The Sad Life of Dr. John Somers Buist

Dr. John Somers Buist was not only a doctor but a father to several children and a loving husband to his wife. He often dealt with childhood death as is ran rampant during the 19th century. He actually experienced childhood death first hand with the deaths of two his five children. This tragedy did not hinder his success as a physician but a prominent Charlestonian.

A picture of Dr. Buist found on findagrave.com

Margaret Sinclair Buist, John's wife, had five children; three of which lived good, long lives after the tragic deaths of their siblings. Daisy was the first to perish in 1877 when she was just one year old. She died from convulsions a common side effect of epilepsy. Even though she was the fifth child, she was the first one to pass away from the diseases of the 19th century which was a stroke of luck for the Buist household.

Their second child to pass away was their first born; the namesake of Dr. Buist. They called this boy Somers ad he lived until the age of seven when he died from diphtheria and the common whooping cough; I can personally attest to the whooping couch being terrible I had it when I was a little girl.

Both the children are buried together right beside the site for Dr. Buist. they have a small epitaph reading "He was weary and fell asleep, with his little sister, together they sing the song of the redeemed," according to Professor Harwood's book, In the Arms of Angels.

Even though Dr. Buist suffered great loss, he still had a successful working career. He was not only a father but a graduate of both the College of Charleston and the Medical University of South Carolina, a Civil War confederate surgeon, a doctor at the Roper Hospital in Downtown Charleston, the president of the Medical Society of South Carolina, and a board member at the Charleston Orphanage which just so happens to be on campus where the Berry Hall building is.

His grave site is a box tomb with a very plain outside especially for a man of his standing in downtown Charleston. It only has his name on the side and a small symbol in the front. He is buried in a plot along with a marker for the two children that passed away. Nothing is all that wonderful about his grave site nor his children's both are very plain and not magnificent.

My picture of the Buist gravesite.

I chose to do Dr. John Somers Buist in order to further learn about the name my building bears. I wanted to know why my building and many other things around the city of Charleston are marked with the Buist name. The Busit Academy on Calhoun Street bears the family name as well. It is unclear why the school is named after the family. I'd love to be able to talk to historians about why this school bears such a historic name and the other great things the Buist family did during their time.

College Students Get Arrested by Ghosts in The Old City Jail

On a chilly November night, 18 college students and two chaperones were taken to the Old City Jail with a sentence of 45 minutes locked inside the haunted space. They were not there alone as the wonderful Paulette Foley of Bulldog Tours lead them through three creepy, pitch black rooms explaining the history of the Old City Jail. This touring company has several other paranormal related tours, as well as, a food tour of the city!

As we started the tour outside of the jail, Paulette told us about the history of the jail which is quite extensive and spans over a century. In 1802, the Old City Jail was built along with fur other buildings to serve as federal prisons. During this time, the government thought that long term incarceration was the cure for crime inside cities.

The jail would operate into the late 1930s until it was finally closed due to inhumane conditions. The guards and prisoners were forced to be without electricity, running water, and the building was infested with outside critters.

The exact number of prisoners is not known for the prison, however, we do know there was over 1,000 prisoners during the Civil War. Over the years the prison was open, 14,000 inmates met their demise inside the walls; only 600 of these were executions.

An outside of the jail, in the middle you can see a small ball.

Orb or dust, you decide.

With the historical context set, our "not hokey tour" began around the back where the old gallows would have been. Paulette told us about the different way of hanging the old City Jail had which included a pulley system and a weight that plunged down into a well. When this weight fell into the well, the rope would jump and snap the persons neck, that is if you are the right size. Many people would not die correctly and would hang until they suffocated. The last hanging took place on July 7, 1911 where Daniel Duncan took 39 minutes to die after they let the weight down. After this happened, South Carolina outlawed all hanging executions.

Once we were led into the prison, we were put into a room where the Crane of Pain was used."This was a set of ropes and a pulley that attached to the prisoners arms and legs then they were pulled taunt and whipped with a catonine tails then rubbed down with rock salt to prevent disease."

Here is Zach attached to the Crane of Pain. Used to discipline children now.

Can be purchased for around $12 at Lowe's.

While we walked down another pitch black hallway, we filed into a room filled with cells and a metal banged unexpectedly making our small hearts race. "That was similar t my first experience here," Paulette laughed at our reactions. On my third night here, I had to lock up alone and being scared I began singing "Jesus Loves Me" while locking up; as soon as I stopped signing, this 350 pound metal door slammed open without a warning. This I know was Lavinia.

Lavinia Fisher was the first woman executed at the Old City Jail. She was arrested along with two partners for murder at their Inn where they would poison unsuspecting tenants and take their fortunes. It was said oleander was put into tea and they became so ill the died within a few hours. One night, for some unknown reason, a man escaped and led police to the Six Mile Inn where they found three bodies on the property which was enough to arrest the three for attempted murder. Lavinia was sentenced to be hung, however, she tried very hard to get out of her punishment claiming a married woman could not be hung. She was brought to Marion Square for her hanging and when asked if she had any last words she proudly said "If anyone here has a message for Satan I'll be dining with him this evening" then she jumped from the podium and broke her own neck.

Lavinia is quite active in the Old City Jail as seen in the Travel Channel show Ghost Adventures. They had a creepy encounter with her when they came to visit Charleston.

Preparing for Death with Dr. George Dickinson

Nationally acclaimed death, dying and, bereavement expert and beloved Sociology professor at The College of Charleston ,Dr. George Dickinson may be the only person excited to speak about death to a classroom of twenty college freshman. Dr. Dickinson has a plethora of awards from The College of Charleston and has been recognized state wide as one of the leading death experts in the college circuit.

He is passionate about the one of the two things people are uncomfortable talking about. "People hate talking about sexual relations and dying, I chose the later to be an expert on," Dr. Dickinson exclaimed about halfway through his talk on Monday night. He is definitely an expert in his field doing multiple research projects during this time, one including " the reactions of other dogs while another is being euthanized in a separate room."

He further outlined the three periods of death including the newest period from 1945 to the present day. Biomedical breakthroughs during this time have greatly reduced the death rates and people are living much longer than they used to. A shift in the dying pattern also happened, as medical technology became better people began dying more of chronic illnesses rather than widespread diseases.

A number of new traditions surrounding funeral ceremonies and other ways to be remembered in death have arisen over the years as well.

The first funeral home opened in New York City during the 1890s. They provided the first services in the country which were very limited at the time. During advances, cremation services, as well as, cryonics and natural cemeteries.

Cryonics is when someone who has passed away gets injected with liquid nitrogen and then kept frozen until medical advances become great enough to cure whatever disease they have died from. Two famous people that have been frozen include the father-son duo of Ted Williams and John-Henry Williams.

Natural cemeteries are where people who have died become fertilizer for the soil. Buried in the ground with a tree placed near them, they grow into a forest.

Dr. Dickinson during his talk with the FYE group.

He also talked about the different stages of awareness during hospitalization. These include closed awareness, suspicion awareness, mutual pretense, and open awareness. Closed awareness is when nobody knows anyone is dying and they often pass suddenly. Suspicion awareness is when people know the situation is not looking good and they know it won't be much longer until they pass. Mutual pretense is where everyone involved knows the situation is dire but nobody says anything about it. Open awareness is when all parties involved know the situation. The last situation is common in Hospice care situations.

He also touched on Passive and Active Euthanasia which is where either a family member is taken off of life support or they actively seek a doctors help to kill themselves. The latter is only allowed in five states with the only east coast one being Vermont.

Overall the visit from Dr. Dickinson was very educational and somewhat comical when he ended with the story about a cremation on Folly Beach that happened on a BBQ grill back in the day. We thank Dr. Dickinson for taking time out of his busy schedule to come and talk to us!

My Top 10 Prezi

With the constant reminder of our childhood through Throwback Thursday and Flashback Friday on our Instagram and Facebook feeds, teens try to relive their childhood. Certain T.V. shows help transport us back to those nights watching T.V. after our homework. I love using Prezi and reminiscing about my childhood with shows that made me laugh. Enjoy my Top 10 Childhood shows.