Elizabeth Jackson! Right before our eyes!

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 a housekeeper and nurse for her ailing sister at the Crawford house. And when Andrew was only 14, Elizabeth died from smallpox as she was caring for sick Revolutionary War Soldiers aboard a British prison ship! How Tragic! Andrew was sent a small pile of her belongings from relatives as a notice of her death.

Andrew Jackson's father and brothers were buried in the Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church cemetery in upper Lancaster district, which is near the birthplace of Jackson. So why isn't Elizabeth buried there? It is written on the Behre Column Pinterest post that Elizabeth's gravestone was originally placed just off of King and Meeting street in Charleston, South Carolina.  But there was concern over its "unkempt roadside surroundings" so it was moved to the Cougar mall of College of Charleston.  Aside from some shrubbery overgrowth, it has been kept maintained at its new location.

Although we know where Elizabeth Jackson's gravestone was placed and moved to, the mystery of where her bones lie is still unknown. It was something Jackson himself didn't get the knowledge of before his passing.




To the left is a photograph I took myself of the current placement of Elizabeth Jenkins gravestone in cougar mall. On the stone, you can read some advice Elizabeth gave to her 13 year old son before she passed.  It read, "Andy, never tell a lie, nor take what is not your own. Nor sue for slander. Settle those cases yourself."

The right photograph is a better image of where the stone is located. It is right along the sidewalk and very well kept. You can see one of the College of Charleston flags placed right next to it.










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