Mitchelville was the first town built for newly freedmen and women in 1862 after Hilton Head fell to Union troops in 1861. The town was named for Union general, Ormsby Mitchel, who set up this town with roads, churches, and homes.
Drayton Cemetery is another Gullah Cemetery connects directly to those original freed men and women, as it is believed this cemetery started before the start of the Civil War.
It features several markers of members of the United States Colored Infantry.
It is cared for by the congregation at St. James Baptist Church.
Based on her age, Louisa Small experienced slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the retaliation against Reconstruction.An interesting funeral wreath
Founded in the mid to late 1800s, Joe Pope Cemetery is one of several Gullah cemeteries on Hilton Head Island. The Queen’s Chapel AME Church owns the land, but it is maintained by the Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church.
Benjamin Singleton, 1906-1947Ben Singleton, 1857-1928. Notice the three linked chains which commonly represents the Odd Fellows and for fidelity, love, and truth. He was likely an Odd Fellow.Viola Mitchel, 1905-1958
Flanked by condos and one of the many golf courses on Hilton Island is an historic cemetery called Braddock’s Point Cemetery. While the earliest death date on a marker is during the Civil War, it is believed this also served as a burial ground for the people held in bondage at the nearby Braddock Point Plantation.
One of the burial practices with the Gullah Geechee people is to bury their loved ones with personal items. Sometimes it is the last dish they used, or another object of importance. Braddock’s Point Cemetery illustrates older and more modern interpretations of this practice.
My assumption is that there was a plate in this grave marker that was lost over time. This marker is one that I’ve seen repeated in several coastal cemeteries.One of the few markers with a corresponding footstone. A more modern take of using plates and seashells
St. Helena’s was established in 1712 as a colonial parish by The Commons House of Assembly, under the Lords Proprietors of Carolina. Construction began in 1715. The church has been expanded and rebuilt to accommodate growth of the congregation and to make repairs after the Civil War and when a hurricane caused significant damage.
One of the earliest burials was Colonel John Barnwell (1671-1724).
Sheldon Church, once known as the Prince William Parish Church, has a long history. The congregation held its first service in 1757. The British troops burned the church in 1779. It was rebuilt in 1826 with the walls that were still standing.
Originally it was believed the church was burned by Sherman’s troops. It came to light with unearthed documents that stated the church was burnt but ransacked by local people who needed supplies.
Crypt of Mary Branford Bull, d. 1777Ann Bull Hayward, 1813-1851
Built around 1740 to give planter’s access to church when traveling to their home church was too difficult, the Chapel was out on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The tabby church was damaged in an 1868 forest fire. There is a small burial ground adjacent to the church with one distinctive mausoleum.
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