Slave grave marker dedicated at McClellan Cemetery

Rev. Larry Jelks, of Mayo, officiated over the dedication ceremony, held last month. -Photo by Joyce Johns

By Tami Stevenson

The dedication of a slave grave monument was held last month, at the McClellan Cemetery, in Wellborn, with Reverend Larry Jelks, officiating.

Although the monument sits just outside of the cemetery on adjacent property, it is dedicated to the McClellan plantation slaves they believe were buried near the main cemetery between 1825-1865.

Retired Archeologist Jennings Bunn, who has been the main advocate of this project, said locating the graves would be difficult as many markers were probably wooden. After nearly 200 years, they would be mostly deteriorated.

Joy Geiger, daughter of adjacent land owner, Maurice Geiger, attended the ceremony and sang “Amazing Grace,” beautifully, Bunn said. Other attendees included the Director of Suwannee County Genealogical Society Jinnie Hancock, Joyce Johns and Author Pat Hines who recently was recognized for being the First African American female in Florida living on a Century Farm.
The McClellan Cemetery has never been documented with the State of Florida, according to the director of the North Central and Northwest region of the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) Barbara Clark.

This monument dedication comes in a timely manner as CS/HB 37 - Abandoned Cemeteries, takes effect on July 1, 2021. The bill creates a 10-member Task Force on Abandoned African-American Cemeteries, adjunct to the Department of State, to study the extent that unmarked or abandoned African-American cemeteries and burial grounds exist throughout Florida and to develop and recommend strategies for identifying and recording cemeteries and burial grounds while preserving local history and ensuring dignity and respect for the deceased. The task force must hold its first meeting by August 1, 2021.

The stone monument was donated by Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Lake City. It reads: In Memory of McClellan Plantation Slaves Buried Here 1825-1865.

L-R: Joy Geiger, Director of Suwannee County Genealogical Society Jinnie Hancock, retired Archeologist Jennings Bunn, Reverend Larry Jelks and Author Pat Hines. - Photo by Joyhce Johns