Kelly's Blog

Rawlins was born the 6th of January in 1720.  He passed August 24 1800.  He lived in Charleston, South Carolina and is buried in Saint Philips Episcopal Church Cemetery.  He was married to Amerinthia Loundes and they had three children. But who is Rawlins?  He was born in the Eastern Caribbean and after he moved to South Carolina, he studied law and became provost marshal of South Carolina province.  He then became a member of the first provincial congress.  In 1778 he became the second governor/ president of South Carolina!  Who wouldn't want to learn more about him?  He has done so much and is a true Charlestonian! Stay tuned for another post where you can learn a whole lot more about him.

I visited Magnolia Cemetery this past Sunday and it was a sight to see!  It was absolutely beautiful!  There were Spanish moss and palm trees everywhere around the gravestones.  And I'm not exaggerating when I say that this cemetery is HUGE!  I couldn't even find where the gravestones ended.  I would follow a path and it would lead me to another patch of gravestones, and then another, and another!  There are over 33,000 people buried in Magnolia Cemetery!  Not to mention, it's only 15 minutes away from College of Charleston.  A place that pretty and so close; I wish I had known about it sooner!   I visited Magnolia Cemetery with my friend Bevin (as pictured to the left). We entered through a big gate and saw all these paths leading to different sections of gravestones.  There was an immense amount of beautiful trees that caught our eyes immediately! And right in front of us, behind some of those trees, was a lake!  Across th...

Today in our Beyond the Grave class, we took a mini class trip to right out front of the Robert Scott Small building.  There we found Elizabeth Jackson's grave!  I have walked right past this grave almost everyday and didn't notice it once! Crazy what you can notice if you just look at your surroundings every once in a while. Anyway, Elizabeth was the mother of President Andrew Jackson.  On her grave it writes how she gave her life cheerfully for the independence of her country.  A quote that she once told to her son Andrew is also written, "Andy, never tell a lie, nor take what is not your own. Nor sue for slander. Settle those cases yourself." Elizabeth passed in Charleston in the fall of 1781.  Although, no one knows exactly where she is buried or even what she looked like! What we do know is she gave birth to her son Andrew Jackson while on a trip back from burying her passed husband. Elizabeth raised Andrew for 13 years of his life where she worked as...

In this first photo is Anthony Francis Brongo standing next to his wife, Maria Alexandria Colaruotolo. To the right is a younger picture of them at their wedding... incase you couldn't tell. Anthony is my great-grandfather and grandfather to my mother.  He was born on June 4th, 1887 in Gaeta, Italy (one of the most beautiful places).  He came to the US in November of 1907 to Boston, Massachusetts.  Mainly because finding work in Italy is much harder than it is in the US.  He then moved to Rochester, New York and met his wife, Maria.  They got married on July 27, 1912 at St. Anthonys Church in Rochester, New York.   His parents names are Francesco Brongo and Maria Rose.  Interesting that he married someone with the same name as his mother.  Anthony and Maria were married for 61 years!  And in just 21 years, they had 12 children together!  One being my grandfather.  How many people do you know that have 12 children?!...

Our Beyond the Grave class took a tour to St. Patrick's Catholic Church and the Cathedral Church ! We then learned about all the different types of gravestones people are buried under. Below I will post some of the photos I took from these churches and identify the types of gravestones that are used. I may also add a few interesting details I learned about the people buried here based off of what was written on their stone. Why don't you scroll down a bit to see.  This gravestone belongs to the beloved Elizabeth and John Schachte. It is placed in St. Patricks Catholic Church. Elizabeth was only 53 when she passed and John 63. The gravestone used is called a Plaque Marker or Slant Marker. These gravestones can fit very little information about the deceased and are used quite often present day. They are required in many cemeteries in order to maximize ground space.  In the Cathedral Church, I found this Die, Base & Cap gravestone. It was placed for a women named Eli...

Soon I will be writing about my great grandfather, Anthony Francis Brongo, for my ancestor research project. Do you want a little background on him? Well, I'm going to give it to you anyway. He lived in Gaeta, Italy and was unable speak a word of English. He never went to school and worked every day of his life as a farmer. He ended up having 12 children! One being the parent of my mother. He passed at the age of 92. It is known that the Brongo family tend to live a long time. He sure sounds like an interesting guy! You want to know more about him? Too bad! You're going to have to wait :) .