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Shockoe Hill Cemetery news
Shockoe Hill Cemetery and its friends will be active over the next several weeks. First, congratulations to Alyson L. Taylor-White, for the publication of her new book on the cemetery, entitled Shockoe Hill Cemetery: A Richmond Landmark History (History Press, 2017). Alyson has led tours at Shockoe Hill Cemetery for many years and brings its details to…
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Charlottesville
Heartbreaking weekend in Charlottesville, and everywhere in America. I’ve got smart friends who saw this coming, but I have to say that I did not. My work among cemetery activists of all political persuasions and backgrounds indicated to me a tremendous amount of general goodwill. That must still be true in most areas, but it…
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Robert Rose tomb
Back in 2013, the chest tomb erected over the grave of Robert Rose in St. John’s churchyard was named one of “Virginia’s Top 10 Endangered Artifacts” in an annual listing issued by the Virginia Association of Museums. Rose, born in Scotland in 1704, had emigrated to the tobacco colony as an ordained Anglican minister in…
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East End community conversation, and new film
Lots going on at East End Cemetery these days. On Tuesday, June 27, at 7:00pm, the Friends of East End Cemetery will be hosting a community conversation to give a progress report on their work and share their vision for its future. The meeting, to which everyone is invited, will be held at the Robinson…
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My introduction to John Sydnor
Lots of folks I have been hearing from have been concerned about the recent acquisition of Evergreen Cemetery by the Enrichmond Foundation. I am still mystified as to why the local media has largely ignored this development. As far as I can tell, Jerry Lazarus’s June 2 article in the Richmond Free Press is the only…
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New Richmond National book
Several years ago, I met JoAnn Meaker, a transplant to central Virginia from upstate New York. She was one of the few people I’ve ever met outside the National Park Service or the Veterans Administration who had a sustained interest in researching Richmond National Cemetery. Part of her interest arose from a family connection to…
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Evergreen’s new owner
Today, the Enrichmond Foundation, a local umbrella organization that helps channel charitable funds to area groups, announced that it has acquired Evergreen Cemetery. John Sydnor is executive director. Its press release states: “Enrichmond is dedicated to making Evergreen’s sacred grounds public and accessible to all – most especially to family members of those interred. The…
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HB 1547
On May 17, 2017, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signed HB 1547, which provides funds for the maintenance of historic African American graves in the state. There are several caveats. First, the cemetery must have been established prior to 1900 and be the property of a government or 501c3 charitable organization. Second, the allocations will be…
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New start/a little history part 3
To end the suspense, I now bring us up to 2017, with the remainder of the old site’s comments: On July 24, 2017, I celebrated Brian Palmer for hitting the big leagues on behalf of East End Cemetery: “Noteworthy editorial in the New York Times by Brian Palmer on East End/Evergreen, January 7, 2017. Great…
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New start/a little history part 2
Continuing my history of my historical website focusing on historical sites, for 2015: On March 10, 2015, I publicly stated that I was “Taking the plunge now – I have started writing an overall history of Richmond’s historic cemeteries. Hopefully will lead to upgrades throughout the site here. So far, I have rough drafts of…