Mount Zion Cemetery (–1967) is a historic

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

cemetery owned by the A.M.E. Zion Church of Kingston. The cemetery is on a lot located at 190 South Wall Street in the

city of Kingston The City of Kingston is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, its northern boundary lying approximately 15 km from the Melbourne city centre along the north-eastern shorelines of Port P ...

. It is in the city's Fifth Ward, less than a mile south of the church.

History

Established in the mid-nineteenth century, the cemetery provides a final resting place for prominent individuals and families who were part of Kingston's African American community. Due to the legacy of Slavery in the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

, many of the surnames were

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French Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

, and

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given by the families who had enslaved them. The first burial was in 1856 (Samuel Tappan) and the last (known) burial was in 1967 (Beatrice Fitzgerald).City of Kingston Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission, letter from Suzanne Cahill, Planning Director to R. Daniel Mackey, Deputy Commissioner for Historic Preservation, OPRHP, November 25, 2020, 3. Currently, there are 104 grave markers, and an estimated 13 of which were born prior to manumission in

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

(signed into law on July 4, 1827). The Mount Zion Cemetery also holds the remains of many African-American veterans, including 26 Union soldiers from the Civil War. They were in the ranks of the 11th, 20th, 27th and 39th Regiments of the United States Colored Infantry ( USCT) who were laid to rest there from 1865 to 1911 (est). The cemetery also holds the remains of four African-American veterans from the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and two from

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and several " Buffalo Soldiers". A notable person was Rev. Jeremiah R.B. Smith. Smith was a soldier, anti-slavery writer, and pastor at the A.M.E. Zion Church of Kingston. On March 3, 2021 both Mt. Zion Cemetery and AME Zion Church of Kingston were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

.SG 100006224 The cemetery was previously listed as a historic site by the City of Kingston's Historic Landmark Commission in 1983.

References

{{reflist Cemeteries in Ulster County, New York Kingston, New York African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church 1856 establishments in New York (state) African-American cemeteries in New York (state) Cemeteries established in the 1850s

History

See also

References