Penny Cemetery Fund announces Evergreen Cemetery clean-up

Evergreen Cemetery is a historic African-American cemetery in the East End of Richmond, Virginia dating from 1891. Notable African-American Richmonders including Maggie L. Walker, John Mitchell, Jr., A.D.Price, and Rev.J.Andrew Bowler are buried there. Much of the privately-owned cemetery is completely overgrown with kudzu or is returning to forest. The original organization responsible for the cemetery, the Evergreen Cemetery Association, made no allowances for perpetual care in its charter. In 1970, the association sold its more than 5,000 plots to Metropolitan Memorial Services, which soon went bankrupt. Although listed on the State & National registers of historic places this privately owned cemetery has been abandoned for years.

The Penny Cemetery Fund, an attempt to bring new sources of volunteers and funding to the reclamation of Evergreen Cemetery, is organizing a volunteer clean-up day on Saturday, October 31st. The goal to is to clear one acre. The Penny Cemetery Fund is a charitable foundation created, to restore Evergreen Cemetery, a historic Black cemetery, in Richmond’s east end. Contact Deanna Lewis at deanna@pennycemeteryfund.org for more information about the clean-up or the Penny Cemetery Fund. A Families and Friends group on Yahoo has been the organizing point for a handful of volunteers that have been working doggedly to clean and maintain portions of the privately-owned cemetery.

More Problems for Chanate Historical Cemetery

Paupers' graveyard a challenge to navigate
Historian says it's not surprising finding Jane Doe took 2 tries
By BLEYS W. ROSE THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

There are only two unidentified women in a paupers' graveyard in Santa Rosa, buried side by side after having died in the late 1960s, according to local cemetery historian Jeremy Nichols. Mystery has surrounded the remains of a "Jane Doe" that the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department dug up Thursday. Nichols, president of the Sonoma County Historical Society, said the county has buried about 500 bodies over the past 60 years in a forlorn swale of land between Santa Rosa's Memorial Park and the Rural Cemetery.

"It is no wonder that investigators had a difficult time finding the right Jane Doe because both records and the cemetery are not well organized," Nichols said. He has recently published a book, "Potter's Field," about the county's burial practices for indigents that notes the lowland downhill from the Rural Cemetery periodically floods, and plot markers with few names or identification symbols often shift.

Many plot markers are little more than concrete cylinders formed from coffee-can molds.

A team from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department and a group of anthropology students from San Francisco State University unearthed the wrong Jane Doe on Wednesday. But on Thursday, they found the coffin they were seeking after shifting their digging operation to a nearby plot. Sheriff's officials have been tight-lipped about revealing what "new information" prompted them to unearth the body of an unidentified woman buried some 40 years ago. Speculation centers on whether a confession has come to light, but authorities have declined to provide details beyond saying the woman was buried sometime in the 1960s. Nichols said information gleaned from his book research verified that there are two unidentified women listed as Jane Doe buried side by side in the center of the graveyard. Although he said he has not been contacted by authorities, he hesitated to provide further burial information because he didn't want to jeopardize what may be a criminal investigation. Both women were buried in the late 1960s, within about two years of each other, he confirmed.

Nichols' book centers on identification of indigents buried at the Chanate Historic Cemetery located across the street from what's now Sutter Medical Center. But, he said, his research also led him to the almost inaccessible 3-acre parcel downhill from the Rural Cemetery purchased by Sonoma County in 1944.

About that time, indigent burials ceased at the Chanate cemetery and internments started at the newly purchased site.

"It still doesn't even have a name, and the county land doesn't belong to the Rural Cemetery or to Santa Rosa Memorial Park," Nichols said. "It is like the sister who marries out of the family church and is never spoken of again."

Nichols said the first mention in public records of the new cemetery for indigents was in Board of Supervisors minutes of 1945 when "someone complained that whoever was doing the burials wasn't keeping good records." "The find of the century was the record I found in Salt Lake City, probably written by the county coroner, that listed all the names of indigents from 1937 buried by the county, where they were buried, which funeral homes handled the body and how much the county paid," Nichols said. He said the records he discovered at the Family History Library at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were not duplicates of anything he could find in Sonoma County.

Head(stone) Scratcher of the Month

As an amature genealogist, Ive grown accustom to seeing dating mistakes on head/footstones which are not always as avoidable as one thinks; sometimes a birth date or full name is unknown for whatever reason. This one in particular at Salem Cemetery in Madison KY caught my eye- likely due to the way it was photographed.

It actually took me a minute to notice what is going on here. Thank goodness nowadays descendants on a gen quest have free lookups at their disposal as well as helpful cemetery staff- otherwise, this reversal could be quite the hindrance... I decided it was only right for me to do a quick look up on G. Parsons (being that I have an ancestry.com account), who I assume is male being that there is a mason engraving on the tombstone. Unfortunately I found no Parsons whatsoever born or died on these dates (in their proper order). I did not even find a G. Parsons in Kentucky. Too bad- I have a feeling this guy led an interesting life (and there may be others in the plot being that the bottom of the stone says "Parsons").

Abandoned Cemetery: Our Lady of the Pillar (old section)

Our Lady of the Pillar (aka Nuestra Señora del Pillar Cemetery) is not completely abandoned, in comparison to so many other old cemeteries … It is made up of two distinct sections; the front (upon entrance) holds new internments and is still in active use. This portion is in excellent shape and appears to have a regular caretaker. But as one wanders farther back in exploration, a beautiful yet forgotten portion of this cemetery is uncovered which holds many early residents of Half Moon Bay. There is such a difference in condition of the front (new) and back (old) grounds that one would think it were two separate cemeteries. While I am unsure when Our Lady of the Pillar was opened, I know it became one of the main internments for Catholics after the closure of Pilarcitos Cemetery in 1923.

There is no regular caretaker for the older sections of this cemetery and as I understand it, the lawn and weeds are cleaned up 1-2 times per year (likely by a volunteer- the church is still active). It is overgrown with weeds and riddled with gopher holes, scattered garbage, broken bottles, and silk flowers that are filthy and years old. Many headstones and footstones are broken, have fallen face down (so that the names are not visible), and missing markers. Many headstones have been vandalized. The older section also contains a small area exclusively for baby graves as well as a potters field section; they are both up a hill which is difficult to navigate through due to overgrowth. Most graves in the PFS are unmarked though many were interned here between 1910-1950.

I stumbled across this cemetery while doing paternal genealogy research. My Father's side of the family migrated to Half Moon Bay/San Gregorio when it was known as "Spanish Town" (as many Puerto Rican families did at the time being that fieldwork was plentiful)and therefore I presumed many unknown ancestors would be laid to rest in HMB and it was in this cemetery so far I have found one so far-Joaquin Muniz. As you can see from the photo, his headstone appears to have been vandalized.

Slave Cemetery Dating Back to 1898 Just Discovered

Pittsylvania Co., VA - Officials have been working for months to develop the Berry Hill Mega Park in Pittsylvania County. but now, it looks as though they'll have an extra project to work on.

A resident has discovered a large slave cemetery on the property. They believe there are thousands of graves there, some dating back to 1898.

We spoke with one of the ancestors, Cedrick Hairston, assistant principal at Chatham Middle School. We called him Wednesday to to tell him what we knew and he was so surprised, he met us at the cemetery and he told us he had chills. Hairston knew his ancestors were buried somewhere on Berry Hill Road. "We knew that it existed we were just having a hard time in the location." He never imagined, he'd be walking through the cemetery. "It brings mixed emotions to think of your ancestors."

Some graves were marked with stones. Others, just depressions in the ground. The entire graveyard was hidden by woods.

William Gosnell says he found this cemetery eight years ago. "It took me a week of walking back and forth to locate the cemetery." He was asked by a friend and descendent, who has now passed, to keep it a secret. "She told me not to tell anyone where it was at because she was afraid that people would go in there and disturb it," Gosnell said. He kept his lips sealed until two months ago. "The reason that I told people was simply because I knew they were gonna try to develop this area and if they did there was a possibility that the cemetery might be right in the middle of it," Gosnell said. That's when Gosnell says he got in touch with Sonia Ingram with Virginia Preservation.

County officials say this site will be protected. Their plan is to map it, plot it, and protect it some of which they've already started.

Abandoned Cemetery: White Oak

White Oak is located behind old White Oak Meeting House on KY 152, .25 miles from US 27 and near the end of Fred Day Road. As far as I can tell, there are only two tombstones there: Mary Mack (1855-1936)and Minnie Mack(Sept. 7, 1899-Oct 12 1939). There are probably more burials here but perhaps not; being that the two women passed a few years apart from each other, maybe the family moved.

I wish I knew more about the White Oak Cemetery...Being the Garrard County historical buff that I am, I will be doing a little more research on this cemetery and women on my next visit. I'll add updates as I get them

Photographer: Yvonne Lay Logue

Head(stone) Scratcher of the Month: Headstone Humor