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Source: January 1988 Volume 26 Number 1, Pages 13–18
The Theodore Ricks Memorial Cemetery
Hob Borgson
Page 13
On the west side of Valley Forge Road, north of Beaumont Lane in Tredyffrin Township, is a cemetery
for the black people of the community. It was originally known as the Devon Cemetery Association,
and is now known as the Theodore Ricks Memorial Cemetery.
The cemetery was established in 1921 when there was no longer room for additional interments in
the small churchyard at the Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church at Fairfield and Berwyn
Baptist roads in Devon. To provide a proper burial ground and resting place for the parishioners,
Theodore Ricks and several other members of the congregation in that year formed the Devon Cemetery
Association. Incorporated under decree of the Court of Common Pleas in West Chester in July of 1922,
the Association purchased this one-half acre lot from Ricks for $500 for the new burial ground. (The
deed was recorded at the court house in West Chester on October 2, 1926.)
A board of five directors was appointed to govern the Association. Its members included Ricks, Andrew
Hearn, Robert R. Welburn, George Hitchens, and John Wright.
The tract was divided into 108 burial lots, each about eight feet wide and fifteen feet long, space
enough for five graves in each lot. The lots were arranged in twelve rows of nine lots each, the
rows running parallel to Valley Forge Road. An aisle between every other row provides access to
each plot. There is also an aisle running back from Valley Forge Road, dividing each row, with
four lots on the left (south) side of the aisle and five on the right (or north) side, as shown above.
Page 14
Beaumont Lane X Valley Forge Road
In addition, there are also several single grave sites or plots, located along Valley Forge Road
and Beaumont Lane.
On March 1, 1921 each of the five directors reserved a plot, near the center of the tract, for himself
and his family. Lot #50 was reserved by Ricks; Hearn chose lot #49, Welburn and Hitchens, lots
#40 and #41, respectively, and John Wright, lot #23.
The other lots were then offered for sale, at prices ranging from thirty-five to forty-five dollars
each. Among the earlier purchasers were
Elizabeth Weaver, lot #20, on Augist 9, 1921;
Mrs. Willa Reed, #48, on March 22, 1922;
Mrs. Charles Wilson, #21, on November 21, 1922;
Mrs. Joel Smith, ,#19, on January 15, 1923;
Peter J. Smith, #28,'on July 28, 1923;
Oscar Weldborn, #39, on February 2, 1924;
Janey Stanford, #31, on February 24, 1924;
Clarence Welburn, #57, on March 3, 1924;
Henry Long, #38, also on March 3, 1924;
W. Henry Handy, #33, on March 19, 1924;
June Williams, #96, on October 16, 1924;
Mrs. William Mullen, #59, on February 18, 1926; and
George Baylis, #38, on October 15, 1926.
Page 15
William Weaver was the first person to be buried in the new cemetery. He was laid to rest on August
9, 1921 in the lot purchased by his widow, Lizzie Weaver. (When she died twelve and a half years later
she was interred next to him, on January 11, 1934.)
The second burial in the cemetery took place within a month of the first, when Emma Burberry was
buried on September 24, 1921 in lot #104, in the last row of the tract. It would appear that most
of the early burials, except for those in the purchased family plots, were either in the single grave
sites or towards the back of the cemetery. Even today almost three-fifths of the identified interments
are in the last four rows of the cemetery or in the single grave plots.
Many of the graves were originally marked by hand-made headstones. Somewere made out of cement,
with the name incised with a stick or traced with a finger. Other graves were marked simply by
a large fieldstone or piece of native limestone. Unfortunately, many of these early markers have
now either deteriorated or disappeared, and today only a few of the 275 recorded burials in the
cemetery are still marked by stones.
The cemetery received its greatest use during its first two decades, with almost two-thirds of the
recorded burials taking place before the Second World War. Beginning in the 1960s the grounds began
to suffer from neglect and lack of care. Weeds grew where grass had been, and the area was soon
overgrown with underbrush.
Finally, in early 1982 Harry Wright, a son of Hamilton Wright and a nephew of John Wright, one of
the original directors, took steps to remedy this situation.
Letters were sent to known descendants of the people buried in the cemetery, pointinq out that
"[t]he condition of this cemetery is heart-breaking." "It has become," it was further noted,
"an eyesore in a developing community, and worst of all, a disgrace to those of us who have loved
ones interred here." A voluntary committee to oversee the upkeep of the grounds was formed, and a
request was made for contributions towards its care.
These efforts raised more than $560, which was used to remove the over-grown brush, trim the hedges,
level the ground, and keep the grass mowed. Much of the grading work was donated by Kenneth Mitchell
of Berwyn. Still to be done is the resetting of some of the tombstones and the erection of a suitable
sign commemorating the grounds as the Theodore Ricks Memorial Cemetery.
Once again the burial ground is receiving the love and care it deserves, and is becoming a proper
resting place for the 275 persons known to be interred in the half-acre Theodore Ricks Memorial
Cemetery.
A list of these persons is included on the following pages.
Page 16
KNOWN INTERMENTS AT
THE THEODORE RICKS MEMORIAL CEMETERY
1921 - 1961
| Name |
Date Buried |
Plot |
Name |
Date Buried |
Plot |
| Annie Alexander |
8 19 30 |
106 |
Jennie Fassect |
9 13 61 |
|
| Alonzo Amos |
5 16 48 |
77 |
|
|
|
| Katherine Anderson |
12 18 18 |
103 |
John Gardner jr. |
2 20 44 |
89 |
| Robert Armstrong |
11 7 32 |
108 |
Stella Garner |
2 20 44 |
89 |
| John A. Ashton |
7 6 48 |
70 |
Barbara C. Gibbs |
1 5 32 |
106 |
| Thomas Atkins |
4 14 52 |
75 |
Ruth Mae Gibbs |
3 28 31 |
105 |
|
|
|
Agnes Gillam |
4 10 46 |
90 |
| George Backus |
4 30 29 |
103 |
Georgia L. Green |
5 5 33 |
93 |
| Martha Ballard |
10 18 55 |
|
|
|
|
| James Ballard |
2 3 50 |
78 |
Edward Handy |
4 16 24 |
33 |
| James E. Banks |
7 24 53 |
67 |
Florence Handy |
7 10 46 |
24 |
| Edna Bates |
1 29 33 |
*21 |
Gertrude Handy |
3 24 24 |
33 |
| Arthur L. Baylis |
6 21 44 |
37 |
Harry N. Handy |
10 13 50 |
24 |
| Charles Baylis |
6 9 48 |
46 |
James L. Handy |
3 28 44 |
33 |
| Charlotte Baylis |
4 23 48 |
46 |
John Isiah Handy |
3 13 24 |
33 |
| George Baylis |
11 23 56 |
|
Lewis Handy |
11 18 30 |
33 |
| Mary Jane Baylis |
2 21 27 |
38 |
Lucy Handy |
9 24 45 |
24 |
| Ola Baylis |
3 18 35 |
37 |
William L. Handy |
2 3 51 |
|
| Thos. A Baylis |
10 15 35 |
38 |
Buly Harrison |
12 4 25 |
*16 |
| Ella Baylis |
11 23 31 |
|
Edith Harrison |
4 9 60 |
|
| Samuel Booker |
4 27 51 |
76 |
George F. Harrison |
8 2 24 |
*17 |
| Willie Brooks |
5 23 38 |
|
Walter Harrison |
9 16 48 |
|
| Daniel Junia Brothers |
12 10 27 |
*37 |
(Baby Boy) Hart |
|
|
| Ella Bruce |
5 9 25 |
*46 |
Emma Haskins |
3 6 51 |
|
| Emma A. Bunberry |
9 4 21 |
104 |
John Hayman |
5 8 50 |
|
| James Bundy |
11 25 33 |
107 |
Andrew M. Hearn |
9 13 45 |
49 |
| Charles Burton |
1 7 23 |
|
E. Steward Hearn |
8 7 23 |
*41 |
|
|
|
James Hearn |
1 2 30 |
12 |
| Fannie Anne Cannon |
7 13 36 |
|
William Hearn |
12 13 45 |
12 |
| Mary Cannon |
9 4 48 |
84 |
Sarah E. Hemsley |
7 26 55 |
13 |
| Harry Carter |
10 25 48 |
70 |
Walter Henson |
6 13 31 |
97 |
| Lee H. Carter |
2 1 48 |
|
Christine Hill |
12 13 45 |
|
| Lorina Carter |
3 4 46 |
|
Thomas Wesley Hill |
4 1 60 |
|
| Gordy Carbie |
10 11 50 |
|
(Baby Boy) Hitchens |
3 4 39 |
41 |
| Ella Collins |
10 29 24 |
|
Betty Rose Hitchins |
4 14 34 |
*29 |
| (Baby) Elaine Collins |
5 14 36 |
|
Howard Holmes |
9 20 29 |
107 |
| Julia Collins |
11 30 28 |
|
Edward Hopkins |
2 7 43 |
12 |
| Sarah Collins |
8 30 48 |
78? |
Flossie Hopkins |
8 3 38 |
86 |
| Shirley Collins |
1 20 36 |
|
Mary Hopkins |
7 23 23 |
105 |
| Richard Davis Collins |
7 25 52 |
74 |
Richard Hopkins |
6 25 54 |
|
| Hattie Corbin |
6 5 44 |
85 |
Charles N. Hughes jr. |
11 2 45 |
87? |
| Manella Theresa Corbin |
1 28 43 |
85 |
Charles N. Hughes |
5 7 46 |
|
| Sarah Ann Cottman |
11 8 42 |
88 |
Camilla Hughes |
4 25 41 |
86 |
|
|
|
Harriet Hurst |
4 2 36 |
92 |
| Patrick Dabney |
3 10 38 |
88 |
John H. Hurst |
1 20 40 |
87 |
| Carroll Davis |
3 20 46 |
90 |
|
|
|
| Robert Davis |
11 10 22 |
22 |
George Irons |
7 11 61 |
|
| William Davis |
5 16 25 |
104 |
Walter Irons |
11 4 30 |
*2 |
| Edward Daubin |
10 8 35 |
94 |
|
|
|
| Daniel Delaware |
6 20 41 |
|
Harry T. Jackson |
8 4 42 |
87 |
| Narry Delaware |
6 22 34 |
|
John Henry Jackson |
5 17 24 |
*8 |
| Ernest Dill |
4 7 32 |
73? |
Viola Jackson |
5 1 37 |
37 |
| Julia Dill |
10 1 29 |
97 |
John Jackson |
9 28 35 |
38 |
| George Dingle |
2 11 34 |
99 |
Richard W. Jarmon |
5 8 24 |
*13 |
| Marshall Dorsey |
1 9 33 |
*6 |
William Jacobs |
11 29 31 |
95 |
| (Baby) Drew |
3 9 24 |
*7 |
Charles Johnson |
4 5 56 |
|
| Viola Sarah Drew |
3 31 26 |
*6 |
Dorothy Marie Johnson |
4 25 35 |
104 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Page 17
| Name |
Date Buried |
Plot |
Name |
Date Buried |
Plot |
| Glenmore C. Johnson |
6 26 43 |
88 |
Paul Lewis Saunders |
5 22 35 |
*44 |
| Harvey Johnson |
12 24 39 |
30 |
Henry Scott |
3 9 32 |
73 |
| Joseph H. Johnson |
8 30 29 |
107 |
Traulla Scott |
9 9 40 |
73 |
| Margaret Jones |
12 9 22 |
22 |
Bertha Simms |
9 16 32 |
|
| Martha Jones |
12 7 22 |
22 |
(Baby) Smith |
2 7 25 |
19 |
| Regina Jordon |
6 9 28 |
106 |
Clara Smith |
10 20 32 |
28 |
| Theodore Jordon |
2 23 56 |
|
Fannie M. Smith |
1 13 23 |
19 |
|
|
|
Joel Clemens Smith |
6 10 40 |
|
| Miriam King |
8 31 56 |
*30 |
Mary E. Smith |
9 22 30 |
28 |
| George Oliver Kirk |
10 25 22 |
*18 |
Peter J. Smith |
7 10 24 |
28 |
| Clara B. Lloyd |
7 28 50 |
|
Sarah J. Smith |
11 30 28 |
20 |
| John Logan |
9 26 29 |
108 |
(Baby) Sneed |
4 15 22 |
*31 |
| Emma Long |
6 25 61 |
*25 |
Lizzie A. Spriggs |
9 8 47 |
70 |
| Lellia M. Long |
1 17 22 |
|
Ruth Short |
10 23 34 |
|
| Catherine Low |
10 15 26 |
38 |
George Showell |
6 14 27 |
93 |
| Alexander Lum |
11 15 24 |
105 |
Lettie Showell |
5 9 37 |
93 |
|
|
|
Constance Stanford |
6 14 27 |
*34 |
| Francis M. Marriott |
8 2 23 |
*12 |
Louis Stanford |
2 21 24 |
31 |
| Mary Martin |
5 28 26 |
*48 |
Clifford Stevenson |
10 8 47 |
30 |
| Oakley Marshall |
7 19 26 |
*49 |
Mabel Sturgin |
5 29 22 |
*34 |
| Joseph Massey |
12 23 47 |
77 |
Hattie Richards Sweeney |
12 27 61 |
|
| Lorraine Mayers |
2 9 48 |
84 |
Norman Sweeney |
|
|
| Robert Mayers |
1 8 52 |
75 |
|
|
|
| Lee McLemore |
3 20 54 |
74 |
Alice Taylor |
4 19 29 |
70 |
| Abraham C. Middleton |
2 28 35 |
|
Larry J. Tiller |
8 28 35 |
*51 |
| (Grandson) Mifflin |
7 31 37 |
87 |
Anna M. Tittle |
5 22 29 |
42 |
| Blanche Miller |
2 29 32 |
102? |
Argarthia V. Tittle |
4 24 34 |
51 |
| Charles Miller |
7 9 57 |
|
Lorera Tittle |
10 11 49 |
76 |
| Charles Miller |
1 21 36 |
|
Rachel Tittle |
11 24 59 |
|
| Lincoln Ellsburg Miller |
6 22 29 |
|
Hilda Tingle |
12 19 30 |
|
| Lucasia Miller |
6 19 54 |
|
Albert Thomas |
2 17 30 |
|
| Robert Miller |
6 6 47 |
102 |
Pearl Thomas |
9 20 61 |
|
| Patsy Moten |
6 25 34 |
66 |
(Baby) Thornton |
8 4 25 |
|
| Charles Mullen |
2 20 28 |
50 |
Dora Thornton |
5 7 35 |
|
| Dorothy Mullen |
2 18 26 |
59 |
Frances Louise Thornton |
5 24 32 |
|
| Ellis Mullen |
12 18 26 |
42 |
Marion Thornton |
8 11 22 |
*40 |
| George Hector Mullen |
12 7 46 |
69 |
Robert G. Tucker |
4 2 39 |
92 |
| Goldie May Mullen |
4 22 60 |
59 |
Archie Tunnell |
4 3 26 |
106 |
| Emma Mullen |
6 25 34 |
59 |
Charles Tunnell |
9 1 25 |
106 |
| Louis Mullen |
3 20 45 |
69 |
James Tunnell |
8 13 22 |
*26 |
| William Mullen |
8 16 47 |
59 |
Mary Tunnell |
9 21 45 |
95 |
| Delia Myers |
5 25 22 |
*33 |
Thomas W. E. Tunnell |
9 15 33 |
98 |
|
|
|
Cordy Tyre |
9 22 56 |
|
| Cora Noel |
8 9 32 |
94 |
Emma Albela Tyre |
5 3 45 |
92 |
|
|
|
Henrietta V. Tyre |
9 28 41 |
92 |
| Constance Page |
3 31 32 |
94 |
|
|
|
| Edward Sherman Parson |
6 7 32 |
*36 |
Albion L. Uthank |
10 25 22 |
*38 |
| Laura Piper |
5 8 50 |
76 |
|
|
|
| Annie Proctor |
6 14 29 |
103 |
Kenneth Valentine |
2 17 25 |
*5 |
|
|
|
(Baby) Vance |
12 17 22 |
*14 |
| Willis Raymond |
11 28 33 |
|
Clifton Vance |
4 24 28 |
95 |
| Ella Reed |
3 14 49 |
48 |
George G. Vance |
6 11 29 |
*9 |
| Marie Reed |
3 18 22 |
48 |
Irene Vance |
3 5 30 |
*27 |
| Martha Ricketts |
6 17 31 |
25 |
Sarah Vance |
9 25 25 |
95 |
| George Ricketts |
9 15 43 |
25 |
Vera Bernice Vance |
12 9 29 |
*10 |
| Margaret Ricks |
2 12 57 |
50 |
Lillie VanLeer |
2 1 27 |
104 |
| Theodore Ricks |
8 21 50 |
50 |
Walter VanLeer |
6 24 46 |
12 |
| Calvin J. Reason |
6 23 30 |
95 |
|
|
|
| Gussie T. Roach |
5 8 41 |
88 |
Preston Wade |
3 20 58 |
|
| Anna Roberts |
4 7 55 |
|
Evonne H. Ward |
2 22 35 |
|
| Cattamie Roberts |
12 18 28 |
72 |
Arthur W. Washington |
3 18 57 |
90 |
| Margaret Roberts |
12 21 29 |
55 |
Bessie A. Washington |
10 12 27 |
77 |
| Stephen Roberts |
6 7 50 |
|
Bessie M. Washington |
2 19 49 |
*45 |
| Walter Roberts |
2 4 56 |
|
Charles Washington |
9 15 31 |
68 |
| Nathaniel Rock |
5 23 38 |
|
Clara E. Washington |
4 5 48 |
68 |
| David M. Rodgers |
1 4 55 |
|
Frederick Washington |
1 9 43 |
69 |
Page 18
| Name |
Date Buried |
Plot |
Name |
Date Buried |
Plot |
| Lithoer Washington |
9 25 42 |
86 |
Joseph White |
12 28 22 |
103 |
| Mary E. Washington |
2 6 35 |
68 |
David Williams |
4 18 29 |
66 |
| Sarah F. Washington |
4 18 29 |
107 |
Henry Williams |
2 14 34 |
102 |
| Wheeler Washington |
2 12 41 |
68 |
Horace Williams |
3 30 26 |
66 |
| Arthur Watts |
9 30 31 |
98 |
Marian Williams |
4 29 25 |
96 |
| Elizabeth Weaver |
1 11 34 |
22 |
Norris Williams |
10 16 24 |
96 |
| William Weaver |
8 9 21 |
22 |
Ransom Williams |
2 7 53 |
74 |
| Lucy Welburn |
10 21 42 |
40 |
Charles A. Wilson |
12 7 22 |
21 |
| Thomas R. Welburn |
4 13 24 |
40 |
Flora Ann Wilson |
12 26 29 |
21 |
| Viola Welburn |
3 4 24 |
57 |
Howard A. Wilson |
11 29 29 |
|
| Alberta Weldon |
1 6 30 |
39 |
John A. Wilson |
9 16 22 |
48 |
| Martha E. Weldon |
2 20 58 |
39 |
Sarah Wilson |
3 9 49 |
84 |
| Oscar Weldon |
2 20 58 |
39? |
Gertrude Wood |
3 31 48 |
50 |
| W. Samuel Weldon |
7 13 24 |
39? |
LeRoy Woolford |
10 1 23 |
*15 |
| Mary West |
1 11 29 |
104 |
Anna R. Wright |
9 25 53 |
32 |
| Edward Wheatley |
4 13 55 |
|
Clara Wright |
3 22 48 |
23 |
| Melchia Wheatley |
3 25 38 |
86 |
George J. Wright |
10 19 34 |
23 |
| Robert C. Wheatley |
2 23 36 |
*19 |
Hamilton Wright |
6 1 44 |
23 |
| Beatrice C. White |
5 29 22 |
|
John H.N. Wright |
8 22 56 |
|
| Edward White |
6 1 32 |
85 |
Kenneth Wright |
2 11 22 |
32 |
| Jason White |
12 2 47 |
85 |
Mary C. Wright |
2 28 50 |
23 |
| John White |
3 29 22 |
22 |
Monroe Wright |
3 27 23 |
23 |
* Asterisk denotes single grave site.
Information supplied by Harry Wright
OTHER KNOWN INTERMENTS
| Granville Ballard |
d. |
1950 |
| William R. Bembury |
d. |
1941 |
| Maurice F. Burrus |
d. |
1962 |
| Thomas A. Collins |
d. |
1952 |
| Mary Welburn Hearn |
|
1 1 1967 |
| John C. Jackson |
d. |
1930 |
| William Henry Long sr. |
d. |
1964 |
| Rachel Washington |
d. |
1966 |
| Clarence B. Welburn |
|
4 29 1966 |
| Thomas Robert Welburn |
|
5 6 1961 |
| Cora B. Weldon |
d. |
1963 |
| Mary Jane Stanford Weldon |
d. |
1957 |
|