Slave Cemetery Question

Woods-walker

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Spotsylvania Virginia
I have a question concerning slave cemeteries.
Can anyone tell me - or what is the general consensus on naming slave cemeteries? Were most just called “slave cemetery “ or were they generally named after the “master” sir name.... I.e. The (“master sir name) Slave Cemetery?

My particular interest is Mississippi. I know of several here in Virginia and all are just known as “slave cemetery “ even in instances where the cemeteries are in close proximity of the main house and known owners sir name.
Thank you in advance for your input.
 
Well I can tell you the one up here in (Rockland County), West Nyack, NY has 90 graves consisting of Black Veterans. "Mount Moor Cemetery was deeded in July, 1849, as a “burying ground for colored people.” The sloping hill is the final resting place for around 90 Black Americans, including veterans of the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, the two World Wars and the Korean War."

I grew up in this area and for decades this cemetery has been forgotten, Until in the 1990's developers wanted to build the largest indoor Mall in the Northeast. Locals tried their best to kill it and last resort was the Cemetery which is a "Historic Landmark" is smack in the middle of the land. So I guess with a ton of money and no doubt payments under the table to local politicians won approval. BUT they stood fast on transferring the graves. So they built the Mall and parking lot around it!! Yup!! disgraceful !!! The Mall is a dump, its some 40 miles north of NYC and is a magnet for gang bangers and crime. As the crime rate in the area has spiked up and remained high. Anyway here is the link. At least with this Cemetery, it is a wedge-shaped on a hill and the term Moor was commonly used in the 18th and 19th century to described people of African descent why it was named Mount Moor. So on helping to find an answer to your questions I would say in some ways no, not being named a slave cemetary, but a Black Cemetery, yes, using the term "Moor".

"One particular grave belongs to Lafayette Logan, who fought in the Civil War with the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, the first Black regiment mustered by the North. Immortalized in the 1989 Academy award winning film Glory, he perhaps deserves more a dignified final resting place than in the shadow of a giant Bed Bath & Beyond. "
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mount-moor-cemetery
 
Well I can tell you the one up here in (Rockland County), West Nyack, NY has 90 graves consisting of Black Veterans. "Mount Moor Cemetery was deeded in July, 1849, as a “burying ground for colored people.” The sloping hill is the final resting place for around 90 Black Americans, including veterans of the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, the two World Wars and the Korean War."

I grew up in this area and for decades this cemetery has been forgotten, Until in the 1990's developers wanted to build the largest indoor Mall in the Northeast. Locals tried their best to kill it and last resort was the Cemetery which is a "Historic Landmark" is smack in the middle of the land. So I guess with a ton of money and no doubt payments under the table to local politicians won approval. BUT they stood fast on transferring the graves. So they built the Mall and parking lot around it!! Yup!! disgraceful !!! The Mall is a dump, its some 40 miles north of NYC and is a magnet for gang bangers and crime. As the crime rate in the area has spiked up and remained high. Anyway here is the link. At least with this Cemetery, it is a wedge-shaped on a hill and the term Moor was commonly used in the 18th and 19th century to described people of African descent why it was named Mount Moor. So on helping to find an answer to your questions I would say in some ways no, not being named a slave cemetary, but a Black Cemetery, yes, using the term "Moor".

"One particular grave belongs to Lafayette Logan, who fought in the Civil War with the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, the first Black regiment mustered by the North. Immortalized in the 1989 Academy award winning film Glory, he perhaps deserves more a dignified final resting place than in the shadow of a giant Bed Bath & Beyond. "
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mount-moor-cemetery
Thanks . I appreciate you taking time to reply.
 
Here is an overview of the Palisades Center with the Moor Cemetery a small triangular patch of green smack in the middle
of the parking area. It’s not an open Cemetery it’s gate locked with a wall and fence to keep out any vandals.

4677393B-95A0-4517-912B-87A8F9995803.jpeg
 
Here is an overview of the Palisades Center with the Moor Cemetery a small triangular patch of green smack in the middle
of the parking area. It’s not an open Cemetery it’s gate locked with a wall and fence to keep out any vandals.

Amazing. That's the mall near the Tappan Zee bridge, isn't it? I had no idea this cemetery was there.

ARB
 
I have a question concerning slave cemeteries.
Can anyone tell me - or what is the general consensus on naming slave cemeteries? Were most just called “slave cemetery “ or were they generally named after the “master” sir name.... I.e. The (“master sir name) Slave Cemetery?

My particular interest is Mississippi. I know of several here in Virginia and all are just known as “slave cemetery “ even in instances where the cemeteries are in close proximity of the main house and known owners sir name.
Thank you in advance for your input.
Would imagine just slave cemetery as the land could change hands. The one we owned was just refered to as such.

For the most part here just like small family cemeteries and Indian mounds they just "disappear" over time. Stones sink and weather, they become overgrown till it's just a clump of trees. Less and less people even know what the clump of trees was, till someone finally just bulldozes the overgrown clump of trees.
 
Here is an overview of the Palisades Center with the Moor Cemetery a small triangular patch of green smack in the middle
of the parking area. It’s not an open Cemetery it’s gate locked with a wall and fence to keep out any vandals.

View attachment 407233
Thanks for sharing. It’s amazing what $ and politicians will do.
We had a pre Civil War home near me that was still on its original large track of land. There was heavy fighting around the house in 1864. The owner, who was an original descendant of the property, sold it to a developer with the stipulation the House was not to be destroyed.
The developer built $1m+ homes all around the original house. Then one night, past mid-night he set fire to the original house. He claimed it was too costly to keep it in decent shape and it didn’t fit in with the newer homes.
 
I imagine at the time these burying grounds were established they did get called "the slave cemetery" because no one cared enough to give them a more formal name. But if these cemeteries are known today and either preserved or have hopes of being preserved, they deserve better names. I would NOT think the name of the historic enslaver would be a good choice. Maybe they could be named for the nearest community.
 
My particular interest is Mississippi. I know of several here in Virginia and all are just known as “slave cemetery “ even in instances where the cemeteries are in close proximity of the main house and known owners sir name.

Im interested to hear about some of these cemetery locations. About 2019, they used ground penetrating radar to locate 100+ unmarked graves at Redbanks, MS. Some referred to them as ex-slaves, meaning they were likely buried years after the Civil War. There are headstones in that cemetery for Confederate veterans, so it does date back to 1900.

I live across the border in Tennessee and we are researching a “slave cemetery” that was located near an old home. I forget when the current home was built but Im sure there was a plantation there. Later a Presbyterian Church was near there. Some say the church stopped burying blacks there and they continued to bury them in the “slave cemetery”.
The town museum wants to erect a marker but I dont know what they will call it. Right now we refer to it as:
Cemetery for Enslaved African Americans at Fleming Home place(present-day Duke Farm).
 
Yes it is. Its about 8 miles north west off the NYS Thruway.

Interesting. When we lived in Connecticut, we went to that mall a few times (our youngest son had his graduation party at Dave and Buster's 😁 ). Looking at it from the Google satellite view, it seems like kind of an ignominious end for some people who ought to be remembered. I guess it's a compromise with the insatiable hunger for development. I'm a business person, and I understand that people need places to work, play, shop, live, and so on -- and people who own property want to make money from it. But I also think there's such a thing as "smart growth" -- development that takes into account things like green space, walkability, and historic preservation.

Roy B.
 
For the most part here just like small family cemeteries and Indian mounds they just "disappear" over time. Stones sink and weather, they become overgrown till it's just a clump of trees. Less and less people even know what the clump of trees was, till someone finally just bulldozes the overgrown clump of trees.

You mentioned something like this before in another thread. Are you just commenting on the way things are, or do you think old cemeteries should just be allowed to fade away? Not criticizing or trying to start an argument -- just curious to know what your thinking is.

Roy B.
 
Just being realistic why many don't exist. Don't see some reason to not acknowledge the reality of it.

It's the same with all the western trails, imagine 1000's died along Santa Fe, California, Oregon, or Mormon trails and only just a small fraction will be preserved and known today, most simply faded away or were forgotten.
 
Here is an overview of the Palisades Center with the Moor Cemetery a small triangular patch of green smack in the middle
of the parking area. It’s not an open Cemetery it’s gate locked with a wall and fence to keep out any vandals.

View attachment 407233
I had no idea there was a cemetery for slaves at the Palisades Center Mall. Too bad it's open to the public.
 
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