Henrico Baltimore Family Cemetery/West Africa Community Graveyard to be deeded to descendent of Henrico Baltimore

William Baltimore, of Ashburn, knows something that very few descendants of the enslaved are able to learn; he now knows the final resting place of his great, great, great, great grandfather, Henrico Baltimore. Henrico Baltimore was the first formerly enslaved person post-Civil War to purchase land in the West Africa community located in Warren County, Virginia. On August 21, 2021, William and his brother, Lenox Baltimore, will travel to Warren County to visit the cemetery, assist in cemetery clean-up and to sign the deed to the cemetery land.

William Baltimore (left) and Jeff Taylor (right) standing by the Henrico Baltimore Family Cemetery/West Africa Community Graveyard sign in June 2021.

“I want to thank everyone that made this day possible. Without your help, who knows what would have happened to this incredible and important Baltimore family history. There is still plenty of work to be done and the Baltimore family is ready to explore and learn more about all of the freed slaves and enslaved within the Henrico Baltimore cemetery,” said William Baltimore.

Jeff Taylor, of Strasburg, and Ellen Gant, of the Middletown Historic Society, have been maintaining the Henrico Baltimore Family Cemetery/West Africa Community Graveyard since Taylor rediscovered the site 2018.

The Henrico Baltimore Family Cemetery/West Africa Community Graveyard is where enslaved and freed persons were buried. “The enslaved labored at the Robert McKay plantation,” Taylor said.

Burials conducted by freed individuals, who obtained land and established a community called West Africa, continued until the 1930s. The estate was purchased prior to the Civil War by Joseph Painter. “Former enslaved persons became sharecroppers in exchange for a deed of a small plot of land,” Taylor said.

In January 2020, 140 graves were documented and mapped at the graveyard by students from Shenandoah University and John Handley High School, lead by Jonathan Noyalas, director of the McCormick Civil War Institute and history professor at Shenandoah University. Since that time, more graves have been rediscovered. It is estimated that the cemetery holds at least 200 graves.

There will be a small, informal ceremony commencing at 10am at the cemetery. In attendance will be church leadership to offer blessings and individuals that have supported the effort over the years through donations and volunteering.

Prior to the ceremony, at 8am, volunteers will gather to clean up the site by painting, removing weeds and picking up debris such a fallen tree limbs.

• DATE: Saturday, August 21, 2021
• TIME: 10:00 am
• LOCATION: Warren County, Virginia (contact Kristin Iden at kristin.d.iden@gmail.com for location details if you wish to attend.)