Collection of Morticians, Undertakers, Funeral Home Directors in Southwest Virginia
Series: At Work – Tending to the Dead
Collection of Morticians, Undertakers, Funeral Home Directors in Southwest Virginia
Gatherings
Series: Historic Newspaper Sources
Library of Virginia Collection Search for newspapers of the area
Title: The Church News, Available online: Feb 1934 (only one edition), Place of publication: Roanoke, VA
Title: Southern Workman, Available online: 1 January 1872 – 1 July 1939 (811 issues), Place of publication: Hampton, VA
Reconstruction Era Documents and Freedmen Bureau Timeline
The Index of census returns, registers, and lists of freedmen is overseen by the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, commonly known as the Freedmen’s Bureau. Established in 1865 after the American Civil War, its responsibilities include supervising relief efforts such as education, healthcare, food, clothing, refugee camps, marriage legalization, employment, labor contracts, and ensuring back pay, bounty payments, and pensions.
Family Search records are free but registration is required.
United States Freedmen’s Bureau, Records of Freedmen – FamilySearch Historical Records
What is available:
- Virginia, Roll 130, Registers of freedmen sent to New England states, 1866-1867
- Virginia, Wytheville, Roll 198, Census returns of the black population of Montgomery, Grayson, Smyth, Giles, Roanoke, Craig, and Floyd Counties, 1865 (Images 214-412)
- Virginia, Christianburg, Roll 68, Census returns of blacks in Montgomery County
The transcription project is done by the public and not complete.
Click here to search on a name
History of the Freedman’s Bureau, official title: The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands
A helpful explanation and timeline is provided on page 9 of this document, hosted by Family Search. “Records of the Field Offices for the State of Virginia.”
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DWR3-MLN?view=index&action=view
Seven Year Timeline of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (Freedmen’s Bureau): March 1865 to June 1872.
September 2, 1862: “President Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that as of January 1, 1863 “all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”” (Library of Congress)
January 1, 1863: President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation
April 9, 1865: Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox, ending the Civil War.
Juneteenth, 1865 – Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American of History & Culture
- National – 3 March 1865: the bureau was created by the War Department of the US Government. Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners as well as General Superintendent of Schools were established.
- Virginia – June 1865 to May 1866: Orlando Brown established an office and operated as Commissioner of Virginia, in Richmond.
- Virginia – 4 July 1865 to 14 April 1867: Virginia Bureau is organized into 10 districts with an Agent/Superintendent in charge.
- Mont. Co – Sept 1865: Buel Carter became the 8th District’s first Superintendent, establishing an office in Christiansburg but move the office to Wythville in September of the same year.
- National – Oct 1865 to Jan 1867: Rev. John W. Alvord became Inspector of Finances and Schools to address schools.
- Mont. Co – May 1866: Capt Charles S. Schaeffer arrives in Christiansburg as the agent, working under Brevet Maj. George P. Sherwood became Superintendent of the 8th District in June 1866.
- Virginia – May 1866 to Aug 1866: Maj. Gen. Alfred H. Terry is Assistant Commissioner, Richmond.
- National – 16 July 1866: the Bureau of Freedmen is extended by Congress.
- Virginia – Aug 1866 to March 1867: Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield is named Assistant Commissioner .
- Virginia – 15 April 1867: The state is reorganization into 10 Sub-districts with Sub-Assistant Commissioner in charge.
- Mont. Co- 15 April 1867: District 8 , the central office remained in Wythville. CA Schaeffer remained in Christiansburg.
- Virginia – March 1867 to May 1869: Orlando Bowen becomes Assistant Commissioner and Superintendent of Education.
- National – 6 July 1968: The Bureau of Freedmen is extended for the last time.
- National – 25 July 1868: Congress removes the Bureau’s Assistant Commissioners from the states, but claim agents remain in place.
- Mont. Co. – Dec 1868: Freedmen’s Bureau closes its Christiansburg office. Schaeffer retained as Assistant Superintendent of Education.
- Virginia – 1 Jan 1869: the 10 Virginia districts are reorganized into 8 Education Sub Districts and Assistant Superintendent of Schools are appointed.
- Virginia – 1870: New constitution was ratified which included Public School Funding for all children as a requirement. By 1870 the legislation was set to allow this to happen, though the education would be segregated.
- National- Summer 1870: Superintendents of Education removed and headquarters staff reduced.
- National – 30 June 1872: The Freedmen’s Bureau was terminated by Congress.
Primary Source Series: Congress Investigates KKK 1872
In 1872, a 13-volume compilation of reports and testimonies, including those from previously enslaved individuals, documented a Congressional committee’s investigation into the Ku Klux Klan and other insurrectionary movements in the former Confederate states.
Report of the Joint Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States by United States. Congress. Joint Select Committee on the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States
In 1872, a 13-volume compilation of reports and testimonies, including those from previously enslaved individuals, documented a Congressional committee’s investigation into the Ku Klux Klan and other insurrectionary movements in the former Confederate states.
While Virginia is absent from this congressional report, the testimonies offer valuable insights into the beliefs, attitudes, misconceptions, and misdirections surrounding the mistreatment of newly freed people residing in the former Confederate states.
Graduation Series: Lucy Hairston Graduates from Nursing School (Lucy Maleta Hairston)
Montgomery News Messenger, 21 October 1965
“Lucy M. Hairston, daughter of Mr. And Mrs. John W. Hairston of Cambria, graduated March 5 from the Lucy Addison High School-Burrell Memorial Hospital School of Practical nursing.
Miss Hairston is a 1962 graduate of Christiansburg Institute. Mr. Hairston is an employer of N & W railroad, at Schaffer’s Crossing, Roanoke.
Miss Hairston is presently employed at Burrell Hospital”
Sick Benefits & Death Tax – Mutual Aid of the Independent Order of St Luke
In Blacksburg, Virginia, the Independent Order of St Luke shared the same building with the Grant United Order of Odd Fellows, Tadmore Light 6184, located in New Town. That order’s copy of the Constitution and By-laws may be lost to history, but the Queen of Sheba Council’s 1921 version is fortunately accessible. This document highlights the significance of mutual aid within the framework of the function of the Order of St Luke.
Independent Order of St. Luke. Queen of Sheba Council No. , Randall K. Burkett, Lucy Emanuel, and Amos M. Gailliard. Constitution And By-laws of Queen of Sheba Council No. 1307, I.O. of St. Luke, Organized January 28th, 1921, White Plains, N.Y. [White Plains, N.Y.]: [The Council], 1921.
Madame Maggie J. Walker’s Vision for the Independent Order of St Luke Reflected in the Constitution and By-laws
During the Jim Crow era, white-owned firms refused to grant disability and life insurance to the black community. In response, IOSL provided weekly sickness and disability benefits as well as funeral assistance for its members starting in 1895. Similar to contemporary insurance companies, it offered various premium options. Mrs. Walker’s effective leadership in membership drives bolstered the organization’s finances, enabling prompt payment of death claims and reduced premium costs.
Sick Benefit
Members who wished to receive financial support in the event of being sick or disabled, paid monthly dues into the Sick Benefit fund. The Sick Committee manages the implementation of this benefit. The member could receive no more than $35/year. That equates to about $t00 in current value.
Death Taxes and Benefit
Resources:
Degree Ritual of the Independent Order of St Luke
National Museum of African American Art and Culture
BLACKSBURG [VIRGINIA] ODD FELLOWS RECORDS, 1902-1969 (MS1988-009)
The Enslaved of John, Charles, Alexander and Harvey Black Family & Virginia Tech Campus Legacy
Andrew, Eliza and Daniel
This is the last will and testament of Charles Black (1796-1853), son of John Black (1755-1845) and nephew of William Black, namesake of the Town of Blacksburg, Virginia. Charles died 1853 and his will was proved in Montgomery County, by Rice D. Montague, Clerk.
Quote: “I give her [my beloved wife Rhoda Black] my negro woman Eliza to dispose of all as suits her, and my two boys Daniel and Andrew I desire that she will dispose of Daniel and Andrew to my sons John & Edward, on condition that they pay to Kezia Francisco $750.00. dollars and to Ann T. Black $550.00 dollars.”
Rhoda McDonald Black (1805-1859), wife and mother of Keziah Black Francisco (1830-1903), Ann Taylor “Nannie” Black (1837-1903), John Black A. (1831-1899), and Edward Black (1835-1912).
Much of Charles and Rhoda Black’s land becomes part of Virginia Tech campus after the death of Charles and Rhoda.
George Mills, Servant
George Mills is noted as “After the war an old servant George Mills by name….” in Nannie Francisco Porter’s , daughter of Keziah Black Francisco.
The 1850 Slave Schedule for Montgomery County does not name the people held against their will and provide a documentation of the slave owners. Charles Black’s will notes three people, a woman and two men, not four as noted below. No proof yet, but perhaps Eliza is the one listed female. Daniel and Andrew are likely one of these three people.
Alexander Black is the brother of Charles Black.
Andrew Jackson Long – Millstone Cutter – Brush Mountain
Andrew Jackson “Jack” Long was born in 1870 in Montgomery County as noted in the 1880 & 1900 US Census, and Jackson’s marriage record in 1892. In the 1930 census his birth year was noted as 1872. These documents list Jackson as either “mulatto, black or colored” and Sara/Sarah as “white.” No father was listed.
In the marriage record Jackson’s mother is noted as Sara Long and in the 1880 US Census as Sarah. In the 1880 census Sarah and Jackson are living in the vicinity of other Long families and close to the James Otey farm, Walnut Springs, close to Toms Creek.
On 1 September 1892, Jackson Long (22 yrs, laborer) marries Mary Jackson (21 yrs) by D. Bill Groseclose. Polly Jackson is noted as Mary’s mother.
Eight years later the family of 6 appears in the 1900 US Census. Jackson is 26 and a laborer in the stone quarry; Mary, his wife, is 26 and had given birth to 4 children, all still alive: Theodosia, daughter, born December 1893, 6 yr; Thomas, son, born September 1895, 4 yr; Donald, son, born May 1896, 4 yr; Hary C, son, June 1897, 3 years.
1930 US Census finds the family in Montgomery County, and appears to be living in the same neighborhood. Jackson and Mary own their home, worth $600. He is working in Mill Rock Quarry as a Stone Cutter. The couple are now living with 7 children.
Donald and Thomas are working in the millstone quarry. Thomas is 34 (b. 1906) and Donald is 31 yrs old (b. 1909). Theodore (Ted) is 23 (b. 1917) and his brother Gilbert 13 (b. 1917) are working on a dairy farm and Mason is 22 (b. 1918) and working on a “truck” vegetable farm. The two daughters, Eva is 19 (b. 1911) and Annie 16 yrs (b. 1914) are at home.
The birth certificate for Gilbert add to the Long’s story. He is listed as the 11th child, born on 6 July 1912 to 39 yrs old Jackson Long and Mary Jackson Long, age 40, housekeeper. M.B. Linkous was the attending physician in Cambria.
Resources
Millstone Manufacture in Virginia: Interviews with the Last Two Brush Mountain Millstone Makers, Ed by Charles D. Hockensmith, 1999.
Charles D. Hockensmith mentions Jackson Long and his sons, Donald and Ted Long, as stonecutters working in the Brush Mountain Millstone quarry.
The conglomerate millstone makers of New York and Virginia in the United States by CHARLES D. HOCKENSMITH
Jack Long’s Granddaughter – Mrs. Alberta Long Campbell
Household of Ruth of Blacksburg
The Household of Ruth No 5533 included the mothers, wives and daughters of the Tadmore Light Lodge, No 6184 members. This female order, which was started a few years after the men’s order – Grand United Order of Odd Fellows (GUOOF) – was vital in the function of the Lodge and the well being of the community.
This 1958 “membership” card hails from Burlington, North Carolina, yet it serves as a representation of the mutual aid reliance likely mirrored in Blacksburg. It outlines monthly dues of $0.50, weekly sick dues of $2.50, and a $1.00 allowance for burial expenses.
Martha Pennif, member and Shirley T. Lesneur, W.R.
Clinch County, Virginia Household of Ruth No. 5858 – Moss Rising Star
New Town Neighborhood, North of Blacksburg, 1916
The following African Americans were listed in this list as living in Newtown (one word): William Green, Preston Mayse, John Paige, John Vaughn, William Young, Blanche Lavender, A.M.E. Parsonage, John D Smith and B. Rollins.
William Palmer Green, Preston Mays/Mayse, John Vaughn, William Young, Blanche Lavender, AME Parsonage, John D Smith and John B. Rollins are found in the various US Population Census.
Gathering African American History 