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.