Cemeteries

HISTORIC EDEN CEMETERY COMPANY

AMERICA'S OLDEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PUBLIC CEMETERY COMPANY
Established 1902

The History of Eden Cemetery

Eden's creation was a cumulative effort. It was the original idea of its founder and organizer, Jerome Bacon. Bacon was a teacher at the Institute for Colored Youth on Bainbridge near Ninth Street, which was later renamed Cheyney State College. In 1900 most African Americans in Philadelphia lived in the SP Ward, an area examined in W.E.B. DuBois' study, The Philadelphia Negro.

As the city's population increased, "neighborhood" cemeteries were condemned due to improvements in sanitary and sewage systems. Out of respect for those currently interred and to provide a future resting place for African Americans, Bacon discussed with his contemporaries a plan for a unified African American cemetery. Eden's first president, J. C. Asbury; first manager, Daniel W. Parvis; first treasurer, Martin Lehmann; and first vice president, Charles Jones, agreed with Bacon on a fifty-three acre plot in Collingdale, Pennsylvania. The area was selected because of its proximity to Philadelphia, beautiful landscape, size and availability.

Unknown to Collingdale residents, magistrates agreed to grant a charter to the company, which J. C. Asbury executed. Bacon and the board members agreed with Jacob White, the president of Lebanon Cemetery, located at Passyunk near Ninth Street, to re-inter all remains in Eden in 1903. However, the sudden death of Celestine Cromwell, wife of advisor member, Willis M. Cromwell, in August of 1902, hastened the need for a place of interment for African Americans. Bacon, J.C. Asbury and undertaker, J. T. Seth, convinced all of the board members that Celestine Cromwell should be the first interred in Eden Cemetery.

On August 11, 1902, before the first interment was to take place, some of the white Collingdale residents blocked the entrance to the cemetery, protesting the interment of African Americans in their community. Mrs. Cromwell's body was returned to Philadelphia. The following evening, on August 12, 1902, after dark, Mrs. Cromwell was buried.

In January, 1903, all remains from Labanon Cemetery were interred in Eden. In the spring, the remains from the Stephen Smith Home Cemetery were interred. In 1923, the remains from Olive Cemetery, which was adjacent to the Stephen Smith Home, were also buried in Eden.

Celestine, Lebanon, Home and Olive are the original four sections. Eden Cemetery would later expand to 23 sections. In 1924, the mortgage was satisfied and for many years, annual distribution of stock share dividends were paid to over 200 stockholders. Eden Cemetery is on the Historical Register and is the resting place of hundreds of prominent national and local 'old Philadelphian' African Americans. Today, there are over 85,000 interred. By Benjamin Wilson.

Notable African Americans interned at Eden Cemetery include: Amos Scott - First African American Magistrate for Philadelphia. Jesse Fauset - First African American woman to become a member of First Phi Beta Kappa, author and teacher. Chris J. Perry - Founder of The Philadelphia Tribune, oldest running African American newspaper. William Still and his wife Letitia - Author of "The Underground Railroad". Dr. Caroline Still-Anderson - Philadelphia's First Black female physician and daughter of William and Letitia Still. Dr. Rebecca Cole - female physician. John Taylor - First African American to win an Olympic Gold Medal. Ms. Caroline Lecound - Principal of O.V. Catto School. Francis Harper - Author, lecturer and abolitionist. Mrs. Henrietta S. Bowers-Duterte - One of the first female, African American Undertakers in Pennsylvania. Nellie Bright - Teacher, Ph.D., University of Penn Graduate. Marion Anderson - Renowned Opera Singer. Reverend. Rev. Charles Albert Tindley - One of the founding fathers of American gospel music. Octavius Valentine Catto - educator and civil rights activist.

Unfortunately the cemetery has been vandalized by juveniles who, as reported by Ms. Cockroft, don’t want the cemetery in the predominantly white neighborhood.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
PICTURES:

L: Entrance to Eden Cemetery. Eden Cemetery Company, 1434 Springfield Road, Collingdale, PA 19023. Contact Ms. Mina Cockroft, Family Services Director, 610-583-8738. M and R: Example of cemetery vandalism.  Pictures taken April 30, 2009.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
SOURCES:

Internet
"Eden Cemetery." findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=44744, Web. 20 Apr. 2009.

Interview
Cockroft, Mina. Eden Cemetery. Eden Cemetery Office. Collingdale, PA. April 30, 2009.

Site Visit
Eden Cemetery Tour. Collingdale, PA. 30 Apr. 2009.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
SUBMITTED: April 30, 2009.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Like Us on Facebook.  Follow us on Twitter @ FindFamilyRoots.

West Point Monument   

Norfolk’s Civil War African American Heritage

The memorial before you, the West Point Monument, was built in 1909 as attribute to African American veterans of the Civil War and Spanish-American War. James A. Fuller, a former slave and veteran of the 1^st U.S. Colored Calvary, led the effort to erect this monument. Fuller was Norfolk’s first African American councilman, and he successfully lobbied for the establishment of this section of Elmwood, named West Point as a burial ground for Norfolk’s African American citizens. The cornerstone of the Soldiers, Monument was laid by William Fuller in 1908, however, the monument was not completed until 1920. When the monument was finally unveiled, it was the first memorial to African American soldiers in Virginia.

The Civil War soldier depicted on the West Point Monument is Norfolk native Sergeant William H. Carney of the 54^th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment. While his parents were born slaves, they secured their freedom and left Norfolk with their son for New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1855. Carney enlisted in the 54^th Massachusetts 1862, and fought with his regiment during the July 18 1863, attack on Fort Wagner, South Carolina. When the color bearers were shot down in the failed assault, Carney, despite being severely wounded, managed to save the U.S. flag from capture. “When they saw me bringing in the colors,” Carney recollected, “they cheered me, and I was able to tell them that the old flag never touched the ground.” Carney was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary bravery under fire. He was the first of sixteen African American soldiers to receive the Medal of Honor during the Civil War. Sgt. Carney’s stone figure solemnly stands today as a tribute to the 100 African American veterans at rest in West Point Cemetery.

Carney was one of about 200,000 African American soldiers and sailors to serve the Union during the Civil War. The Union could not avoid using African Americans to aid its war effort. Each former slave serving with a weapon or as a laborer lessened the South’s ability to maintain its economy and fight the larger Federal army. Consequently, Congress passed the Militia Act of July 17, 1862, authorizing President Lincoln to organize African Americans “for any military or naval service for which they may have been found competent.” This act coupled with Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, opened the door to African Americans not only seeking their freedom, but also helping to release those still held in bondage. As one former slave wrote: “This was the biggest thing that ever happened in my life, I felt like a man with a uniform on and a gun in my hand. I felt freedom in my bones.”

“Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S., let him get an eagle upon his button and a musket on his shoulder… and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States.” - Frederick Douglass.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
PICTURES:

L: West Point Monument. M/L, M/R, R.
Bottom L, M/L, M/R: Plaques. R: Virginia Civil War Trail Sign.  Pictures taken March 6, 2010.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
SOURCES:

Site Visit
West Point Cemetery. Norfolk, VA. 6 Mar. 2010.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
SUBMITTED: March 28, 2010.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Like Us on Facebook.  Follow us on Twitter @ FindFamilyRoots.