Singleton's Graveyard - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Singleton's Graveyard is an historic plantation cemetery

Cemetery

A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

located off SC 261 in the High Hills of Santee

High Hills of Santee

The High Hills of Santee, sometimes known as the High Hills of the Santee, is a long, narrow hilly region in the western part of Sumter County, South Carolina. It has been called "one of the state's most famous areas". The High Hills of Santee region lies north of the Santee River and east of the...

six miles south of Wedgefield

Wedgefield, South Carolina

Wedgefield is an unincorporated community in the High Hills of Santee area in western Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. Wedgefield was so named because its location was likened to a "wedge" into the High Hills of Santee...

, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. On May 13, 1976, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

History

Singleton's Graveyard was the family cemetery for the wealthy and prominent Singleton family descended from Col. Matthew Singleton (1728–1787) who settled in the area in the mid-18th century. It is located on Melrose Plantation built in 1760, one of the families many plantations. All that remains of Melrose, though, is the graveyard. There are 43 known graves dating from 1794 to 1944. Many are Singleton family members, including Matthew Singleton himself. The most notable grave marker is that for Governor George McDuffie

George McDuffie

George McDuffie was the 55th Governor of South Carolina and a member of the United States Senate.Born of modest means in Columbia County, Georgia, McDuffie's extraordinary intellect was noticed while clerking at a store in Augusta, Georgia...

(1790–1851), husband of Mary Rebecca Singleton, daughter of Col. Richard Singleton. It was designed by noted sculptor, Ottaviano Gori of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

William Tennant (1740-1777], noted Presbyterian minister and politician, is believed to be buried here since his widow recorded in their family Bible that he died at "Captain Singleton's High Hills of Santee, August 11, 1777 ...".

Singleton - Van Buren connection

Sarah Angelica Singleton, daughter of Col. Richard Singleton and his wife, Rebecca Travis Coles, married Abraham Van Buren

Abraham Van Buren

Abraham Van Buren was the eldest son of the eighth President of the United States, Martin Van Buren and his wife, Hannah Hoes Van Buren. Born in Kinderhook, New York, Abraham was named in honor of his paternal grandfather who was an officer in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War...

on November 27, 1838 at her parent's home in Wedgefield. Her father-in-law, Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....

, was then President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

and she served as First Lady

First Lady of the United States

First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...

during the rest of his time in the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

External links

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