Old Duval Colored Cemetery

Oct 1

Written By alanah cooper

Site Brief:

Founded: 1869

Location: Jacksonville, FL

Additional name(s): Old Duval Cemetery, Freedmen Cemetery

Affiliate group(s):

City of Jacksonville (COJ) Parks and Recreation Department
COJ Public Works Department

History:

The Old Duval Colored Cemetery (Freedmen Cemetery) was established in 1869 for African American burials. The cemetery was developed as a two-acre expansion in the northern section of Old City Cemetery, which first opened in 1852. Before the opening of the Evergreen Cemetery in 1881 and the Memorial Cemetery in 1911, this cemetery was the primary one of choice for prominent African American families. The Old Duval Cemetery continued to be used for burials until the 1980s. A total of 426 burials in the cemetery have been recorded; however, record-keeping throughout the Old City Cemetery has not consistently been maintained over the years and the total number of African Americans buried on the grounds is perceived to be higher.

Laura Adorkor Kofey (1893-1928), who was an African princess, is one of only two individuals buried in the Old City Cemetery that are recognized as having achieved outstanding importance to the community, state or nation, but not represented appropriately by other structures or sites either locally or in other parts of Florida. Princess Kofey became a leader in the Pan African movement which sought to establish economic and diplomatic ties among all people from the African diaspora. The sole mausoleum in the Old City Cemetery is dedicated to Princess Kofey. Other prominent African-Americans buried throughout the cemetery include nationally renowned humanitarian, Eartha Mary Magdalene White (1876-1974), Sallye Mathis (1912-1982), a school teacher who served on the Jacksonville City Council from 1967-1982, Dr. Alexander Darnes, the first black doctor to practice in Jacksonville, and Edward Latson and Albert W. Price, two of the founders of the Afro American Life Insurance Company. In addition, the graves of fifty African American veterans are dispersed throughout the cemetery. Several of these veterans fought as part of the Union Army during the Civil War.