Eden Cemetery (Collingdale, Pennsylvania)
Eden Cemetery is a historic African-American cemetery located in Collingdale, Delaware Country, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia.
The oldest African-American-owned cemetery in the United States, it was established June 20, 1902. When other black cemeteries in Philadelphia were condemned by the city in the early 20th century, including the Olive Graveyard, Lebanon Graveyard, and Stephen Smith Home Burial Ground, the bodies were re-interred at Eden. The cemetery is still in operation.
In July 2008, vandals toppled over 200 headstones in the cemetery, including that of Octavius Valentine Catto.[1]
Notable interments
- Marian Anderson (1897–1993), opera singer[2]
- Octavius Valentine Catto (1839–1871), civil rights leader, baseball pioneer (originally buried in Lebanon Cemetery, Philadelphia; transferred to Eden, May 14, 1903[3])
- Frank T. Coleman (1911–2008), educator and community volunteer
- Tyrone Everett (1953–1977), Philadelphia professional boxer[2][4][5]
- Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882–1961), editor, poet, essayist and novelist[6]
- Timothy Thomas Fortune (1856–1928), journalist, civil rights leader[2]
- Stanislaus Kostka Govern (1854–1924), West Indian–American baseball player, first manager of the Cuban Giants, labor organizer, journalist, and Shakespearean actor[7]
- Frances Harper (1825–1911), poet, abolitionist[2]
- Robert Penn (1872–1912), Spanish American War Medal of Honor Recipient[2]
- William Still (1821–1902), abolitionist[8]
- John Baxter Taylor, Jr. (1882–1908), track and field athlete, first African-American Olympic Gold Medalist.[2]
- Charles Albert Tindley (1851–1933), minister, composer[2]
- George Henry White (1852–1918), US Congressman from North Carolina[2]
Sources
- Thomas H. Keels, Philadelphia Graveyards & Cemeteries, 2003, Arcadia Publishing, Philadelphia, ISBN 073851229X
References
External links