Singleton's Graveyard is an historic plantation

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

located off

SC 261 South Carolina Highway 261 (SC 261) is a state highway in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It travels between Yauhannah in Georgetown County to Kershaw County. Although the highway covers more east–west distance, it is signed north� ...

in the

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".Wedgefield, South Carolina Wedgefield is an unincorporated community in the High Hills of Santee area in western Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. Wedgefield is also a Census Designated Place (CDP). Wedgefield was so named because its location was likened to a ...

. On May 13, 1976, it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

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 family's many plantations. All that remains of Melrose, though, is the graveyard. The 43 known graves date 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 (August 10, 1790 – March 11, 1851) was the 55th Governor of South Carolina and a member of the United States Senate. Biography Born of modest means in McDuffie County, Georgia, McDuffie's extraordinary intellect was noticed ...

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

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. William Tennant (1740-1777], noted

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

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 on November 27, 1838, at her parents’ home in Wedgefield. Her father-in-law,

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (Uni ...

, was then eighth

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

and she served as

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

during the rest of his time in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

References

External links

National Register listings for Sumter County

Sumter County Museum operated by the Sumter County Historical Society

* ttp://south-carolina-plantations.com/sumter/melrose.html South Carolina Plantations listing for Melrose Plantation
Pictures of Melrose Plantation
{{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina High Hills of Santee Geography of Sumter County, South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Sumter County, South Carolina

History

Singleton - Van Buren connection

See also

References

External links