The Queen of Charleston

This will be the final post on my blog this year for the College of Charleston class, Beyond the Grave. Please enjoy my final project, the history of a famous "old Charlestonian," details of which you can find on the class blog. My last post this semester is dedicated to the queen of Charleston, Penina Moise; the poet Charleston forgot.

Short-Leg Stribling Returns

This is my presentation of some of the background information on what went into my most recent post, Short-Leg Stribling. If you have any interest please check it out. Thank you!

Short-Leg Stribling

Edward Wiley Stribling is my great grandfather on my fathers side. I chose him because I know little about my father's side of the family- they're a rather tight-lipped group of people, not very prone to sentimental stories. However, after some short research, and a few phone calls to my grandfather, I learned a few tales definitely interesting enough to share. So, here they are.

Edward Stribling Bottom Left, Yearbook

The Grave Confusion about Elizabeth Jackson

Although we are still several months away from mother's day, I think this is a perfect moment to recognize a kind woman and mother who was lost to time. As most are likely familiar with, the seventh president of the United States was a man named Andrew Jackson, a fairly well-famed president, however, his not so well-known mother is actually commemorated right here in front of the Charleston building I sit in now.

Ancestor Research Proposal

As of right now, I think that I will begin research on Edward Wiley Stribling, my great grandfather on my father's side. I have initially chosen him because from my basic research onto some genealogy websites, I have found him rather interesting. According to what I found, he was a casualty of WWII, but lived from 1918-1975. I hope my further research pans out as well as this initial look has.

Kickin' KKBE Synagogue

This week we started our class-wide team project on one of our local churches in Charleston. I teamed up with my classmate Haylee and worked on not a local church, but a local Synagogue. Our post on KKBE, otherwise known as Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, can be found here on Haylee's beautiful blog. I hope you enjoy!

One of the Synagogue's graveyards located several blocks away.

The Holy City's Holiest

This week we took a class excursion to some of the oldest and most unique churches situated in the heart of the Holy City, downtown Charleston. I'd say in my opinion, there were definitely a select few that stood out just from first impressions, but upon doing more research I am going to note a few that, if you ever get a chance, you should definitely take a day to explore some of the most amazing architecture you can find this side of the country.

To make a long story short, I'm going to rank my personal top five Holy City holiest.

The Invasion of Ruth Miller

On this late night in February, our classroom was invaded by Ruth Miller, a popular Charlestonian author and tour guide. One of her specialties, that fit nicely within the parameters of our spooky-themed class, was local Charleston graveyards. She was introduced to this rather unorthodox topic through a group of morticians taking one of her tours. They took her into one of these fascinating cemeteries and showed her some history she never even knew was there.

Spooky Scary Scavenger Hunt

 Our first assignment this semester was something else: a quick trip up the street from our meeting room at the College of Charleston allowed us to see several dozen types of graves and headstones that we had covered in class that same day. I would consider this a great scavenger hunt for anyone interested in history or archaeology, and the following post will be your first informal field guide to your local spooky cemetery. Make sure to plan your trip at night to maximize the ghost spotting opportunities!

Introduction: "Beyond the Grave"

 My name is Alex Stribling. I was born in San Antonio, Texas but I have lived in Lugoff, South Carolina for almost ten years.
The picture bellow is me on a road-trip last summer. One of my favorite pass-times is planning trips "off the beaten path."

Now I attend the College of Charleston and work as the Secretary of the Russian Club on campus. Along with that, I attend part-time at the Citadel working towards a commission as an officer when I graduate. My program of study at the College of Charleston is Public Health with a minor in Russian Studies. I hope to one day work in the training or clinical fields as a career.

This blog will be detailing my studies in the class "Beyond the Grave," taught by Professor Patrick Harwood. I hope to learn about the studies of genealogy and local historic research, especially that of the categorizations of diseases in the past.
Hopefully, this will be a wonderfully informing semester and blog!