Silent City Cemetery, Cambridge, Dorchester County ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ************************************************************************ Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Linda Duyer . Silent City Cemetery Cambridge, Dorchester County Silent City Cemetery was studied as part of a research project funded in part by the Maryland Museum Assistance Program. The project was initiated by Mr. Arvel Johnson of Dorchester County. The results of the project were compiled in booklet form titled "One Kind Favor, See That My Grave's Kept Clean" of African American burial sites in Dorchester and Wicomico Counties, Maryland, dated April 1997, compiled and written by Linda Duyer. The book was produced in limited quantities and they are available for view in local Eastern Shore county libraries, the Maryland Hall of Records, Salisbury State University and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The cemetery, about an acre in size, is located on overgrown private property back from the street along Bayles Road on the outskirts of Cambridge. The cemetery is believed to be nearly exclusively an African American cemetery and few people, even local people, are aware of its existence. Researched beginning in 1995, the site, pointed out by local residents Mr. Arvel Johnson and Mr. Bobby Wongus, seemed to be lacking a name. The name became clear, however, when during a review of death records of Dorchester County of the 1930's and 1940's or so. The name "Silent City Cemetery" kept appearing among the records, and these recorded of African American burials by Lewis Bayneum. At that time, most of the burials of Dorchester Country African Americans were listed by the Lewis Bayneum, a prominent African American, Bayneum undertaker and also a minister of the local Zion Baptist Church in Cambridge. As a side trade, he worked as an upholsterer. It is believed that his church was the first African American church on the Eastern Shore to have broadcast Gospel music on the radio. He donated considerably to the community. Although the date of the cemetery has not been positively determined, it is believed to have been started in the early 1930's. Bayneum is believed to have purchased the property, and burials were not limited to members of his congregation. He often buried people who had no affiliation with local churches, were not natives to the area, or who had little or no money for burials. He later built an Old Folks Home, which no longer stands, close to the road and adjacent to the cemetery. During this research only three tombstones were visible, and Bobby Wongus who for years tried to maintain the cemetery until the effort became too difficult, remembers seeing only those three tombstones over the years. Still, the site is filled with visible tombs, some broken, many in tact. An inventory was done on December 17, 1995, for two of the markers, as follows: Werner M. TRAVERS, Maryland PCF, 1697 ENGR C NB, b. Jan. 16, 1929; d. June 29, 1954 Lewis D. JETER, S1 USNR World War II, b. Jan. 29, 1927, d. July 2, 1954 A third tombstone was laying face down on the ground. Attempts were made then to raise the marker, but were unsuccessful. The tombstone could not be inventoried at that time Mr. Bobby Wongus mentioned that he had made the marker for three of his children who had died in a tragic house fire: Joyce Wongus, Gordon Wongus, and Johnnie Wongus. The marker also identifies another relative who was buried at an earlier time. While researching this cemetery there seemed a need to somehow provide evidence that this cemetery was a significant local African American cemetery, to make an additional effort to identify some of who were buried there, especially given the scarcity of marked tombstones. So death records on microfilm were reviewed and the following partial list of burials at the site was compiled. It is only a partial list, but one compiled in honor of the Rev. Lewis Bayneum The following were compiled from Dorchester County, Maryland Death Records, viewed from microfilm of the originals at the Maryland Hall of Records in Annapolis. All of the following were identified by race as black and as buried at "Silent City Cemetery" by Lewis Bayneum. Note that sometimes under "Mother Maiden Name," the married name would be mistakenly given instead of the maiden name. A question mark (?) would be added if there was some question as to the spelling or handwriting on the death record. Stillborn Male BAYNEUM, d. Jan. 22, 1941; Father Levin BAYNEUM; Mother Maiden Mabel JOHNSON Stillborn Male BAYNEUM, d. April 6, 1942; Father Levin BAYNEUM; Mother Maiden Mabel JOHNSON Edward CARTER, d. Nov. 14, 1942; age 39; b. Aug. 28, 1903; Father Benjamin CARTER; Mother Maiden Rebecca SMITH Annie CEPHAS, age 22 James CHAPLAIN, d. Dec. 11, 1940; age 70; b. about 1870 Stillborn Female CHESTER, d. Sep. 18, 1940; Father Asbury CHESTER; Mother Maiden Bessie CHESTER Lonnie J. COLLINS, d. Nov. 22, 1939; b. May 6, 1909; Father Lonnie COLLINS; Mother Maiden Bessie CHESTER Infant Female CORNISH, d. Aug. 9, 1942; Father Andrew CORNISH; Mother Maiden Rosie Major Stillborn Male CORNISH, d. Nov. 30, 1942; Father Thos. DAVIS; Mother Lillian FOSTER CORNISH Benjamin FRANKLIN, d. Oct. 26, 1940 Priscilla GORDON, d. July 1, 1941; age 55; b. 1886 Stillborn Female HALL, d. Dec. 1, 1942; Father Thornton HALL; Mother Maiden Laura SMITH Infant Male HALL, d. Jan. 4. 1942; Father Thornton HALL; Mother Maiden Laura SMITH Stillborn Male HALL, d. Sep. 26, 1939; Father Thornton HALL; Mother Maiden Laura SMITH Frank HALL, d. Mar. 23, 1940; age 64; b. May 15, 1875; Father William HALL; Mother Maiden Amelia WEST Julie HARLEE, d. Apr. 7, 1942; age 71; b. May, 19, 1870 James HARRIS, d. 1942?; age 46; b. Apr. 29, 1896; Father Wally HARRIS; Mother Maiden Ella DUKES Cora HARRIS, d. Jan. 14, 1942; age 45; b. 1897 Henry HOLLAND, d. Jan. 9, 1941; age 50 Robert HUGHES, d. Apr. 4, 1942; age 62; b. Dec. 9, 1879; Father Bruce HUNT; Mother Maiden Eliza HUGHES Infant Female JACKSON, d. July 4, 1944; Father George Lester PERRY; Mother Maiden Edith JACKSON John JACKSON, d. Aug. 13, 1942; age 60; b. Mar. 14, 1882 Annie JOHNSON, d. Mar. 23, 1941; age about 50; Father Edward HACKETT Thellon(?) M. JOLEY, d. Apr. 11, 1941; age 2 mos.; b. Feb. 1, 1941; Father Levin(?) ROSS; Mother Maiden (?) Joley Bertie CEPHAS JOLLY, d. Mar. 25, 1952; age 44 John JONES, d. Sep. 8, 1939; age 45 Caleb JONES, d. Oct. 13, 1940; age 48; b. Sep. 16, 1892; Father John JONES; Mother Maiden Martha BEANS Samuel LINDSAY, d. July 3, 1941; age 66; b. Mar. 22, 1875; Father Richard LINDSAY, Mother Maiden Nancy TRAIT(?) Helen MCCARTER, d. Dec. 24, 1941; age 86; Father Harry ROSS; Mother Maiden (?) ROSS Baby Male MCCARTER, d. May 27, 1941; Father Rufus DEAN; Mother Maiden Elizabeth MCCARTER Dock MCDONALD, d. Aug. 28, 1940; age 38; b. Feb. 2, 1902 William E. MILBURN, age 61 Robert MORGAN, d. Jan. 17, 1941; age 31; b. Mar. 25, 1909; Father Robert MORGAN; Mother Maiden Hester BROOKS Emory NEAL, d. Nov. 25, 1941; age 39; b. Apr. 2, 1902 Walter M. PETTAWAY, d. Apr. 10, 1942; age 51; b. 1891 Alonzo PEWITT(?), d. July 21, 1940; age 76; b. about 1864 Queenie PRIMUS, d. Apr. 7, 1946; age 50; b. Dec. 19, 1895 Frank REED, d. Nov. 14, 1940; age 40; b. 1900 Edward RIDEOUT, d. Aug. 24, 1949; age 72 Frank SPAIN, d. Dec. 19, 1940; age 65; b. about 1875 Mary TURNER, d. Aug. 11, 1941; age 50; b. Apr. 12, 1891; notation "alias Mary Kline" Henry WARD, d. Aug. 5, 1948; age 80(?) Bessie WASHINGTON, d. June 13, 1942; age 32; Father Henry KANE; Mother Maiden Cassil(?) WHEETLEY Charlie WILLIAMS, d. Sep. 8, 1939; age 33; Father John WILLIAMS; Mother Maiden Henrietta CHASE Mattie WILSON, d. Nov. 30, 1939; age 50; b. 1889; Father Virgil WILLIAMSON; Mother Maiden Martha J. MCBRIDE Eliza WILSON, d. Jan. 18, 1941; age 60; b. 1880; Father John STILES Benny WOODSON, d. Sep. 15, 1941; age 35 Stillborn Female WOOLFORD, d. Apr. 28, 1942; Father Elbert JONES; Mother Maiden Evelyn WOOLFORD William WRIGHT, d. June 14, 1944; age 50; b. 1894; Father Wm. WRIGHT; Mother Maiden INSLEY Annie YOUNG, d. Aug. 28, 1940; age 68; b. 1872; Father Jerry YOUNG; Mother Maiden Caroline BEULAH Infant Boy PERRY, d. Jan. 11, 1946; age 1 mo.; b. Dec. 5, 1945; Father Sherwood PERRY; Mother Maiden Juanita PERRY Baby Boy JOHNSON, d. Feb. 10, 1946; age 5 hrs.; b. Feb. 10, 1946; Father James JONES; Mother Maiden Doroth JOHNSON copyright 1999 Linda Duyer