At Austin's oldest cemetery,
researchers are on a mission to
find the descendants of people
of color who are buried there.
Thousands of markers on what's
called the historic colored grounds
are missing for various reasons,
but the city's new project
aims to create a 3D model of
monuments to remember them.
Gabe used Ernie Sharon spoke to
researchers about their efforts
to make sure people buried in
Oakwood Cemetery aren't forgotten.
In the middle of a city,
where change is the only constant.
Is a place where the past and present
intersect. In time stand still,
this was the first burial
place in the city of Austin.
Once the city was inhabited.
This is the historic Oakwood Cemetery.
It had probably been a good ten years
since I've visited. The cemetery
architectural historian Tara Dudley
says what you see on the surface here
tells only part of Oakwood story
with the differences in socio
economic status and race.
There are parts of the cemetery
that are less documented.
And less well taken care of
the cemetery was segregated at one point,
but even affluent status couldn't save
the markers of some who were buried in
what's called the historic colored grounds.
We are walking toward the
marker that commemorates Jacob
Fontaine and after emancipation,
he went on to found several Baptist churches.
Published this newspaper.
The gold dollar,
one of the first African American
newspapers that was established
West of the Mississippi River.
You have this amazing founding
figure of Austin who's buried
in the colored grounds,
but we have no idea where.
Looking around you would
think the cemetery was full,
but as we walked through the colored
grounds, it's clear where some
pieces of history are missing.
A lot of the empty space that you
see here is not because there
aren't individuals interred there.
They're likely are. We just don't
have markers for those persons
300 markers scattered these three acres,
but more than 2700 people are
buried in the colored grounds,
from slaves to the rich to everyday folk
people of marginalized communities
whose histories are continually erased
or covered up in historical narrative.
Some headstones are eroded,
are broken, other materials,
like wood markers, uprooted.
Some people couldn't afford markers at all.
What are the specifics water there?
What were their names?
Gregory Ferrer is an exhibit
specialist at the Chapel.
It took him months of digging through
what he calls an unorganized database
to try and answer those questions.
Some of the buried were marked as unknown,
but for rare was able to find a few dozen
family names dating back to the 1860s.
Having a record of them and
acknowledging them, you know,
by name, if we have a name.
Is at least a very good start.
For Rare says his list could match up
with some of the 36 remains found under
the Chapel and RE entered in 2021.
Those remains were found during a
restoration project, but now Chapel staff,
along with researchers like Dudley,
are working on a new project to find
descendants of African, Mexican,
native and European Americans
buried on the colored grounds.
We were actually awarded a National
Endowment for the humanities grant
and that grant. Will help create
a 3D representation of what
the grounds could look like if
things were properly documented
using our call for descendants.
And we've also started conducting
some oral history interviews
for rare knows how it feels to amplify
the voices of ancestors. This is.
My family is like
eight of his family members all on his
mother side are buried at Oakwood,
and while the Lovingood family has markers,
it wasn't until 2019 that for
rare was able to find details
about his great great grandfather,
Ruben Shannon Lovingood
Rs. His task was to officially
open Samuel Houston College as
its first initial President
Samuel Houston College, now known
as Houston Tillotson University.
Being able to connect with that branch
has just been a very special thing,
especially being out here in Austin.
Being in a place where you know
they lived and worked and and
they did a lot of amazing things.
A filling for rare hopes to
bring to other descendants soon.
Because of this research,
scarcely documented history
has already been unveiled
even in the the people that we
know about from that time period
in Austin's history, and I had seen
nothing written about this man,
despite inaccuracies and data,
and thanks to an old advertisement.
So Thomas Hill died October 1886.
Deadly found the marble tombstone
of Thomas Hill, a black affluent
builder in business owner in
Austin during the late 1800s.
And this man was such a big deal.
Such well off.
So civically involved in the
black community in Austin,
but not just the black community,
the white community as well,
because his entire will was printed
in the newspaper to indicate
that this man was a man of means.
It's important to understand the past
so that we can understand the present.
I feel like the ancestors you know are
speaking and they want their stories told
stories told to re populate history
not just within this cemetery.
But in Austin's history,
before the city's growth berries with
these people meant to this world.
In East Austin, I'm deraney, Sharon.
Great story dear, Nisha thank you.
Researchers are looking for more
descendants of people buried at Oakwood.
If you believe you could be a descendant,
contact the Oakwood Cemetery Chapel.
We have details in this story on our
website that of course is K view.com.