Ark Cemetery
By the mid-1700s, Africans, and African-Americans, lived and worked here at the Ark with those of European descent. It is believed that generations of people of West African descent used the Ark Cemetery as their burial ground. Unfortunately the names of only a very few are known to us today. Below you will find a list of those that have been documented as having been buried in the Ark Cemetery.
Burial customs for African-Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries were quite different from that of European-Americans. In his book, Richmond Hill Plantation 1810-1868, James L. Michie, former professor at Coastal Carolina University, devotes a chapter to discussing slave cemeteries. He points out oddities that many today would not understand, such as the fact that African “slaves were often buried on top of each other, that graves often intruded into other graves, and that there is little organization in these cemeteries”. These things all have their roots in the early slaves’ West African traditions and are quite different from European burial traditions, and therefore often misunderstood. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why in 1980 the old Ark Cemetery seemed abandoned to those who did not understand the Gullah burial traditions.
Everlasting Memories
As the mule driven wagon carrying the wooden casket of Sabe Rutledge pulled away from St. James Methodist Church, family and friends followed by foot. They walked many miles down the winding old Holmestown dirt road, and continued on by way of the Ridge Road (Glenn’s Bay Rd), proceeding to Floral Beach (Surfside Beach).
As they approached the Ark Cemetery, the grass and trees were overgrown and the area seemed isolated, however this was the place that Uncle Sabe Rutledge wanted to be his final resting place. His parents, children and other family members were buried there before him. His desire to be buried there was also prompted by earlier generation’s local Gullah belief, “If you were buried by water flowing into the ocean your soul could find its way back to Africa”.
We still remember the crying and the singing of the people, these are the sweet everlasting memories of Sadie Rutledge Parmley and Cad Holmes, both descendants of Sabe Rutledge, who was buried at the Ark Cemetery on February 5, 1952.
Burials
Gullah Burial Traditions
In homage to the souls and spirits interred at the Ark Cemetery, the Gullah community acknowledges cultural traditions that are embodied therein. The spiritual beliefs of Africans, primarily from its west coast, and their descendants, the Gullah people of the coastal southeastern USA [Carolinas and Georgia], promote a non-ending circle of life. The deceased’s personal belongings are placed atop graves to ensure familiarity with its new home once a spirit leaves its earthly body. Broken pieces of glass or conch shells are used as markings. A glint of light on these objects would be recognized as a “flash” of a spirit’s presence. Evergreen trees are planted atop graves to be nurtured by the life below and graves are located near the water and with heads facing east so that spirits can retrace their waterway journey back to their African homelands. These practices, and others, mirror beliefs and religious practices found in parts of West Africa such as: Sierra Leone, Nigeria and the Congo.