Lincoln Cemetery is a historically African American cemetery in Blue Island, Illinois, United States. The cemetery is about 112 acres (45 ha) with over 16,000 interments.
| Lincoln Cemetery | |
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| Details | |
| Established | 1911 |
| Location | Cook County, Illinois |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 41°40′12″N 87°42′09″W / 41.6701153°N 87.7026071°W |
| Owned by | Dignity Memorial |
| Size | 112 acres (45 ha) |
| No. of interments | over 16,000 |
| Website | Lincoln Cemetery |
| Find a Grave | Lincoln Cemetery |
History
editFounded in 1911 by local Black business leaders, the cemetery is next to the Oak Hill Cemetery.[1] The cemetery is noteworthy for the number of famous African-American Chicagoans buried there, among them several notable blues and jazz musicians, as well as notables in literature, sports, and history.[2]
Notable graves
edit- Robert Sengstacke Abbott (1870–1940), newspaper publisher[2]
- Albert Ammons (1907–1949), jazz/boogie-woogie pianist
- Gene Ammons (1925–1974), jazz tenor saxophonist (son of Albert Ammons)
- Lillian Hardin Armstrong[3] (1898–1971), jazz singer/pianist/second wife of Louis Armstrong (Garden of Peace Mausoleum)[2]
- Charles Avery (1892–1974), blues and boogie-woogie pianist[4]
- Big Bill Broonzy (1893–1958), blues musician
- Gwendolyn Brooks[5] (1917–2000), poet, first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize[2]
- James Albert Bray (1870–1944), American bishop, academic administrator and college president
- Bessie Coleman[6] (1892–1926), early African-American aviator[2]
- Johnny Dodds (1892–1940), jazz clarinetist
- Warren "Baby" Dodds (1898–1959), jazz drummer
- Charles "Pat" Dougherty (1879–1939) American baseball pitcher in the pre-Negro leagues
- Andrew Rube Foster (1879–1930), American baseball player, manager, and executive in the Negro leagues. "The father of black baseball."[2]
- William "Bill" Francis (1879–1942) third baseman and manager in the Negro leagues.
- King Daniel Ganaway, photographer[7] (d. 1944)
- Octavius Granady (1872–1928), committeeman in the "Bloody 20th Ward", killed by the mobster Morris Elder.[2]
- Emma Griffin (1877-1918), Vaudeville performer and entrepreneur [8]
- Vivian Harsh (1890–1960), first African American librarian in the Chicago Public Library, created a monumental research collection on black life.[2]
- Al Hibbler (1915–2001), American baritone vocalist.[9]
- Papa Charlie Jackson (1887–1938), American blues singer, songster and banjoist/guitarist
- Tom "College Boy" Johnson (1889–1926) American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues
- Frank Leland (1869–1914), American baseball player, manager, and executive in the pre-Negro leagues[10]
- Lillian C. Moseley (1905–2007) Bronzeville socialite, worked for notables on both sides of the law: Al Capone, Attorney Roy Washington, The Honorable Harold Washington, first African American Mayor of Chicago and the Honorable Judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz
- Marian Robinson (1937-2024), Mother of Michelle Obama
- Jimmy Reed (1925–1976), blues musician
- Elder Lucy Smith (1875–1952) first woman to pastor a major Chicago congregation, early radio evangelist.[2]
- Blanche Wilkins Williams (1876–1936), educator of deaf children
- A. Wilberforce Williams (1865–1940), African American physician, teacher and journalist
- Jesse Ernest Wilkins Sr. (1894–1959) Undersecretary of Labor in the Eisenhower administration.
- Ella (Wilson) Wright (1884[11]–1959)[12] schoolteacher and mother of writer Richard Wright 1908–1960.
- At least 14 victims of the Chicago race riot of 1919, including murdered teenager Eugene Williams, whose homicide touched off the riots.[13][14][15]
References
edit- ^ Hucke, Matt and Ursula Bielski (1999). Graveyards of Chicago: The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County County. Chicago: Lake Claremont Press. p. 169. ISBN 0964242648.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Rumore, Kori (July 25, 2021). "As first victim of Chicago's 1919 race riots finally receives a grave marker, here's a look at other notable people buried in Lincoln Cemetery". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
- ^ Stanton, Scott (2003). The Tombstone Tourist: Musicians. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0743463300. Retrieved November 13, 2022 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Charles Avery". Wirz.de. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- ^ "A Tombstone Tour of Chicago". WTTW. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
- ^ Plantz, Connie Bessie Coleman (November 13, 2014). "The life of Bessie Coleman : first African-American woman pilot". Berkeley Heights, NJ : Enslow Publishers, Inc. Retrieved November 13, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Family's racial history comes into focus". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
- ^ Griffin, Emma. "Death Index". Ancestry.com. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
- ^ Welky, Ali; Keckhaver, Mike (2013). Encyclopedia of Arkansas Music. University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 978-1935106609. Retrieved November 13, 2022 – via Google Books.
- ^ "1914 Frank Leland Death Certificate". Google Docs. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
- ^ "Family Search". Familysearch.org. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
- ^ "Family Search". Familysearch.org. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
- ^ McWhirter, Cameron (July 23, 2021). "Chicago Honors Victim of 'Red Summer' Race Riots—More Than 100 Years Later". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
- ^ "Marker coming for Black teen whose 1919 death roiled Chicago". Associated Press. June 5, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
- ^ Palmer, J. Coyden (February 29, 2020). "Half of victims of 1919 Chicago Race Riot located in unmarked graves at Lincoln Cemetery". Chicago Crusader. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
