Maria Smackum, died May 12, 1871
The burials of African Americans originally took place in the area marked “Old Ground”, and later in sections 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26, and 36, in the north-central part of Holy Rood Cemetery.
Antebellum Georgetown’s free black people, descendants of Catholic slaves from Maryland, are represented in Holy Rood Cemetery by, among many others, the Barker, Becraft, Belt, Butler, Chandler, Coquire, Dodson, Dorsey, Dover, Hawkins, Henson, Jackson, Lee, Ridgely, Queen, Shorter, Smackum, and Thomas families.
Surnames shared with white Catholics, and the loss, over time, of impermanent grave-markers, may explain why the presence of African Americans is not more readily apparent to the visitor in Holy Rood Cemetery.
Nor are the records all they could be: whether the race of the deceased parishioner was noted depended entirely on the inclination of the priest who made the entry.
Before 1853 these burials must be assumed to have taken place somewhere near the northwestern corner of Holy Rood, called the “Old Ground” on the Holy Rood cemetery plan. After the cemetery was enlarged the burials of African Americans took place in sections 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26, and 36, in the north-central part of Holy Rood.
What follows is a list of sightings of black burials in the Archives of Holy Trinity Catholic Church. The list represents only a fraction of the total number. An index of Holy Rood burials prepared by Georgetown University in 1989 counted about five hundred black burials.
But, during the years 1889 to 1900––years for which reliable official statistics are available, and when the cemetery was at its busiest––the ratio of white to black burials was about six to one, so it seems only reasonable to conclude that, of the estimated 7312 burials at Holy Rood, the number of black burials is nearer to one thousand.
(Cemetery Statistics, Annual Reports to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, 1889 to 1900)
(Section and lot number––such as 19/172––are given, when available.)
Barker, Henrietta, 37, 1860
Barker, Isaac, born 1847, died September 7, 1919, son of Andrew Barker, Jr., 19/172
Barker, James, born February 1822, died June 12, 1894, buried near his grandmother, Henrietta Steptoe, in a lot purchased by Mr. Barker prior to 1858. (19/172). “Mr. James Barker, a very much respected colored citizen, died early this morning from the effects of a stroke of paralysis. Death came at his home 3415 Q Street.” (Star, June 12, 1894, p.6) (The old Q Street is now Volta Place.)
Barker, John, 31, 1860
Barker, Thomas, August 14, 1912, plasterer, 1418 36th Street NW (1897), 19/172
Becraft, Caroline, died 1879, dressmaker at 118 Beall (O) Street, Georgetown, circa 1860-5, 19/173
Becraft, Rosetta Line, February 25, 1839, age 20, child of William Becraft and Sarah McDaniel, lot 4, full pay range for colored, Trinity Church Death Register, p.79, 19/173
Becraft, Sarah D. died 1866, 19/173
Becraft, William B., August 28, 1859, 19/173
Belt, Armistead I., 1870-1911, (near Smackum), 19/196
Belt, Ignatious, 1824 -1907, 26/ eastern part (anchor insignia on stone)
Belt, Martha Ann, 1, child of John Belt and Henrietta Fletcher, 1835
Belt, Teresa, daughter of John and Henny [Henrietta] Belt, August 29, 1834, age 6 months, half pay ground, TC upper graveyard, TC Death Register, p.59
Booth, John and Elizabeth; John d.1884, Elizabeth d.1927; buried near Ellen Jenkins, 25/272
Booth, John and Sarah, 25/321
Bowman, Annie, d. 1899, 25/370
Bowman, Charles H. and Elizabeth; Charles d. Sep.18, 1937, Elizabeth d. 1905, 26/360
Brisco, Edward, about 40, 1862
Brown, ____, William Brown’s Col’d daughter, 1833
Brown, Henrietta Ann, aged 7, 1833
Butler, Augustus, son of Charles and Anna, both Free Col’d, age 7, 1835
Butler, Lidia, Free Col’d woman, 1834 (A mainstay of black Holy Trinity Church, her name appears thirty-eight times as the godmother at baptisms of children, both free and slave. See also, Warner, At Peace with all Their Neighbors, pp.90-91)
Butler, Nancy, Free Col’d woman, 1833
Carrol, Dennis, b. ca. 1855, d. 1907, Row 6, Grave 10 of Free Ground, HR Ledger, P. 489
Carrol, Susan, former slave of Mrs. Barber, b. ca 1826, lot bought in 1884, HR Ledger, p. 199, 25/297
Chandler, Hilleary, born circa 1810, married Louisa Boarman, free colored, at Trinity Church, in 1840. Lot in NW corner of cemetery, near fence, old ground, purchased by him for $40, September 1, 1865.
Clarke, Lucy, former slave of Mary Ann Clarke, age 34, December, 1862, coloured, buried Holy Rood
Coakwire (Coquire), David, Free Col’d, 40, 1835
Coakwire (Coquire), Laura, 33, 1862
Countee, Susanna, Col’d daughter of Henry Countee and his wife, 1833
Daggs, Montezuma, age 25, 1859
Dodson, Walter, free col’d man, October 11, 1834, age 60, buried in the half pay range, upper graveyard, Trinity Church Death Register, p.60.
Dorsey, Alice, 25/272
Dorsey, Joe, 1894
Dover, Francis & Catherine, “of Tenleytown”, bought lot in 1902, 26/344
Dover, George H. [Sr.], born circa 1839 free colored, in the Gtn census of 1850, Holy Rood Ledger, p.224 (26/322)
Dover, George H. [Jr.], laborer, age 24, colored, died, July 6, 1886, buried with his father, George H. Dover, 26/322
Dover, Oray (i.e. Ary, Arianna), former slave of Lewis Kengla, b. ca 1827; HR Ledger, p.224, 26/322
Dunbar, Josephine, daughter of Caroline Dunbar, 1833
Egling, Samuel, Free Col’d, 1834
Gerry, Betty, February 15, 1838, age 2, daughter of Edward Gerry, a slave to Mrs. Brook, and of Rachel Wilson (free), Trinity Church Upper Grave Yard, half pay range.
Gray, Charles, Free Col’d, 80, 1834
Hamager, Richard, col’d, age 30, drowned near Harpers Ferry, 1841
Harris, Henry, free col’d man, May 4, 1833, in the half pay ground, Trinity Church Death Register, p.55. (This was just the fourth burial in the new upper graveyard.)
Hawkins, Catherine, born 1814?, possibly the free daughter of Wilson Hawkins of Georgetown. (26/361)
Henson (Handson), Jourdon, huckster, born Maryland, circa 1771, died March 1862, age 91, Trinity Church Death Register, p.110
Jackson, Catherine, 73, 1835
Jackson, Eliza, February 21, 1835, age 20, (Col’d) wife of John Jackson (Col’d), Trinity Church Upper Grave Yard. (Daughter of Murray Barker!)
Jackson, Elizabeth M., 25/270
Jackson, Sarah R. , 25/342
Jackson, Sophy, December 1863, age 46, TC Death Register, p.117
Jenkins, Ellen, former slave of Mrs. Barber, b. ca 1802, lot bought 1884, HR Ledger, p. 176, 25/272
Jenkins, Lucy, April 1861, age 70, TC Death Register, p.108
Jenkins, Rachel, 42, 1862
Jenkins, Rachel, July 1863, age 2, TC Death Register, p.115
Jenkins, Thomas, January 1862, age 16, TC Death Register, p.110
Johnson, Rosa, free col’d, October 6, 1834, age 40; and infant Rachel Anastatia, age 6 months, October 7, 1834. Burial gratis, upper graveyard, Trinity Church Death Register, p.60
Jourdon, Handson, 91, 1862
Lacy, Thomas, son of Benjamin Lacy and Nelly his wife, 1835
Lee, Alexander, 26/372
Lee, Alfred, September 24, 1845, TC Death Register, p.94
Lee, Charles A., 25/321
Lee, Ellen, d. 1874, of 2064 34th St. NW (now 1764 34th?), 21/245
Lee, Francis, 22/246
Lee, John, 25/321
Lee, John, 36/390
Lee, Mabel Martina, March 7, 1879-March 23, 1924, 18/B0
Lee, William, 26/322
Mahoney, ______, 25/343
Marshall, Clarence and Ignatius, 26/372
Marshall, Joseph and Elizabeth, 26/372
Nevitt, Edward Jason, d. 1900, 36/390
Nevitt, James Edward, 1861-March 2 1910, lived at 1705 N Street NW, communicant of St. Augustines Church, obituary in March 3, 1910 Star, 36/390
Nolan, Lucy, June 1866, TC Death Register, p.122
Odister, Joseph, son of Joseph Odister, and of Sarah Ann, 1835
Payne, Julia, 19/173
Queen, Lucinda and child, 25/296
Queen, Matthew and Matilda, 25/320
Ridgely, Miss Eliza E., May 24, 1869, buried by Jos. Birch; funeral at Trinity, “attended by white and colored friends” (Georgetown Courier, May 29, 1869)
Ridgely, Eleanor (Ellen, Nelly), wife of Henry Ridgeley. “An old colored woman in her eighties living near the Catholic Burying Ground on the Heights, was burned to death. Her clothes caught fire from kerosene spilled on them. She begged neighbors to send a priest. Before Rev. Fr. Stonestreet could reach her she had died.” (Georgetown Courier, October 28, 1871)
Ridgley, George, 1830-1881, 25/321
Ridgley, George, February 29, 1884, 25/272
Ridgely, Henry, born Georgetown circa 1792, married Eleanor Jackson in DC, January 12, 1820, died November 1865, age 73 years, 4 months. Trinity Church Death Register, p.121
Ridgely, Monica, 75, 1862
Ridgely, Mrs., April 3, 1864, buried by Jos. Birch
Sammon, Betsy, Free Col’d, 1833
Sampson, Augustus, col’d man, May 4, 1833, in the half pay ground, TC Death Register, p.55 (3rd burial at upper graveyard)
Shorter, Maria, August 1862, age 56
Shorter, Rachel, free col’d, died 1851, Trinity Church Death Register, p.112
Silence, Thomas, 2 days, son of Walter Silence & Caroline Barker, 1835
Smackum, Annie, 21/216
Smackum, Helena, March 11, 1905, 14 yrs, lived at 3628 N Street?, died in Baltimore, 21/216
Smackum, Hilary, d.1909
Smackum, John, of “the College Observatory”, d. 1874, 21/0
Smackum, John B. “John B. Smackum, 59, colored, died at his brother’s residence, 3624 P St. Employed for many years at Georgetown University. Intered at Holy Rood.” (Star May 4, 1899)
Smackum, Maria, d. May 12, 1871, 19/194
Smackum, Mary L., d.1878
Smackum, Mary M., d.1876
Smallwood, William T., May 2, 1892, aged 65 years; wife, Elizabeth Smallwood, February 23, 1910. (Near the northern fence-line Randy Walsh uncovered a fragmentary marker, possibly of a son and a daughter in-law of Nancy Smallwood, a Col’d woman belonging to Mr. Ignatius Clarke, buried at Holy Rood July 7, 1833)
Smith, John, “of Tenleytown Road”, d. 1873, 21/0
Smith, Siah and Lucinda; “Siah Smith the gravedigger, died April 7 1834, age 40, and was buried in the TC upper graveyard, gratis. Lucinda, a col’d woman, the wife of Siah Smith, died June 28, 1834, was buried gratis.” TC Death Register, pp.57-58
Smith, Stephen (Col’d), age 17, son of John Smith, a slave to Mr. John Pickrell, and of Hellen, a free woman, buried in the free range for col’d people in the Upper Graveyard, August 15, 1835
Somerville, Scott and Sarah, both d. April 10, 1917, 18/A0
Steptoe, Henrietta, born circa 1769, died June 2, 1850, age 71. (19/172) Henrietta Steptoe
Thomas, Anna A. , 21/245
Thomas, Ellen, February 1862, age 27, Trinity Church Death Register, p.110
Thomas, Elizabeth, 18/0
Thomas, Jason, 19/194
Thomas, John P., “Father”, 1878-1925, 18/B0
Thomas, Margaret A., 25/270
Thomas, Nancy Free Col’d, 1833
Thomas, Sarah E., 25/297
Thomas, Susan L., d. May 24, 1915, aged 47 Years, 18/A0
Thomas, Sylvester, 18/A0
Thompson, Lucina (col’d), age 6, daughter of John Thompson and Catherine Chandler (the husband a slave, the mother free) who died in the city, having been burnt up, buried in the free-range of the upper-graveyard, November 26, 1836.
Travis, Ann, 3, daughter of Miley [Miller?] Travis & Ann Dodson his wife, October 1, 1835
Travis, Ann, wife of Miley, age 25, August 4, 1835
Travis, Lewis, son of Miley Travis and Ann, both Free Col’d, age 4, 1835
Travis, Benjamin, son of Miley Travis, Free Col’d man, and Ann Travis, October26, 1834, age 2, Half pay for col’d ground, TC upper graveyard, TC Death Register, p.60
Woods, Andrew, Col’d man, 1834
Wullod, Elizabeth, Free Col’d, age 15, 1834
Notes and Sources
This is a partial List, extracted from Deaths, Holy Trinity Church – Beginning 8th of December 1818, and from Holy Rood Cemetery Ledgers, Holy Trinity Church Archives, Special Collections Division, Georgetown University Library; and from Register of Burials of the Joseph F. Birch Funeral Home: January 1, 1847-December 31, 1938, Paul Sluby and Stanton Wormley, 1989.
In the original regulations of the burial ground, no distinction was made between slaves and “Free Colored”, only between abilities to pay for burial. “There are special and separate sections selected for the Burial of colored people, for the poor, and for unbaptized children.”
These sections were in the northwest quadrant of what is now Holy Rood Cemetery, starting at the North fence and extending south one hundred feet. After expansion of the cemetery in 1866, burials of African Americans took place in sections 18-19, 21-22, 25-26, and 36, in the north-central part of Holy Rood.
“The range near the North fence is 46 ft ½ broad from north to South is allotted for Coloured people who cannot pay for the ground, but their friends must pay for the digging of the grave, according to the dimension as above, page 71;
the 2nd range is 32 ft. for Coloured people who are able to pay half price 4 dollars for a grown person and 2 dollars for a child whose coffen or grave is less than 5 feet long;
the 3rd range is for Coloured people who are able to pay: 32 ft.;
the 4th range is 32 ft. broad for white people who are not able to pay for the ground.”
(Regulations for the Trinity Church Upper Burying Ground, 1835, p.100: College Burial Ground Records, 1817-1840, Box 3, folder 1, Trinity Church Archives; Rules for Holy Rood [speculatively dated 1833, but more likely circa 1866], Box 1, folder 2, Trinity Church Archives)
See also:
Slaves Buried in Holy Rood Cemetery
Burial Grounds of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Georgetown
Finding a Grave in Holy Rood Cemetery
________________________________________________________
Carlton Fletcher
The citation and acknowledgement of my research is greatly appreciated.
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