Author Louise W. Knight joins a panel of fellow historians at Shrewsbury’s Christ Church on Tuesday morning, for an investigation into the somewhat curious burial of Revolutionary War figure John F. Grimké.
It could have been the biggest mystery since the storied disappearance of Judge Crater – were it not for the fact that we already know the answer to the question “Where is Judge Grimké?” In fact, the biggest question surrounding the resting place of John Faucheraud Grimké (1752-1819) isn’t where he’s buried (spoiler alert: it’s Shrewsbury’s Christ Church Episcopal) — but why this Revolutionary War hero and prominent figure in South Carolina history wound up interred here on the greater Red Bank green.
This coming Tuesday, January 6, Christ Church Parish Historian Robert M. Kelly Jr. welcomes a pair of visitors to the 18th century meeting house at the borough’s Four Corners historic district — author Louise W. Knight, and Monmouth University professor (plus “graveyard expert”) Richard Veit. Together, they’ll be teaming up (and welcoming interested members of the public in the process) to delve into the circumstances that brought the prominent member of South Carolina society (and onetime mayor of Charleston, SC) to his final resting place in Monmouth County — an investigation that begins with an outdoor search for the judge’s gravestone, beginning at 11 am.
The public is invited to come in out of the seasonal chill at 2 pm, for a lecture and signing event by Knight, writer of two books on the 19th century social activist Jane Addams. The author — currently researching the Grimké family for a book on the judge’s daughters, Sarah and Angelina, both fervent abolitionists in the 1830s — will discuss the family’s connection to the life’s work of Addams.
The event is free of charge and open to all, with no reservation required. Additional information can be had by calling the church office at (732)741-2220.
