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.

Freedmen's Savings Bank Registers

Although this might not seem like a post about lodges, it actually is.  The registers for the Freedmen's Savings & Trust Company are a great resource to use when trying to find out more about the officers of benevolent and fraternal lodges.  The Freedmen's Savings Bank was incorporated in March 1865 and branches of the bank were located throughout the South.  In Tennessee, there were branches in at least Memphis, Nashville and Columbia.  The Bank went bankrupt in 1874; however, the registers for the account holders of the bank still exist for some of the branches.  You can find these records on microfilm at the National Archives or at your state archives.  Also, some websites such as Heritage Quest have digitized the records and made them searchable by name.

What makes these records so fascinating is the level of detail they contain.  They often list the name of the ex-enslaved's master and mistress, where the account holder was born, who their parents were, and a physical description of the account holder.  The ones for lodges and other groups will list the names of the officers of the organization.

Ledger for Henry Burney, officer of the Benevolent Society
Nashville branch of the Freedmen's Savings Bank

As this ledger shows us, Henry Burney was the secretary of the Benevolent Society in Nashville in 1872.  He was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia and was about 34 years old.  He worked as a nursery hand and was married to Sarah.  The notation for his parents lists their names but states, "doesn't know whether he is living." The notation for his siblings reads, "don't where they are."  The ledgers bring home the impact slavery had on society, when people were separated from families and not able to locate them after the war.

Ledger for the Daughters of Zion No. 1 of Memphis
Memphis Branch of the Freedmen's Savings Bank

The ledger above for the Daughters of Zion No. 1 of Memphis is helpful in that it lists the officers of the group.  I then take these names and look for them in the census to learn occupations, where they lived, marital status, etc.

With the help of these ledgers from the Freedmen's Savings Bank, I hope to learn more about the people who were officials in lodges.

Number Nine Hall Cemetery, Memphis, Shelby County

Number Nine Hall Cemetery (image by author)

Not far from the Mississippi state line in Shelby County (less than two miles) is a cemetery belonging to the Independent Pole Bearers Number Nine Hall. The Independent Pole Bearers started in Memphis shortly after the Civil War, and were initially a semi-military group with the members having the right to bear arms (Green Polonius Hamilton, The Bright Side of Memphis, 207).  The Pole Bearers were an active group, and by the end of the nineteenth century there were multiple lodges throughout West Tennessee.

The Articles of Incorporation for Independent Pole Bearers Association No. 9 states that the group was incorporated in 1896 and that it was located in the 12th Civil District of Shelby County, near the town of White House.  According to the Articles, "The object of this incorporation is to establish a means whereby we may secure for cash other exemption from neglect in the exigencies of sickness, want and death; to secure for each other employment, and to hold social meetings for the purpose of advancement of each other" (Record Group 42, Secretary of State Charters of Incorporation, Volume O-O, Page 172, located at the Tennessee State Library and Archives).  Various lodges of the Independent Pole Bearers continue to exist in Shelby County.

In April 2013, I visited this cemetery in Shelby County. The cemetery is adjacent to a Church of Christ church, and is very well-maintained.  There were several examples of hand-carved tombstones in the cemetery. There is no sign indicating the name of the cemetery.  The most recent grave dated to 2011.  It is possible there are a number of unmarked graves in the cemetery as there were several sunken spots in the rows of graves.  The tombstones were some of the most interesting that I have seen.

Example of hand-carved tombstone. Image by author.

Hand-carved tombstone.  Image by author.

Image by author.