List Update: Harrisburg’s Civil War Veterans Buried at Lincoln Cemetery An update to the list of Harrisburg’s Black Civil War Veterans buried in Lincoln Cemetery: No. 133: Henry C. Keith “Harry Keath” Private Co. B 8th USCT No. 134: Albert Chamberlain Corporal Co. F 25th USCT For the original list Harrisburg’s Civil … Continue reading →
Civil War Veteran: Henry C. Keith in the 8th USCT Civil War veteran Henry C. Keith served in the 8th United States Colored Troops (Pvt. Co. B 8th USCT) which placed him at the heart of some of the Civil War’s most pivotal and harrowing moments. The 8th US Colored Infantry was … Continue reading →
Ex-Slave School: Rare Photo Reveals Harrisburg Black History Stumbling upon a rare photo of a classroom at an “Ex-Slave School” in Harrisburg in the early 1900s, was an exhilarating moment in my journey as a public historian. This isn’t merely a rare historical find; it’s a profound revelation of Harrisburg Black History, … Continue reading →
Legacy Reborn: Harrisburg Lincoln Cemetery at 146 Years Today marks the 146th anniversary of Harrisburg Lincoln Cemetery, a site of profound historical and cultural significance for our community (regardless of how far we are from the grounds today). Consecrated on November 18, 1877, this sacred ground has been a resting place for … Continue reading →
Helen Brown’s Unique Wood & Fabric Headstone Helen Brown’s final resting place wasn’t marked in the usual way—there was no obituary, and her life’s accomplishments were not carved in marble or granite but inscribed by a loving hand onto a sheet of fabric affixed to a unique wood & fabric headstone. Her … Continue reading →
Enslaved in Pennsylvania: County Slave Registries Database 1780-1847 There is no single repository for Pennsylvania’s surviving county slave registries. “Some have survived as individual registrations, others as original manuscript registries, and others still as transcripts of original documents.” If you are researching people who were enslaved in Pennsylvania these are invaluable resources, … Continue reading →
Rise of a Railroad Hero: Black Dick’s Symphonies of Freedom Rise of a Railroad Hero: Black Dick’s Symphonies of Freedom (Black Dick Part #2) is a historically-based storytelling (a creative nonfiction & microhistory), of the life and deeds of Richard Smith. Richard was was most likely born near Gettysburg in the late-1830s … Continue reading →
Black Civil War Veterans Organize First G.A.R. Post #520 The G.A.R. was the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization formed by and for veterans of the Civil War, and no one else. The Gustavus V. Catto Post, No. 520, was the first name of the only GAR post formed by and … Continue reading →
Former Slave Became Soldier, Restaurateur, Civil Rights Activist & Community Icon Noah Pinkney was a former slave who became a community icon. He left Frederick County, Maryland, most likely, during the Civil War and enlisted in the 127th United States Colored Troops, serving as a corporal in Company G. Noah Pinkney was … Continue reading →
Eating Human Bodies at Black Cemetery–Harrisburg Eyewitness Report This too is African American History: Ghouls (aka Bodysnatchers, Graverobbers) were one of the more horrific realities of 19th century death…this story is far more gruesome!! …Eyewitnesses report ghouls eating human bodies at a Harrisburg Black Cemetery. Plus…Dogs eat people? I guess dogs do … Continue reading →
Harrisburg Telegraph (1908) ‘A Trip Around the World-The Ladie’s Guild-Harris A.M.E. Church’, 30 March, p. 2.
Continue reading →Was one of the Civil War Veterans buried in Lincoln Cemetery one of the Black Men executed in Harrisburg in 1874? Was John Preston involved in the Behm murder? I was searching for background information on John Preston, a Civil War Veteran, with an elusive background, when I found him on trial … Continue reading →
George Alvis (1800-186?): Black Blacksmith of Harrisburg, PA George Alvis was born in 1800 in Richmond, Virginia. By 1830, he was the head of a Free African American family living in Harrisburg, PA. He was a Black Blacksmith. He is buried in Lincoln Cemetery, Harrisburg’s oldest historically Black Cemetery. Before the White … Continue reading →
Lettie Garner, over 100, formerly enslaved, was born on February 25, 1807, in Shepherdstown, West Virginia according to the papers. She, and her husband, Joseph Garner were both supposed to be around 50 at the 1870 census. The news reported she came to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, when she got free in 1863, and … Continue reading →
Trustees Hold A Meeting They Hope For New Free Black Cemetery Creation In September of 1892, the Star-Independent published the occurrence of what may have been the last meeting of the Harris Free Cemetery Trustees. The Harris Free Cemetery Trustees held this meeting in order to agree on a place to buy … Continue reading →
Rachael & Bhakti visiting their ancestors’ home, and Underground Railroad site, on Yellow Hill in Adams County, before their visit to Lincoln Cemetery in Harrisburg. (Edward Mathews and Francis Gantt purchased 17 acres for their family, a church, and a cemetery in the early 1840s…Only the house, barn, & pond remain visible).
Continue reading →The Voice of Black Women Civil War Activists       When Jane Welcome wrote to President Lincoln on November 21, 1864 both of her sons were serving in the United States Colored Troops. She had received no word or money from her youngest son, Israel, who was serving with the 55th Mass, and had … Continue reading →
Driven on the Bypass? Arsenal Blvd? N. 17th St.?
Are you driving on Black Bodies buried below the pavement, under the PennDOT building and parking lot?
Maggie Brooks or Maggie Pue? Kidnapped from Nashville or Toledo? Enslaved in Cuba or Enslaved in Haiti? Black Woman or Black Girl? Artist or Con-artist? Was Maggie fabricated by White press?
Continue reading →Seemingly art frees an enslaved girl, who was kidnapped, abused, and tortured for 14 years in Cuba. In 1880, she is finally home, searching for her parents in Toledo.
Continue reading →First Professional Black Artist in Pacific Northwest is from Harrisburg, PA: trailblazing 19th Century Black Artist Grafton Tyler Brown: cartographer, craftsman, communicator, documentarian, entrepreneur, and pioneer.
Continue reading →Archives of the Sydney Howard Gay Fugitive Slave Interviews in Mid-19th Century NYC In 1855 and 1856, Sydney Howard Gay, the editor of the National Anti-Slavery Standard and an operative in the underground railroad in New York City, decided to meticulously record the arrival of fugitive slaves at his office. The resulting … Continue reading →
Lincoln Cemetery: Jim Crow’s Graveyard, Harrisburg’s Black Cemeteries & How There’s Only One Left It is time to tell the true history of Harrisburg’s Black Cemeteries. Lincoln Cemetery is Harrisburg’s oldest Black cemetery, but it was not founded in 1816, 1817, or 1827, as written iron on the cemetery’s front gates…The grounds … Continue reading →
Thomas Morris Chester: Black Civil War Correspondent Thomas Morris Chester was the third child of George and Jane Chester, born in Harrisburg on May 11, 1834. He died in Harrisburg, Pa., Sept. 30, 1892, aged 58 and was buried in Harrisburg Lincoln Cemetery. Inheriting his mother’s courage, he created his legacy through … Continue reading →
I am filled with gratitude to share our first SOAL spotlight of Black History Month, 2022! Please consider donating to our GoFundMe to support the continuous efforts to bring legacies to light and honorably restore the resting places of our ancestors Jane Marie Chester contributed to the abolitionist cause through connections to … Continue reading →
