Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Cemetery is a historic African-American cemetery that was established by the Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Church. This church was built by freedmen or people recently emancipated from slavery in the US post 1865. The cemetery is under the care of Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Cemetery Restoration Organization.
Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Church and Cemetery were established in 1873, when Rev. Major Reddick donated one acre of land to Romeo Reddick, Rinaldo Reddick, Major Reddick, Henry Peterson, Adam Moulton, Richard Doby and Arthur Haynes, trustees. The land was part of a parcel awarded to Reddick through the 1862 Homestead Act. Archer, originally called Deer Hammock, became an economic hub for local plantations, especially after the cross-Florida railroad was built in the 1850s. Sen. David Levy Yulee's Cottonwood was the most well-known of these plantations. At least 25 African Americans who had once been enslaved were interred in the cemetery. Elbert McKinney Sr., born in 1829 in South Carolina, was buried here. McKinney, an enslaved blacksmith at Cottonwood, daily blew a ram's horn to call the enslaved laborers to work. Ellen Lawrence, born ~1796 and died at the age of 88 in 1884, has the earliest marked grave in the cemetery. James Dansey homesteaded 39.98 acres to the east of Reddick's donation but sold the parcel to Rev. Frank Dansey in 1881. Dansey, founder of St. Joseph's Missionary Baptist Church, began to use 1.28 acres nearest the Reddick donation for burials. Rev. Dansey was buried here in 1911.
Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Church and Cemetery were established in 1873, when Rev. Major Reddick donated one acre of land to Romeo Reddick, Rinaldo Reddick, Major Reddick, Henry Peterson, Adam Moulton, Richard Doby and Arthur Haynes, trustees. The land was part of a parcel awarded to Reddick through the 1862 Homestead Act. Archer, originally called Deer Hammock, became an economic hub for local plantations, especially after the cross-Florida railroad was built in the 1850s. Sen. David Levy Yulee's Cottonwood was the most well-known of these plantations. At least 25 African Americans who had once been enslaved were interred in the cemetery. Elbert McKinney Sr., born in 1829 in South Carolina, was buried here. McKinney, an enslaved blacksmith at Cottonwood, daily blew a ram's horn to call the enslaved laborers to work. Ellen Lawrence, born ~1796 and died at the age of 88 in 1884, has the earliest marked grave in the cemetery. James Dansey homesteaded 39.98 acres to the east of Reddick's donation but sold the parcel to Rev. Frank Dansey in 1881. Dansey, founder of St. Joseph's Missionary Baptist Church, began to use 1.28 acres nearest the Reddick donation for burials. Rev. Dansey was buried here in 1911.
Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Cemetery is a historic African-American cemetery that was established by the Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Church. This church was built by freedmen or people recently emancipated from slavery in the US post 1865. The cemetery is under the care of Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Cemetery Restoration Organization.
Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Church and Cemetery were established in 1873, when Rev. Major Reddick donated one acre of land to Romeo Reddick, Rinaldo Reddick, Major Reddick, Henry Peterson, Adam Moulton, Richard Doby and Arthur Haynes, trustees. The land was part of a parcel awarded to Reddick through the 1862 Homestead Act. Archer, originally called Deer Hammock, became an economic hub for local plantations, especially after the cross-Florida railroad was built in the 1850s. Sen. David Levy Yulee's Cottonwood was the most well-known of these plantations. At least 25 African Americans who had once been enslaved were interred in the cemetery. Elbert McKinney Sr., born in 1829 in South Carolina, was buried here. McKinney, an enslaved blacksmith at Cottonwood, daily blew a ram's horn to call the enslaved laborers to work. Ellen Lawrence, born ~1796 and died at the age of 88 in 1884, has the earliest marked grave in the cemetery. James Dansey homesteaded 39.98 acres to the east of Reddick's donation but sold the parcel to Rev. Frank Dansey in 1881. Dansey, founder of St. Joseph's Missionary Baptist Church, began to use 1.28 acres nearest the Reddick donation for burials. Rev. Dansey was buried here in 1911.
Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Church and Cemetery were established in 1873, when Rev. Major Reddick donated one acre of land to Romeo Reddick, Rinaldo Reddick, Major Reddick, Henry Peterson, Adam Moulton, Richard Doby and Arthur Haynes, trustees. The land was part of a parcel awarded to Reddick through the 1862 Homestead Act. Archer, originally called Deer Hammock, became an economic hub for local plantations, especially after the cross-Florida railroad was built in the 1850s. Sen. David Levy Yulee's Cottonwood was the most well-known of these plantations. At least 25 African Americans who had once been enslaved were interred in the cemetery. Elbert McKinney Sr., born in 1829 in South Carolina, was buried here. McKinney, an enslaved blacksmith at Cottonwood, daily blew a ram's horn to call the enslaved laborers to work. Ellen Lawrence, born ~1796 and died at the age of 88 in 1884, has the earliest marked grave in the cemetery. James Dansey homesteaded 39.98 acres to the east of Reddick's donation but sold the parcel to Rev. Frank Dansey in 1881. Dansey, founder of St. Joseph's Missionary Baptist Church, began to use 1.28 acres nearest the Reddick donation for burials. Rev. Dansey was buried here in 1911.
Advertisement
Advertisement
