Charleston Raconteurs in Charleston, SC

HISTORY TOLD WITH WIT AND SKILL

1758
Feb. 28 -- Lt. Col. Henry Bouquet, who author Walter J. Fraser Jr. (Charleston! Charleston!) called a "brash thirty-eight-year-old British soldier-of-fortune" demanded that the colonial Assembly pay for his officers' housing needs. The Assembly refused his request. Soldiers' housing would become one of colonists' complaints as the country moved toward revolution.

March 18 -- The Assembly denied Lt. Col. Henry Bouquet's demand that they pay for his soldiers' housing. Among those who were opposed were Peter Manigault, Christopher Gadsden, Charles Pinckney, Henry Laurens and Rawlins Lowndes, writing "Officers and Soldiers cannot, legally or constitutionally, be quarter'd in private Houses, without the special Consent of the Owners or Possessors of such Houses."

1760
Jan. 9 -- Gov. Lyttleton and his soldiers marched (somewhat) victoriously down Broad Street and at noon cannons fired to welcome the troops back to Charleston after having concluded a peace treaty with the Cherokees near Keowee. The treaty was hastily made as a raging smallpox epidemic was ravaging the tribe, and the soldiers feared catching it.

Jan. 12 -- Three days after Gov. Lyttleton's return, the worst epidemic to date of smallpox broke out within the colony.

1761
Dec. 17 -- Early Patriot leader Christopher Gadsden wrote an editorial in the Gazette accussing Lt. Col. James Grant, a Scottish officer in the British Army, of not having been aggressive enough in his attacks on the Cherokees, claiming he did not permit his men "to cut the throats of as many as they could have." In Charleston! Charleston!, author Walter J. Fraser Jr. suggests the criticism may have been fueled, at least in part, by "personal jealousies increasingly common in relations between British regular officers and provincial officers" (p. 95).

1764
Aug. 19 -- Arthur Middleton married Mary Izard, "a Lady who is one of the first of her sex for sense, politeness and every female accomplishment."

1765
Sept. 4 -- Christopher Gadsden, Thomas Lynch and John Rutledge set sail for the illegally called Stamp Act Congress in New York City. Gadsden, ever the ardent Patriot, served as chair of the committee that drafted resolutions condemning the act.

Oct. 24 -- An angry mob seeking the whereabouts of the destested tax stamps issued through the Stamp Act stormed a number of notable residences in downtown Charleston, including that of Henry Laurens, who said that under the guise of "Patriotism ... committed at length Burglary & Robbery." (Fraser Jr., West J. in Charleston! Charleston!, p. 109)

Oct. 26 -- Leaders of a rebel mob spread rumors that Charles Town's two local stamp agents, George Saxby and Caleb Lloyd, were hiding out at Fort Johnson on James Island. Over the next two days, the mob rampaged through the streets of Charles Town, threatening to kill the agents if they did not resign their office. (Source: Charleston, Charleston!, p. 109, by Walter J. Fraser Jr.)

Oct. 28 -- Because of the murderous threats by an angry rebel mob two days before, Charles Town's stamp agents, George Saxby and Caleb Lloyd, announced that to ensure the peace of the province (and save their lives), they would not enforce the hated Stamp Act. The Sons of Liberty poured into the streets and unfurled the blue flag of "Liberty." (Source: Charleston, Charleston!, p. 109, by Walter J. Fraser Jr.)

Dec. 17 -- Amid rumors of a possible slave rebellion, Acting Governor William Bull called an emergency Council meeting. A hundred militia men were deployed to patrol the city and the captains of ships moored in the harbor had their sailors stand sentinel at night. The holidays passed peacefully, though the patrols continued both day and night through early January (Charleston! Charleston! by West Fraser Jr., p. 113).

1766
Jan. 1 -- Becoming increasingly alarmed at the ratio of the enslaved vs. white population in Charles Town, the Assembly imposed heavy import duties on all slaves brought into the colony as of this date.

June 6 -- Elizabeth Thomas Broun dies and is buried in the St. James Goose Creek Chapel of Ease churchyard.

1768
Oct. 1 -- In preparation for the upcoming Assembly elections, Charles Town's mechanics nominated candidates who opposed the Quartering Act, Stamp Act, and Sugar Act. Led by Patriot Christopher Gadsden, they met at the Liberty Tree "where many loyal, patriotic and constitutional toasts were drank." The company then marched on to Dillon's Tavern to continue the celebration.

1769
July 22 -- The colonial Assembly appointed a Committee of Thirty-Nine, which included an equal number of merchants, planters and artisans, thus for the first time granting the laboring classes a significant voice in the colony's government. (Source: Walter J. Fraser Jr. in Charleston, Charleston!, p.125)

Dec. 8 -- The S.C. General Assembly voted to send 1,500 pounds Sterling to John Wilkes, a member of England's Parliament who had been arrested and imprisoned for criticizing the King. As Patriotic tensions here grew, they felt a kinship with Wilkes's cause. Unfortunately, the King's counselors saw the gift as a slap in the face to their sovereign, which did nothing to mellow the rebellous tensions that were brewing. (Source: Walter J. Fraser Jr. in Charleston, Charleston!, p.126)

1770
Jan. 30 -- Lt. Gov. William Bull recommended to the General Assembly the establishment of a provincial college, which became what we know today as the College of Charleston (and my Alma Mater).

Dec. 13 -- Charlestonians voted a local boycott against the importation of British goods (with the exceptions of tea and luxury items) as a result of the repeal of the Townshend Act. (Source: Walt Fraser in Charleston. Charleston! page 127)

1773
Jan. 12 -- Though authoritative accounts vary, what may indeed have been the first public museum in America was established, The Charleston Museum.

Nov. 19 -- The so-called "Club Forty-Five" met at the Liberty Tree to agitate for independence from English rule.

Dec. 2 -- The English ship London dropped anchor in Charles Town harbor with 257 chests of tea aboard. As the tension of the impending revolution filled the air, it was clear that if the colonists allowed the cargo to be delivered with its three-pence-per-pound duty collected as authorized by Parliament, it would be an admission that the colony was answerable to the governing body of England so far away. Christopher Gadsden was incensed. He and his friends posted handbills all over town calling for a meeting the next day at the Old Exchange Building to discuss what should be done. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 136)

1774
Oct. 22 -- Henry Middleton was elected President of the first Continental Congress.

1775
April 14 -- News reached Charles Town that Parliament was sending additional troops to enforce British policies (and taxation) in the colonies. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 141)

April 26 -- In response to the news that British troops were being dispatched to the colonies, the Secret Committee of Five, created by the Provisional. Congress and led by William Henry Drayton, seized the arms and powder that were being stored in local magazines and hid them in private houses throughout the city. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 141)

June 8 -- Two Charlestonians who remained loyal to the Crown, a small-time merchant named Laughlin Martin and another man named James Dealy, were tarred and feathered by locals calling for revolution, based on an accusation that they had cheered rumours that enslaved Blacks, Catholics, and Native Americans were to receive arms from British forces to help quell the rebellion. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 143)

June 16 -- A slave named Jemmy said in a depostion to Revolutionary authorities that he had been approached by his brother-in-law Thomas Jeremiah to "take a few guns" to a runaway slave named Dewar. The weapons, he said, were "to be placed in Negroes hands to fight against the inhabitants of this Province" to support the British. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 145)

August 11 -- The slave Thomas Jeremiah went on trial under the Negro Act of 1740 for helping to arm other enslaved Blacks in support of the British cause. Found guilty, he was sentenced "to be hanged, and then burned to ashes." (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 145)

August 12 -- A local mob seized a British soldier "for some insolent speech he had made," tarred and feathered him, and "putting him in a cart paraded through the Town ... using him very cruelly all the time." But the afternoon, the crowd had grown to 400, who roamed through the streets, stopping at the houses of suspected Crown sympathizers, using the soldier to demonstrate what their fate might be if they continued their support of the Crown. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 145)

August 17 -- Jemmy, the slave who testified against his brother-in-law Thomas Jeremiah, recanted his testimony that Jeremiah had been involved in transporting British arms to this enslaved colleagues. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 146)

August 18 -- Despite his brother-in-law's recanted tesimony that he was distributing British arms to enslaved Negros, Thomas Jeremiah was hanged anyway, then burnt to ashes as his sentence decreed. He had maintained his innocence to the end. S.C. Gov. William Campbell believed Jeremiah was innocent, as did the Royal Attorney General, saying Jeremiah was the victim of local hysteria. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 146)

1776
June 3 -- S. Smith published "A View of Charles-Town, the Capital of South Carolina, from an Original Picture Painted at Charlestownin the Year 1774," painted by Thomas Leitch and engraved by Samuel Smith.

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CHARLESTON'S LATEST REINVENTION OF HERSELF

1993 - Today

1994
Jan. 20 -- Shannon Faulkner became the first woman accepted (accidentally, because admissions officers thought Shannon was a man's name) to attend classes at The Citadel. She joined the cadet corps in August 1995, but dropped out a week later, citing isolation and stress from the legal proceedings and her reception at the college.

1996
April 1 -- After nearly a century as South Carolina's economic engine, the Charleston Naval Base and Shipyard closed.

1997
Oct. 19 -- David Byrne, Cracker and Cowboy Mouth were among the bands that played at 96 WAVEFEST.

2000

Aug. 8 -- The wreckage of the H.L. Hunley, the first submarine to succesfully complete its military mission when it sank the USS Housatonic on Feb. 17, 1864, was recovered off Sullivan's Island and returned to port. While many spectators paid to secure spots along its return route through the harbor, all they could see of the vessel at eye level was the supporting "cradle" that had brought up the sub. Those of us fortunate enough to be working at Historic Charleston Foundation in the Capt. James Missroon House at 40 East Bay Street, were greatly surpised when the recovery ship went off its announced route and passed directly east of our offices. Racing out to the fire escape from the third floor, we could see directly down into the very body of the Hunley.

2003
Jan. 27 -- Leonardo DiCaprio, Steven Spielberg, Frank Abagnale and Tom Hanks attend a press conference in London before the UK premier of "Catch Me if You Can."

2006
Oct. 22 -- Bowens Island restaurant burned to the ground.

2019

Dec. 12 --The results of a study published in the journal Current Biology presented new genetic evidence blaming the blame for the extinction of the Carolina parakeet squarely on human interference.

2021

June 7 -- Maggie Murdaugh, 52, the wife of prominent attorne Alex Murdaugh, and their son Paul, 22, were brutally shot to death by the dog kennels of their Colleton County estate, Moselle.

June 10 -- Randolph Murdaugh, 81, father of Alex Murdaugh, died peacefully at his home of natural causes, three days after his daughter-in-law and grandson were brutally murdered at their Islandton estate.

June 11 -- Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were buried in Hampton during a driving rain.

June 22 -- SLED reopens an investigation into the unsolved death of 19-year-ol Stephen Smith, whose body was found in the road in 2015 in Hampton County. The agency said the proble was being reopened based on informaiton gathered while investigating the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.

June 25 -- Alex Murdaugh and his surviving son, Buster, announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for killing Margaret and Paul Murdaugh.

2020

Feb. 28 -- At a rally at the North Charleston Coliseum, President Donald Trump asserted that Democratic complaints about his handling of the corona virus threat were "their new hoax."

2023

April 28 -- A golf cart carrying four people was struck from behind by an alleged drunk driver on Folly Beach, killing 34-year-old Samantha Miller and injuring her new husband, Aric Hutchinson, and two members of Hutchison's family. The couple had celebrated their wedding a few hours earlier.

June 28 -- Sandra Meares, a resident of Folly Beach, passed away. According to her obit, she was the matriarch of Group Therapy, an iconic bar of the 1980s and beyond in the Five Points neighborhood of Columbia. A nasty little dive, the tradition was to violently throw your last beer bottle in the trashcan on the way out, busting it to pieces. Meares had a reputation as someone friends could come to for advice or comfort in difficult times, which she was happy to dispense along with a cold beverage. That is how the bar got its name, Group Therapy.

June 29 -- Marvin "Jerry" Gerome Beach of Mt. Pleasant died surrounded by his family. According to his July 9 obituary, Jerry leveraged his gregarious nature and perfect head of hair into a successful sales career. He served as a mentor not only to his own children, but also every child selling lemonade with whom he crossed paths. He as an amazing cook, fantastic tipper, and could swallow two slices of white bread in under a minute without even a sip of water.

July 2 -- Six members of the Magwood family were stabbed to death in Green Pond, then their house set afire. A seventh victim, just 13 years old, was injured, but played dead until the killer left the house, then escaped to a neighbor's house. Among the dead were Maggie Magwood, 101; Amos Magwood, 73, Michelle Wright, 50; Jefferson A. Burnell, 49; Sha-Riya Manigo, 11; and Shamiah Rutledge, 7. Sha-Riya's father, Ryan Lenard Manigo, was arrested and charged. Arrest warrant affidavits said Manigo "entered the residence under the cloak of darkness while armed with a knife, stabbed family members to death ... and set the residence on fire." According to the affidavits, he also sexually assaulted several of the victims. (Source: Post and Courier, Aug. 1)

July 5 -- John Patrick O'Brien, a native of New Jersey who moved to Charleston, died. In 1943, at the age of 18, O'Brien enlisted in the Army Air Corps. After training an as a second lieutenant, he was assiged to the 27th Troop Carrier Squadron. Arriving in Chunking, China, their mission was airdropping troops, food, ammunition and other supplies. In August 1945, Mr. O'Brien was the navigator on a mission to Mukden, Manchura, to pick up and return 24 American and Allied Presioners of War after their liberation, He was awarded the Distrguished Flying Cross for this mission. He left active duty in 1946, but served in the Reserce until his retirement at the rank of Major. He always wore his WWII cap when in public and was very appreciative of those who thanked him for his service.

July 13 -- Services were held at Holy Cross cemetery on James Island for Marie Heiterer Townsend. Her family asked friends and family to "[p]lease dress appropriately for the hot Charlestom heat - Granny would want you to wear shorts and short sleeves."

July 15 -- John E. Day, senior engineer and director of maintenance at ALUMAX of SC, a smelting plant near Mt. Holly, passed away. Having joined the company at its inception in 1980, he received global recognition for his leadership in the recovery and startup of the plant after its forced shutdown during Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

Long-time Charleston physician Dr. William Thomason also died on July 15, 2023. During his residency at Walter Reed Hospital, Dr. Thomason flew in Air Force One as part of a team attending President Dwight D. Eisenhower following his 1955 heart attack. Dr. Thomason was president of the Charleston County Medical Society (1972-72), a member of First (Scots) Presbyterian Church, Charleston Rotary Club, Middleton Hunt Club, Surgeon for the Washington Light Infantry, and Battalion Surgeon for the Palmetto Guard. He was also a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, the Sons of the American Revolution, the St. Andrews Society, the Widows and Orpans Society, and the Carolina Yacht Club.

July 17 -- Marsha E. Hass, Esq., one of the first group women to live in a Clemson dormitory, died at the age of 76. She earned her M.A.T., M.B.A., and J.D. degrees from USC, though remained a lifelong Tiger fan. Her obit said she was a complex person with great ability and talent who grew up and worked in a man's world where she was not afraid to speak her mind. While serving as a Folly Beach magistrate, she let local police know not to bring charges against a prostitute unless they also brought in the john. She spent the later part of her career as a Professor of Business Law at College of Charleston. She loved to fish and at one time was the only licensed female charter boat captain on the East Coast.

July 22 -- Ronald Norris Jr., a former radio operator in the U.S. Marine Corps, died in Summerville. Norris was deployed aboard the USS Iwo Jima in April 1986 to make an amphibious landing on Vieques, a small island off Puerto Rico. The landing was filmed and used in the Clint Eastwood movie Heartbreak Ridge.

July 30 -- Sam Kirshtein, 98, died. The list of contributions and leadership roles Sam held during his lifetime took up an entire column in the July 31 Post and Courier. A lifelong Charlestonian, he was an active alumnus and athletic supporter of the College of Charleston. He was a local business leader through his ownership of Charleston's oldest extant furniture store, Dixie Furniture, a long-time anchor of upper King Street before upper King Street became cool. A generation of Charlestonians remember its advertising slogan, "Dixie'll do it, 'cause Dixie dooooooon't care!" Sam and his wife Mitzi were active in Charleston's Jewish community as well. Gov. Mark Sanford awarded Sam the state's highest civilian honor, the Order of the Palmetto, in 2005 for the many ways in which he made a difference in his community. He was one of the happiest, nicest guys I ever met, and made me immediately feel at home when, as President of the C of C Alumni Association, he welcomed me to its board in 1998.

Aug. 22 -- Elizabeth Rice Burbage of Ridgeville died at the age of 95. She retired from Summerville School District 2, having spent 26 years as a lunch room worker for a generation of children.

Sept. 27 -- Sixteen high school, middle school and elementary school principals sent letters to the Charleston County School Board expressing disappointment after weeks of chaotic meetings that ended in newly hired Superintendent Eric Gallien's paid suspension, saying that the substance and conduct of the meetings did not meet the basic standard of good governance from elected officials, adding that partisan politics have no place in a system devoted to educating students.

Oct. 3 -- Demolition crews dismantled Martha Lou's Kitchen on Morrison Drive, described by writers of the 10Best.com travel guide as a "roll-your-eyes-its-so-good" soul food restaurant. Its specialties included lima beans, mac and cheese, pork chops, giblet rice, collards, and fried chicken. After 30 years, the iconic restaurant had closed in 2020 a year before founder and legendary cook, Martha Lou Gadsden, died at the age of 91.

Oct. 8 -- Raquel Conchita Lawson Fielding died at the at of 89. The widow of Judge Bernard Fielding Sr., Mrs. Fielding was an ex-officio employee of Charleston's largest African-American funeral home, serving as Secretary of the Board for the corporation. She retired in 1998 after 40 years of service with the U.S. Customs Services, the first African-American woman employed by that ageny. She was active in many local service groups.

Oct. 14 -- Less than a week after the death of Board Secretary Raquel Conchita Lawson Fielding, Fielding Home for Funerals announced that after 111 years, it was closing its business at 122 Logan St. and moving its operation to 2704 Meeting St. The announcement in the Post & Courier noted they would not be accepting new clients.

Oct. 17 -- William T. Farley Jr. died in Mt. Pleasant.

2024

March 19 -- Elizabeth "Libby" Alexander Murdaugh, 85, a former librarian and teacher in the Lowcountry's public school system, passed away in Varnville after a long illness with dementia. One of her three sons, Alex Murdaugh, claimed he was visiting his mother during the June evening when his wife Maggie and son Paul were brutally shot to death at their country house's dog kennels. Mobile phone data showed Murdaugh was telling the truth about where he went, although he appeared to overestimate the time he spent with his mother. A video, taken by his son, showed Murdaugh was with them just minutes before he and his mother’s cellphones were never used again. Prosecutors convinced a jury that Murdaugh had enough time to kill them, clean up evidence and get to his mother’s house and back. The case made international headlines for its Southern Gothic macabre.

April 6 --Professor Michael S. Kogan, who specialized in Jewish and Christian theology, passed away in Charleston. With a B.A. in philosophy and Ph.D. in religious studies from Syracuse University, he pursued post-graduate studies at Columbia University and The Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Dr. Kogan taught at Montclair State University in New Jersey in the Department of Philosophy and Religion for 41 years, serving as chair for 24 of those. His book, "Opening the Covenant: A Jewish Theology of Christianity," was published by Oxford University Press; he published many essays, book chapters, introductions, and scholarly articles. Dr. Kogan taught courses in Bible and theology at many churches and synagogues, including St. Johannes Lutheran, St. Stephen's Episcopal, K.K. Beth Elohim and Synagogue Emanu-El, and at the College of Charleston. A long-time member of the Board of the Spoleto Festival, he aksi served on the Board of CofC's Yashick/Arnold Jewish Studies Program and was a "Pillar" of the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina. He was a Life Member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Charleston's Fort Sumter Camp, and a former Commander and Adjutant of New York's General Archibald Gracie Camp 983, SCV. He was a member of the Palmetto Guards, Charleston Library Society, South Carolina Historical Society, Preservation Society of Charleston, Civil War Trust, South Carolina Battlefield Preservation Trust, Christian-Jewish Council and Harbor Club. The library of the CofC's Jewish Studies Center at the College of Charleston is named in honor of his great-great-great-grandfather, Rabbi Hirsch Levin. His great-great-grandfather, Harris Levin, and several other forbearers served in the Confederate army.

May 15 -- Margaret Gregorie, formerly the manager of Mama's Money, a well-known King Street bar frequented by College of Charleston students in the 1970s and '80s, died.

June 9 -- Thomas Charles DiFiglio, a Charleston resident who was born in Brooklyn, NY, passed. He taught in Charleston for several years before opening a Planet Fitess, bringing in Lou Ferrigno for the grand opening. Sen. Strom Thurmond alo visited. He moved to Florida for many years, where he dabled in stand-up comedy and was Burt Reynold's double on the television show, B.L. Stryker. He moved back to Charleston shortly before his death on this date.

June 16 -- One of Charleston's foremost restauranteurs of his time, Ali Rahnamoon passed away. Born in Tehran, Iraq, Ali and his business partner Shahram Aghapour immigrated first to Boston, then Charleston, where they opened Papillon on South Market Street and Ferrante's Restaurant in the old Sailors' Chapel at the corner of North Market and East Bay. They opened Saffron's Bakery in 1986 in what had once been Jacob's Hosiery.

June 30 -- Tom Sloggett, 91, a Michigan transplant who retired to Charleston after a successful 37-year career with Dow Chemical Company in Michigan and Ohio, passed peacefully at Agape Hospice House in Summerville. Tom and his wife of 69 years, Ruth, loved living in the Lowcountry. They were valued volunteers for many years with Historic Charleston Foundation's Festival of Houses and Gardens, where Tom often served as a Senior Street Marshall, helping guests find their way and answering questions.

Listed in the inaugural edition of Places You Have to Visit Before You Die, Bowen's Island story is included in Lost Charleston.

International con man and author Frank Abignal's former home is included on our Charleston Overview tour.

The history of the Charleston Naval Shipyard is included in Lost Charleston. (Photo credit: Library of Congress)

A program from the funeral of five of the six victims murdered July 2, 2023.

Samantha Miller, 34, was killed when the golf cart she was riding in as she returned from her wedding reception was struck from behind on Folly Beach. Her husband of five hours, Aric Hutchinson, and two of Hutchison's family members were injured.

Professor Marsha E. Hass, Esq.

Raquel Conchita Lawson Fielding (1934-2023)

Martha Lou's Kitchen

Libby Murdaugh and her husband attorney Randolph Murdaugh III, who along with his son Alex arrived at the hospital in the aftermath of his grandson Paul's boating accident to "counsel" the accident's survivors. Randolph Murdaugh passed away June 10, three days after the murders of his daughter-in-law and grandson.