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Tuesday, April 15, 2014

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Facing the Hard Part of History with Descendant of Anthony Crawford

Abbeville Courthouse, 2013, Robin Foster


Some of those who embark upon researching family history have a dark cloud that constantly looms overhead waiting to burst open unexpectedly at first and expected thereafter.  Sometimes my own heart has become faint from the hard parts of history that I must trudge through in the discovery of my African American heritage. Those are the times I must pause to find the courage to keep going.



Descendant of Anthony Crawford

I have often contemplated upon my ancestors' lives within the context of those who were contemporaries to them.  Some stayed and braved out difficult circumstances.  Others fled in hope of something better while some were slain. Such is the case of Anthony Crawford, one of the richest African Americans in the state of South Carolina, who was lynched in 1916.  I had the rare opportunity recently to interview the great grandson of Anthony Crawford, Sgt. Phillip Crawford of Abbeville. 

Portrait image of lynching victim
Anthony Crawford, lynched in
Abbeville, SC, 1916.
Image was taken around 1910 (LOC).
After pouring over the propaganda that gets published in books and historic newspaper articles surrounding such events, I felt fortunate to be able to glean from the personal perspective of Sgt. Crawford and to gain further insights into the experiences of my own ancestors who were emancipated in Abbeville County.  I am blessed to have a couple of Senate testimonies of my 2nd great grandfather, Beverley Vance as well as a few mentions of him in books such as One More Day's Journey, and Freedom's Lawmakers.  I do not however, have any history that details the reason why so much of my family vacated this area near the turn of the century.

Anthony Crawford, the man

I am coming to understand from scholarly publications the violence and brutally suffered by African Americans especially if they enjoyed a higher measure of financial success or were seen as pillars of their community.  Anthony Crawford was just such a man.  He was totally self-sufficient having a school on his land and the ability to produce all his family needed.  He was a large landowner as opposed to being a tenant farmer like so many others who still worked the land on which they had been enslaved.

It was important to understand that the underlying resentment to symbols of economic success incited mobs to riot and murder people they targeted like Anthony Crawford who were not free from the daily acts of retaliation of folks who were bitter at the perceived freedoms enjoyed by a people who were considered by ex-slavers as inferior.  Sgt. Crawford explained that Anthony Crawford was the strength that held his family together, and there were those that believed that if you cut the head everything else would fall apart.

Roots of violence and oppression

African Americans would try to avoid altercations because they knew that one incident between them and the agitators would bring unwarranted consequences upon the whole community through random acts of violence and oppression that could last for days. African Americans were not push overs though.  They defended themselves, their families, and other white sympathizers.

 According to Sgt. Crawford, his ancestor went to town on October 16, 1916 to sell his cotton because on the following day the prices were going to drop.  They tried to force him out of line to allow others to be able to cash in before an African American.  I appreciated learning about the circumstances that led to the altercation which lead to things getting completely out of control.

Living history

I will meet to interview Sgt. Crawford again to understand this history from the perspective of someone who lived.  For that reason, I am not interested right now in others who have told the story.  I learned that many of the descendants of Anthony Crawford migrated to leave after the lynching when mob rule forced all African American businesses to close in Abbeville and lands of family members were confiscated.  Sgt. Crawford spoke of his cousin, Doria Johnson, who researched to discover her ancestor, Anthony Crawford, and reconnected to family in Abbeville.  Many descendants migrated to Evanston, Illinois.

I was pleased to see descendants of Anthony Crawford actively keeping his memory alive. See Evanston's Living History.  In 2005, the descendants of Anthony Crawford were present for Resolution 39 passed by the 109th Congress of the United States Senate which apologized for Congress not passing any form of anti-lynching legislation. 

If you have questions that you would like me to ask of Sgt. Crawford when I interview him again, please send them to robin.savingstories@gmail.com.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

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Truth Revealed About African-American Undertaker Buried in Fairview Cemetery

Percival Family Plot at Fairview Cemetery, March 31 2014 by Robin Foster
Among those listed as interred in Fairview Cemetery that I have attached death certificates for so far includes James T. Percival, his wife, Ellen, and his son, Theodore E. Percival.  See Gone and Almost Forgotten at Fairview Cemetery. The Percival plot is one of the only graves visible from 300 Holman Street.

It has been accepted as a local historical fact that no African American funeral home existed in the Greenwood area before the 1930's, however, it cannot be overlooked that James T. Percival (1872-1937) who lived on Cemetery Street is listed on the 1920 Census as a proprietor of an undertaking parlor.  
"United States Census, 1920," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11576-35996-83?cc=1488411 : accessed 09 Apr 2014), South Carolina > Greenwood > Greenwood > 0077 > image 8 of 24; citing NARA microfilm publication T625.

The 1916 Greenwood City Directory also lists James as an undertaker and embalmer at 315 Waller Ave. At this same establishment it shows James and his son, Theodore, were owners of  Percival Printing Co.  Theodore, was actually Dr. Theodore E. Percival, a graduate of Lincoln University in 1924.  See page 2 of the Lincoln University Herald.
It is so promising to see that in the process of working to help make sure Fairview Cemetery is restored, we are discovering the stories of those laid to rest there.  Many thanks go to my fellow volunteers at the Greenwood County Public Library for their tireless efforts on behalf of Fairview Cemetery.

Please continue to follow and share to raise awareness. As I look back at the photo taken above, I cannot help but feel even more deeply now that something more should be done to better honor the legacy of James T. Percival, a successful business owner  born less than a decade after emancipation.  I hope to learn more about the story of this family.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

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Gone and Almost Forgotten at Fairview Cemetery

UPDATE:  Truth Revealed About African American Undertaker Buried in Fairview Cemetery - April 9, 2014

Scores of people are forgotten here including my family.  All this brush will soon turn green making the markers you see now less visible.  Why has it remained so?  Is this how we honor those who have gone on before?  I have been so heartbroken over this. Presently this burden is bigger than the few concerned and intending to correct it.

Fairview Cemetery, Robin Foster March 31, 2014

This was a difficult post to write.  In all the days I have spent researching my family, I have never come across a cemetery in such condition as that of Fairview Cemetery located at 300 Holman Street in Greenwood, South Carolina.  I first visited Fairview Cemetery in 2009 with my mother.  I fully expected to be able to identify the headstones of loved ones buried there.  There was so much vegetation, we could not even enter it.  This is an aerial map which shows what large an area the cemetery takes up:

Greenwood Maps
My family at Fairview Cemetery

The father of Senator Frank Gilbert (1934-1999), Thomas Gilbert, is buried in Fairview.  Cousin Senator Gilbert is a descendant of Beverley Vance (1832-1899), and Beverley is my 2nd great grandfather.  Beverley was a constable in 1868 and testified before the SC Senate in 1876.  Formerly enslaved, Beverley was a political leader in his community and would have been proud to know that a great grandson would be a senator of this state.  This blog  post gives some background on Beverley Vance. This area would have been part of Abbeville County prior to 1897.  According to my family oral history, Fairview was a burial place for many Johnson-Vance descendants.  I hope to identify all of them.

I was never able to attract enough attention from enough people to make a difference in the condition of this cemetery.  I have wept over  that and the fact that even though death certificate research led me to this place, it has remained impassable to me.  Five years passed.  Now the vegetation is over my head, and almost completely covered in vines.

New hope 

For the first time since my move to Greenwood, I attended the regular meeting of the Greenwood Historical Society where it was thought that I had come out of my interest in their plans to clean Fairview Cemetery, but it was the first I had heard about it.  You could imagine my excitement.  This will be a great undertaking.

Greenwood County Historical Society 

P.O. Box 49653
Greenwood, SC 29649

No one knows who owns Fairview according to the Greenwood County Assessor's office while correspondence about the property is received by them..  The last owner is mentioned in a deed from 1919.  It was part of a 14 acre parcel of land on Holman Street.  Some of the land went to homes. A portion went to establish the cemetery.  Today, some think it is property of the City of Greenwood.  No matter who owns it, something should be done.  What do you think?  Does the condition of this cemetery bear any reflection on anyone?

Fairview Cemetery, Brush and Debris, Robin Foster March 31, 2014

 I visited the cemetery on Monday, March 31.  A resident who lives adjacent informed me that there are many interred there.  A lady who used to take care of the cemetery who lived across the street passed away.  The local resident toured the outside perimeter with me, but warned me it was too dangerous to walk through.  She said she has actually seen a family pull up and remove their ancestor's casket and marker to place them some place else.  I guess that would be one resolution, but what about those who remain?

We walked behind the adjacent apartments where headstones could be seen elevated high above us.  We tried to climb, but she was worried about snake holes and me falling through a grave. All that brush on the right is part of the cemetery.

Fairview Cemetery on the right facing Holman Street, Robin Foster March 31, 2014

I went to the top of the apartment stairs next door to get this shot:



My quest

I decided that the most helpful thing that I could do was to help the historical society prove that far more people are buried there than the 56 memorials on Find A Grave.  Using FamilySearch.org, I have spent night and day in search of death certificates which cite Fairview Cemetery as the burial site.

So far, I am surprised to have documented fifty more people out of 1,100 searched so far taking the memorials on Find A Grave up to 106.   I have over 100,000 more death certificates to search through.  The odds are great that I will discover many more.

Now I have come to be interested in the stories of everyone buried there.  Not all of the people I have found below have been added to Find A Grave yet.  Among those interred there is former undertaker, James T. Percival (1872-1937). I am wondering how many people he buried in Fairview.  His family plot is one of the only visual evidences of burials from the street:

Percival Family Plot, Robin Foster March 31, 2014
Work ahead

It will take many resources to clean up and maintain this cemetery.  I hope that identifying the people whose markers I cannot even see from the street right now becomes ample motivation for those who can help.  I will eventually put all the names below on a spreadsheet and link any stories we discover about them.  I have the help of my fellow volunteers at the Greenwood County Library, and I am indebted to them for their support.  I am also grateful to the volunteers at Find A Grave who have worked to take photos on site.

Please stop for  a few moments to browse through the people below who lived real lives or died as infants and share this post to heighten awareness.  These folks could have been forever forgotten.  Many thanks go to those who are part of the push to clean this cemetery so that I can go in to see what evidence remains of my family and others.

Check back often.  I will repost this article as it is updated.  I will work each day to find and add more.  Some on the list below have not been entered on Find A Grave yet.  Visit Find A Grave to view other memorials.

Hattie Adams
Death Certificate
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Louis Ainer
Death Certificate
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Mary Jane Alexander
Death Certificate
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Howard R. Alexander
Death Certificate
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Volley Alexander
Death Certificate
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Nimrod Alexander
Death Certificate
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Mary Allen
Death Certificate
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Perry Bacon
Death Certificate
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Bennie Richardson Beatty
Death Certificate
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Mary Boozer
Death Certificate
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Tatum Boozer
Death Certificate
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Thomas J. Bailey
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Death Certificate

James H. Backus
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Death Certificate

Ida J. Banks
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Death Certificate

Matthew Banks
Death Certificate
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Robert Henry Banks
Death Certificate
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Rhodie Benson
Death Certificate
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Frank Bouknight
Death Certificate
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Nathan Boyd
Death Certificate
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Thomas B. Brooks
Death Certificate
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Hattie Brown
Death Certificate
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Willie Brown
Death Certificate
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Henry Bryant
Death Certificate
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Rev. L. S. Burnett
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Death Certificate

Jamie Burnett
Death Certificate
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Mae Burnett
Death Certificate
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Steve Burton
Death Certificate
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George W. Butler
Death Certificate
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Josephine Campbell
Death Certificate
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Barbara Carr
Death Certificate
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Helen Chambers
Death Certificate
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Bennie Lee Chappell
Death Certificate
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Henry Childs
Death Certificate
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Rohada Chiles
Death Certificate
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Nathaniel Clark
Death Certificate
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Matthew Collier
Death Certificate
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John Corley
Death Certificate
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Fannie Cothran
Death Certificate
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Roy Crook
Death Certificate
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Mary Cunningham
Death Certificate
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Edward Davis
Death Certificate
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James Davis
Death Certificate
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Ruby Mae Davis
Death Certificate
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Seymour Davis
Death Certificate
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W. M. Derr
Death Certificate
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Martha Dillard
Death Certificate
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Joan Donaldson
Death Certificate
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Jessie Durham
Death Certificate
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Mary Edwards
Death Certificate
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Emma Fauntleroy
Death Certificate
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Robert E. Fauntleroy
Death Certificate
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Dempsie Fields
Death Certificate
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Perry Finley
Death Certificate
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Amanda Fox
Death Certificate
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Annie Doris Freeland
Death Certificate
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Mary Gamble
Death Certificate
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James Gibson
Death Certificate
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Chas. J. Gilbert
Death Certificate
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James W. Gilbert
Death Certificate
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McKinley Gilbert
Death Certificate
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Roscoe Gilbert
Death Certificate
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Sam Gilbert
Death Certificate
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Harriet Graham
Death Certificate
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John Greer
Death Certificate
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Edna Griffin
Death Certificate
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Grace Griffin
Death Certificate
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Vinnie Mae Hall
Death Certificate
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Julia Hamilton
Death Certificate
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Emma Hayes
Death Certificate
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Nathaniel Hayes
Death Certificate
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Marshal Heard
Death Certificate
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Sarah Anna Hearst
Death Certificate
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Radie Hill
Death Certificate
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Mahala Holloway
Death Certificate
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Scott Holman
Death Certificate
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Bettie Holmes
Death Certificate
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Martha Holmes
Death Certificate
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Belle Howard
Death Certificate
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Thos. Howard
Death Certificate
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Emory Hunt
Death Certificate
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Vera Irvin
Death Certificate
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Arthur Jackson
Death Certificate
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Martha Jackson
Death Certificate
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Obir Jackson
Death Certificate
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Oliver Jackson
Death Certificate
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Bella James
Death Certificate
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Joe Joel 
Death Certificate
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Annie Jones
Death Certificate
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Earl Jones
Death Certificate
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Heyward Jones
Death Certificate
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John Jones
Death Certificate
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Lula Jones
Death Certificate
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Susie Jones
Death Certificate
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Willie Jordon
Death Certificate
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James Leach
Death Certificate
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Oscar Little
Death Certificate
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L. T. Lomax
Death Certificate
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Sallie Lomax
Death Certificate
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Will Lynch
Death Certificate
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Simon Lyon
Death Certificate
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Alile Mannon
Death Certificate
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Delia Marshall
Death Certificate
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Mattie Mathews
Death Certificate
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Pink Mathis
Death Certificate
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Wilhelmena Mathis
Death Certificate
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Ruth McClintock
Death Certificate
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Rev. David Timothy MacDaniel
Death Certificate
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Sam Meeks
Death Certificate
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Henry Merkerson
Death Certificate
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Lomax Metts
Death Certificate
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Lula Metts
Death Certificate
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Lucy Meriweather
Death Certificate
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John Misher
Death Certificate
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Cornell Mitchell, Jr.
Death Certificate
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Jewitt Moore
Death Certificate
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Mack Moore
Death Certificate
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FamilySearch Profile

Willie Elizabeth Morgan
Death Certificate
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Alex Moseley
Death Certificate
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Charles Moseley
Death Certificate
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Easter Moseley
Death Certificate
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Emma Moseley
Death Certificate
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Mary Moultry
Death Certificate
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Annie Kate Nedwards This is the earliest burial for Fairfiew Cemetery found so far (1915)
Death Certificate
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Mabel Nedwards
Death Certificate
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Ellen N. Percival
Death Certificate
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James T. Percival
Death Certificate
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Dr. Theo. E. Percival
Death Certificate
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Lincoln University Herald 1924

Winona Perriee
Death Certificate
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Emma E. Perrin
Death Certificate
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James Perrin
Death Certificate
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Lelia Phelts
Death Certificate
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Ella Poole
Death Certificate
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Clarence Ray
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Willie Ray

Herman C. Richey
Death Certificate
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Johnnie Rice
Death Certificate
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Allen Rice
Death Certificate
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Willie J. Rice
Death Certificate
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Broadus Roberson
Death Certificate
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Carrie Robinson
Death Certificate
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Charlie Robinson
Death Certificate
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Gladys Robinson
Death Certificate
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Jim Robinson
Death Certificate
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Lavania Robinson
Death Certificate
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Willie See Sibert
Death Certificate
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Bennie Sims
Death Certificate
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Julia Sims
Death Certificate
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Magnolia Sims
Death Certificate
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Effie Smith
Death Certificate
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John Smith
Death Certificate
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Lettie Smth
Death Certificate
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Mazie Washington Smith
Death Certificate
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Samuel Smith
Death Certificate
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Violet Smith
Death Certificate
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Charlie Snow
Death Certificate
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Hattie Snow
Death Certificate
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Nina Snow
Death Certificate
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Rosa Snow
Death Certificate
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Zoline Snow
Death Certificate
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Mary Terry
Death Certificate
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Rebecca Thomas
Death Certificate
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Joe Townsand
Death Certificate
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Minnie Townsand
Death Certificate
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Mose Trotter
Death Certificate
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Eliza Tucker
Death Certificate
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Joel Wah
Death Certificate
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Janie Arnold Wah
Death Certificate
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B? Wardlaw
Death Certificate
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Martha Lee Wheeler
Death Certificate
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Janie Bell White
Death Certificate
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J. B. White
Death Certificate
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Johnie Lila White
Death Certificate
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Mary Eliza White
Death Certificate
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Mose White
Death Certificate
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Nettie White
Death Certificate
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Thomas White
Death Certificate
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Eliza Wideman
Death Certificate
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Lula Wideman
Death Certificate
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Robert Wideman
Death Certificate
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Annie James Williams
Death Certificate
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Anna Laura Williams
Death Certificate
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Caro Williams
Death Certificate
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Lizzie Williams
Death Certificates
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Mahalia Johnson Williams
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Death Certificate

Rosa Atronn Williams
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Will Williams
Death Certificate
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