African American Cemeteries

Question

As I am working on the missing Alabama cemetery report, how do I know that a cemetery is considered an African American cemetery?  Some times I can tell, but most of the time I can't.

I figured I could designate them as I find them.

Thanks,

Sheila

Answer 1

Sheila, can you say more or provide a link to what you are calling the "missing Alabama cemetery report"?

Comments

It's probably one like this. They're similar to the USBH cemeteries reports we have now. The description at the top of the page says "Lists all FindAGrave Cemeteries with wikitree profiles linked to them without a WikiTree category. It is most likely that there is no cemetery category on wikitree, but make sure before creating a new one." Links to these reports for different locations can be found here.

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Christy, thanks for posting.  YES that is the report I am using.

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Sheila,

This report is listing cemeteries where the FindAGrave citation has been added to profile, but the cemetery category has not been added. Before designating the cemetery as African-American you will need to research it. You may find historical information on Wikipedia, or other local cites on google. Most of the states historical societies have a listing of their African-American Cemeteries.

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Got it!  Is there an easy way to recognize them?  Certain names, etc?

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Some have pretty obvious names that include words like "Colored", "Slave" or "African". There are good number of church cemeteries with AME (African Methodist Episcopal) or AMEZ (African Methodist Episcopal Zion) in the name. Those are the ones I usually notice - Denise might be aware of some others. Other times, it's not obvious from the name and you have to do some research.

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Thanks Christy! That is correct.

Answer 2

Shelia, remember to check to see who is buried there.  I don't remember which cemetery it was, but I saw one that had been designated as African-American, and it wasn't.  It was a family cemetery, not a church cemetery, and some of the former slaves were buried in the same cemetery as their Slave Owner family members.

Comments

Thanks, Willodene....that is the reason for the post.  I want some guidance as to how to identify African American cemeteries.

Answer 3

Some of the tips and tricks of finding out of a cemetery is African American:

• Check for an obvious name as Christy mentioned
• Look for a church that might be associated with it (this is often the case). Research the church itself. Usually I can find either a website or a Facebook page for the church and pretty quickly I can tell when it's AA.
• Play the numbers game. Click to put the list on Find a Grave in order by death date. Look up a few from the start, middle, and end of the list to see if they are AA. If they all are, it's a very good chance the cemetery is as well. Consider the time period and location of the burials as well. Sometimes that helps. Earlier burials are going to be segregated more often than more recent burials.
• If all else fails, we contact the cemetery and ask (or a local historical society). In your case, feel free to connect with USBH and ask us since you are in Scotland, right? We'll have easier access over here in the states. 

Comments

Thank you, Emma.  That helps me a lot.  No, I am in Alabama.

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oh goodness, I was getting you confused with Sheena Tait! Same first letters of both names.