Benevolent Cemetery, Murfreesboro (Rutherford County)

Benevolent Society Cemetery, Murfreesboro, January 2012 (image by author)

Tucked away in an industrial zone and virtually inaccessible by car lies the burial grounds of Benevolent Society No. 11.  Although this cemetery was once a vital part of the community, today it sits overgrown and overlooked.  According to research done by John Lodl and others at the Rutherford County Archives, more than six hundred African Americans are buried in this graveyard.  Yet the history of the group responsible for creating this cemetery is largely forgotten.

The Benevolent Society in Tennessee dates to at least 1865, when the Colored Benevolent Society was formed in Nashville.  The General Assembly soon amended the Articles of Incorporation of the group to allow for branches and lodges to be established throughout the state (A.A. Taylor, The Negro in Tennessee1865-1889, 156-157).  By 1900, lodges were located across the state, in locations such as Memphis, Jackson, Nashville, and Fayetteville.

It is not known when the Benevolent Society in Murfreesboro was organized, but it is known that they purchased land for their cemetery in 1897.  This property was located off of South Church Street (also known as the Shelbyville Highway).

The Benevolent Society in Murfreesboro must have thrived because the Nashville Globe reported in 1908 that the Fortieth Annual Session of the Delegated Assembly of the Benevolent Orders was held in Murfreesboro.  The headline boasted of "Complete Successful Four Days Work at Rutherford County Capital" (Nashville Globe, August 14, 1908).   Describing the convention, the paper stated, "The town of Murfreesboro has been all aglow with the major portion of this work with the spirit of Benevolence, having had the state assembly in their midst" (Nashville Globe, August 14, 1908).  The paper also described the event as "Historic Town of Murfreesboro overrun with Benevolent Workers."

Benevolent Cemetery, January 2012 (image by author)

    Despite the warm welcome given to the convention members in 1908, the Benevolent Society in Murfreesboro did not survive.  By 1988, the last surviving member of the organization deeded the cemetery to Allen Chapel AME Church.  Despite sporadic clean-up efforts throughout the last two decades, the cemetery remains overgrown and in poor condition.

Obscured tombstone (image by author)

View of Church Street from the cemetery (image by author)

United Helping Society

In 1889, the Strength of the No. 1 United Helping Society was incorporated in Davidson County, Tennessee.  The stated purpose of the organization was "the mutual benefit and moral elevation of its members and care for those in cases of great distress" while its motto was "Christ is head over all" (Charter of Incorporation, Secretary of State's Records, Record Group 42, Book O, Page 46, Tennessee State Library & Archives).

In addition to elevating the morals of its members, the group also worked to help its members purchase homes.  An article in the October 11, 1907 Nashville Globe described the annual meeting of the group in Antioch that month.  The article stated, "Progress was reported along all lines, and the people are awakening to the importance of owning their own homes and having a bank account" (Nashville Globe, October 11, 1907).  Furthermore, the paper reported, "the purpose of the Society is to encourage its members to secure homes and to become, as far as me be, self-sustaining" (Nashville Globe, October 11, 1907).

Nashville Globe, October 11, 1907

 Beyond assisting African-Americans in purchasing their own homes, the group began to organize a separate, African-American town in Dickson County in the 1910s.  The December 16, 1911 edition of the Lexington Standard reported "Negro City Planned" and that a tact of over 1,300 acres had been purchased in Hortense, Tennessee, in Dickson County.  The paper reported, "The United Helping society of Tennessee is back of the project, having already built a number of homes for colored people at Antioch.  All available land there has been used.  At Hortense an agricultural and industrial school has been projected and a widows and orphans' home" (Lexington Standard, December 16, 1911, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025729/1911-12-16/ed-1/seq-3/).

More research is needed to learn whether Hortense was actually planted, and if the plans for the agricultural school and widows and orphans home came to fruition.

Odd Fellow's Cemetery, Knoxville, Knox County

Odd Fellows Cemetery, Knoxville

Located on Bethel Avenue in East Knoxville since c. 1880 is the Odd Fellows Cemetery, an African-American fraternal and benevolent cemetery.  The Odd Fellows, the Daughters of Zion, and the Good Samaritans purchased the property to create the joint cemetery.  Oddly enough, the cemetery is located on the same street as Bethel Confederate Cemetery, showing that the lines of segregation where not always drawn as rigidly in the decades following the war as they were in the early twentieth century.

According to Robert J. Booker, the Banner Lodge Chapter of Odd Fellows purchased the first section of the cemetery before 1881.  The Daughters of Zion purchased a section adjacent to this in 1881.  In 1884, the third section of the cemetery was purchased by Rebecca Lodge Chapter of the Independent Order of Good Samaritans and Daughters of Samaria (Robert L. Booker, Two Hundred Years of Black Culture in Knoxville, Tennessee, 1791 to 1991, p. 90).  It is not surprising that these groups purchased a cemetery together as the Rebecca Lodge and Banner Lodge of Odd Fellows shared lodge space, both meeting at Odd Fellows Hall on 92 Gay Street (1887 Knoxville City Directory, p. 29).

Odd Fellows Cemetery, Knoxville

The cemetery is in mixed condition.  It is apparent that there have been recent efforts to clear part of the vegetation at the site and to set upright fallen tombstones. The section belonging to the Daughters of Zion looks largely abandoned.

A partial transcription of the cemetery is located here.

Sunshine Lodge Knights and Ladies of Honor

What follows is a transcription from the February 7, 1908 Nashville Globe describing a visit by the head of the Knights and Ladies of Honor to Nashville in 1908.  No changes have been made to the spelling or punctuation.

"Sunshine Lodge Knights and Ladies of Honor

Dr. E. A. Williams, of Cincinnati, O., Supreme Director and Protector of the Knights of Honor and the Knights and Ladies of Honor of the World, spent two days in the city last week the guest of Miss Emma Joe Cockrill, of 1221 Third avenue, South.  Dr. Williams was here for the purpose of looking after the endowment of the Knights and Ladies of Honor in Tennessee, there being four lodges in this State.  Sunshine Lodge, No. 843, at Nashville; Woodlawn Lodge, No. 84, at Brownsville; Greenleaf Lodge, No. 805, at Keeling, and Rising Sun Lodge, No. 78, at Decaturville.

Sir W.S. Thompson, Past Protector of Sunshine Lodge, No. 843, has been given power of attorney by Dr. Williams to look after the Endowment and secure the State Charter of Incorporation.

The members of Sunshine Lodge were very enthusiastic over the visit of their Supreme Protector, and never in the fraternal history of Nashville has the head of an organization received the courtesy and attention which was lavished upon Supreme Protector Williams by the subordinate members.  Notwithstanding the severe weather they tendered him a banquet at Miss Emma Joe Cockrill's on Saturday evening and the Lodge members and their friends were out in gala dress to do honor to the doctor.  Quite an elaborate menu was served and all present enjoyed themselves.  One could not realize that Nashville was in the throes of hard times could that one have seen the sumptuous repast which was served by the members of Sunshine Lodge.

Protector Sir A. W. W. Upshaw in a very modest speech informally introduced the Supreme Dictator, Dr. E. A. Williams, who in his eloquent way thanked the Lodge for the honor which had been shown him, and outlined the efforts and purpose of the Order.  Past Protector Sir W.S. Thompson responded and thanked the Supreme Protector for the honor which had been shown to Nashville in electing Miss Emma Joe Cockrill Secretary-Treasurer of the Supreme Endowment Board, and assured him that no wiser election from any point of view could have been made.  The notification of her election came to Miss Cockrill during the holidays and was quite a surprise.  Miss Cockrill was appointed Deputy of the Knights and Ladies of Honor by Dr. Williams while attending the Supreme Conclave Knights of Pythias in Louisville, Ky., September, 1907.

Dr. Williams is Past Supreme Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias and Past Supreme Counsellor of the Courts of Calanthe. He organized the first Court of Calanthe in Tennessee, which was brought about by the famous "Red Letter," which Capt. A.M. Cockrill, then C.C. of Damon Lodge, No. 2, wrote Dr. Williams.  Miss Cockrill, then a school girl, took the reins of authority from her brother, being his secretary, and with that modesty and refinement of speech which is characteristic of her, poured oil upon the waters and the result was that the Supreme Chancellor not only restore Damon's rights, but in time gave to Nashville our first Court of Calanthe, which was "Ivy leaf," with Mrs. M.J. Strong as W.C.

Had not Dr. Williams visited Nashville many persons who have been misled would never have known that through Capt. Cockrill and Miss Emma Joe's efforts Nashville got ehr first Court of Calanthe, and that Sir Aaron Dodd was the first Deputy Supreme Commander.

The Knights and Ladies of Honor bid fair to be quite a strong organization in the State of Tennessee as it is in other States, and with such a matchless leader as Dr. Williams it cannot do otherwise than prosper.

We are proud of a leader who is a man, with all the elements of true manhood, and one who will not stoop to the small things which have been a drawback to so many Negro organizations.  We are proud of him because he recognizes ability and will compromise with nothing else and, like the gallant Knights of other races, believes in first, last and always pushing to the front the women of his race."

Notes
Miss Emma Joe Cockrill was a teacher at the Knowles School (an African American school) in Nashville (Annual Report of the Public Schools, Nashville, Tenn., 1906, p. 61). She died in 1923 and is buried in Mt. Ararat Cemetery (Davidson County Cemetery Survey Project, http://www.davidsoncocemeterysurvey.com/home/cemeteries-m-o/mt-ararat-new-section-cemetery)

Clipping from the Nashville Globe, February 7, 1908

 

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.

Warfield Masonic Lodge, Clarksville, Montgomery County

Warfield Masonic Lodge, Clarksville (image by author)

In 1899, the Warfield Masonic Lodge purchased property at the corner of Ninth and Main Streets in Clarksville, Tennessee. They built themselves a lodge which suffered major damage in a 1911 fire.  After remodeling and repairing the building, the Masons moved back in, continuing to meet through the present.

The Warfield Lodge was organized in the 1890s; all the early records and archives of the group was lost in the 1911 fire.  The group is affiliated with the Prince Hall Masons, an African American masonic group dating to the late eighteenth century.  The first Prince Hall Masonic lodges in Tennessee were established in the 1870s.

Cornerstone of Warfield Lodge (image by author)

In 1907, the Nashville Globe wrote about the Emancipation Celebration planned by the Warfield Lodge. The paper reported

                          The 8th of August opened up in this beautiful section of Tennessee with the 

                          members of the Warfield Lodge Masonic rites, expecting the biggest and 

                          liveliest crowd known in the history of the Emancipation celebration.  Up 

                          until 2 o'clock the day was an ideal one, but it seems that the promoters failed 

                          to tip the weather man and consequently that august and mighty one gave 

                          Paducah, Ky., the sunshine and Clarksville one of the wettest days in the history

                          of the celebration.  With little or no shelter at the park, most of the celebrators 

                          were drenched to the skin, and dresses and hats of brilliant colors lost all their luster.  

                          The officers of the Masonic fraternity of this place have had the rainy heart ever 

                          since. ("Clarksville Notes," Nashville Globe, August 16, 1907).

I visited the Warfield Lodge in February 2013.  The building is brick and in moderate to good condition. It is a three story brick building with a flat roof (condition unknown).  A metal shed roof porch with a concrete floor and metal poles is located at the front elevation.  The side elevation (facing Ninth Street) has the cornerstone and lodge sign.

Image by author

Clipping about the Warfield Lodge from the Nashville Globe, August 16, 1907

Benevolent Lodge #79 Cemetery, Madison, Davidson County, Tennessee

Benevolent Lodge #79 Cemetery (Image by author)

Tucked away on Briarville Road in Madison, near Due West Avenue, Gallatin Pike, and Briley Parkway, sits a small cemetery with fewer than 40 marked graves. This is the Benevolent Lodge #79 Cemetery. The Benevolent Society, also known as the Colored Benevolent Society, was one of the first benevolent groups organized in Tennessee. A group of African-American men in Nashville started the group in 1865, and it was incorporated on May 22, 1866. In 1868 the group's charter was revised to allow them to start branches of the organization throughout the state (Alrutheus Ambush Taylor, The Negro in Tennessee, 1865-1889, 156). By the end of the nineteenth century, branches had been established throughout the state, in towns such as Memphis, Cross Bridges (Maury County), Port Royal (Montgomery County), Fayetteville and Brownsville. Many of the lodges built their own lodge buildings, and several, including the groups in Edgefield, Antioch, Port Royal, and Agnew, established cemeteries for their members.

From the 1888 Sanborn Insurance Map of Nashville, Sheet 6b, volume 1 (Image courtesy Digital Sanborn Collection, Walker Library, MTSU)

According to the Davidson County Register of Deeds office, the Benevolent Society No. 79 acquired the property for their cemetery in 1919. The Briarsville branch (also spelled Briersville), is mentioned before that date in several different Nashville Globe issues. On March 27, 1908, the Nashville Globe reported that the group held its annual election of officers on March 14th of that year. G.R. Love was elected president, Alex. Pettus was elected vice president, Mrs. Arminta Shute was elected secretary, Edd Yateman was elected treasurer, George Pettis was elected marshal, John Woods was elected chaplain, Narval Vinson was the men's chairman of sick committee, and Mrs. Francis Yateman was elected ladies' marshal. As this article highlights, both men and women were members of the Benevolent Society. Additionally, the group allowed for the election of female officers, as the election of Mrs. Shute to secretary shows.

 

Article from the Nashville Globe, March 27, 1908, detailing the annual election of officers for Benevolent Society #79.

I visited the cemetery in February 2012 and I found that it is well-maintained. There is no signage denoting the name of the cemetery. It is sandwiched in a residential neighborhood, and houses surround the cemetery. A stacked stone fence is located to the front of the property. A transcription of the tombstones for the cemetery can be found here.

Tombstone at the Benevolent Society #79 Cemetery (image by author)

Stacked stone wall at the front of the property (image by author)

1919 Deed to the cemetery.  Davidson County Deed Book 523 Pages 341-342.