284:, Boles would rarely allow her photograph to be taken (there were only two known occurrences), much less allow people to touch her, due to her belief that she would become jinxed by a curse. "When you gave her money, she didn't want you to hand it to her," John Berendt said at the time of her death. "You had to put it down on a table or on the floor, because that way you can't 'work' with her hands. If you touch her, you're 'working her hand.'"
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303:. "We'd sit out there a few minutes, but she'd never say anything. She didn't trust me." Seiler visited Boles at her home in Beaufort, in 2002. "The house reeked of some strange incense," he said. "I gave her some money, and she smiled. I asked her if she ever got back to Savannah, and she said she didn't. She said she couldn't travel."
33:
186:, and Selena Jones. Her mother died in 1938, when Valerie was five years old. Her father remarried, to Sheldonia Glover (1917–1979). Between the two marriages, Boles had three brothers and eleven sisters.
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At an early age, Boles became a baptized member of the Deep Creek
Missionary Baptist Church in Islandton. After graduating Mather Junior College in the early 1960s, she became a licensed
326:, for which he was accused of murder. "Jim would give her $ 20 or something because she’d tell him what was going on in the community, which he valued," explained Seiler. "She was his
219:) with whom she had one child: Anthony Ray Fennell (1954–2019). Boles took over Washington's practice, which doubled as their 1950-built 1408 Congress Street home in
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Boles died in 2009, at
Beaufort Memorial Hospital, aged 76. She was interred in Jerusalem Baptist Church Cemetery in
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According to
Berendt, Boles said that she had been in touch with Williams after he died in 1990.
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273:. The "garden" in the book's title is Citizens Cemetery in Beaufort. In the film, Savannah's
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578:"Oct 26, 1994, page 41 - The Atlanta Constitution at Atlanta Journal Constitution"
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and whom Seiler represented for the final three of
Williams' four trials for the
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with Percy H. Washington (1890–1973), a root doctor known as Dr. Eagle (renamed
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412:"Voodoo’s heyday has passed, but the Gullah tradition still bewitches in SC"
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tongue, was renamed "Minerva" in the book, and was portrayed by
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Obituaries: Valerie Fennel Aiken Boles, 'Midnight priestess' –
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changed Boles' name to "Minerva" and included her in his novel
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was used to represent the "colored cemetery down the road".
675:– Bouhan Falligant, Attorneys & Counselors at Law, via
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as
Minerva, the character based on Boles, at the gates to
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Fennell; November 8, 1932 – May 8, 2009) was an
American
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During the 1980s, Boles would often visit
Savannah's
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457:"Reclusive voodoo priestess of 'Midnight' fame dies"
387:– Marshel's Wright-Donaldson Home for Funerals, Inc.
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515:"Anthony Ray Fennell of Beaufort, South Carolina"
603:"'Midnight in the Garden' Bonaventure Cemetery"
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539:"4 Savannah-Inspired Halloween Costumes"
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527:1408 Congress St, Beaufort, SC 29902
496:Conjure in African American Society
90:Jerusalem Baptist Church Cemetery,
551:Gouveia, Georgette (May 2, 2017).
287:Although he appeared in the book,
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673:"Sonny with a Chance of Midnight"
634:. Random House Publishing Group.
354:, along with her father and son.
336:In 2004, Boles was featured in
112:Inspiration for a character in
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553:"The Garden Of Good And Evil"
719:21st-century American women
714:20th-century American women
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324:shooting of Danny Hansford
478:"LowCountry Root Doctors"
291:, a former attorney from
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60:Islandton, South Carolina
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18:American voodoo priestess
657:The Atlanta Constitution
352:Cummings, South Carolina
318:, the main character in
221:Beaufort, South Carolina
92:Cummings, South Carolina
79:Beaufort, South Carolina
310:, a block south of the
213:in the film version of
628:Berendt, John (1994).
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709:Hoodoo (spirituality)
660:, May 10, 2009, p. B9
462:Savannah Morning News
400:Savannah Morning News
385:Valerie Fennell Boles
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275:Bonaventure Cemetery
235:Bonaventure Cemetery
207:common-law marriage
124:Valerie Aiken Boles
37:Boles in 2004, for
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257:. Other than the
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677:Savannah Magazine
641:978-0-679-42922-7
293:Savannah, Georgia
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308:Forsyth Park
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150:. Boles, of
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73:(2009-05-08)
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699:2009 deaths
694:1932 births
613:February 5,
562:February 5,
211:Dr. Buzzard
134:root doctor
103:Root doctor
71:May 8, 2009
688:Categories
358:References
342:magazine.
191:beautician
170:Early life
142:true-crime
99:Occupation
587:March 28,
417:The State
247:In 1994,
180:U.S. Army
607:District
314:home of
269:'s 1997
162:'s 1997
140:'s 1994
43:magazine
282:recluse
259:moniker
638:
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243:(1997)
152:Gullah
94:, U.S.
81:, U.S.
62:, U.S.
483:South
346:Death
144:book
636:ISBN
615:2022
589:2024
564:2022
500:ISBN
339:Life
328:mole
68:Died
49:Born
40:Life
557:Wag
330:."
265:in
237:in
193:in
158:in
129:née
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665:^
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480:–
470:^
459:–
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392:^
365:^
280:A
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126:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
