Sons of Zion (Memphis and Shelby County)

There were apparently a number of African American fraternal and benevolent groups in Tennessee with "Zion" in the name.  In Memphis alone, there are references in city directories and newspapers to the Daughters of Zion, Sons of Zion, Sisters of Zion, and United Sons of Zion (apparently different from the Sons of Zion). I have even found mention of a Sons of Zion as far east as Greeneville, Tennessee in 1871.  To be perfectly honest, I am still puzzling out the links, if any, between the groups.  Here goes my best guess, at this point, about the Sons of Zion, the group that formed Zion Christian Cemetery (http://tn-africanamericanlodges.blogspot.com/2014/09/zion-christian-cemterysons-of-zion.html).

A mention of the Sons of Zion in the Jonesborough Herald and Tribune, August 10, 1871.

According to G.P. Hamilton, in The Bright Side of Memphis, the Sons of Zion in Memphis organized in 1867, and at the time of his writing, consisted of one lodge, no endowment, and 200 members.  Hamilton describes the group as, "One of the earliest societies in Memphis, it has done much for the welfare of our people. Their leaders have been men of foresight and judgement . . ." The 1874 Boyle Chapman Memphis Directory lists the Sons of Zion as meeting on Rayburn Avenue with 200 members while the United Sons of Zion met at Beale Street church and had 270 members. 

Memphis Daily Appeal, March 23, 1874

The Sons of Zion were active in Memphis.  In 1874, they, along with other groups, took part in funeral ceremonies in Memphis to mark the death of Charles Sumner, former abolitionist and politician.  They participated in July 4th celebrations.  They took responsibility for burial of the dead, as when Joe Morgan, a black man, drowned in the Wolf  River. After his body was recovered, they took charge of his remains and buried him.

Memphis Daily Appeal, October 8, 1879.  Discusses the drowning and burial of Joe Morgan.

Brian D. Page has a great article in the Tennessee Historical Quarterly that discusses the different benevolent and fraternal groups in Memphis following the Civil War.  It is ""Stand by the Flag": Nationalism and African-American Celebrations of the Fourth of July in Memphis, 1866-1887," and it is located in Volume 58. number 4 (Winter 1999): pages 284-301.

Zion Christian Cemtery/Sons of Zion Cemtery - Memphis, Shelby County

Zion Christian Cemetery sign. Photo by author.

In April 2013, I visited the Zion Christian Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee, located in the 1400 block of South Parkway East. This may be one of the oldest African American cemeteries in Memphis, having been established by the Sons of Zion in 1876.  It was during the yellow fever epidemic of 1878 that many of the burials in the cemetery began in earnest.  More than 30,000 African Americans may be interred here.  Green Polonious Hamilton, an African American teacher and author of The Bright Side of Memphis (1908), stated in that work, "a few far-sighted brainy men of the race, anticipating the needs of the colored people of Memphis . . .purchased a large tract of land outside of the city limits to be used as a cemetery. . . Zion Cemetery is patronized by the best classes of colored people." [To read Hamilton's work, an African American guide to Memphis, you may find it on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=m9vVAAAAMAAJ&vq=zion&pg=PA18#v=snippet&q=zion&f=false.]

As with many African American cemeteries in Tennessee, it endured many years of neglect.  In the early 2000s, a group formed the Zion Community Project with the intention of maintaining the cemetery and making its story known.  Their website, http://www.zioncommunityproject.org/, has great information on the history of the cemetery and the group as well as its continuing efforts to preserve the cemetery.  There is also a search engine to allow you to search for ancestors possibly buried in the cemetery.

Obituary for Rev. Morris Henderson, interred at Zion Christian Cemetery. Memphis Daily Appeal, October 30, 1877.

Advertisement found in the Memphis Daily Appeal, May 29, 1881.

The day that I visited was a beautiful day;  however, I had scheduled so many other research things that I was unable to spend a great deal of time at the site.  I hope to return one day when I can devote several hours to walking through the cemetery and observing the tombstones, the carvings, and the getting a better sense of its spatial organization.  There is also a state historic marker at the site that documents some of its history.  A future blog post will discuss the Sons of Zion in more detail.

State historic marker at the site. Photo by author.

Zion Christian Cemetery. Photo by author.

Zion Christian Cemetery. Photo by author.