Yesterday I went for a drive around a local small town and was not very successful so I stopped into the public library. While trying to see if they had any info for the cemetery I was looking for, conversations struck up and we were talking about all kinds of things having to do with family and history.
Somewhere in the conversation about the cemetery I was looking for, the very kind and sweet woman told me that this particular cemetery was said to be a Black cemetery. We talked about how some cemeteries are on private land and forgotten, and how often times the cemeteries for the owners of the lands and the cemeteries of those that worked on the land were seperated because of color. This made me remember my trip to Perry County last month. I was told that the old Cone (or Coon) Cemetery was a Black cemetery and that I'd not have any relatives in there. After hiking up to the cemetery with my wonderful cousins and guides, and photographing each stone I came across for prosterity, I finally found at the head of the cemetery overlooking what was once a large bluff to the river below, the property owners - side by side. They were indeed residing in the same cemetery as those who worked "for" them and were at one time likely their slaves who were then freed and continued to work on the farm for the owners. Recounting this story of my discovery to the lovely lady, I could feel a sense of pride as I heard the story for the first time out of my own mouth, and I watched her face (who watched my face) as I saw the smile she gave me, and the joy in her heart showed as she said how special that they must have been. At that moment, I connected with the past in a way that I had never done before. The past, with the present. While I never did find the cemetery I was looking for, I found something much more meaningful, and I truly enjoyed my Adventures in Genealogy!
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AuthorMichele is an obsessed mother of 4 residing in North Alabama. Hobbies include long walks in the woods, on the beach and in strange cemeteries and libraries. Genealogy friends need only apply. Categories
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