Priscilla Chambers has been conducting family history research since she was a teen, so she was pleased to recently learn there was a descendant buried at the Florence Cemetery.
Chambers was present on Thursday as the Boone County Public Library hosted a ceremony dedicating a memorial to the 127 Black people buried at the cemetery who have no gravesite markers.
“I have a great uncle, Alice and Estill Sleet, and their baby daughter, Myrtle, is buried here,” Chambers said after the memorial unveiling. “There were six children and the others were buried in Elsmere. I was excited to find out she was here.”
Chambers said she has been researching this for 50 years — since she was 16.
“I’m happy that so many people turned out for this,” Chambers said. “Everyone needs to know about it. The Black cemeteries are forgotten…the people there are forgotten and for them to do this is just fantastic. It was a gorgeous day for it.”
Work to identify the grave sites has resulted in deploying research methods that include historical newspapers, cemetery maps and surveys, and ground penetrating radar, the Boone County Public Library Borderlands Archive and History Center’s Hillary Delaney said.
“The ground penetrating radar showed us where the actual graves were,” Delaney said. “I do have more (gravesites) to identify, which is why there are no names on the memorial. Of the burials that I’ve identified so far, 55 of the people were once enslaved and lived to see freedom and were founders of the thriving African-American neighborhood here.”
Those interred without grave markers also established churches and schools and some were Civil War and Word War I veterans, Delaney said.
The memorial marker unveiling serves as a symbol of respect and remembrance, as well as a commitment to preserving legacy, Florence Mayor Julie Aubuchon said.
“As we unveil this marker and reflect on the past – let us remember that our journey does not end here,” Aubuchon said. “We stand not only on hallowed ground, but also at the crossroads of history. Together, we can ensure the legacy of the cemetery and its history remain alive for generations to come.”
History is comprehensive in scope, Northern Kentucky University history professor Eric Jackson said.
“African-American history is American history,” Jackson said. “All we have to do is tell the story – the good, the bad and the ugly. For African-Americans and as a country that professes to be Christian, let’s treat each other as we want to be treated. Wrap your arms around this struggle, understand what it means historically and we’re all in the same boat together.”
The Florence Cemetery is located at 199 Center St.