Caroline Gilman: a woman in a man's world

The historic Charlestonian I decided to research is Caroline Howard Gilman (1794-1888). Caroline, (pen name Mrs. Clarissa Packard) was an accomplished writer, poet, and documentary of the Unitarian cemetery in Charleston. 

Caroline Howard Gilman (1820)

Caroline was born on October 8th, 1794 in Boston, Massachusetts. Her father, Boston shipwright Samuel Howard was one of the original participants in the Boston Tea Party. Sadly, both her parents died young and she was raised and educated by her sister Ann Marie White. She developed a great love for writing and poetry and in 1810 when she was sixteen her family secretly submitted one of her poems called "Jephthah's Rash Vow" to be published in a Boston newspaper. She described feeling "as alarmed as if I had been detected in Man's apparel."

Caroline married Samuel Gilman in 1819 and moved to Charleston, South Carolina where he became the pastor of the Unitarian Church from 1819 to 1853. This, however, did not mean an end for her budding writing career. From 1832 to 1842, she published the first American weekly journal for young people called Rose Bud, later the Southern Rose, which circulated all over the country and made her the best-known woman writer of the South.  Other publications include "Recollections of a Southern Matron" in 1837, "The Lady's Annual Register and Housewife's Memorandum Book" in 1838, a manual for housekeepers and "Love Progress in 1840", a domestic novel. She also wrote children's books including  "The Little Wreath of Stories and Poems for Children" in 1847.

Her most popular work was "The Letters of Eliza Wilkinson during the Invasion of Charleston" which documents the British conquest of Charleston in 1780. This work shows that while Caroline was always in support of gender equality, her position on slavery was not quite as progressive. Although she and her husband bought, educated and freed several young black men, she justified slavery in her writing and supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. Her biographer states that "her prose was of an unaffected and light-hearted character, and her poetry dealt with the beauties of nature and domestic affection, qualities which appealed to the sentiments of the time and which made her one of the most popular women writers of her day" These traits in her writing made Gilman one of the most famous female authors in the South from 1830's to the 1850's.

Caroline's death card

Arguably one of Gilman's most important work, however, is her documentation of the Charleston Unitarian Cemetary's gravestones. Gilman's husband was the pastor of the Unitarian Church and the cemetery, which had been there since the 1770s, was in a state of severe neglect. Gilman was moved by this, and in 1859 she and a few others decided to clean up the cemetery. She writes "Can not some neglected surroundings, where rank growth repels even the footsteps of kindred, be resigned and converted into beauty?... and now around all our sepulchers, as around that of christ's, "there is a garden.". Gilman chose purposely to leave the natural beauty of the cemetery by leaving the trees and vines to make it a sort of garden. While doing this, Gilman went around and transcribed every gravestone carving still visible. This has proven to be a very important piece of writing for the Unitarian cemetery because most of those gravestones are no longer legible. Fortunately, with Gilman's detailed writings, we can still figure out who is buried there and what their gravestone once said.

Overall, Caroline Gilman was a very interesting research topic. She was very much a woman ahead of her time and became a very successful writer in a time where women didn't do that sort of thing. It is very cool that she is buried in our cemetery, the very same cemetery she documented and help reform.

The Jungle Graveyard

Our Church is the Unitarian Church of Charleston 

Marker Types:

Box tomb: Not sure who was buried here because the tomb is in such bad shape.

Ledger: Mrs. Edward Courtenay was buried here. She was born in 1769 and died in 1852.

Headstone: This Col. Francis Dickinson and his wife Rachel were buried here. Francis Dickinson died at the age of 63 on December 30, 1835. One thing that really stands out is that the headstone says that he was a “kind Master”. Rachel died at the age of 87 on July 21, 1869.

Obelisk: This grave marker provided very little information on who was buried here. Their last name is Taggart and they died in 1854. 

Fancy Die, Base, and Cap: The resting place of Rev. Dr. Samuel Gilman and his wife Caroline Howard Gilman. Samuel was born on February 16, 1791, and died on February 9, 1858. Caroline was born on October 8, 1794, and died on September 15, 1888.

Fancy Die on Base: This grave marks the final resting place of Ann Eliza Graves. She was born on April 8, 1820, and died March 20, 1858.

Bedstead: This is Sydney Smith’s grave. She was born on October 23, 1800, and died in 1830

Most Common Marker Type: 

The most common type of marker would have to be the classic headstone.

Oldest Markers:

Here are some examples of 3 of the oldest gravestones 

The first one I can read that the gravestone is from 1807, one of the oldest ones I could find. I couldn't read the name of the person but I can see that they were 22 years old when they died. 

The second gravestone is in memory of Hannah Jordan who died in 1808, making it one of the oldest gravestones in the cemetery. 

The third gravestone is almost illegible with moss, but what I read is that it is in memory of Captain Jeremiah and that he died in September of 1792, making his gravestone the oldest one I could find in the cemetery, that was still legible of course.

Impressive/ Interesting Marker Type:

One of the most interesting gravestones is also one of the oldest ones in the cemetery. The gravestone of Hannah Jordan says she was the youngest daughter of Dr. John (N) Ogelthorp of Camden, South Carolina. It also states that she was the consort (that means wife) of James Jordan from St. Mary’s Georgia and that she passed in the 15th year of her age. I thought it was a little weird that she was already a consort at the young age of 15.

Another interesting Gravestone is that of Mrs. Sarah Hutchenson. It is most interesting because of the age the woman lived too. It says she was born in 1754 and died in the year 1839, making her 85 years old at the time of her death. For someone born in the mid-1700’s, that is an extremely long life to live as survival rates from that era are extremely low, especially for a married woman who I'm presuming had to go through the highly dangerous ordeal of childbirth.

One last marker we thought was pretty is that of Mrs. Mary R Horton, Wife of Thomas Horton. The intricately carved pillow with tassels on the lavish headstone, with the craving of a rose resting on the pillow, is one we thought was very pretty.

Sad/ Poignant Markers:

This grave marks the final resting place of Mary Rebecca Colburn. She was born on March 9th 1860 and died on September 17th of that year. The headstone includes a quote that says, “Suffer little children come unto me and forbid them not”. We found this marker sad because the child buried here wasn’t even a year old when she died.

This gravestone is one that we sadly cannot read very well due to erosion. We can, however, still can tell what it’s about. A sleeping lamb was usually used for children who died under the age of 1, which was quite common at that time.

Unique Epitaphs:

One that we thought was unique that could still be read is the gravestone for Reverend Samuel Gilman D.D. We thought it was interesting how it says “Beneath this monument rests the mortal remains of the [Rev. Samuel Gilman D.D]. The way it is worded so dramatically we thought was interesting, and possibly references to a gothic book or some kind of gothic literature

We thought this epitaph was particularly interesting because of how long it was. It says “With a mind strong, comprehensive and aspiring, he united those traits of character which adorned the husband, father, and friend. In his death, Science and Literature have cause to mourn. & pure & liberal Christianity to deplore the loss of an able Advocate.”

Another one we thought was interesting was that of Ephraim Seabrook Mikell. It says that he “died after a short illness May 5. 1896” and that he was “A favorite with all who knew him” We liked it because it doesn't just say the straight numbers and years of his life and death, it makes it more personal, like this person was an individual who others cared about.

Group Photo:

I found my family in Magnolia Cemetery?

We visited Magnolia Cemetary last Friday and it was, to put it lightly, overwhelming. The mass amount of gravestones and the sheer size of the cemetery was hard to comprehend. Looking back, I should have researched on Magnolia Cemetary's website or its Wikipedia page before being surprised by the size.

I would usually consider myself very good at directions whilst walking. Maps have always been easy for me to understand and I can find my way around any city if I've been there at least once. I don't know what it was about Magnolia Cemetary, but about halfway through our tour, I realized I had absolutely no bearing of where I was or what direction I came from. The hundreds upon hundreds of gravestones seemed to blend together combined with the Spanish moss trees and the meandering layout, I got completely lost.

One of my favorite gravestones in the cemetery is General James Conner's plot. I particularly liked that one because he had the same last name as me, but other than that I did enjoy hearing the story of his life. He was a great confederate general, present at both the Battle of Bull run and returning from a bullet injury to fight in Gettysburg. He had his leg amputated as a result of the war and went on to become a very successful lawyer in Charleston before his death. His box was very handsomely decorated, with a wreath of honor depicted on the front and a detailed frieze with poppies and other add-on's. The two graves next to him are those of his daughters, both of which roughly say "Daughter of General James Conner" further emphasizing his importance.


Another one of my favorite gravestones is the one for James Henry Parker (January 4th, 1843- January 23rd, 1915) and his wife Julia Augusta Parker (December 22nd, 1947). According to our professor Mr. Harwood, the husband James was killed due to injuries sustained by an incident with a revolving door, which I think is pretty funny in itself. Apparently, the wound he received due to the door became infected and killed him. I think this is a good example of how fleeting life is and how this one incident could leave his wife a widow for 32 more years. I like how this gravestone is sculpted though, with a kind of acropolis where people can sit and talk if they so choose. The center is framed with the large cross emphasizing the importance of Christianity. Overall this grave is unique in style to others in the cemetery but is still one of my favorites I saw.



One of my other favorite gravestones I saw was this one. The only information I could see was that it said "Little Annie" on the side. This one was heartwrenching because it was obviously made by grieving parents who have just lost there child. The carving on the top is one of a sleeping child, and I believe there are a few other sleeping children gravestones in Magnolia Cemetary, but this one was my favorite because of how open it was around it and how clearly you could read the descriptions. The child depicted looks around 5-7 years old and is holsing a wreath in her hand to symbolize remembrance. I do not think there is anything else known about this child, but the fact that it is unknown makes it more touching to random strangers such as myself.

Lastly, I have included a photo of me and my friend Emma in front of the Vanderhorst tomb. I thought overall it was a very enjoyable tour and I wish I had gotten more time to explore all that this beautiful cemetery has to offer.