Ann's Apparition

by M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
Along Old Sheldon Church Road stands the ruin of what was once known as Prince William’s Parish Church in Yemassee, South Carolina. Now it goes by the name of the Old Sheldon Church Ruins. Built between 1745 and 1753 it witnessed mundane family celebrations as well as history making events, so it is not surprising that it has a reputation for being haunted.

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Ruins of Sheldon Chapel c.1940

Colonel William Bull, owner of the adjacent Newberry Plantation, and who had served as the first Lt. Governor of South Carolina helped in the funding of the construction for the chapel. Bull belonged to one of several aristocratic families who settled in the area after being granted tracts of land for farming. He christened his Lowcountry estate "Sheldon Plantation" in honor of Sheldon Hall, his Warwickshire, England, ancestral home.

Built on 50 acres, the structure was originally known as Prince William's Parish Church. Who designed and built the parish church is unknown, however one theory asserts that the church was constructed according to abandoned plans for St. Mary-le-Strand Church in London. 

In 1778, Savannah fell to the British army and the fleeing colonists took refuge in the chapel. In 1779, British soldiers or the colonists still loyal to the English king burned it down during the Revolutionary War. They also burned down William Bull's Sheldon Plantation.

Over 30 years later in 1826, the parishioners rebuilt the church, but it’s fate was tied to the vagaries of war, and the army of William Tecumseh Sherman vandalized the interior. Due to the brutality of Sherman's acts against civilians in the unnecessary destruction of private property, nearby residents finished gutting the structure in order to rebuild their homes that were burned by Sherman’s army.

The destruction that came with Sherman's forces was described this way:

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In the middle of November of 1864, after immolating Atlanta, Sherman’s troops marched out of the city’s blackened ruins and headed toward Georgia’s coat. During this infamous “march to the sea”, shops and private homes were invaded and looted, not only by enlisted men, but also by officers. After everything of value was stolen from private homes and irreplaceable family portraits bayoneted, the torches were applied. Dwellings of the poor, black as well as white, were also shown no mercy. Barns and crops were annihilated, and livestock that was of no immediate value to Sherman’s army was slaughtered. Even civic buildings and educational facilities were not spared. In Louisville, all the deed books were taken from the county courthouse, dumped into a pile on the courthouse steps, and burned.
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Defenseless black women were treated so abominably by Union troops that male slaves posted guards outside their cabins to protect their vulnerable women. But some slaves naively believed Sherman’s troops were their liberators, and much to the annoyance of Union officers, began following the marauding army. After crossing Ebenezer Creek on the outskirts of Rincon, Union soldiers callously removed the pontoon bridge, preventing slaves from crossing. Many of the confused followers: men, women and children and the elderly, foolishly attempted to swim across the water. Several drowned. Cries for help from the slaves, who thrashed frantically about in the water, were ignored by Union troops, who simply marched away. Similar incidents of malevolence occurred as the Federal army made its way to Georgia’s port city.

Ann Heyward's tombstone at the Old Sheldon Ruins

For many years after the destruction by Sherman, an annual service was held in the chapel despite having no walls or a roof.

As was the custom, prominent citizens were buried on the grounds. A few of the tombstones still stand, but most have since disappeared under the years of leaves from the majestic oaks. Spanish moss drapes down over what is left of the church and it has stories of different hauntings, especially one describing a woman in a simple, brown, Pilgrim-style gown standing over an infant’s grave. She is accompanied by a feeling of sorrow. Many believe this is the ghost of Ann Matilda Bull Maxcy Heyward (1813-1851). She was a member of the Heyward family who signed the Declaration of Independence, and a relation of the Bull family.

By the time Ann died in 1851, she had been "an invalid, for some time past", but it's believed her condition worsened after the death of her son James, age 6, who died five months before her. She had lost another son, John who died when he was five years old in 1844. She had a total of 8 children.​

Based on the description of the woman's dress this might not be Ann after all, since during her life  time women wore full skirts. Perhaps this is an unknown lady, who lived during earlier Revolutionary years.

​There are reports of heavy footsteps and lights flashing in the distance that cannot be explained. Another ghost is an apparition of girl in a white dress sighted outside the property.

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John Bull (1693-1767)

Another incident which might explain the ghostly lady involves Captain John Bull (a relative of William Bull), who one day was out working by the bank of the river. During these years (1717-1718) the settlers battled the war-like Yemasees. On this day, Captain Bull saw smoke pluming from where his house stood. He rushed towards  his home, which had fallen in by the time he reached it. There was silence except the roaring of flames. The Indians had carried off everything including his young wife. 

The grounds were searched, when a sound of weeping came from a thicket. They found Mrs. Bull's servant hiding there, who confirmed she had been taken by the Indians.

Captain Bull and his neighbors followed the trail left by the marauders, and the only clue they found was a silken slipper on the road. 

Mrs. Bull was never recovered and it's believed she was killed when she was too exhausted to keep up with the band. Till the end of his days Captain Bull made war against the Yemasees.

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