I typically take the walking tour into at least on of the historic #Charleston graveyards. Visitors to Charleston are usually very interested by the variety of unusual burial markers that often have a story of their own. This stone is from the Circular Congregational Church, which has the oldest grave markers found in the city, with some dating to the 1690’s. Fortunately for posterity, the style then was to carve images and memorials in slate, which has proven to be the most durable of all burial materials. Because the slate and the slate carvers where largely from New England, such as William Codner of Boston, whose signature can be found on slates in this church graveyard. The procedure was to mail an epitaph to an artisan like Codner, and have the stone delivered with the finished wording and symbols. Some of the old spelling is interesting, as well as images such as this skull with wings, a “soul effigy” representing the immortal memory of the departed Mrs. Peronneau. Unusual images were common including fallen trees, broken flowers and sunken ships suggesting lives cut short <img.src=”Charleston Folklore” alt=”Graveyard markers”
