Regarding Lydia S. Frost
A sermon on the Bicentennial of her Birth (9/17/1822)
Today we begin our celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of St. Mark’s founders – Mrs. Lydia S Frost. And, I’d like to draw your attention to the inscription on her memorial window – it reads “Charity suffereth long and is kind.” (1 Cor. 13.4).
The window was the start of my interest in her, and that interest was sparked even further when Mr. Grayson pointed out her picture to me in the composite photo in the narthex where is she is among the first vestry of St. Marks. Technically, she was not a member of the vestry because women were not able to serve in that capacity at that time. Rather, as Minerva King pointed out, she was perhaps a key advisor to the vestry. I wondered, though, if there was more to the story, and, as it turns out, there is a LOT more to her story and how it intertwines with that of St. Mark’s.
Just a warning, this is more of a paper than a sermon and it is a little longer than I usually go - although I do get a little preaching in towards the end.
I’d like to begin with some biographical information about her and her family.
Lydia Simpson Long Frost – was born September 17th in 1822. She was born as a free person of color as had been her mother, Anna Mey Long. Her grandfather was Florian Karl Mey – a native of Insterberg, Prussia- who emigrated to this, then, colony in 1775. The name of her grandmother is unknown - presumably an enslaved person – although she may have been manumitted at a later point judging by the fact that her only daughter was a free person of color.
Florian Karl Mey, Lydia’s grandfather, was a very successful and enterprising merchant, and, consequently, was extremely wealthy. I am surmising that he made sure that his daughter, Anna, knew how to read, write, keep track of accounts, and operate a business. She was trained as a dressmaker, had her own shop and enjoyed the patronage of many of wealthy women – one of whom our Lydia was named after – Lydia Simpson. Perhaps, she became a particular friend and patron of Lydia’s mother.
Anna Mey, Lydia’s mother, married Jacob R. Long and had four children – two of which survived to adulthood. The first was Florian H. Long in 1815 followed by Lydia in 1822. When Florian reached adulthood, he married, had a family and in 1860, relocated them to New York City where he stayed for the remainder of his life. Lydia stayed in Charleston, working with and learning from her mother. When Lydia’s mother died in 1847, Lydia inherited her dressmaker business.
Just a quick word about dressmakers. This was a very well-respected profession. While some shops undoubtedly had displays and perhaps samples for sale, every garment had to be made by hand – no department stores. There were a number of dressmakers –many of them were free persons of color –all part of the large and growing population of free persons of color in the city at that time. Among them were “Mme. Pauline Seba and Julia Bulkley, both prominent seamstresses-dressmakers in the city. The fact that they both have labels in their garments is rare for the time and indicates their prominence and success.” The Charleston Museum has a gorgeous dress constructed by Pauline Seba. I wish we had one by Lydia.
All of this to say, that when twenty-five-year-old Lydia inherited her mother’s business, it was most likely a going concern. Lydia’s shop for many years was located at 1 Liberty St. in the first block off of King Street. It was also where she and her family lived.
In 1846, the year before her mother’s death, she married Henry Main Frost whose occupation is listed as a shoemaker or a bootmaker. So, fashion was in the family. They were married at St. Philip’s Church where Henry’s family were members. Lydia who had been baptized as a Lutheran, became an Episcopalian.
Together they had five children – Florian Henry Frost, Anna Marion Frost (Birnie), Martha Raven Frost (DeCosta), Lydia Gertrude Frost (Cruickshank) and Mary Helen Frost (Thompson). Sadly, Henry, after nine years of marriage, died the year their youngest child was born. He was thirty years old. She was thirty-three, widowed with five children, the oldest being eight, and was running a business.
Among those who worked at Lydia’s shop were two enslaved persons both of whom remained with her after emancipation. I do want to note that at this time manumission (that is, freeing an enslaved person) had been outlawed for thirty-five year – illegal except by an act of the state legislature. Now, I share these details, because I think they help us see the fires in which she was formed.
By the time of Henry’s death in 1855, she was still a member at St. Philip’s, and, in 1861, the American Civil war began. She, probably like most citizens, just tried to survive. The bombardment of Charleston by Union troops began in 1863 and by February of 1865, they occupied the city. Dr. Eugene Hunt writes, “St. Mark’s Episcopal Church was organized as an independent congregation in 1865 by a group of prominent Black Episcopalians who were without a place to worship when practically all of the white Episcopal churches were closed, and most white Episcopalians had evacuated from Charleston as a result of the occupation by Union forces.” Lydia and her family were among that group of prominent black Episcopalians.
I spent a little time at the Avery Institute reading old vestry minutes looking for a mention of her name. Her name appears from the beginning as regular giver (no amounts listed!). The first time she appears in the minutes, it was in connection with a request from the Vestry to the Ladies of the Church to generate some funds to underwrite a fundraising trip to Boston and other parts north by, I believe, the Rev. Mr. Seabrook. Going north to raise funds was a regular practice of the time. I don’t think Mr. Seabrook had much success, but the ladies did, and they raised $269 which is nearly $5000 in today’s dollars. A tidy sum for traveling expense.
The vestry meanwhile struggled to try to find a permanent place to worship – moving from the chapel at the Charleston Orphan House to the old St. Luke’s Church at the corner of Charlotte and Elizabeth. They were offered the opportunity to purchase St. Luke’s but decided against as it was too costly. Eventually they decided the best course was to build their own church building.
The cornerstone of our present building was laid in 1875 and three years later in 1878, the structure was consecrated. During this time, sadness struck Lydia’s family once again when her eldest child and only son, Florian Henry, died suddenly at the age of twenty-five. His death certificate gives intestinal hemorrhage as the cause of death. He was living in Williamsburg County working as a teacher and in 1870 had been elected, at the age of 23, to serve as a representative to the South Carolina legislature from that county. So,clearly a star.
Her remaining children, Anna Marion, Martha, Gertrude, and Mary Helen all married in time. Anna and Mary Helen both married physicians.
Mary Helen married John M. Thompson, MD who trained at Howard Medical School. They lived right around the corner at 53 Radcliffe Street and, if you drive by their old home, there is a small building just to left of the house and close to the street which I believe may have been Dr. Thompson’s office.
Anna and her husband, Richard Birnie MD, were married at St. Mark’s where they were actively involved. I think Lydia must have been very frustrated that women could not serve on the vestry – so, I suspect, she had the next best thing. her son in law, Richard Birnie, MD, began serving as the secretary of the Vestry which he did for many years and, for what it’s worth, he had beautiful and very legible script.
Only her daughter, Anna and her husband had children. This branch of the family relocated to the Orangeburg area where they still have many distinguished descendants – particularly in the medical field. Recently I found the obituary of her great-grandson, Robert Shaw Wilkinson, MD. Who died in 1980.
Here is his obituary – which I want to take a minute to read an excerpt to you.
Robert Shaw Wilkinson, 84, died on September 17, (Lydia’s birthday) in Orangeburg, S.C., where he had lived since his retirement in 1971. Bob grew up in Orangeburg. He prepared for Dartmouth College at Wilbraham Academy in Massachusetts. As a premedical student at Dartmouth, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude. Bob graduated from the Dartmouth Medical School in 1925 and received his M.D. degree from Harvard in 1927. After an internship at Harlem Hospital, he entered the general practice of medicine and surgery in New York City – serving as a senior surgeon at many area hospitals and as a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
Bob was a major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in World War II. After the war he resumed his practice in New York City, where he remained until 1961 when he moved to Tuskegee, Ala. – think about the Tuskegee airmen - as acting chief of surgery at the VA hospital. He concluded his career as a staff surgeon at the Huntington, W.Va., VA Hospital from 1967 to 1971, He received the Disabled American Veterans National Commander's Award for outstanding service on behalf of disabled veterans in 1971. After his retirement, he served as a consultant with the Minority Affairs Program of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He was on the board of directors of the Orangeburg Mental Health Clinic and a member of the vestry of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Orangeburg.
All through this branch of Lydia’s descendants are doctors, and other health professionals, and educators. She has a distinguished group of descendants, and the themes seem to be medicine, education, service, and a great love for the Church.
Back to our stained-glass windows (see below). When John called my attention to Lydia’s memorial window, we were both mystified about what the story of the window might be. After a time, I realized that the figure in the foreground is St. Lydia, seller of purple (the key was the name!)…St. Lydia appears in the Book of Acts and is known as St. Lydia of Thyatira (Acts 16:14-15). St. Lydia is kneeling by a stream and if you look carefully you can see the mollusk shells she is harvesting and from which the costly purple dye is made. Only royalty and the very wealthy could afford purple. The figure on right, wearing a crown, is offering a white piece of fabric apparently requesting that it be dyed. I suspect this is a nod to some of Lydia’s customers. In the background is another figure, thought to be St. Tabitha, a widow, the patron of seamstresses and tailors, and who was known to be virtuous and kindly.
As it turned out, Lydia’s family gave not one but three of our stained glass windows.. the Mary, Martha, and Jesus Tiffany window was given in memory of Mary Helen Frost Thompson by her husband, John M Thompson, MD and her sister, Martha Raven Frost DaCosta. Now, remember, the subjects are carefully chosen by the family. I have wondered if that window does not refer to death of their brother in some way – and this is really reading between the lines. Do you recall that Martha said to Jesus – “Lord, if you had been here our brother would not have died”. The third window depicts the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and was given as a memorial to Martha Raven Frost DaCosta. The three together tell a story - the story of Lydia whom Felder Hutchinson described as a “force of nature” and her family. It’s a story of faith – patience in the face of suffering and loss and holding onto the their confidence in the reality of the Resurrection – with a radical perseverance and love for the Church and in particular, St. Mark’s.
Lydia died of dementia in 1904 at the age of 82. She is buried next to her son and husband at the Brotherly Association Cemetery which is off Huguenin Ave. near Magnolia Cemetery.
I haven’t yet been able to answer the question about her precise role in the founding of St. Mark’s – was she the chief mobilizer of the women of St. Mark’s? Was she their best fund raiser? Their most generous giver? It’s unclear… but what is clear is the inscription chosen by her family as their witness to her. It’s from the great Corinthians love passage – If I speak in the tongues of men and angels but have not love.. etc. This inscription is the from the King James Version –“ Charity suffereth long and is kind “- more contemporary translations read “love is patient and kind”.”
The word charity, as used in the KJV, is drawn from the Greek work caritas -meaning Christ-like love for humankind that culminates in sacrificial living. Lydia’s family knew her and chose this to lift up her love for people, radical generosity, profound patience, a heart to serve those in need – and deep, deep kindness.
It’s said that the vision of the founders of a church continues to exert an influence – it gets into the DNA of a church. I wonder, can we surface this as a part of who St. Mark’s is called to be? I sense this is who we still are and we have a wonderful role model in our mother and founder, Lydia S. Frost. May she inspire us and may her memory continue to be a blessing for us and all those who follow. AMEN.
The Rev. Dr. Jennie C. Olbrych, Charleston, SC – 9/11/22
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