and shared many similar interests to me. Unfortunately, I never got to meet him which is why I would like to research him.

Top 5 Churches

A haven for heathens and dissenters, Charleston's Holy City is home to a wide variety of churches, each with their own unique style and history. With my class, I visited ten of these churches. Here are my top five (with a bonus).

#5: Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church

Catholics weren't always the most welcome in Charleston due to the large number of Protestants, nonetheless, St. Mary's was established in 1789. It is the first Catholic church in the Carolinas and Georgia. This church makes the list because of its extravagant classical Greek revival design featuring a large cross at the very front and center of the church. It boasts beautiful iron wrought fences and elaborate tiling. 

#4: St. Philip's Episcopal Church

Established in 1680, this church has a fruitful history. In the accompanying churchyard, you can find the graves of Patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence. One thing that sets this church apart, is that it was not built in the Greek revival style like many prominent buildings were. Instead, this church sports an anglo-palladian style and overlooks Charleston. One time I heard a group of people singing inside and it was beautiful. 

#3: Second Presbyterian Church 

After dissenting from the Church of England, worshipers from all over Charleston congregated in White Meeting House. These worshipers included dissenters from England, Ireland, Scotland, and France. Wanting to establish their own practice, tailored specifically for them, a twelve families left the White Meeting House and established the First Scots Presbyterian Church. This new church grew so rapidly, a second church was deemed necessary. The new church, called Second Presbyterian Church, was established in 1809 and deemed the oldest edifice of its kind in Charleston. It includes walls made from brick and stucco. Another interesting feature of this church is that the pews still in use today are from 1849.

#2: French Huguenot Church

The roots of this church date back to the 45 French Protestants that traveled to Charleston on the ship Richmond. These worshipers established the church in 1687 on the corner of Church St. and Queen St. The number of French Protestant refugees in the Low Country spiked and by 1700 there were more than 450 Huguenots settled here. Interestingly, the original church had been destroyed in an attempt to stop the spread of fire. I loved this church because of the subtle, pink exterior.

#1: KKBE Synagogue

https://thetakeonundertaking.blogspot.com/2020/02/kkbe.html

Kickin' KKBE Synagogue

While exploring the Holy City of Charleston, I saw a glimmer of gorgeous reds, blues, and greens. These were the stained glass windows of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, or KKBE, a synagogue who's roots trace back to the very cornerstone of the American Reform Jewish practice. Intrigued by the style that was so different from other synagogues, me and my classmate Alex Stribling decided to see what KKBE was all about.

On Sunday, we made our way in the rain to the KKBE's cemetery, found at 189 Coming Street. There we met Randi Serrins and Anita Rosenberg, two members of the synagogue who graciously let us into the locked cemetery and gave us a tour. Interestingly enough, the cemetery is not located near the synagogue as this is not allowed in the Jewish faith. Upon first look, we noticed that all the headstones pointed towards the East. Randi explained that this was because Jerusalem is in the East. Next to the entrance, there was also a hand washing station and a container full of rocks. The hand washing station was placed there to follow the tradition of washing hands before leaving a cemetery to separate the living from the dead. In Jewish tradition, rocks were placed on graves to show remembrance, much like flowers are used, but unlike flowers, rocks are eternal. The graveyard itself was quite large and had almost every type of tombstone imaginable, including a prominent mausoleum. 

Standing off to the side, almost hidden upon first view of the cemetery, is the aforementioned mausoleum dedicated to the Lopez family. Why was this mausoleum facing a different way and built in such a different style, we wondered. That question unraveled a large part of the synagogues past. 

Charleston was a haven for Jews who were being prosecuted all throughout Europe. Here, they had religious freedom and could even establish a practice if they had only 7 other members of their faith. In 1749, there were finally enough Jews (mainly from Spain and Portugal) to organize a synagogue and KKBE was built on 90 Hassel Street. Later, in 1764, the man who helped found the congregation, Isaac Da Costa, dedicated his family burial ground to KKBE. This would become the burial ground for Sephardic Jews in Charleston. Things began to change in the Jewish community as a group of men decided the current practice did not cater to the new wave of Jews in the community that did not speak Hebrew. These men petitioned for a change in the services provided, including music and a sermon in English. The old members of the congregation denied these requests and the group split off to create "The Reformed Society of Israelites." With this move, a new sect of Judaism known as Reformed Judaism was created. 

Because of their disagreement, the Reformed Society of Israelites did not practice at the synagogue. That is until 1838 when the original synagogue burned down in the Great Fire that took place. Still knowing those who practiced at the synagogue the groups overcame their differences and built a new temple in 1840 that still stands today. Like many prominent buildings of its time, the temple was built to resemble the architecture of Ancient Greece and was made to not only replace the old synagogue, but enhance it.

Now you may be asking where David Lopez comes into play. Being a prominent member of the synagogue, Lopez was hurt by its destruction and decided to build the new temple in 1840. So if he was so important, why was his mausoleum isolated from the rest? Lopez had a wife who was not Jewish. Unfortunately, she died in 1843 and because she refused to formally become a Jewess, she was denied burial in the traditional lot. Angered by this after all he had done for the synagogue, Lopez bought a parcel of land that jutted out of the original cemetery. It was here he buried his wife in a grand mausoleum, larger and more intricate than any grave found in the synagogues cemetery.