Expert Claw Maneuvers Rescue Historic Headstones in Black Cemetery In a striking display of nature’s force versus human heritage, daring, and ingenuity at Lincoln Cemetery, just beyond the city limits of Harrisburg, an urgent Black Cemetery headstone rescue operation unfolds. The scene is a delicate balance of tension and intent: four historic … Continue reading →
A Heartfelt Thank You to SOAL Volunteers Dear SOAL Volunteers, Descendants, Friends, Supporters, Neighbors, and the newly Expanded SOAL: SavingOurAncestorsLegacy Family, please let me express my joy, gratitude, and a heartfelt thank you for your support over the last week! In the wake of recent events that threatened the very heart of … 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 →
Devastating Loss and Potential Threat Harrisburg, PA – In a distressing development at Harrisburg’s Historic Lincoln Cemetery, Dauphin County’s oldest surviving Black Cemetery, SavingOurAncestorsLegacy (SOAL) is sounding the alarm over the potential threat following recent damages that resulted in a devastating loss. This week, the cemetery lost at least two trees on … Continue reading →
SOAL Partners: Black Cemetery Historic Preservation with ArcGIS The historic Lincoln Cemetery in Harrisburg, PA, is not just a cemetery; it’s a testament to African American heritage, harboring the stories and legacies of many prominent individuals. Historically, African American burial sites in the United States, including Harrisburg’s oldest historic Black cemetery, have … 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 →
SOAL to Create Black Cemetery Historic Preservation Plan SOAL: SavingOurAncestorsLegacy is thrilled to announce the creation of the first comprehensive Historic Preservation Plan for the future of Lincoln Cemetery. Historic preservation planning is an often-overlooked step in historic Black Cemetery conservation and maintenance. In this groundbreaking initiative SOAL teams up with industry … Continue reading →
Shine the Lincoln Cemetery volunteer spotlight on Char Hanks– a member of SavingOurAncestorsLegacy since the very first SOAL restoration event at Harrisburg’s Lincoln Cemetery in July 2021.
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 →
Thank you Preservation Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Hallowed Grounds!
By participating in this project, we become [Legit/On The Books] radical history reclamation role models for future preservation endeavors across the country. Together, we have the power to inspire and create a lasting impact on the preservation of our cultural heritage.
WGAL News 8 Live at Harrisburg’s Oldest Black Cemetery At Harrisburg’s oldest Black Cemetery WGAL News 8 Live: Volunteers working with SOAL at Harrisburg’s Lincoln Cemetery will collect geospatial data, photographs and information related to each stone in the cemetery with a mobile app (ArcGIS Field Maps), which will be used to … Continue reading →
Removing Paint from Marble Headstones Safely and Effectively When it comes to removing paint from marble headstones, it’s important to take great care to avoid causing damage to the stone’s surface. Here’s a step-by-step guide & a how-to video to help you safely and effectively removing paint from a historic marble headstone. … Continue reading →
Black History is not Lost it’s just Buried | SOAL Hoodie Support the Black Cemetery movement! Support saving your ancestors’ legacy. Support Saving Our Ancestors’ Legacy…And, get your own “Black History is not Lost it’s just Buried” Premium Eco SOAL Hoodie! Manny after the arrival of his hoodie! Showing support for the … Continue reading →
Special Guest Cemetery Restoration Workshop at Lincoln Cemetery SOAL is co-hosting a SPECIAL GUEST Cemetery Restoration Workshop at Lincoln Cemetery! This is a great opportunity for those of you in the South Central PA region and beyond!!! Marc Ormerod, of Monument Preservation & Restoration (based in Connecticut), will be coming out to … 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 →
Volunteer with SOAL: SavingOurAncestorsLegacy It’s our 3rd year leading Black Cemetery Restoration Weekend Events! Become a volunteer with SOAL: SavingOurAncestorsLegacy , and join us at Harrisburg’s historic Lincoln Cemetery in 2023! Registration information is below, on Eventbrite, or on our Facebook Events page! SOAL: 2023 Black Cemetery Restoration Weekends Start March 17th! … Continue reading →
John Johnson: Private Company D 42nd United States Colored Troops John W Johnson was born in August 1837 in Pennsylvania. He joined the 42nd United States Colored Troops, and served as a private in Co. C. during the Civil War.It was most likely after the war that he married Betty Bliss Carey, … Continue reading →
Harrisburg’s Civil War Veterans Buried at Lincoln Cemetery This list is by no means complete, but I figure if I keep waiting until it is complete, I would never be able to publish it… While compiling this, long-overdue, list of African American Civil War Veterans buried at Lincoln Cemetery, I realized that … 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 →
60 Minutes Investigates Paved-Over Black Cemeteries in Clearwater, Florida… But, They’re Everywhere On Nov 28, 2022, 60 Minutes aired the ongoing investigations and community conversations around the destruction of an entire city’s black cemeteries. As you may know, the practice of paved-over Black Cemeteries by all levels of government across the United … 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 →When your teen team accidentally found out they they are a part of an independent campaign for historic trades. Some images from our upcoming SOAL 2022 Recap!
Continue reading →instead of finding hope they found human remains & Dug-Up Graves June 24, 20211: Rachael Keri Williams and Bhakti Williams-Brown traveled to South-Central Pennsylvania in search of their roots and to reclaim their heritage. Instead of find their ancestors, instead of finding hope they found human remains in Harrisburg’s Lincoln Cemetery. Lincoln … 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 →
In 1907 R. H. Haywood was walking behind the “Old Negro Cemetery” in Harrisburg when he found a trunk lying in small creek. The Star-Independent Sep 2, 1907.
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?
Radical History Reclamation Demo: Black Family History Needs Light Everyday I learn a little more about all of the things we can’t see without light… This is especially true when it comes to history. Everything that has been shut away in forgotten drawers, missed in dismal attic corners, and especially those things … Continue reading →
Gaming Engine Preserves Black Cemetery How To: Preserve a Black Cemetery with a Gaming Engine In Fall 2022, SOAL will be partnering with Messiah University and Harrisburg University to use photogrammetry to create a 3D storymap of Harrisburg’s Oldest Extant Historically Black Cemetery: Lincoln Cemetery! By combining the use of drones to … Continue reading →
This is my Endgame. It’s time to gather ancestors… At SOAL we are saving our ancestors legacy. We will do it bone by bone if we have to. We’re gonna need them where we trying to go: We can’t have a future without a past. I’m not trying to leave anyone behind, … Continue reading →
Still Jumping Historic Hurdles Saving Central PA Black Cemeteries In October of 2021, the year SOAL began work at Lincoln Cemetery in Harrisburg, I had a chance to speak with Gabriela Martínez, of WITF –NPR Central Pennsylvania about how and why I started caring so deeply about Central Pa Black Cemeteries Gabriela … Continue reading →
after the apocalypse is a visual poem, inspired by SOAL’s restoration work at Harrisburg’s Lincoln Cemetery. Taking a creative and radical approach to Black History Reclamation–video and poetry by Rachael Keri Williams. after the apocalypse… i’m gonna start a rainbow cult I’m going to start a rainbow worship cultAnd all The ancestors … Continue reading →
SOAL’s Lincoln Cemetery Restoration Year 1 Video Montage Since finding human remains on the ground in June 2021 at Harrisburg’s oldest historically Black burial ground, Lincoln Cemetery, a small but growing cadre of volunteers have been dedicated to Saving Our Ancestors Legacy using best-practice least-harm historic preservation methods. We have recovered headstones … Continue reading →
In Spring 2022 Rachael Keri Williams, founder of Saving Our Ancestors’ Legacy, was featured on Comcast Keystone Newsmakers about SOAL’s work restoring Harrisburg’s Lincoln Cemetery.
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 →
Anna Eliza Williams was born on December 25, 1824, in France. She married Aquilla Amos, and they had six sons and two daughters together between 1844 and 1859. Serving different roles in various social organizations, Anna was committed to interconnected causes of temperance, women’s suffrage, and the betterment of the African American … Continue reading →
Lincoln Cemetery Burial Records An example of two types of Harrisburg Lincoln Cemetery Burial Records that were digitized by SOAL: SavingOurAncestorsLegacy volunteers in 2021. Some of the other types include handwritten notebooks, family plot maps, record of payment, account ledgers, burial records compiled from funeral homes, and handwritten records of headstone inscriptions, … Continue reading →
The state of neglect and decay found when visiting Harrisburg’s Lincoln Cemetery was a shocking discovery for 2 visitors from Buffalo, NY. They found dug up human remains in one of Pennsylvania’s oldest Black Cemeteries. New York local stumbles upon a shocking discovery in a Dauphin County cemetery Learn More about what … Continue reading →
