Last class we had the privilege of having Ruth Miller come and speak to us. She has a large knowledge of the religious history in South Carolina and was able to relate it to the churches and graves we will be visiting.
According to her website she is extremely well educated and traveled. She specializes in religion and is a registered Charleston tour guide. In addition she has a book about Charleston history.
I was surprised to hear from Ms. Miller that, “Charleston had more money than new york city did”. But after hearing about the grave history I quickly believed her. There was "No stone just pure sand" the people from Charleston who wanted to get buried had to have stone imported for their graves, which was extremely costly. In addition, they had grave carvers come from London and New England come down to South Carolina in order to work on beautiful graves.
What also interested me about Ruth Millers presentation was the effect race had in religious communities. She says, "“By 1710 we had more Africans than Europeans here”. However even in a holy place there was discrimination. In the United Methodist Church, known in those days as the Methodist Episcopal Church; they had both black and white members. Black members were not allowed to be buried on church property, had to sit up stairs where heat rises, go in through the back door. I think it is sad that although they were the majority they still were treated the worst.
My favorite point Ruth Miller made towards the end of her lesson was, "Churches dominate the skyline in Charleston. They don't in Boston on the freedom trail because they are surrounded by skyscrapers". I am from Boston so hearing that comment was amusing yet true. I had never thought about the height of the buildings here and back home in regards to a church steeple. After thinking about that it explained the architectural difference between the "Holy City" and Boston.
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| Me, Ruth Miller, and my friend Alex |
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