ANSON COUNTY, N.C. — A group of people in Anson County are working to memorialize those buried in a cemetery where many enslaved people and their descendants were laid to rest.
The Poplar Springs Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery dates back to 1850.
According to a website detailing its history, “it acted as a cemetery for the attendees of the Poplar Springs Missionary Baptist Church and many others for 100 years. It was one of the few cemeteries in the area where Black residents could be laid to rest.”
Carol Smith, who has ancestors buried in the cemetery, sought to revitalize it more than a year ago.
"I knew that the way that that cemetery was, the way that the people that were buried there, their lives were important," Smith said.
Smith reached out for help from the community on the project. She said Anson County commissioner JD Bricken played an important role in helping connect her with people to clear the land and record its history.
“I recognized a lot of the names, and I knew a lot of the people that are still around today that have relatives in that cemetery,” Bricken said, “and just thought it was a very interesting project.”
Bricken introduced Smith to David Mitchell, assistant professor of history and director of race and ethnic studies program at Wingate University. Mitchell was tasked with recommending a student intern to record the history of the cemetery and those buried there.
“Anybody can go on a computer and Google, but what if Google doesn’t find you the answers?” said Mitchell. “What are you going to do? We’re teaching people what to do, how to be resourceful with limited resources.”
Mitchell brought on Wingate University sophomore and history major Julia Lasure as an intern.
Two “grave hunters,” Victoria Matlock and Margaret Price, took the lead in researching the graves. Lasure joined the project, further demonstrating the work that had been done and cataloging the research.
"I think history's so important because we don't want to repeat the past, but we also want to make sure our future's as bright as possible,” Lasure said. “And by memorializing these people, we give them a chance to have their history living on forever."
Some of the markers at the cemetery have names and dates on them. Others are simply a stone.
Lasure said she saw history come to life, working to find out the names and details of each life behind the headstone.
"These people deserve for their stories to be told, and it's important for us to learn from all of them and just to make something of what they have contributed to society,” Lasure added. “And by memorializing them, we are able to do that."
Through the grave hunters’ and Lasure’s research, Smith found the headstones for her great-great-grandmother Ressie Brewer, her great-great-grandfather Alfred Brewer, and her uncle Johnnie F. Davis.
"They took what they had, with the struggles, the harshness, all that they went through, God allowed them to survive,” Smith said. “For what? For us to learn from them. They are still teaching us today."
The project helped Smith learn more about her great-great grandmother’s life.
“Went in that cemetery, and there her grave was. That was a moment for me,” Smith said. “She was only 26 when she passed away. Through the grave hunters’ research, we have found that she died of a disease called consumption.”
It is believed 176 people are buried in the cemetery, Lasure said. Death certificates, marriage certificates, newspaper articles and pictures were used to help identify and catalog each one.
“It was really exciting whenever we were just given initials and then all of a sudden it clicked and we figured it out who it was,” Lasure said. “We had a few of those. That was one of the most exciting parts of the process.”
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Alton Jackson, who took notes and recorded the work done on the project, said he found the grave markers for his relatives Sallie Davis and Jodie Davis after not knowing where they were buried.
“In the words of the great Maya Angelou, ‘a person can never know where they’re going, unless they know where they’ve been," Jackson said. “It tells me where I’ve been, so therefore, I can see where I’m going.”
Jackson said when he started on the project, there was sadness because there were so many people buried there that weren’t identified and so many who had stories to tell.
If his relatives could know about the work done to memorialize the people buried in the cemetery, Jackson said, “I honestly think they would just be excited to know that their life wasn’t in vain and that somebody knows their story.”
As a part of her work as an intern, Lasure created a website to serve as a memorial for all who are buried in the Poplar Springs Missionary Baptist Church original cemetery.
While the project started as a lesson in history, Smith said the learning about the people buried in the cemetery and the lives they lived has taught her even more about life.
“It is teaching me how important mankind is to each other. Our skin color is just a coat, but we are all connected,” Smith said. "We are all alike. It doesn't matter how many cars you got. It doesn't matter how much house you live in. It doesn't matter how far you've been. You can go to the moon and back, but humanly we are all so much alike."
Contact Kendall Morris at kmorris2@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.