Slave Cemeteries Still Lie Unmarked
posted by Admin on 09-19-2007 10:31

By Peggy Harris, The Associated Press

SEARCY, Ark. - In remote cemeteries off lonely rural highways, slaves who once toiled under the command of white owners rest in unmarked graves hidden among hardwoods and covered with brush.

Little is known about the 111,115 slaves who lived in Arkansas before the Civil War, even though they made up a quarter of the state's population. Their labor made Arkansas one of the largest cotton producers in the country.

In White County, the Historical Society wants to bring greater respect in death to a people who did not get basic consideration in life. Slaves often didn't matter to their owners -- especially once they were dead.

"Blacks were generally discussed in plantation records in the context of their economic contributions," says Michael Trinkley, a slave cemetery expert from South Carolina. "When a slave died, the truth of the matter is they were no longer an economic asset to the planter."

History enthusiasts hope they can piece together the scant evidence of a slave's life, beginning at the end -- in the cemeteries.

Standing in a shaded patch of ground yards from an 1857 church that served white congregations, Lamar Wright makes a sweeping gesture toward some mounds covered with weeds. Nothing is marked, but his research has told him that slaves or freed slaves are buried there.

"There's graves all out here, not one single marker," Wright says. "That's what appalled me. Put a cross up!"

Coalition Formed To Save Historic Cemetery
posted by Admin on 04-14-2007 01:19

Restoration, maintenance is goal for Mount Olive

By ROBIN BROWN, The News Journal

Posted Wednesday, February 28, 2007 at 2:18 pm

WILMINGTON — Faith leaders and elected officials today announced a coalition to restore and maintain historic Mount Olive Cemetery.

Maintenance has been a long-term issue for leaders and members of the Mother African Union Church associated with the cemetery, but Mayor James M. Baker said underlying the plan is that the site is significant to all Delawareans as well as state history.

The cemetery -- from the segregation era when even burial had color lines -- once was in the city, but was moved in 1914 to make way for construction of Bancroft Parkway.

The move put the graves outside Wilmington limits, but Baker said, “as far as we’re concerned, it’s still city.”

The plan, in development for about a year, also includes construction of a pavilion and historic interpretation.

Architects’ renderings for its future were unveiled at the church, which holds a significant spot in American history.

Started in 1813, Mother African Union Church was the nation’s first independent African American denomination. It was established by the Rev. Peter Spencer, recognized as a national pioneer in African-American religious freedom.

Graves Need Special Attention
posted by Admin on 04-14-2007 01:14

Published February 26, 2007 06:00 pm -

The unmarked graves of orphans are getting attention in the Muskogee area, as they should.

Muskogee Mayor Wren Stratton proposed last week marking the grave sites of African-American children who died while attending the now defunct Institute for Colored Deaf, Blind and Orphans. The facility near Taft closed in the 1970s and became the Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center.

No one knows how many children died while living at the home, or their names, even if they can be known, but a small plot of fenced burial ground contains their remains.

African-American History Lays in Cedars Cemetery
posted by Admin on 04-14-2007 01:06

By LaDONNA BEEKER, C-I (Camden, S.C.) Localife editor

February 22, 2007

Cedars Cemetery, located on Campbell Street between Calhoun and York streets, is the resting ground of many prominent African-American individuals and families, as well as those of slaves.

It was in the early 1800s that free slaves began to be buried on the property. In December 1868, after the Civil War, Cyrus McGirt bought the property for $225 from J. D. Dunlap.

Before the Civil War, the land was vacant, and because Campbell Street was predominantly a black neighborhood, the land seemed like an appropriate place to bury the deceased, said James McGirt, great-nephew of Cyrus and vice president of the Cedars Cemetery Association.

"When someone died, there was nowhere for them to be buried," McGirt said. "So they got permission to be buried there, and it spread by word of mouth."

Unfortunately, the early burials did not have markers on the graves, meaning several individuals are not identified in the cemetery. What is known, however, is that slaves during this time were buried in plots closer to the road, according to Clifton W. Anderson, chairman of the Kershaw County Clean Community Commission. Sometimes a flower would be planted at the head of the grave to mark a grave site. Others placed a piece of wood, but with the cemetery being more than 100 years old, the wood deteriorated or broke, making it difficult to locate the graves.

Developers Donate Galveston Cemetery
posted by Admin on 01-28-2007 05:26

Rosewood Cemetery, Galveston's first burial ground designated exclusively for African Americans, founded in 1911, was donated to Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) on December 27 by local developers John and Judy Saracco. It is a gift valued at $319,000, but to Galveston Historical Foundation's African American Heritage Committee, it is priceless.

"We are so happy to be the recipients of this generous donation," said Alice Gatson, chair of Galveston Historical Foundation's African American Heritage Committee. "It is so gratifying to be able to claim this important piece of our heritage and to honor those who are buried there."

The cemetery was part of an eight-acre parcel of land at Seawall between 61st and 63rd streets that Saracco purchased in the early 1980s. Since then, a Comfort Inn, Super 8 Motel, Waffle House and Beachcomber Inn have been built on the property that surrounds the cemetery. The cemetery sits directly behind the Comfort Inn off 63rd.

Knowing when he purchased it that the property he planned to develop contained a burial ground, Saracco says he had the land fully surveyed for graves before development began. He then had the cemetery fenced so the graves would not be disturbed.

411 graves are listed in records as being located at Rosewood. Today, markers exist for only around 20. The last known burial date is listed as 1944.

Galveston's First African American Cemetery to be Restored
posted by Admin on 01-28-2007 05:11

Galveston's first African American cemetery to be restored

04:34 PM CST on Thursday, January 11, 2007

From 11 News Staff Reports

A neglected piece of property in Galveston that some people have called priceless will be restored.

It’s the island’s first African American cemetery, a property surrounded by motels and condos in the 6300 block of Seawall has been donated to the Galveston Historical Foundation.

Right now there are no historical markers or access to Rosewood Cemetery.

The land is also overgrown and un-kept.

Officials say the cemetery, founded in 1911, has 411 graves.

Ironwork Installed at Cedars Cemetery
posted by Admin on 01-08-2007 11:58

Ironwork installed at Cedars Cemetery

By MARTIN CAHN, C-I (Camden, S.C.) assistant editor
December 25, 2006


Sparks flew Dec. 14 under a crisp blue morning as Paul Seals welded an ironwork arch to a newly completed brick wall at Cedars Cemetery on Campbell Street. The historic African-American cemetery is located just south of York Street.

Seals and Jeff Jones, both of Camden Welding Service, installed the arch, marked with the cemetery's name, as members of the Kershaw County Clean Community Commission, Cedars Cemetery Association and other community representatives watched.

"This has been 100 years in the making," said KCCCC Chairman Clif Anderson, who noted that the commission has revitalized the area for five years at no cost to taxpayers.

A.J. Cooke, of Cooke Funeral Home, leading the large group in a benediction, prayed the commission and cemetery association would continue to do this work.

Mill Creek Tombstones Tell Many Stories
posted by Admin on 12-15-2006 03:25

Wednesday, 12/13/06

Mill Creek tombstones tell many stories

By GEORGE ZEPP


I took an alternate route to work one quiet Sunday turning onto what is Old Glenrose Avenue … and much to my surprise came upon the remains of a stone foundation … surrounded by some very old tombstones.

A historical marker was there saying it was once a church. … What can you tell me about it?

Being a city girl from the North … I am fascinated to be living now amidst these hidden jewels of Nashville (and the South). — Bridget Redmond, Nashville.

The Mill Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in the Woodbine area isn't easy to find, wedged as it is among Interstate 24, Mill Creek itself and a railroad track off Thompson Lane.

Those who seek it out are rewarded with setting foot on one of the earliest Nashville sites associated with Baptist church history. The historical marker notes slave graves on the site, as well as those of early European settlers.

It also cites the formation of the first Tennessee Baptist Convention there in 1833. The footnote omitted is that this attempt to organize an alliance of Baptist churches in the state had failed by 1842, rejected as "unscriptural and a threat to congregational autonomy."

posted by on 12-31-1969 19:00