Lincoln Cemetery
Site Brief:
Founded: 1926
Location: Gulfport, FL
Additional name(s): None
Affiliate group(s):
Lincoln Cemetery Society
History:
Lincoln Cemetery served as the main burial ground for St. Petersburg's black population from the year it opened in 1926 and throughout the segregation era. Veterans as far back as the U.S. Civil War are buried here, as well as notable civic historical figures. From years of neglect, the cemetery fell into deplorable condition. The Lincoln Cemetery Society Inc. has been established to change that. We hope you feel as compelled as we do to explore and preserve the cemetery's rich history!
Lincoln was established in 1926 by Reginald H. Sumner who was the owner of Sumner Marble and Granite Inc.. Sumner also owned the neighboring cemetery Royal Palm. Between August 1926 and October 1927 Arch Royal Funeral Home and Wilhelm Funeral Home removed eighty-six unknown individuals from Moffett Cemetery, which dates back to the year 1888, to Lincoln Cemetery according to Pinellas Genealogy Society, report done in 2006. According to records the first funeral took place on February 4, 1926 for 19-year-old John Peterson.
In 1957, the cemetery was transferred from Sumner Marble and Granite Inc., to McRae Funeral Home. In 1958 approximately 150 bodies were moved from Moffett Cemetery to Lincoln Cemetery by McRae Funeral home. Many of these bodies had no identity. There are three civil war veterans that are known to be buried in the Lincoln Cemetery, their names are: John W. Sharter—Served in the Spanish-American War, in company K third Confederate Infantry; Joseph Brownlow—Served in company A of the second Calvary Florida; and John Lasker—Served in company F first N.C. Colored H.
Record keeping over the years was not complete so only some of the burial dates may have been provided. In addition to this, many records were lost in a fire at McRae Funeral Home. In 1974 the cemetery was resold to Sumner Marble and Granite who changed the company name to Lincoln Cemetery Inc. in November 2009. They maintained ownership of the property until it was purchased by Lincoln Cemetery Society Inc. in February 2017. Within that period the cemetery management and perpetual care fund of $109,000 was transferred to a Non Profit Company Lincoln Cemetery Memorial Park Corp., but unfortunately this was a short lived effort as the property went into disarray, the perpetual care fund was exhausted, and the Non Profit that had been established to oversee the care of the property had folded.
Unfortunately, there are still unknown identities buried in the Lincoln Cemetery, many of the individuals buried have lost, damaged, or never did have, headstones. 5,407 bodies were known to be buried in the Lincoln Cemetery in March 2001. (Pinellas Genealogy Society, 2006)
In 2016, students of Dr. Alicia Isaac at Boca Ciega High School wrote and published a book, The Lincoln Cemetery Chronicles, as part of a class project to study the cemetery. In 2017, her students developed a self-guided walking tour as a class project.
