St. Mary of the Annunciation Roman Catholic Church, located on Hasell St., Charleston, South Carolina was
the first Catholic church built in the three states of South Carolina, North
Carolina and Georgia. It was established in 1789 and has served the Catholic
population of the southeastern United States for over 220 years.[1]
I recently had a chance to visit the graveyard that
surrounds the church building. A significant number of the headstones give the countries of
origin for worshipers, such as Italy, France, and Ireland. What is even better
is that many of the Irish headstones give a lot of information about the
deceased, including that all important county of origin.
These Charlestonian Irish were born in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and came to the U.S. in the decades before the Famine. Today, there is a South Carolina Irish Historical Society and the main historical publication, so far, is South Carolina Irish by Arthur Mitchell.
These Charlestonian Irish were born in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and came to the U.S. in the decades before the Famine. Today, there is a South Carolina Irish Historical Society and the main historical publication, so far, is South Carolina Irish by Arthur Mitchell.
In my short visit I took as many pictures as possible and
will post them in this and the next few blog posts.
Ann Redmond of Kilkenny d. 3 June 1832 / Also mentioned: Mathew
Redmond (husband), Michael Redmond (son), Margaret Redmond (daughter), Mathew Redmond
(son).
Margaret Rooney of Sligo d. 12 October 1832 / Also mentioned:
Paul Rooney (husband)
Patrick Cummins of Tippeary date unknown / Also mentioned:
Thomas Meagher (cousin)
James Milligan Town (?) of Cavan d. 3 April 1827 / Also
mentioned: unnamed wife and infant child
Patrick Drew of Grange, County Kildare d. 10 September 1849
[1] National
Parks Service. Charleston's Historic
Community and Religious Buildings http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/charleston/sma.htm:
accessed 26 September 2013
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