Cemeteries

I had the opportunity to join “The Friends of Freedmen’s Cemetery” in 1997.  The goal of this group is to preserve, commemorate and research unknown Civil War-era African American burial ground located on Washington and Church Streets in Alexandria.  The Cemetery has over 1,200 African Americans buried from 1863 to 1868.  The Friends of Freedmen Cemetery informed the public about the cemetery and obtained an historical marker.  The 1997 Board of Directors of the Friends of the Freedmen Cemetery were Lillie Finklea, President, Louise Massoud, Tim Dennee, Char Bah and Shellyn McCaffrey.  You can obtain more information on the Cemetery from the website “The Friends of Freedmen’s Cemetery.”

Many Blacks were buried at other cemeteries in Alexandria, Bethel Cemetery was established in 1885 and Douglass Memorial Cemetery in 1895.  Saint Mary Catholic Church cemetery has a number of black Catholics buried there.

This site will include people and their descendants that were buried in those cemeteries.