Stepping back in time: Professor presents research, future options on local county cemetery News Staff Fri, 07/26/2024 - 10:07 am
(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Dr. Tamra L. Walter, a historical archaeologist and associate professor of archeology at Texas Tech, discusses phase one findings Monday, July 22. The findings were from a research project on the Oak Grove Colored-William P. Johnston Memorial Cemetery. 
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The Oak Grove Colored Cemetery possible grave locations as determined by the researchers from Texas Tech University. The location of some of the graves could potentially extend into the Hwy. 380 centerline. 
(ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) A grave marker that was uncovered near the fence line in the Oak Grove Colored-William P. Johnston Memorial Cemetery by a member of the Texas Tech research team Saturday, March 23. The marker reads ‘Baby Scott, 1961-1961.' 
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The location of headstone, metal markers and other features of the Oak Grove Colored Cemetery as determined by the researchers from Texas Tech University. 
(ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graduate students from Texas Tech University map out potential graves within the Oak Grove Colored-William P. Johnston Memorial Cemetery. 
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The boundaries of the Oak Grove Cemetery on the right next to the land survey completed on the property on the left. Researchers from Texas Tech University said the boundaries of the cemetery used to extend into the centerline of Hwy. 380.
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Thomas Wallner editor@grahamleader.com
It was the culmination of many hours of work and dedication which helped to uncover the history of the Oak Grove Colored-William P. Johnston Memorial Cemetery. Those initial findings were presented this week to the community.
Since the beginning of March, Dr. Tamra L. Walter, historical archaeologist and associate professor of archeology, along with graduate students, worked to unearth the history of the Young County cemetery.
Walter gave an update Monday, July 22 at North Central Texas College on the progress completed in the spring and where they will be heading in the fall.
Phase one was a student graduate course with a focus on the cemetery. The group spent three weekends at the cemetery and determined most of those buried in the areas they studied were from Graham and Olney.
A focus for the study was placed on the general history of Young County with the African American history focused on Graham and Olney. The history is incomplete and oral histories have not yet been compiled.
“I scoured those old newspapers to see what I could find about the African American community, what they were doing at this time, who were the prominent members and I also looked at census records. That was also very helpful,” Walter said. “But again, I’m not getting those personal stories of people here, and that will be part of the next phase, we hope, when we’ll be gathering oral history.”
Ann Coleman is believed to be the first person who was buried at the cemetery. She was born into slavery in 1848 in Missouri and Walter said she believes she is the only former slave buried in the cemetery.
“I put a question mark there because in the paper it’s referred to as the Oak Grove Cemetery. But I cannot see that in 1925 when she passed they would have put her in the white cemetery if they had an African American burial ground,” she said.
The earliest documented burials at the cemetery are for John Hicks and Howard Tilman, who both died in 1929, with the most recent burial being Hattie Mae Polk in 1963. At least five infants were interred in the cemetery.
From the historical documents of burials and death certificates the group was able to determine that the majority, around 38%, died in the 1930s.
After performing scraping on several graves and using a metal detector, the group was able to make a number of discoveries at the cemetery at the end of March.
The student group found a number of displaced posts and metal grave markers.
“We tried to piece them together so we could get a minimum number of graves based on the markers. ...In total, we can account for, with adding on the headstones, 41 graves just for that area that we’re looking at,” Walter said. “…We just counted up how many plaques we have and how many posts, and the one with the greater number was the one we went with. ...We know the names of 36 people who were buried here. That means at least five are unknown and I suspect there’s far more.”
The students were also able to discover objects placed on top of graves such as parts of light fixtures, white plates and animal bones.
“This is significant for a couple of reasons. One, these are common burial practices that we see in African American cemeteries across the south. Second is that it’s intact, that it’s still there. It’s not that common, especially because this stuff was being set on top of a grave for it to be still there. …Finally, it’s another indication of where graves are, particularly ones that are unmarked. So if we continue to scrape and we find stuff like that, we know we’ve got another grave there,” Walter said.
Another discovery was regarding the boundaries of the cemetery extending beyond the current fence line.
The professor said she believes the cemetery originally extended halfway into where Hwy. 380 now sits and that graves might not have been moved when the highway was extended.
“To my mind, there’s a real possibility that happened, and that would not be unusual in Texas. That has happened many times before,” she said.
Phase Two
Phase two of the project will focus on collecting oral histories.
“There are names, there are people, there are events that I’m not getting... from the traditional sources. So oral histories are going to be key to telling the story of the African American community in Graham and Young County,” Walter said.
Walter and volunteers will be scouring funeral records and researching more of the back portion of the cemetery where they suspect more graves are located.
“In terms of the actual archeology, we still need to explore that area to the north, where that fence line is,” she said. “...Because it’s an equipment yard they put down a lot of gravel, so that impeded our investigation. So we’re going to need to take that gravel layer off.”
Another phase two priority is to try to get a $40,000-50,000 grant for ground penetrating radar and software, which could look under Hwy. 380 to determine if there are graves under the highway.
If scraping, metal and radar detection is not yielding what the group needs, Walter said excavation with DNA testing could be required, if it is approved by the descendant community.
The DNA excavation process would require grants and would not be open to the public out of respect for those buried.
“We excavate, we expose the burial, but we do not remove the burial. We don’t remove the skeletal remains,” she said. “We will extract a tooth, and that is usually the first thing we take. It’s the best part of the skeleton for DNA, from the pulp of the tooth. You can sometimes get it from finger bones. That’s a second option, but most of the time we’re looking for DNA from the teeth.”
Another option is basic measurements of the bones which is compared to the information on the death certificates which can be used with the information from the coffin to determine who is buried in those locations.
Future Planning
Phase three was proposed as placing new markers on graves and straightening the boundaries of the cemetery.
“We need to put together a protection and preservation plan for the future of that cemetery. So how are we going to move forward (and) how is the community going to move forward to protect this so we don’t see this again,” Walter said. “As far as the highway itself, moving it or excavating underneath that, ...I think it should be recognized that happened and maybe something put up.”
Walter said this project is for the descendants of those buried in the cemetery, such as Rev. Vanessa Sims, who first shined a spotlight on the cemetery and is still searching for her sister Marie's grave.
“In an attempt to find her grave that’s when I discovered that the cemetery was in disarray, that had been neglected... and that didn’t sit well with me. So I prayed about it. ...And so from June 17 forward, this is how the journey began looking for Marie,” Sims said.
A draft of the report of the findings was shared with the descendant community to review and help fix errors before being available to the public.
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