Black History Month: local historian looking to restore Bowers Cemetery
DOVER Del. – A local historian is looking to help restore lost cemetery grounds in Dover, Delaware. Bowers Cemetary is home to over 18 African Americans, some of whom never received a proper burial. Barbei Williams has spent years researching abandoned grounds. She wants to help give them a proper tribute.
“We want to get a hold of the families of the people who were buried there. It’s very important to us to have the families included, because no one should be forgotten.”
Don and Dolores Blakey have spent years in their Dover neighborhood. The couple is famous in the city for their work promoting black excellence in the area. Don was the first black levy court official in the city’s history. He eventually became a state representative of his district. The couple had lived in the neighborhood since the 70s and never knew about the neglected area.
“We never knew there were cemeteries back there, until one day we got the chance to do a little more in-depth look at the area, and we ran across some gravestones.”
Williams has discovered and researched over 18 memorials. Here is the list of each one below:
John Bowers
May 1870 – 1962
No grave photo
Frederick Browne Sr.
1910 – 10 Dec 1986
No grave photo
Melvina Browne
Birth and death dates unknown.
No grave photo
Ruth Brundge
1929 – 28 Feb 1994
Willie J Brundge
1915 – 29 Jul 1986
No grave photo
Brandon Tredale Carney
28 Nov 1986 – 29 Nov 1986
No grave photo
John M “Jack” Deputy
1925 – 7 Sep 1986
Irvin A Favors
1956 – 31 Jul 1986
No grave photo
Marvel M Flamer
25 Aug 1900 – 8 Dec 1986
No grave photo
Mattie Flamer
Birth and death dates unknown.
No grave photo
Gladys P Ford
1912 – 17 Nov 1986
No grave photo
Danita Harris
1980 – 24 May 1986
No grave photo
Darryl Mitchell
1965 – 31 Mar 1986
Thomas E “Mickey” Parks
1930 – 22 Aug 1986
No grave photo
Charles Edward Stanford
1940 – 28 Mar 1986
No grave photo
Daniel Stewart
unknown – 1953
Mamie E. Stewart
1894 – 2 Aug 1986
No grave photo
Jossie M. Winters
1912 – 15 Dec 1986
She said after deeper research, some memorials were hard to stomach. “There are 2 children that are buried in this cemetery, one is Brandon Tredale Carney, and the other is Danita Harris.” Carney’s life spanned a single day, while Harris lived to the age of 5.
The work to restore the project continues, Williams has registered for the abandoned and neglected cemetery fund grant. The hope is to clean up the overgrown brush, and debris. Blakey said he wanted to get behind this project to help the black community.
“The gravestones were not cleared, and the gravesites were not cleaned up. So we decided that would be a nice project to pay our respects to the people who lived long ago.”
Williams hopes to get an African American Eagle Scout to help further the project.
If you are interested or see a late relative, you can join this facebook group.
