Charleston's Most Valuable Resource : Ruth Miller

On the first Monday of February, our FYE had the privilege of hearing from Duke University graduate and local Charlestonian, Ruth Miller. Miss Miller has been a tour guide for over 40 years, a job that led her to her graveyard interest. It was during a tour where Miller had a busload of morticians that she would make the discovery. The morticians immediately bypassed the Church she had brought them to visit and darted for the graveyard. They brought Miss Miller into the graveyard with them and began explaining things which "sparked her interest."

Miss Miller has been an educator for many years at all different levels which made her lecture very colorful and engaging. Her talk explored the rich roots of Charleston's graveyards referring to them as the "foundation of this historic city." Miller claims that it was three important offers that drew masses to Charleston way back in the 18th Century. She states "free land, freedom of religion, and the law that a gathering of any seven people to be considered a recognized religion" as the reason that Charleston grew so rapidly and contains more 18th-century graveyards then any other city in the United States. Miss Miller explained to us that these offers were made by Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper who was given the colony of Carolina by King Charles II.

Miss Miller in action during our lecture!

Miller's talk was sprinkled with several fun and interesting facts about Charleston, graveyard history, and more. If you're a Star Trek fan, you'll be shocked to learn that Leonard Nimoy's Spock hand symbol is derived from his Jewish heritage! She also informed us that only Charleston contains a Huguenot Church! The flow of information was so smooth as Miller explained that the blend of cultures in Charleston had such a strong religious base. She effortlessly touched on how the Quakers, Anglicans, Quakers, Congregationalists, and Baptists flocked from a tyrant England to build their congregations in Charleston. Miller moved on to the influence that each nationality brought aside from religion, letting our class know that we have Scottish Presbyterians to thank for a round of 18 holes as they brought golf to the South.

A picture of the tomb etching
my partner and I read to the class.

During the lecture, we had a chance to take a look at some of the gravestone etchings that Miller brought with her. She explained to the class that the terminology used on old graves can sometimes have different meanings than what we would interpret today. She pointed this out when a student read the name of the deceased as "Daddy Tom." Miss Miller explained that Charleston was "largely African American and the center of the English slave market" but it "lacks any strictly African American burial sites which speak of the disparity of equality in the 18th century. The name Daddy Tom would have been in reference to a slave versus a father figure like we would assume today.

However, it was Miss Miller herself that was the most interesting part of her lecture. Being one of the most accomplished women in Charleston did not come easily as Miller has written several books including Touring the Tombstones, The Angel Oak Story, and Witness to History: Charleston's Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon. If you would like to find more information on Ruth Miller and all of her amazing work check out her amazing work on her Website!

Ruth Miller holding up her books!