MapGed.com: AI Innovation Meets Hands-On Historic Preservation Explore the groundbreaking intersection of technology and tradition with Saving Our Ancestors’ Legacy (SOAL) as we harness community-powered public history research and engage in hands-on historic preservation at the Historic Lincoln Cemetery in Harrisburg. SOAL founder and Executive Director, Rachael Keri Williams presented SOAL’s work … Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
Transcribing Lincoln Cemetery: Kindred Spirits & SOAL Collaboration We’re transcribing Lincoln Cemetery! In a collaborative effort to preserve African American history in south central Pennsylvania, SOAL: SavingOurAncestorsLegacy has partnered with Kindred Spirits Genealogy Workshop Group (GWG) to transcribe the burial record cards of Lincoln Cemetery. This collaboration aims to digitize and make … Continue reading →
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 →
Black Dick: Astonishing Legend of a Disabled Railroad Hero (Black Dick Part #1) Though, he was born in abject poverty, and spent all his days “without escutcheon or family tree, reared in no palace, tutored in no university, thus lived and died one of nature’s noblemen”—Who was Richard Smith? Who was this … 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 →
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 →
Never know what you’re gonna find in a graveyard till you dig it up!!! #radicalhistoryreclamation Never know what you’re gonna find in a graveyard till you dig it up!!! I don’t always find headstones…But, finding sunken headstones is one of my favorite parts of #radicalhistoryreclamation! If I’ve learned anything in this process, … Continue reading →
Lewis Elmer Robinson was a First in Black Boyscouting Lewis Elmer Robinson, of Harrisburg, Pa, was a first in Black Boyscouting he broke the International Jamboree Color Line in 1933! The history of the Boy Scouts in America is apparently, hotly contested, when it comes to Firsts…some claim that the first African … 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 →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 →
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 →
Isaac William France Ex-Slave, Storyteller, Elocutionist, Singer Isaac William France was an ex-slave, a lover of poetry and a master storyteller. His tales, and personal association with leading figures in both the Confederate and Union armies positioned Isaac as a highly sought-after speaker in Harrisburg. On at least one occasion he was … 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 →
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?
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 →Hummelstown Brownstone: South Central PA Brownstone If you’ve ever wondered why there is so much Brownstone at Lincoln Cemetery…. Here is the beginning of an explanation–the Hummelstown Brownstone Company. You can find a completely thorough review of the history of the Hummelstown Brownstown Company by visiting this excellent site created by Peggy … 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 →
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 →
