Up from the Grave: A Sociohistorical Reconstruction of an African American Community from Cemetery Data in the Rural Midwest

Sociohistorical reconstructions of African American communities in the Midwest are often dependent on diaries and letters that provide a wealth of detail but may not represent the collective pattern. Cemetery and burial records data are used to reconstruct a sociodemographic profile of a small 19th-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of black studies 2003-03, Vol.33 (4), p.468-489
Main Authors: Foster, Gary S., Eckert, Craig M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African American Community
African American studies
Age
Attrition (Research Studies)
Birth Rate
Black American people
Black communities
Black Community
Black history
Black studies
Black White Differences
Blacks
Burial
Causes of death
Cemeteries
Censuses
Communities
Community Relations
Counties
Data sources
Death
Deaths
Demographics
Diaries
Ethnic groups
Family (Sociological Unit)
Family names
Historical Interpretation
History
Marital Status
Midwestern States
Midwestern USA
Mortality
Mortality Rates
Nineteenth Century
Reconstruction
Rural areas
Rural Communities
Rural population
Social History
Sociodemographic Characteristics
Suicide
Twentieth Century
United States
United States History
USA
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Summary:Sociohistorical reconstructions of African American communities in the Midwest are often dependent on diaries and letters that provide a wealth of detail but may not represent the collective pattern. Cemetery and burial records data are used to reconstruct a sociodemographic profile of a small 19th- and 20th-century African American community in the rural Midwest. Surnames of African Americans (and their ancestors) were disproportionately British, suggesting association with or ownership by those of British heritage. Although the mean age of the Black community was significantly younger than that of the White community, childhood mortality was no greater. Rather, Blacks generally did not live as long as Whites in adulthood. However, racial crossover was present. The Black community was disproportionately male, suggesting a frontier phenomenon and instability, and disproportionately experienced violent mortality. Seasonal death patterns among Blacks typified a younger population. Finally, familial measures suggest the Black community was tentative and tenuous.
ISSN:0021-9347
1552-4566
DOI:10.1177/0021934702250027