were of the lead-lined construction found in the first tomb. These were enclosed in
a vault of apparently home-made brick and cement.
At least one of,the caskets had a glass window in the lead chamber just
above the head of the buried body. One worker said that he read an inscription
on one of the caskets which indicated that it was made in London. He was not able
to tell whether it had the year date 1721 or 1821 on it.
Considerable confusion and fright was said to have been created among the
negro workers in the area, company repesentatives said. This was particularly
evident when the first grave was unearthed. Tuesday night, when a negro worker
is said to have pushed his way into the crowd to see what had been found, saw that
it was an open casket, and then rushed pell melt from the spot, scattering onlookers
as he fled into a nearby building.
The cemetery was lost sight of when some previous owners or tenants
removed the tombstones from the plot, using them in the construction of a building,
it was reported. As the years went by the graves were no longer recognizable as
such, and the spot was finally made into a garden, its present use.
The Howell family is one of the outstanding ones in South Carolina history,
being especially prominent in the period before the Confederate war, A. S. Salley,
secretary of the South Carolina Historical Commission, said last night.
Malachi Howell's widow was married to the first Wade Hampton, who was
the grandfather of the famous general of Confederate War and Reconstruction
fame. Mr. Salley also said that he believed that the mother of the late Governor
James H. Adams was a member of the Howell family.