A Look Back at Life 150 Years Ago

Have you ever wondered about who your ancestors were and what their lives were like? For my Beyond the Grave class, my assignment was to research one of my ancestors and write about his or her life. I chose my great-great-great-grandmother, Sallie Robinson from my mom's side of the family. For this blog post, I will be getting information from my grandma, ancestry.com, and a Lancaster newspaper article that was written about Sallie Robinson in 1946. 

Sallie Robinson with one of her sons, John Robinson

Sallie Robinson, known as "Granny" or "Granny Robinson" to most, had a fascinating life. She was born in 1852 and died in1950 at 98 years old. Living to 98 years old was a huge deal back then. The life expectancy for females born in the 1850s was 40 years old and for males 38 years old, according to Infoplease.

Sallie was born in Kershaw, South Carolina and according to the newspaper article written about her, she moved to Lancaster, South Carolina so her husband could work in the Lancaster Cotton Mill. The article says that "Lancaster wasn't anything but a village then, no electric lights, no sewerage, no waterworks, and no paved streets."

Sallie gave birth to eight kids, however, one died at childbirth. She also adopted her niece a little later. The newspaper article also mentions that Sallie said that she used to walk 7 miles to church and take three children.

The picture of Sallie from the Lancaster News article

Grave Marker on a College Campus?

How often is it that you see a grave headstone while on the way to class? As a student at the College of Charleston, I've noticed this grave before and wondered why it was here. For my Beyond the Grave class, our assignment was to research this grave and to learn the story behind it.

Elizabeth Jackson's Grave Marker

This grave marker is dedicated to Elizabeth Jackson who was the mother of Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States. It is interesting because one thing that is written on the marker says "Near this spot is buried, Elizabeth Jackson." It turns out that Elizabeth Jackson isn't buried here. In fact, the location of where she is buried is a mystery. Andrew Jackson tried to find where his mother was buried, however, he had no luck according to the Post and Courier in 2011.

Elizabeth Jackson came to Charleston to look for her two nephews, who were POWs on a British ship. She died in 1781 in Charleston, from the disease cholera during the Revolutionary War. According to The History of American Women Website, Elizabeth caught cholera by tending to soldiers who were being held on prison ships in the Charleston harbor. Her grave marker was not always on the College of Charleston campus. It was moved here in 1920 or earlier to rescue it from its original spot about two miles away, according to The Post and Courier Article.