If you follow us on social media, you may have seen a recent post about our Mapping MontCo. Black History project. After giving a presentation about the project at an event hosted by the Cheltenham Township Historical Commission, we got a few more contributions to the map.
One of the recent additions to the map is the Abington Friends Cemetery. At least 66 people of African descent are buried at this cemetery in unmarked graves. The Meeting learned about this from their old burial records. In these records the designation “COL” (which is short for “colored”) appears next to many of the names of people buried at this cemetery. The dates for these records ranges from 1851 to 1925.
According to the Meeting’s website, a marker was placed in the cemetery listing the names of the 66 individuals in 2022. To look up the names of these people, reach out to Abington Friends Meeting. If you are looking for other cemetery records, be sure to stop by HSMC’s library. We have binders filled with various records for different cemeteries in Montgomery County.
If you have sites to contribute to our Mapping MontCo. Black History map, please email karenp@hsmcpa.org.
Sources:
https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/20161010_Recognizing_African_Americans_in_Abington_Friends_cemetery.html https://www.abingtonquakers.org/Groups/380114/AMM_History.aspx