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Evergreen and Woodland Cemeteries Records, 1893-2016. Accession 52003. Cemetery Record Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA.
Donated by Enrichmond Foundation.
Evergreen Cemetery is a historic African-American cemetery located in the East End neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 1891 as an African-American equivalent to Hollywood Cemetery, many notable African Americans are interred at Evergreen, including Maggie L. Walker, John Mitchell, Jr., and A.D. Price. Located in Henrico County, Woodland Cemetery was established in 1917 by the Woodland Cemetery Corporation, led by president John Mitchell, Jr. The site of interment of Arthur Ashe, Woodland Cemetery is the home to many of Richmond's wealthy and noteworthy African-American residents. Both cemeteries were created before the establishment of a 1919 Richmond city ordinance that required cemeteries to have perpetual care funds in order to finance upkeep. As a result, both cemeteries fell into states of disrepair. Maintained for decades by their respective cemetery associations, Evergreen Cemetery was sold to Metropolitan Memorial Services, Incorporated in 1970. Metropolitan Memorial Services maintained control of Evergreen Cemetery until their bankruptcy in 1973. Following the bankruptcy, many former officers of the Metropolitan Memorial Services founded the U.K. Corporation, which purchased Evergreen and Woodland Cemeteries sometime in the 1970's. The Enrichmond Foundation acquired Evergreen Cemetery in May 2017; Woodland Cemetery is currently unowned.
Records, 1893-2016, of the Evergreen and Woodland Cemeteries include interment cards records, financial records, and general files. Interment records are in the form of ledgers and index cards. Financial records relate to both Evergreen and Woodland Cemeteries and include general account ledgers, ledgers of funeral home accounts, annual care ledgers, employee records, contracts, and lot and stock certificates. The general files include applications for memorial foundations at both cemeteries, burial permits, and correspondence. Over time, the interment and financial records of Evergreen and Woodland have become intermingled. Collection also contains maps of Evergreen and Woodland Cemeteries and segments of a map, possibly of Oakwood Cemetery.
Interment records of Evergreen and Woodland Cemeteries include both index cards and ledgers. The interment ledgers include the earliest surviving records of both cemeteries, though there are significant gaps. The ledgers detail the name and age of deceased, place of death, date of burial, funeral director, lot and grave number, and the cost of burial. Ledger entries from 1929 to 1943 include the cause of death. The interment cards include the name, age, sex, color, and civil condition of deceased, place and date of death, date of burial, funeral home director, lot and grave number, cost of burial, and known lot owner. The 1893-1928 Evergreen Interment Ledger contains only entries of those interred whose surname begins with A-M. Some interment cards from the 1930's and 1940's also include cause of death. Index cards also detail burials which were later void or cancelled. Interment ledgers are arranged chronologically, while internment index cards are arranged alphabetically.
Over time, some records of the Evergreen and Woodland Cemeteries have become intermingled. As a result, some Woodland interment index cards are filed within the Evergreen boxes, and vice versa.
Business and Financial Records include billing and payment index cards, account ledgers, check registers, reciept ledgers, annual card ledgers, lot contracts, funeral home account ledgers, stock and lot certificates, and miscellaneous receipts and financial notes. Many of the financial records do not clearly indicate which cemetery they relate to; records that do indicate this information include the cemetery name in the folder or box name. These records also include notable gaps and almost no records from the 1960's remain. Many of these records are damaged and have undergone conservation efforts. The original order of all ledgers is maintained and boxes 29 and 30 have been rearranged alphabetically. Over time, some records of the Evergreen and Woodland Cemeteries have become intermingled. As a result, some Woodland interment index cards are filed within the Evergreen boxes, and vice versa.
General Files include applications for Memorial Foundations, burial permits, correspondence, and maps. Correspondence from city government agencies, genealogists, legal counsel, family members of interred, and AmeriCorps is included. Also includes one folder of miscellaneous and undated notes. The applications for memorial foundations are arranged alphabetically.