A Dead Son Walks, Strom Thurmond's letter: My great-great grandfather Thaddeus Haskell Shull

A son lost in WWII only to return home after his funeral, a letter of praise from Strom Thurmond, cows exchanged for college tuition, the owner of an island; My great-great grandfather Thaddeus Haskell Shull was an interesting man. In researching my ancestors I came across the interesting life of Thaddeus Shull, a husband, father, and legislator in Lexington, SC.

Picture of Thaddeus Haskell Shull (right)and wife Nettie Livingston Shull (left). 

My primary research for my ancestor was provided by my grandmother, Patsy Quarles. She spoke with enthusiasm about her grandfather and provided several interesting anecdotes about Shull and his life. Some background information on Shull: he was born June 23,1880 and was a legislator. He lived majority of his life in Lexington and Batesburg, SC. Shull served in the House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina for 16 years and 20 years on the country commissions. Shull and his wife, Nettie Livingston Shull, had three sons, Shuford, Lynwood and Corthan, and two girls, Miriam and Lurlene Shull.

My grandmother told an interesting story about Shull's son Cothran, "I remember the story Papa told of how hard it was to have all three sons in the army during WWII and not knowing where they were. There were no cell phones and the mail was slow and censored. Once the family received a telegram from the Army and an official visit from the chaplain saying that their son Cothran had been killed in action. A funeral was planned and an obituary published. Days later, Papa was notified that a mistake had been made and Cothran was identified in a field hospital and in critical condition.

Bevel Grave of my great-great 
grandfather Thaddeus Haskell Shull.

"After much treatment, he finally was moved to a hospital in the U.S. and his parents could see him. He was hospitalized well over a year and finally given a medical discharge. He spent the rest of his life as a disabled veteran." My grandmother continued, expressing how devastating it must of been for Shull's family during this time. She reaffirmed that despite the confusion around Corthan's condition, all three sons survived WWII.

My grandmother shared an interesting story about Shull Island where Shull "...once had cows on island he owned called Shull Island in Lexington County and went on horseback daily to check on them. Once he fell and could not get back on his horse, so he had to walk back out with a broken shoulder and broken wrist. The family never allowed him to make those kind of trips alone after that." Shull Island is now underwater, the entire are flooded when the Lake Murry Dam was built. Land, barns, and homes all got washed away- hard to imagine!

Personal letter to the Shull family regarding
Thaddeus Haskell Shull's death
from Strom Thurmond.

The final anecdote my grandmother shared with me was about his children. All of the Shull children attended college. Shuford, Lywood, and Corthan attended Wofford but only Shuford finished and graduated. The two girls Lurlene and Miriam attended Columbia College. My grandmother spoke of how "Miriam and Lurlene had their tuition paid by Shull in "heads of beef. In other words, Papa provided cows to meet tuition needs and the college used the meat to feed the students!" It's a wonder how many "heads of beef" would be required needed today to cover tuition! My grandmother told me that she used to have the receipts for these "cow" payments. How funny!

Shull died January 26, 1974 of old age and is now buried in Shiloh United Methodist Church (church cemetery) in Gilbert, SC with a simple bevel grave marker. At the time of his death, Former U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond sent a letter of condolences and praise of Shull's impact on the state, describing Shull as an "outstanding citizen" and further recognizing him for his work in legislation.

I researched Shull primarily though talking to my grandma and father as well as using billiongrares.com. Between those three sources I was able to see a clear picture of the kind of life Thaddeus lived and the strange but interesting history that comes when digging through the past and digging up the history behind the grave and beyond the present.

The Mystery of Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson

The monument to Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson 

Monument placed in the middle of 
the College of Charleston Campus
 to Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, mother 
of President Andrew Jackson.

seems odd in the middle of Cougar Mall on the College of Charleston campus but nonetheless historically important. What is the mystery behind her grave and how has it found itself in the middle of a college campus? 

To understand where and how she was buried we must understand how Hutchison was while she was living. Elizabeth Hutchinson was an Irish immigrant from Northern Ireland and immigrated to the United States in 1765 with her husband Andrew Jackson Sr. and two children Robert and Hugh. The Jackson's originally settled in the Waxhaw Settlement which southeast of present day Charlotte, North Carolina. Waxhaw was home to many Irish settlers at the time and therefore appealed to the Jackson family.

The family settled on 200 acres of infertile land in Waxhaw which was unsuitable for farming. Three years after settling in North Carolina Andrew Jackson Sr. died and Elizabeth was forced to move in with her in-laws on the Crawford Planation on the South Carolina side of Waxhaw. Some accounts recall Elizabeth as simply a nurse and maid at the plantation while others recount her as the nurse to all the children on the plantation who was highly respected by the household. Less than a month after the death of her beloved husband Elizabeth gave birth to Andrew Jackson Jr. on March 15, 1767.

Portrait of President Andrew Jackson done 
by Ralph E. W. Earl contributed by Wikipedia.

Elizabeth helped nurse patriots in the revolution and supposedly died of cholera nursing soldiers back to health here in Charleston. The burial of Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson was unclear after the war and historians have prospected on wear her original burial ground is located in Charleston. Andrew Jackson wrote letter's about the missing remains of his mother including one to Agnes Barton, in which he wrote "I knew she died near Charleston.... If possible, Mrs. Barton can inform me where she was buried that I can find her grave. This to me would be great satisfaction, that I might collect her bones and inter them with that of my father and brothers," (Jackson's father's and bothers were buried in Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church cemetery near Jackson's birthplace).

Agnes Barton was later interviewed on the burial site of Hutchinson. Agnes Barton moved to Waxhaw when Andy Jackson was two years old and then later moved right outside of Charleston. When Hutchinson became ill Agnes and her husband cared for her until her death, where Agnes then dressed Hutchinson in her own best dressed and buried in in a simple unmarked grave on a hill. 

The exact location of this "hill" is not known, but suspected to be in the Charleston area. Her bones were never recovered, but three monuments were erected in her name, according to google "The first one was donated by members of the U.S. military stationed at Fort Moultrie. However, the original location, on King Street extension, made the monument difficult to maintain. The second monument  was placed in the Old Waxhaw Cemetery. The third was made by the Daughters of the American Revolution when they were unable to acquire permission to move the first (King Street) monument. They dedicated their own monument to Mrs. Jackson in downtown Charleston’s Washington Park. In 1967, the original King Street monument was moved to the campus of the College of Charleston where it resides today and is, most likely, closest to the actual burial site of Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson."

The whereabouts of Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson remains may "remain" unknown, but the mystery of the monument in Cougar Mall has been solved. 

Sunsets and Headstones at St. Luke and St. Paul Graveyards

The sun hitting a headstone at St. Luke. 

On a quiet September evening the St. Luke and St. Paul graveyards take on a somber tone as the sun sets on the headstones and the breeze wanders through the grass. I had the pleasure of wandering through both of these graveyards with my FYE class.

Linda McCants, a volunteer and member of St. Luke since 1972, talked with us about the history of the St. Luke graveyard and told us about her experiences as a volunteer. McCant explained the history of the church, and that, "The Church kept books for years and some of them are so fragile that when you go to take them out of the safe you have to wear white gloves."  

McCant recounted her own interest in graveyards, stating "It's interesting to go back and research the church and the cemetery because most of our records were burned in the Civil War."

St. Luke cathedral with the grave yard located behind it. 

While exploring the two graveyards I came across multiple headstone types, including:

Die on Base 

Die on Base grave markers are typically marble or granite and are distinguishable from regular headstones due to the base. This grave stone is for Matilda Burger Dawson, Born October 13, 1875- Died January 15th 1945. A banner at the bottom of the grave says "at rest."

Ledger

Ledger markers are thick slabs of stone that are notable because they cover the entire grave. This ledger marker is in scared memory to Sophia Percy Guerard Born 1817 and lived to the specific age of 31 years two months and 15 days. 

Die on Socket 

Die on socket graves are notable for being mounted in a socket.  This die on socket marker broken due most likely to vandalism. 

Box Tomb 

Box tombs are rectangular structures that can also be called values or chest tombs. This box tomb is for Thomas Horrs. I noticed that many of the box tomb tops had become worn and unreadable with age, so all ic could gather from this tomb was that he was that he was loved and a member of what may of been government. Death and Birth dates unfortunately unreadable.  

Sarcophagus

Sarcophaguses are essentially stone coffins. This was was for a child, Catherine Williams, Born in 1852 and lived five years, three months, and two days. Very heartbreaking! 

Cradle Grave

Typically a young child's marker, although not in this case. This grave was for Anna P. Ingramham,  wife of Col Pickens, Born April 25, 1845- Died March 22, 1920.  The grave has the epitaph "Blessed are the pure in the heart for they shall see God."

Headstone

Standard, most common grave. This headstone is for Stephen Elliot, Born 1771- Died 1830 son of William Elliot and Mary Barnwell Elliot. The headstone reads that Elliot was a botanist, banker planter, legislator, and teacher. 

Columns

Tall grave slants with a slant cut at the top to symbolize life cut short. This grave marker is sacred to the memory of Christopher Gadsden, HUME M.D. Gadsden died on the 30th of September in 1849 at  the age of 24 years 4 months and 17 days. The epitaph reads "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead and christ shall give thee light."

Slant Marker 

Very common and popular grave marker today. This slant marker is for Theodore Dehon Wagner, Born March 1819- Died February 23 1880. Wager lays at rest with his wives, Sophia M. Wagner (1825-1893) and Sarah Ella Warley (1833-1873). 

Mausoleums

A Large house or building that houses multiple tombs above ground. The mausoleum was build by the family of William Johnston in 1844. Johnston lives from 1776-1840. Members of the Johnston family are within the mausoleum. A plaque says the "E" in Johnston was restored by the family in 1848 and another plan says the records of those buried inside the grave marker can be found with the church reads and the charlestown historical societies.