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African Child

Birth
Death
1861 (aged less–than 1 year)
Key West, Monroe County, Florida, USA
Burial
Key West, Monroe County, Florida, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
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"A .. description of one of the funeral services ..by Jefferson Browne in his 1912 history of Key West:

"The first burial was of a child six weeks old, whose young mother was barely in her teens. Her devotion to her offspring made her an object of much sympathy to the visitors to the camp, and, upon the death of the child, our people provided a handsome coffin to bury it in. The interment took place some distance from the barracoon, and the Africans were allowed to be present at the services, where they performed their native ceremony. Weird chants were sung, mingled with loud wails of grief and mournful moans from a hundred throats, until the coffin was lowered into the grave, when at once the chanting stopped and perfect silence reigned, and the Africans marched back to the barracoon with out a sound.”

"A .. description of one of the funeral services ..by Jefferson Browne in his 1912 history of Key West:

"The first burial was of a child six weeks old, whose young mother was barely in her teens. Her devotion to her offspring made her an object of much sympathy to the visitors to the camp, and, upon the death of the child, our people provided a handsome coffin to bury it in. The interment took place some distance from the barracoon, and the Africans were allowed to be present at the services, where they performed their native ceremony. Weird chants were sung, mingled with loud wails of grief and mournful moans from a hundred throats, until the coffin was lowered into the grave, when at once the chanting stopped and perfect silence reigned, and the Africans marched back to the barracoon with out a sound.”

Gravesite Details

The surname is not unknown - there was no surname


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