SITE DIRECTORY
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Ruby Family Cemetery
RUBY FAMILY CEMETERY
FOUNDED: 1828
ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A
AFFILIATION(S):
Durham Historical Society
Durham Historic District Committee
HISTORY:
The Ruby Family Cemetery, established in 1828, is located in Durham, Maine. It is the family cemetery of Samuel Ruby and his family, the first African American family to live in Durham, Maine.
In the 1800's, Durham was one of the few Maine towns to have a black preacher. Reverend Samuel Ruby and his family lived on the edge of town. Samuel was the brother of Portland's famous stagecoach driver and abolitionist Reuben Ruby (founding member of the Abyssinian Meeting House).
BCN Contact Information:
Emily Alexander
brown.bag.seminars@gmail.com
GEER CEMETERY
GEER CEMETERY
FOUNDED: 1877
ADDITONAL NAMES: City Cemetery, Ferrell Road Cemetery
AFFILIATION(S):
Friends of Geer Cemetery
HISTORY:
Geer Cemetery is in Durham, NC. The earliest origins of Geer date to a deed dated March 28, 1877, which documents the sale of the land to John O’Daniel, Nelson Mitchell, and Willis Moore from Frederick and Polly Geer. Two additional deeds have been found purchasing additional land. These deeds contain additional names as the purchasers leading to the speculation that there was some type of organization that was xx the cemetery. The cemetery was initially in Orange County and became part of Durham County when Durham County was created in 1881. Geer Cemetery was an active burial ground until the 1930s. Of the three largest cemeteries created by African American in the late 1800s, it is the only one that has not been affected by urban development. There are over 2,000 burials at Geer Cemetery there are many life stories to tell. The people in Geer Cemetery were ministers, entrepreneurs, business owners, educators, laborers, professionals, and more. Many of the early burials were people who had been enslaved and settled in Durham to work in the tobacco industry. Many of these early settlers were landowners, creating the Hayti township within Durham. Hayti became the social and cultural center of Durham’s African American community and a model for self-sufficient African American communities in the South.
BCN Contact Information:
Debra T Gonzalez
taylorgg.dl@gmail.com
friendsofgeercemetery.org (under construction)