Providence Burial Ground - African American Cemetery
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
Sign at the African American Cemetery on Martin Luther King Jr., Avenue
Headstone of Barnswell family member. Lettering has decayed over time.
Headstone of Private Jonathan Overton. Company to NC Regiment Revolutionary War
Historic marker placed at grave site in February 2002 for commemoration ceremony
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
This burial ground at the far end of the predominately white Beaver Hill Cemetery was largely unkown until recent years. Many residents who were central to Edenton's African American community dating back to the 19th century. The property includes markers for three notable African Americans and Edenton residents including Private Jonathan Overton, a volunteer in the Revolutionary War and Thomas Barnswell, an emancipated slave and one of Edenton's first African American property owners. It is believed that Harriet Jacobs (1813 - 1897), former slave and resident of Edenton, NC., was also buried at the cemetery. Jacobs was an abolitionist and author of a self titled biography "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl."
Sources
Downing, Veronica Gail. "Lost History: Research Revives Memory of Providence Burial Ground." The Chowan Herald (Edenton) July 26th 2017. , Community sec, 4A-4B.
White, Deborah Gray . Bay, Mia. Freedom on My Mind - A History of African-Americans with Documents. Edition Second. Boston, New York. Bedford St. Martins , 2017.
Andrews, William L. Harriet A. Jacobs (Harriet Ann), Documenting the American South. Accessed October 27th 2019. https://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/bio.html.
The Chowan Herald - Story by Veronica and William Downing
The Chowan Herald - Story by Veronica and William Downing
The Chowan Herald - Story by Veronica and William Downing
The Chowan Herald - Story by Veronica and William Downing