Month: May 2012

Alexandria, VA Esther Chapter #23

Esther Chapter #23
Alexandria, VA Esther Chapter #23 of Prince Hall Mason

Alexandria, Virginia has many African American Civic Organizations. One of the organizations that was established by 20 African American women, was the Esther Chapter of the Prince Hall Mason.

Members of the Grand Chapter of the State of Virginia, Prince Hall, the Alexandria Chapter, became the Order of the Eastern Star on November 26, 1908.

Grand Worthy Patron, Dr. H.L. Harris of Petersburg, Virginia and several others accepted the Alexandria Chapter under the name of Esther Chapter No. 23.

Since 1908, Esther Chapter No. 23 has hosted the Grand Chapter Annual Conference of the State of Virginia six times.
For one hundred and four years, the Esther Chapter No. 23 has served the Alexandria, Virginia community. The present Worthy Matron is Deborah Ford Nelson. From 1909 to 1966, there have been 40 Worthy Matrons.

Clara Lucas – 1909-1923
Katie Jackson – 1923-1924
Bessie Moore – 1924-1924
Katie Franklin – 1925–1926
Laura Dorsey – 1926–1927
Mary Redd – 1927–1928
Carrie Burrell – 1928–1929
Mary Dorsey – 1929–1930
Elnora Littlejohn – 1930-1932
Benjie V. Burke – 1932–1933
Catherine Holland – 1933–1934
Mazie Bouldin – 1934–1935
Emma Simmons – 1935–1936
Etta P. (B. Robinson) – 1936–1937
Lucy Washington – 1937–1938
Cora Henry – 1938 – 1939
Fannie Tucker – 1939-1940
B.M. Kemies – 1940-1941
Evelyn Brooks – 1941-1942
Esther Neal – 1942-1943
Fedora Lucy – 1943-1944
Marie Bowden (Gale) – 1944-1945
Ruth H. Wright – 1945-1946
Irene Terrell – 1946-1947
Bessie Barbour (Reynolds) – 1947-1949
Henrietta Jones (Stone) – 1949-1950
Ethel McCollough – 1950-1951
Virginia Ray – 1951-1952
Margaret Coleman – 1952-1953
Mary E. Burke – 1953-1954
Pearl Gibson – 1954-1955
Bertha Brown – 1955-1956
Emma Holland – 1956-1957
Eva W. Ladrey – 1957-1958
Julia Ratiff – 1958-1959
Mable Price – 1959-1962
Ida Hill – 1962-1963
Florine A. Grayson – 1963-1964
Collia Rivers – 1964-1965
Isabelle F. Poindexter – 1965-1966

Ms. Debbie Ford Nelson provided information on the Esther Chapter No. 23 for this blog. This blog only records the history of African Americans in Alexandria from 1865 – 1965. If you are interested in the Worthy Matrons from 1966 – 2012, please e-mail me and I will forward that e-mail to the present Worthy Matron, Debbie Ford Nelson.

City of Alexandria, Virginia Public Hearing on Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery

Memorandum-VDHR-Richmond/Register Program
To: Alexandria Gazette
Attn: Andrea Smith/ Phone: 703-778-9411
Email: classified@connectionnewspapers.com

From: Marc Wagner, Designation Programs Manager,
Virginia Department of Historic Resources, (804-482-6099)
Email: marc.wagner@dhr.virginia.gov

Date: April 27th, 2012

Subject: Notice of Public Hearing for Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery, City of Alexandria

Please run the following notice in your Meetings section of Legal Notices:
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
___________________________________________________________________
The Virginia Department of Historic Resources will hold a Public Information Hearing to discuss the proposed Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery nomination to the state and national registers, in City of Alexandria, VA. The Public Hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, May 16th, 2012, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Lloyd House, 220 South Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. Public comment regarding the proposal will be taken at the time of the hearing or can be sent to: Director Kathleen Kilpatrick, VA Department of Historic Resources, 2801 Kensington Avenue, Richmond, VA 23221. This proposal has been recommended eligible for the Virginia Landmarks and National
Register. Proposals will be presented to the State Review Board and the Historic Resources Board on June 21, 2012 in Richmond, VA. For a copy of the proposal and/or a boundary map, contact Marc Wagner, VA Department of Historic Resources, 804-482-6099 or
marc.wagner@dhr.virginia.gov.
___________________________________________________________________
Please address the bill for this notice to Tiffany Cunningham, accounts payable, Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Administration Office, 10 Courthouse Avenue, Petersburg, VA 23803. Phone: 804-862-6193/ Email: tiffany.cunningham@dhr.virginia.gov / FAX: 804-862-6196.
Please send a confirmation of receipt of this memo and a price quote to Marc Wagner by FAX (804-367-2391), or by email: marc.wagner@dhr.virginia.gov.

Please send a certificate of publication or affidavit of publication to Tiffany Cunningham, Procurement Officer, VDHR Administrative Services, 10 Courthouse Avenue, Petersburg, VA 23803.

Thank you.

1945 Parker-Gray High School Teachers and Graduating Class

Parker-Gray 1945 Class
1945 Graduating Class of Parker-Gray High School

The Parker-Gray High School year of 1944 – 1945 had one principal and twenty-two teachers.

William H. Pitts, Sr. – Principal
A.W. Adkins – Math
Susie E. Anderson – Biology
Arthur W. Bracey – Shop
Mary C. Brown – Physical Education
Edith W. Casey – English
Flora W. Chase – Typing and Shorthand
Helen L. Day – Seventh Grade
Laura M. Dorsey – Third and Fourth Grades
Ellen C. Goods – Third Grade
Ferris Holland – Chemistry
Earleen L. Hughes – French and English
Louis R. W. Johnson – Physical Education
Dorothy P. Key – Librarian
Thelma Mickens – First Grade
Alma P. Murray – Second Grade
Edward Patterson – Music
Bernice J. Perry – Seventh Grade
Julia Pritchett – Fourth Grade
Mabel Lee Smith – Math
Ruby F. Smith – Home Economics
Geraldine Stevenson – Seventh Grade
Mary Tunstall – English and Social Studies

Above is a picture of Parker-Gray High School graduating class of 1945. Thirty-five students were in the Class of 1945.

Dorothy Anderson
Houston Brooks
Esther Brown (Thompson)
Audrey Butler
Earnest Carroll
Vernon Carroll
Mary Casey
Herbert Clayborne
Lorraine Cleveland (Bell)
Marjorie Cross
Vivian Cross (Johnson)
Pauline Dial (Jackson)
Jackquelyn Diggs
James Freeman
Catherine Harris (Wair)
Lorretta Harris
Evelyn Howard (Hopkins)
Doris Jackson (Adkins)
Edith Jackson (Williamson)
Clarence Lane
Marian Lawson
Rebecca Lewis (Freeman)
Robert Lewis
Julian Lyles
Mary Major (Fields)
Edgar McGee
Sherman McGuire
William Moore
Rubye Patterson
Walter Owens
Arthur Taylor
Augustine Taylor
Bessie Taylor (Faulker)
Jennie Triplett (Harris)
Maurice Williams
Katie Wright