Joshua Burke (abt1840-1887)
Joshua was born free in Georgia in about 1840. His mother was Elizabeth Burke, and his grandmother was Lucretia Burke. His siblings by birth order were Sarah, Josephine, Samuel, Alethia, James, Edward, Frances, and Lemuel. Joshua Burke was a cooper, which is a skilled trade that involves making wooden barrels for dry goods and liquids.…
Jose Miller (abt1867-1869)
Jose Miller was born about 1867. I could not find any information about who is parents were. He died of worm fever on November 12, 1869. This was a diagnosis sometimes given to children during the 1800s, however there is an article here that talks about how children actually having worms was rather rare. A…
Sophy Flowers (abt1834-1869)
Sophie Flowers was born in Georgia in about 1834. I could not find information on her parents or other family members. She died July 18, 1869 from Puerperal fever, which is caused from an infection after giving birth. She was about 35-years-old. There is no information on whether her child survived or who they were.…
Drayton Family
Josephine Juliet Drayton lived with her parents Stephney (also sometimes spelled Stephen) and Georgia Drayton until her death at 21 from Tuberculosis. She also had a half brother, Charlie S. Drayton, born June of 1883, who was the son of Stephney and stepson of Georgia. Stephney and his parents were from South Carolina. He was…
The Orr Family
Though obituaries are a record of death, they bring back the color of life to a person who we might not have otherwise had much information on. This is certainly the case for the children of Alfonso and Geneva Orr. Alfonso was born in 1902 in Scotia, South Carolina, and though not much is known…
The Verdier Family
Sometimes even after weeks of research there are more questions than answers, which is the case with the Verdier family. However, The Laurel Grove Society is dedicated to recording any known information, even if it doesn’t flower into a fully-realized history. Here is what we do know: Robert and Caesar Verdier were both deacons of…
The Original Nine
Frank B. Mullino, Sr. was one, but more importantly, he was one of nine: the “Original Nine” Black police officers in Savannah. What did it take to be a Black police officer in the deep South in 1947? Perfection and grit beyond what anyone has seen. Savannah whittled 60 men down to 16 and then…
Wright Vs. Georgia
Warning: case uses term “negroes,” because it was argued in 1962. This is a slight departure from my normal cemetery fare, but this case deserves remembrance. In 1961 six young adults were arrested for playing basketball peacefully in Daffin Park. Apparently in Savannah playing basketball while Black was indeed a crime. This is the Supreme…
Those Who Left
Some Savannah-born-and-raised residents went on to do so much good here, while other went out of state, even out of the country, to do good. Sometimes you go where you are called to be. Two people come to mind when I think of those men and women. One is James Stewart, who joined the Canadian…
E.K. Love
Despite being born in to slavery, Emanuel K. Love went on on become a college graduate, a fearless fighter for Black rights, and the reverend of one of the oldest churches in the United States. According to the Georgia Encyclopedia: E. K. Love (1850-1900) was a prominent Baptist leader and writer in nineteenth-century Georgia. Dedicated to fighting…
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