Eden Cemetery (Collingdale, Pennsylvania)

Jerome Bacon, an instructor at the Institute for Colored Youth (the precursor to Cheyney University), led efforts to create a cemetery for African-Americans who had been buried in cemeteries in Philadelphia that were being condemned by the city in the early 20th century.[5] The cemeteries included Lebanon Cemetery (condemned in 1899 - closed in 1903),[6] the Olive Graveyard (closed in 1923),[7] the Stephen Smith Home for the Aged and Infirm Colored Person's Burial Ground and the First African Baptist Church Burial Grounds.[4] The bodies buried in these cemeteries were disinterred and re-interred at Eden Cemetery.[8]

After litigation from Collingdale, Pennsylvania opposing the creation of an African-American cemetery in the township, a charter for the creation of Eden Cemetery was granted by Pennsylvania on June 20, 1902. Fifty-three acres of land previously part of Bartram Farms were selected for the creation of the cemetery.

The first meeting of the cemetery charter committee was held on August 9, 1902 and included prominent members of Philadelphia's black community in the following roles:

• President - John C. Asbury, lawyer
• Vice-President - Charles W. Jones
• Vice-President - Daniel C. Parvis, upholsterer
• Secretary - Jerome Bacon, instructor at the Institute for Colored Youth (the precursor to Cheyney University)
• Treasurer - Martin J. Lehmann, cigar maker[3]

The first interment at the cemetery was delayed until nightfall due to local white protestors who blocked the cemetery entrance during the day.[9] The headline of the Chester County Times the next day read "Collingdale Has More Race Troubles, Town Council Has No Use for a Colored Cemetery, No African Need Apply."[5]

On May 30, 1919 a memorial was erected to commemorate the colored soldiers from Pennsylvania who fought and died in France during World War I from 1917 to 1918.

In July 2008, vandals toppled over 200 headstones in the cemetery, including that of Octavius Valentine Catto, one of the most famous burials at Eden Cemetery.[9]

In 2010, Eden Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1] It is still in operation and maintained by a group of volunteers.[5]

• Julian Abele (1881–1950), architect

Marian Anderson gravestone

• Marian Anderson (1897–1993), opera singer[10][11]
• John C. Bowers (1811–1873), entrepreneur, organist, abolitionist[11]
• John Pierre Burr (c. 1792–1864), abolitionist and community leader in Philadelphia, a son of Aaron Burr[11]
• Octavius Valentine Catto (1839–1871), civil rights leader, baseball pioneer[11][12] (originally buried in Lebanon Cemetery, Philadelphia; transferred to Eden, May 14, 1903)
• Dr. Rebecca J Cole (1846–1922). Second African-American female to earn the Doctor of Medicine degree in the United States.[11]
• Frank T. Coleman (1911–2008), educator and community volunteer
• James DePreist (1936–2013), African-American orchestra conductor[13]
• Henrietta Duterte (1817–1903), funeral home owner, philanthropist, and abolitionist[14]
• Tyrone Everett (1953–1977), Philadelphia professional boxer[15][16]
• Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882–1961), editor, poet, essayist and novelist[17]
• James Forten (1766–1842), African-American abolitionist and businessman[18]
• Timothy Thomas Fortune (1856–1928), journalist, civil rights leader[19]
• Stanislaus Kostka Govern (1854–1924), West Indian–American baseball player, first manager of the Cuban Giants, labor organizer, journalist, and Shakespearean actor[20]
• Frances Harper (1825–1911), poet, abolitionist[11][12]
• Absalom Jones (1746–1818), African-American abolitionist and clergyman, reinterred to St. Thomas African Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Harry McGilberry (1950–2006), R&B and Soul singer[11]
• Pauline Oberdorfer Minor (1885–1963) a Founder of Delta Sigma Theta sorority
• John Bunyan Reeve (1831–1916), Presbyterian minister and professor at Howard University
• Robert Penn (1872–1912), Spanish–American War Medal of Honor Recipient[21]
• Stephen Smith (1796–1873), African-American businessman, philanthropist, clergyman and abolitionist[22][12]
• William Still (1821–1902), abolitionist[12]
• John Baxter Taylor, Jr. (1882–1908), track and field athlete, first African-American Olympic Gold Medalist[11]

Charles Albert Tindley gravestone

• Charles Albert Tindley (1851–1933), minister, composer[23]
• George Henry White (1852–1918), US Congressman from North Carolina[24]

• Keels, Thomas H. (2003). Philadelphia Graveyards & Cemeteries. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-1229-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eden Cemetery (Collingdale, Pennsylvania).

• Official website
• Article at PhillyGraves.com
• YouTube Video - "Bury Me In A Free Land" - The Story of Eden Cemetery
• Eden Cemetery interment records from Historic Eden Cemetery