Between June 19 and September 22, 2020, The Rendville Historical Preservation Society and the Center for Folklore Studies at The Ohio State University partnered to explore voices of emancipation in Rendville Cemetery. Building on a collaboration to document the cemetery, those who are buried there, and the importance of the site to members of the community living in Rendville and beyond, the project sought to celebrate, amplify, and listen to the stories of Rendville residents in the historical record who lived through the Emancipation of enslaved Black Americans, and reflect on that history in this moment of ongoing struggles for justice and structural equality.
155 years after the end of the Civil War and the passage of the 13th Amendment the United States is still grappling with what Emancipation means in the wake of continued discriminatory practices and structures of racism, violence against Black communities, and judicial and penal systems that disproportionately affect and incarcerate Black Americans. By researching the complex stories of their lives, it is our goal to reflect on the past and future of emancipation in Ohio, Appalachia, and the United States. What can the voices and stories of the past tell us about 155 years of struggles for emancipation, justice, and equality?
OSU Center for Folklore Studies Researchers partnered with the Rendville Historic Preservation Society to tell the stories of some of Rendville’s past inhabitants who were alive at the time of Emancipation. Read them below.
If you are interested in joining this effort, please contact OSU Public Folklorist, Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth at waugh-quasebarth.1@osu.edu. A list of those Rendville residents interred in the cemetery who lived through the emancipation of Black Americans is available at the bottom of the page.
Angie Clark
Researched by Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth (The Ohio State University)
Angie Clark was born Angelina Norman to Jesse Norman and Nancy Norman, one of seven children on the family’s farm in Green Township, Hocking County. The Norman family has old roots in Southeast Ohio. Living her life throughout the Little Cities of Black Diamonds micro-region, she married William E Clark on the 18th of September, 1877 in Athens County, lived at 19 Chestnut Street in Nelsonville in 1880 and relocated to Rendville in the 1880s. She was active in the Rendville social scene, welcoming visitors to the community, as noted in a August 8, 1887 New Lexington Tribune column “Rendville Doings.” The article states the following:
The past week has been one remarkable for its parties, picnics and social gatherings, perhaps on account of the number of beautiful and accomplished ladies and gents who are at present visiting their friends here in our vine clad village. The presence of the visitors gives Rendville society quite a boom, and our young ladies and gentlemen are putting forth every effort to make it pleasant for them. There are several other parties, etc. booked for the near future, which is a sufficient guarantee that there will be plenty of the proper amusements to give relaxation to the visitors, and will doubtless be an inducement to those who have the pecuniary ability to travel and remain here and help blend utility with pleasure.
The article then notes that Mrs. Clark represented Rendville well at a Corning reception, and that “the ladies were all handsomely attired.”
She passed away on May 23, 1900. She was survived by her children, Jennie D. Lamb nee Hale (b. 1880) and Howard V. Clark. (b. 1883), and her husband William E. Clark (1857-1935) who is buried with her in the Rendville Cemetery.
This post was created with census information, the Clark’s marriage certificate, and the article from the New Lexington Tribune which can be accessed here: https://littlecitiesarchive.org/2012/03/13/rendville-doings/
William E. Clark
Researched by Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth (The Ohio State University)
William E. Clark was born in 1857 in Virginia. He married Angelina Clark on the 18th of September, 1877 in Athens County. By 1880, he had migrated to Nelsonville in Athens County where he worked as a coal miner and she kept their house at 19 Chestnut St. They soon welcomed a daughter, Jennie (b. 1880), and a son, Howard V. (b. 1883) into their lives.
When the couple moved to Rendville in the 1880s, Mr. Clark became active in social issues, serving as the President of the Afro-American League. In this organization, he advocated for the repeal of state laws that allowed for segregation in schools and prohibited racial intermarriage. As the coal industry began to decline in the 1890s with a national economic depression, Mr. Clark became active in the labor movement. In August 9, 1894 letter to the United Mine Workers’ Journal , Mr. Clark asked, “…If other worlds were inhabited? Did they have the same kind of law and government that we have? And my next wonder was, was this world of ours the hell we read about in the good book? If it is not, how can a man stand the punishment twice, and then live through eternity? Monopoly has been against the oppressed of this country… I would ask those of my race…Do you owe any political party a debt of gratitude? I claim not.”
In 1900, Mrs. Clark passed away, and by 1920, still working as a miner, Mr. Clark remarried to Hulda E. Clark. By 1930, he lived in Zanesville at 434 Keen Street, where he worked as a janitor in a public building. At this house, the Clarks also hosted a lodger, Mr. Caleb Mahungulu, a Fanti-speaking sheet mill worker who had become a naturalized American citizen after emigrating from British West Africa (likely what is now Ghana).
Mr. Clark died on January 21, 1935 and the following obituary was published in the Zanesville Times Recorder:
William E. Clark, aged 79 years, colored, died at his home 434 Keen Street at 5 o’clock Monday evening following a three months illness of complications. For many years he made his home in this city. He was a member of the A. M. E. Church of South street, and a member of the Masons Lodge No. 30. Surviving are his wife Hulda E. Clark; two children, Mrs. Jennie Hale, Athens and Howard V. Clark, Grand Rapids, Mich.; one brother Louis Clark, Columbus; two grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. The body was taken to the Thompson & Son funeral home in White Cottage, Ohio and will be returned to the residence Tuesday afternoon, Funeral services will be conducted at 1 o’clock Thursday afternoon at the A.M E. church. Rev. C. A. Graine the pastor, will be in charge. Burial will be at Rendville. The Times Recorder, Zanesville, Ohio Tuesday, January 22, 1935
This post was created using information from the Clark’s marriage certificate, federal censuses, and the article “The Story of Rendville: An Interracial Quest for Community in the Post-Civil War Era” by Charles H. Nelson (1996). It can be found here: https://littlecitiesarchive.org/2011/05/23/the-story-of-rendville-an-interracial-quest-for-community-in-the-post-civil-war-era/
Thomas Cousins
Researched by Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth (The Ohio State University)
Thomas Cousins was born in Virginia in 1823, likely into slavery, as no record for him exists through the first 40 years of his life. In 1864, at 40 years old, he enlisted in the 9th Regiment of the United States Colored Heavy Artillery in Pomeroy, Ohio before being transferred to Company D of the 15th United States Colored Infantry.
Though Cousins likely served in a garrison role, his enlistment in the United States Colored Infantry should not be taken lightly. Just months before his enlistment, hundreds of Black troops had been massacred at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, as Black soldiers were regarded with exceptional hostility by Confederate troops. In the 15th, he served at the rank of Private in Springfield, Tennessee, and his division skirmished in Magnolia, Tennessee on January 7, 1865. Mr. Cousins served for one year and 4 days, before being discharged on the 25th of August 1865.
Along with many other Black veterans, he made his way to Perry County by at least 1890 and married Dolly Sanders on January 5th, 1893. The 1900 Census captures a slice of Mr. Thomas’ life at 8 Main St, in Rendville, OH. Though no longer working due to filing with the Civil War Pension system as an “invalid” in 1899, at 76 years old still proudly called himself a miner, and though he could neither read nor write, he owned his house outright, renting a room to a young schoolteacher, Mr. Alex Payne. Mr. Cousins passed away sometime before 1908, when his widow, Mrs. Dolly Sanders, filed for his pension benefits.
This post was created using information from publicly available United States military records and Census data.
Johnsonville, Tenn. Camp of Tennessee Colored Battery photography by Jacob F. Coonley (1864) Library of Congress Call Number LC-B811- 2646
Richard L. Davis
Researched by Jordan Lovejoy (The Ohio State University)
John M. Hazelwood (1848-1928)
Researched by Cristina Benedetti (The Ohio State University)
John M. Hazelwood was born in 1848 in North Hampton in East Virginia; his parents were also born in Virginia. Various census records place his birth year between 1845 and 1848, but 1848 is the year recorded on his headstone. Multiple census records throughout his life indicated that was able to read and write.
Hazelwood enlisted in the 9th US Colored Heavy Artillery regiment on August 11, 1864 in Pomeroy, Ohio to fight for the Union Army for one year. His age is listed as 22; using the death year on his headstone, he would have actually been 16 – a discrepancy that should be noted, but that is possibly explainable. The recruitment papers include a section for “Consent in Case of Minor” which is not filled out. According to the enlistment document he was 5 feet, 5.25 inches tall, and described as mulatto with black eyes and black hair. His occupation at the time was a cooper, a person who makes wooden containers from timber that is steamed to become pliable.
The 9th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery regiment was organized at Clarksville and Nashville, Tennessee in the fall of 1864. Hazelwood mustered in on September 4 and was appointed first sergeant on November 18. The regiment was broken up on May 5, 1865. Hazelwood mustered out in Nashville, Tennessee on August 5, 1865, and was discharged on that day.
John married Mary Hazelwood around 1872, according to census records – he was in his mid 20s and she was in her early 20s. At the time of the 1880 census they were living in Bolivar County, Mississippi, where he worked on a cotton farm. Their names are listed as J.M. and Mariah Hazelwood – versions of their first names that are also recorded in the Rendville census records of 1910 and 1920.
By 1890 Hazelwood had a Rendville post office address, as recorded in a veteran’s schedule from that year. In the 1900 census his occupation is listed as coal miner, but it also notes that he had been unemployed for two months. John was 54 that year, and it was recorded that he and his wife never had children. Ten years later, in the 1910 census, they are recorded as J.M. and Mariah Hazzlewood, living on North Main Street. He is recorded as being self-employed and owning their home. In this census, J.M. is not listed as a veteran, another notable but possibly explainable discrepancy in his census records. The last census record of the Hazelwoods is from 1920, where they are again recorded as J.M. and Mariah Hazzlewood – he was 73 and she was 69. They still owned their home, but it was mortgaged, and he is listed as having no occupation.
John M. Hazelwood, a veteran of the Civil War who made his home in Rendville, died on June 6, 1928 at the age of 80. His headstone does not list the year of his death, but it provides his year of birth, and the years of his wife Mary Hazelwood’s birth and death.
Mary (Hall) Hazelwood (1852-1923)
Researched by Cristina Benedetti (The Ohio State University)
Mary Hazelwood was born in 1852. Some census records indicate that she was born in Mississippi, and others in Louisiana. Her father is listed as being born in Mississippi or Louisiana, depending on the record, and her mother is listed as being born in Mississippi or Kentucky. In census records she is sometimes described as Black and sometimes described as “mulatto.”
Mary married John M. Hazelwood around 1872, according to census records. When they married, she was in her early 20s and was in his mid 20s. At the time of the 1880 census, when Mary was around 30 years old, they were living in Bolivar County, Mississippi, where her husband worked on a cotton farm. Their names are listed as J.M. and Mariah Hazelwood – versions of their first names that are recorded in the Rendville census records of 1910 and 1920.
By 1890 her husband was living in Rendville (as recorded in a veteran’s schedule that year), and the 1900 census lists the couple living in Rendville. Mary is described as having no occupation, and not being able to read or write. Years later, in the 1910 census, the couple is recorded as J.M. and Mariah Hazzlewood, living on North Main Street. The last census record of Mary Hazelwood and her husband is the 1920 census, where they are again recorded as J.M. and Mariah Hazzlewood. Here, at the age of 69, she is recorded as being able to read and write, a difference from previous years.
Mary Hazelwood, a member of the Rendville community for 30 years, died on January 9, 1923 at the age of 71. She was survived by her husband John M. Hazelwood.
Georgia Johnson (1865-1915)
Researched by Cristina Benedetti (The Ohio State University)
Georgia Johnson, also known as Georgie and Georgianna, was born in 1865 in Virginia; her mother was also born in Virginia, and father was born at an unknown location in the United States. The last name of Georgia’s first husband was Twine. Mr. Twine died at an unknown date and place, and Georgia became a widow. According to the 1900 census, Georgia had seven children, five of whom were living at that date.
On November 11, 1897, Georgia and her second husband, Alfred Johnson, applied for a marriage license in Perry County, Ohio. They were married the next week on November 17th; Georgia was 32 and Alfred was 50. About two years later in the 1900 census, it was recorded that they lived in Rendville on the County Road with two of her children, Charles (age 8) and Ellen (age 10). Ellen attended school. It was recorded that Georgia could read and write, but that Alfred could not. He worked as a coal miner, and they rented their home. At the time of the 1910 census, they were still living Rendville, now on Short Street. Georgia earned wages working in private family houses, though she was out of work at the time of the census. She and her husband lived with her son Charles K. Twine, who was 17 at the time. He was a coal miner, and could read and write. Charles died the next year on October 3, 1911 in Rendville.
Georgia Johnson, a member of the Rendville community born in the early days of Emancipation, died in 1915 at the age of 50.
Christianna Tyree
Researched by Cassie Patterson (The Ohio State University)
Christianna Tyree was born in Bedford County, Virginia in 1855 and died in her home in Rendville, Ohio on December 13, 1950, aged 94 or 95. She is buried in the Rendville Cemetery in Perry County, Ohio. According to her obituary from the Zanesville Times Recorder, she was “the oldest resident in Rendville residing there since 1862.”
In the 1910 U.S. Census, listed under the name of Christiana “Tyrer” (54 years old at the time), she was recorded as living on Sycamore Street in Monroe, Perry County, Ohio and her race was listed as Mulatto. She had been married for nearly 2 years (1yr and 8mos) to Burrell A. “Tyrer” (60), with whom she had 5 children, all of them still living at the time. Their marriage status is listed as M2, which may mean that this was their second marriage. Burrell is listed as Black in this census, though later listed as Mulatto in 1920. He was a laborer in the coal mine who could both read and write and rented his home at the time. Other household members included Dollie Williams (17, step daughter, Mulatto), Hiram Williams (14, step son, Mulatto), and Walter S. Williams (11, step son, Mulatto). All three were born in Ohio, could read and write, and attended school.
In the 1920 U.S. Census, “Christiana” Tyree is listed as being 64 years old, having been born in Virginia around 1856. She is recorded as living on Sycamore St. northeast of Main, Monroe, Perry County, Ohio. Christianna is again confirmed as a Mulatto woman married to B.A. Tyree (listed as Mulatto, 73 at the time), with her mother and father’s birthplace listed as Virginia. The Census indicates that she did not have a known occupation and was able to read and write. Other household members included Christianna and Burrell’s son, S. Williams (21), also listed as Mulatto, and Frank Jackson (74), a laborer in the coal mine, who is listed as a “roomer.” Burrell owned the home in 1920.
In the 1940 U.S. Census, “Christmma Tyree” is listed as an 85-year-old Negro (Black) widow from Virginia serving as head of the household that she owned in Renvdille, Perry County, Ohio. She attended elementary school through 4th grade and made an income outside of officially recorded work positions, perhaps from renting a room, as the value of her rent is listed at $300. Additional household members included her son, Joseph William (53, also listed as Negro). Joseph is listed as having been born in West Virginia and not having attended school. He is listed as being unable to work. Both Christianna and Joseph are said to have made income through sources other than money, wages or salary.
According to the Zanesville Times Recorder story, “Burns Fatal to Rendville Woman” printed on Dec 15, 1950, Mrs. Christianna Tyree “died in her home [on] Wednesday night as a result of burns sustained in the home last Sunday. Mrs. Tyree had opened the stove door when some hot coals fell out and ignited her dress.” Four of her five children survived her, two daughters and two sons: Laura Bailey of Rendville (with whom Christianna lived when she passed), Dorris I. Steele (California), Walter Williams (California), and Joseph P. Williams of Rendville. She had seven grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Christianna’s body was prepared at Gail E. Wallace funeral home in Corning, and services were conducted in her home by Reverend E.J. Carpenter. She is buried in the Rendville Cemetery.
Second Row Standing L-R: Doris Steele (Aunt Dollie): daughter of Christianna Tyree; Lydia Addison: ex-wife of Sumner Williams, neighbor and friend; Ms. Jess Harris: neighbor and friend; Laura Williams Bailey (Grandma): daughter of Christianna Tyree, wife of Harry Bailey
Seating L-R: Walter Sumner Williams (Uncle Sum): son of Christianna Tyree; Christianna Burwell Williams Tyree (1855-1950)
Joseph Thomas Williams (Uncle Joe): son of Christianna Tyree; Nathaniel Flagg: Son of Evelyn Flagg, grandson of Doris Steele, great grandson of Christianna Tyree; Evelyn Steele Flagg: daughter of Doris Steele, granddaughter of Christiana Tyree.
Christianna Tyree Letter to her son Joseph Thomas Williams, dated Oct. 23, 1909
Christianna Tyree Letter to son Joseph Thomas Williams, dated January 1, 1913
Potential misspellings of Christianna Tyree’s name in official records may include the following: Christiana Tyrer, Christmma Tyree
References
Year: 1910; Census Place: Monroe, Perry, Ohio; Roll: T624_1222; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0135; FHL microfilm: 1375235. From Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
Year: 1920; Census Place: Monroe, Perry, Ohio; Roll: T625_1426; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 71. From Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
Year: 1940; Census Place: Rendville, Perry, Ohio; Roll: m-t0627-03127; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 64-19. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
Find A Grave Memorial: Christianna Tyree (1855-1950). Memorial ID 127247831.
William J. (G) Woodson
Researched by Katherine Borland (The Ohio State University)
William Woodson’s middle initial is sometimes written with a “J” and other times with a “G”.
On the Civil War Monument in Washington, DC William is listed with a J. Back in the day the writing was very fancy and the letter “G” was mistaken for a “J”.
William Woodson was born in 1832 in Greenbrier County Virginia (now known as West Virginia). He moved to Berlin Cross Roads, Jackson, Ohio and was a farmer before the Civil War. After the Civil War he returned to Berlin Crossroads and worked at farming.
Woodson had a relationship with Louise Qualls (they never officially married), and they had one son (the Grandfather of Ada Woodson Adams). He did marry Alice Pevey, but they had no children. He last married Alice Morgan Dark; they had no children.
Woodson migrated to Rendville, Ohio to work in the coal mines about 1883. He and Alice lived on Scotch Hill in Rendville for many years.
William came from Marshfield, Ohio to Athens and enlisted in 1864, serving in the 5th Infantry Regiment, Company B of the United States Colored Troops. I often wondered if he came to Athens, because young Milton Holland was enlisting Black men to train for military duty.
Milton Holland was born an enslaved person in Texas. He was sent North to Albany, Ohio for an education and freedom. Milton was living in Albany when the Civil War broke out. He tried to enlist, but was denied because he was a Black man.
Milton wanted Black men to be ready when called to serve. He formed his own troop of men, and they trained at the Athens County Fair Grounds. When Governor Tod finally asked Black men to fight in the Civil War, his men were ready.
William Woodson’s military papers state he volunteered and was first in an unassigned unit. Later he was part of the 127th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This unit was later designated the 5th United States Colored Infantry.
Military records stated that Woodson was 6’2” with Black complexion, black hair and black eyes. However, the census records listed him as a “mulatto,” an antiquated term for a mixed-race person.
William was present at many military battles, but one of the most noted battles was at Chaffin Farm near Richmond, Virginia. This was the battle for which Milton Holland won the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Family memories describe William as a dapper, tall man who walked with a limp and when dressed, used a cane. When his grandson, Cecil Woodson decided to take his fiancé to meet his Grandad, and it took several hours to drive from Nelsonville to Rendville in the 1920s, he discovered his Granddad, in his late 80’s, who, upon spying the visitor, announced “I’m going dancing,” leaving Cecil and his fiancé in the care of Alice, who offered them a bite to eat after their long journey.
Information provided by Ada Woodson Adams, the great-great granddaughter of William Woodson and Louisa Qualls.
September 14, 2020
| William H. Addison | 1864 – 1951 |
| Joseph Edward Alexander | 1857 – 27 Jun 1922 |
| Susan Tate Alexander | 1837 – 19 Nov 1912 |
| Earnest Arnold | 1858 – 1926 |
| D. T. Ashby | 9 Nov 1857- died November 19, 1897, aged 40 years, 10 days |
| Mary P. Booker | 1864-1898 |
| Francis Dickey (Slave Name?) Brooks | 1820 – 24 Feb 1924 |
| James Cavender | died 1848, 48 years old |
| Florence L. Ginn Chilton | 1865-1935 (8 Jul 1935) |
| Thomas E Chilton | 1860 – 24 Aug 1942 |
| William Chilton | 10 Apr 1858 – 2 Jun 1917 |
| Angelina “Angie” Norman Clark | 1859-1900 (August 7, 1859 – May 23, 1900) |
| William E Clark | 1857 – 21 Jan 1935 |
| Thomas Cousins | 1823 – unknown |
| Richard L. Davis | 27 Dec 1862 – January 10, 1900, aged 37 years, 14 days |
| John Dodson | 18 Jul 1863 – 15 Mar 1941 |
| John W. Dotson | 18 Jul 1862 – 15 Mar 1941 |
| John Dotson | 1862-1941 |
| Albert Eatoms | 1860-1925 |
| Julia A. Clark Green | 1842 – 14 Oct 1916 |
| Peter Green | 1842 – 2 Nov 1906 |
| Ida Harris | 1856 – 1901 |
| William Harris | 1856 – 1929 (or 1928? Confirm ) |
| John M. Hazelwood | 1848 – 6 Jun 1928 |
| Mary Hall Hazelwood | 1852 – 9 Jan 1923 |
| Mary Hazelwood | 1852 – 1923 |
| William Hopkins | 1848-1918 |
| Georgia Johnson | 1865-1915 |
| Sarah Broodis Jones | 1860 -1937 |
| James M. Jones | 1836 – December 10, 1897, aged 61 years |
| Paul G. Kelley | 1863 – 7 Mar 1951 |
| Hattie Wells Kelley | 1864 – 6 Jul 1928 |
| Harriet Beecher Shelton Keyes | 27 Mar 1864 – 21 Jul 1921 |
| F. S. King | 1837-1904 (May 10, 1837 – February 25, 1904) |
| Allie Markam | 1860-1931 |
| Marshall Markam | 1858-1909 (September 15, 1858 – December 1, 1909) |
| Mary E. McGinnis | 1851- died November 27, 1901, aged 51 years |
| Rober McGinnis | 1840 – 20 Feb 1912 |
| Lydia “Liddie” Muse | 1847 – 20 Aug 1906 |
| Charles Preston | 1850 – 23 Mar 1925 |
| Julia Shepard Preston | 1850-1918 |
| Thomas Preston | 1847-1917 (28 Feb 1847 – 28 Mar 1917) |
| Annie Reid | 1854 – Jun 1901 |
| Edward Reid | 1846-1916 (August 2, 1846 – August 17, 1916) |
| Elizabeth Burnett Reid | 1846 – 14 Apr 1909 |
| Campbell Scott | 1853-1906 (June 14, 1853 – July 23, 1906) |
| Joseph Thomas | 1857-1936 |
| Patsy Thomas | 1862 – 14 Oct 1937 |
| Christianna Tyree | 1855 – 13 Dec 1950 |
| Caroline Vance | 1851- died January 2, 1906, aged 55 years |
| Morton Vance | 10 Apr 1840 – 16 Aug 1913 |
| Daniel White | 1836-1903 (February 13,1836 – April 18, 1903) |
| James William Wiley | 1861-1939 |
| Isaiah Williamson | 1845 – 25 Feb 1914 |
| Alice Woodson | 3 Nov 1859 – 15 Jul 1932 |
| William N Woodson | Jan 1832 – 21 Oct 1929 |
| Susan Wright | 1832 – died October 24, 1902, aged 70 years |