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).
The graveyard next to the Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island is the location of one of South Carolina’s most famous ghost stories. The story is shared that at 22, Julia Seabrook Legare died of diphtheria and was buried in her husband’s family tomb. A few years later, her brother passed away, and when they opened up the tomb, a pile of bones was found inside of the tomb. The belief was that Julia had been buried alive. Hence, this is why there is no door on the tomb today.
I love a good ghost story, but I also like thoughtful debunking. Writer Jaime Rubio dove deep into the family records of the Seabrook and Legare families to determine that there is limited truth to the story, but it is a ghost story that continues to be perpetuated.
Established in the 1680s, the Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island is one of the oldest Presbyterian churches in the country. The current church building was built in 1831 and has largely stayed the same in its almost 200-year history.
The church’s graveyard contains graves as old as 1787. The headstones illustrate this long history ranging from slate markers to more modern granite ones. The most famous burial is Julia Legare.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
I visited Charleston in 2019 to visit the cemeteries there. If you’ve visited Magnolia Cemetery, you will know there are several cemeteries in the area. As I was leaving Magnolia, I was driving down the side roads around the other cemeteries when I noticed Ethel Lance’s marker.
The grounds were being tended to, so I had to wait until the mowers moved away from the marker. Once I got out, I noticed that she was buried near several other members of the Mother Emanuel mass murders.
The other victims are buried in different cemeteries around Charleston and South Carolina.
If you’ve ever visited St. James Episcopal Cemetery in Marietta, Georgia, you were likely looking for the final resting place of JonBenét Ramsey. Another reason is to visit the supposedly haunted grave of Mary Meinert (1863-1898).
The striking marker of the mother holding her two babies stands out in the cemetery. At night, people claim they can hear the cries of a weeping woman, who they believe is Mary. Some say that if you get close enough that you can see the tears on her face. Others claim to hear a young child crying for their mommy or that the twin babies switch positions in her arms. On Halloween night, you can circle the marker three times and ask, “Mary, Mary, how did your children die?” and she will appear.
According to her obituary, Mary left behind six children, two of them being twin girls that were only four weeks old. By the 1900 census, Henry Meinert is listed as a widow with four children. I am unable to determine when the two twin girls passed away. The mother died of a lung ailment, but it was likely a birth complication.
Obituary from the Marietta Journal‘ on May 26th 1898 (page 1)
The Death Angel Darkens a home
Death has again invaded the happy home in Marietta and took a pure and good wife and a loving devoted mother. Mrs. Marion Meinert wife our esteemed fellow citizen Mr. Henry Meinert. The sad event occurred last Saturday morning about 11:30 o’clock. The deceased had been sick some four weeks, her lungs being involved.
She was one of the most patient, lovable women in Marietta. She had a heart that sympathized with suffering humanity and one who did more charitable work in visiting the poor and sick ministering unto their need that did Mrs. Meinert. She was a truly a disciple of Christ and went about doing good.
She was in her 34th year of her age at the time of her death. She leaves behind her husband and six children, of that number were twin girls four weeks old.
The funeral services were conducted at the family residence on last Sunday afternoon at 4 o’clock, Rev J.H. Patton officiating. There was a number of our citizens present.
The casket was literally covered with flowers, some arrange in beautiful designs, offerings of friends. The internment took place in the Episcopal cemetery.
We tender our sincere sympathy to the bereaved husband, children, relatives in this their sad hour of their grief.
