New database highlights African American burial grounds across Delaware
Trumpeter Clifford Brown, a Wilmington native who took the jazz world by storm in the 1950s before dying in a car accident in 1956, lies among some 1,000 people dating back to the Civil War who are buried in Mount Zion Cemetery.
His interment stands out, marked by a sizable sandy-colored gravestone near the front of the cemetery, though he is buried elsewhere on the grounds. Newly planted trees, some fresh flowers, grace a mix of headstone years from the 1800s to the 1960s. Others are too aged to read.
The burial ground on Lancaster Pike near Wilmington has become prominently seen in recent years due to improvements including an internal road system, a new fence near the entrance and new signage along with ongoing landscaping.
Across Delaware, sites like Mount Zion where African Americans are buried remind people of the state’s rich history while also shedding light on the slavery and segregation that defined racial discriminations of the past.
Such burial grounds for slaves and freed persons go back to the days of Antoni Swart, who, according to historians, became the first Black person in Delaware territory following his capture by the skipper of the Fogel Grip in the Caribbean.
As in other Mid-Atlantic states like New Jersey and New York, many of these final resting places have vanished, while some exist nearly intact or as a faint presence in need of serious renovation.
These sites include prominent ones like Mount Zion and Mount Olive Cemetery, also near Wilmington, the largest and oldest African American cemetery in Delaware, where a number of African American soldiers from several wars are interred.
William Jones is part of a group of volunteers that for the past six years has taken up the cause of keeping the 6-acre cemetery cleaned and maintained. Jones said he sees his efforts as a "labor of love" as his grandfather is buried on the land, although there is no headstone marking his grave.
"It is one of those things where you are doing something for the greater good," Jones said. "It is a historic site. We have Civil War veterans buried there, people from all the military branches."
And then there are those cemeteries that had fallen in disrepair and were even forgotten before being rediscovered due to new discoveries of gravesites by archeologists and researchers. That describes St. George African Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery in Lewes, which for many years was the only cemetery in the area where African Americans could be buried.
Longtime Lewes resident Louis Riley, whose father is buried in the cemetery along with many other relatives, said in an interview in October with Delaware Online/The News Journal that the discoveries of previously unknown bodies buried on the grounds have helped him learn more about his roots.
"It has revealed so many things about my family that I never knew because I’m 83, but when I came along, you didn’t ask questions," Riley said.
The state archives does not have an official listing of such historic sites on its website. The following is an unofficial database of African American burial grounds in Delaware, compiled by this reporter through research and information provided by various sources. Its aim is to help the public in tracking these sacred sites. It will grow with the public's input.
If you know of other African American burial sites in Delaware that belong in this listing, please send the information to Ricardo Kaulessar at kaulessar@northjersey.com.
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African American cemeteries/burial grounds in Delaware
Mount Zion Cemetery - Lancaster Pike, near Wilmington, New Castle County
African Union Cemetery - Route 9 South (Delaware City Branch Canal Trail), Delaware City, New Castle County
Mount Olive Cemetery - Lancaster Avenue, near Wilmington, New Castle County
St. George African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) Cemetery - Pilottown Road, Lewes, Sussex County
Cemetery at Orr property or Hall Plantation - Frankford, Sussex County
St. John African Methodist Church Cemetery - South Main Street, Newark, New Castle County
African Union First Methodist Cemetery - Route 7 and School Bell Road, Bear, New Castle County
Bethany UAME Churchyard - Williams Street, New Castle, New Castle County
Lee Haven United Methodist Church Cemetery - Route 13 and Blackbird Landing Road, Townsend, New Castle County
John Dickinson Plantation - Kitts Hummock Road, Dover, Kent County
Odd Fellows African American Cemetery - Smyrna, Kent County
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery - East Commerce Street, Smyrna, Kent County
Kelly Powers, a culture reporter for the USA TODAY Network's Atlantic Region How We Live team contributed to this story. Ricardo Kaulessar also is a culture reporter for the How We Live team. For unlimited access to the most important news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com
Twitter: @ricardokaul
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: African American burial grounds in Delaware: Where to find them
