Family fights for preservation of family cemetery
Ocean Pines, Md. – Underneath the tree shade at a clearing off of Stephen Decatur Highway lie about 53 graves of enslaved and formerly enslaves members of the Purnell family.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for these people. I wouldn’t be here. And I’m fighting to fight for them because they can’t fight for themselves,” 72-year-old landscape contractor and Salisbury resident Bobby Purnell said.
Originally purchased in 1866 by Purnell’s five-times-removed great grandfather, the cemetery is part of a long and complicated family history. Now, Purnell says the cemetery is in danger of being disturbed by a proposed development for a cable landing project near the West Ocean City airport.
71-year old subcontractor Alavontine “Al” Showell is Purnell’s first cousin, twice removed. He has been working with Purnell to preserve and restore the cemetery. After raising funds and working with a local museum, Purnell says he commissioned an archeologist who, with radar technology, located 53 bodies. Purnell said the discovery revealed over 30 more graves than they had originally thought to have been there.
“They could destroy the grave site if we don’t say something about it,” Showell said.
Patrick Purnell, another cousin of Purnell, lives in Montgomery County, Pa. as an appliance store owner.
“It’s not just because it’s my relatives,” Patrick said in a phone interview with WMDT. “It’s a moral issue and they should not be disturbed.”
Purnell, Patrick and Al Sowell all said the preservation of the cemetery was more than just preserving their family history, but also about allowing future generations to learn from it. Both Purnell and Showell said they worry the work done to uncover the identities of those buried will be lost if the knowledge isn’t passed on to a new generation.
“I’m 72,” Purnell said. “If something happens to me, that’s it.”
Worcester County Commissioner Eric Fiori (District 3) is hosting a Town Hall on Thursday Stephen Decatur High School at 6 p.m. where the community can question the cable landing developer, Globalinx. Representatives from the Worcester County Environmental Program and Planning & Zoning are also set to attend and “help interpret the information the county has received so far.”
Worcester County Commissioner Diana Purnell, who’s husband Gabe is a member of the Purnell family who’s ancestors are buried in the cemetery, said that Thursday’s town hall will provide much needed clarity.
“”I’m looking forward to going to see what everyone has to say,” she told WMDT in a phone call. “We really need to see what’s going on and get all the information because this is a major decision.”
