Gilda Smith,/Contributing Writer
A local landmark will be memorialized with a Historical Site Monument Dedication 11 a.m. May 27.
The Pyland African American Cemetery #2 (“PC#2”) s a Black Pioneer Cemetery located 12 miles north of Jefferson along Highway 49, about 1.8 miles from the Marion County and Cass County Line.
PC#2 is just behind Pyland Cemetery #1, being separated only by a chain link fence. Both cemeteries were donated by John D. Pyland and are on land still owned by the Pyland families.
The original Pyland Cemetery was established in 1877 and occupies the front or east side. PC#2 sits in back, on the west side and was established sometime after 1888. This type of separation was a well-established custom for the time.
In 1862, PC#2 was donated as a burial ground for the former slaves of John D. Pyland and the tenant farmers and sharecroppers of his three sons.
The late author-historian, Fred McKensie, stated that Marion County slaveholders considered their slaves to be “bondsmen or indentured servants and tended to be kindly towards them.”
Apparently, John Pyland was such an owner and his kindness and benevolence toward his slaves induced him to donate a portion of this family graveyard to them and their descendants.
There are many black pioneers buried in PC#2 who were born during the period of bondage: Sarah and Zack Gipson 1855 and 1862, Charlie and Mariah Gooden 1848 and 1861, Francis Ransom 1852, Harriet Stevens 1850, Mollie Mickens 1863, Cealie and George Adkins 1840 and 1842, Sam and Mollie Spoons 1863, Lucy Williams 1864, Jane Thompson 1847, J.W. Criss 1856 and Mariah Beckmon 1855.
Marion County slaveholders with surname matches to individuals buried in PC#2 include Captain Bill Duncan, Bragg Duncan, Lewis Patillo, Harris Johnson, William Johnson, Dugie Bolton, George Adkins and William Black.
The first and oldest recorded burial in PC#2 is Annie Lou Gipson, who was born in 1885 and died 1889. There are two Gipson families buried in PC#2 with descendants of Ed Gipson, patriarch of the larger Gipson families, having a significant presence in the Cemetery.
Ed’s son Zack Gipson purchased 50 acres of farmland in Marion County and is still owned by his descendants to this day.
During the 1870’s and 1880’s the number of farmers in the county increased to a high of 1,063. It was the tenant farmers and sharecroppers that spurred the economic growth, and many of them are interred in PC#2.
Farmers like Zach Gipson, James Smith, Charles Gooden, George Adkins, Robert Stevens and many others buried in the cemetery, have individually and collectively made important contributions to the wealth of Marion County.
PC#2 is governed by a well-organized cemetery association called the PAACC, established in 2004 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the upkeep, beautification, cultural and historical preservation of PC#2. Houston businessman, Robert Smith, grandson of James Smith and great grandson of Zack Gipson serves as President of the PAACC.
The dedication will be open to the public.