A Brief  History of Brewer Hill Cemetery

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Prior to 1884, a group of men from the community purchased 4.5 acres of land from Judge Nicholas Brewer for a total of $787.50. The plot of land was originally part of  the estate of Anne Arundel County, Orphans Court Judge Nicholas Brewer. Brewer used the property to bury his slaves, servants and employees of the black community. The group incorporated themselves as 

The Peoples Brewer Hill Cemetery Corporation of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The purchasers were: William Henry Cooper, William H. Calhoun, Joseph A. Be(a)ll, Charles T. Harris, William Phelps, George Davis, Robert Davis, Marcellus Hall (Undertaker), James H. Wooten, Allen Brown Parker Garver, and Joseph Allen

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The earliest documented burials occurred in 1797 it was a person of and unknown sex and cause of death. In 1817 and in 1819 two slaves named Dick and Tom.  Both men were accused of a crime  and were hung. The oldest erected marker that still stands is dated 1848. This burial occurred prior to the incorporation of  the cemetery. 

Another piece of history includes the hanging of Mary Naylor. Mary Naylor was accused of poisoning her "Master" in 1861. Again, Ms. Naylor denied  that she did not poison her " Master". Up until the moment of her death that was witnessed by two clergy and others . Ms. Naylor stated that her "Master" was just like family.More than 100 years later, through research efforts, family history recollections ,documents and written statements from Civil War Soldiers. Ms. Naylor was hung for a crime that she did not commit.

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More than 200 veterans from all foreign wars, all counties across Maryland, other states and countries. and all ethnic backgrounds are interred in this historic cemetery.

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        Judge Nicholas Brewer

               1795 - 1864 

            Marcellus Hall, Undertaker

Source:

1880 United States Federal Census

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Name:Marcellus Hall

Age:45

Birth Date:Abt 1835

Birthplace:Maryland

Home in 1880:Annapolis, Anne Arundel, Maryland, USA

Street:Gloucester Street

House Number:62

Dwelling Number:218

Race:Black

Gender:Male

Relation to Head of House:Self (Head)

Marital status:Married

Spouse's name:Cornelia Hall

Father's Birthplace:Maryland

Mother's Birthplace:Maryland

Occupation:Undertaker

 Earliest Burials and The Execution of  a Slave named Mary Naylor

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Slaves Interments

The occupants of the cemetery include slaves and former slaves owned by prominent families in Anne Arundel County. As these slaves aged they gained respect in the black communities. The owners of the slaves finally acknowledged and recognized them for their dedication in their final years of life and in many cases at their time of death.

Do you know how many former slaves are interred in the cemetery and their ages?

           Was he the oldest?

Want to learn more about the lives of the occupants?

Facts

Did you know that some of the occupants who are interred in this historic cemetery descend from an African Princess?

While other occupants are descendants of President John Quincy Adams.

As well as descendents of the husband of Harriett Tubman Ross.

Who's Buried Here and Where?

People from all ethnic backgrounds.

Fred Miller, age about 49 .  His usual occupation was by trade a tailor. He died on January 10, 1914, from pneumonia, birth date unknown, parents unknown and birth place unknown. He died in jail in Annapolis, Maryland according to his death certificate. His burial took place on January 12, 1914 at Brewer Hill Cemetery. Learn more about people from other ethnic backgrounds including people from the Dominican Republic during Maryland Day.

Ellen Helen Brown Parker

First female undertaker

Memorial marker found

 This stone is the memorial marker that was placed at the location of Mrs. Parker. She was the first known female to own and operate a mortuary. She operated her business from her home located on Clay Street in Annapolis, Maryland.

This stone was located in 2017.

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Joseph Be(a)ll , original incorporator dies at the age of 95. Born about 1835 in South Carolina, Bell became a Minister of the Gospel and  served within the Peoples Cemetery Company of Annapolis, Maryland.

Source:

State of Maryland Certificate of Death Citation No: 04176

There are more than 7,000 people interred in this historic cemetery. We are making an effort to document all of our loved ones. Please support the efforts by asking older family members to give information about people that they may have known who are interred in the cemetery. Look in old family bibles, check old funeral programs, death certificates, oral histories and share them with us. Carrie Estelle Snowden: Carrie Snowden was one of the twenty founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American women. It was important to support women in college, career and community life in a segregated society. Carrie's legacy in creating and participating in the sorority was an organization that has generated social capital for nearly 100 years. The founder of The AKA Chapter XI Omega Chapter of Howard University is interred in this cemetery. Although Carrie's tombstone documents that she was born in 1884, her death certificate dates that she was born in 1887. Carrie Estelle Snowden, passed away on January 8, 1948. She is interred in a family burial plot owned by her grandfather Reverend Alexander Dennis.

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For more information about Carrie Snowden and other interments please contact us. All information about the burials of the occupants have been collected using vetted sources and citations.  Note: Memorial markers are not always accurate. Official Vital Records have been obtained to correct inaccurate birth and death dates whenever possible.

Below are examples of items for which we are looking including burial locations of occupants of the cemetery. 

Her mother married a Godly man from a local church. Carrie passed away nine years after her mother.  Carrie also had two siblings whom are resting nearby.

Funeral Services Held

Reverend Alexander Dennis

Funeral Programs

Funeral programs are a way to pay respect and give a lasting memory of your loved ones life experiences. They oftem give addtional information that may not be included in a death notice  that has been placed in a local newpaper. In many instances the programs are accurated. However, their are some programs that do not give the accurate information.

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Alverta Brice

Honoring Life

Let us know if your loved one had significant moments in his/her lifetime.

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Allsup Julia Anna

Brown Leon B.

Brown Daniel

Cecil John J. Minister

Hammond Mary

Hutton Marry A.Walker

King Mary Corinne

Lane Henry

Parker Eva

Parker Baby

Queen John Henry

Simms Samuel

Spencer James

Walls Carrie

Warnock Joseph W. Jr.

Watkins Susan

Williams Margaret

Death Certificates

If you have Death Certificates please let us

know about them. This will help us eliminate researching duplicate burials.

IThompson Collections

Memoir  of  Reverend Thomas Osbourne Carroll

Reverend Thomas Osburne Carroll, son of Jacob and Margaret Bias Carroll, was born in Anne Arundel County, Maryland on March 10, 1843. At the age of sixteen he was converted and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church.  In April of 1865, he was licensed to exhort. He became licensed to preach on August 24, 1867 by the Secretary of The Old Washington Conference, Reverend Benjamin Brown,. Sr., P.E.

According to his memoir, his funeral service was held at Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church in Annapolis, MD, at 2 P.M. on July 20

Reverend N.M Carroll, D.D., Pastor.

Reverend W. H. Gaines, District Superintendent, conducted the services. Impressive addresses were delivered by Reverends W.H. Gaines, A. Dennis, N.M. Carroll, H.A. Carroll,  His Wm. H. Draper and J.J. Cecil. Prayer was offered by Rev. Joshua Barnes. His remains were laid to rest in the People's Cemetery, Annapolis, Maryland.

Source: Memoir of Thomas Osbourne Carroll Thompson Collections

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Funeral  Home Directors 

In the earlier years during the establishment of Brewer Hill Cemetery History, there were many Funeral Home Directors who served black communities. Samuel Hemsley Funeral Home was located in Baltimore, Maryland. Samuel was a member of the Masonic Lodge. His clients included many members of the Old Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church. Alexander Hemsley was a respectable businessman. Many of the families that Alexander provided burial service to are interred in Laurel Defunct Cemetery. 

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James A. Adams

I           Kathy Adams Collections

Alderman James Albert Adams served the community in Annapolis, Maryland and beyond. He was also a undertaker and blacksmith by trade.

He was a man that served in the community. In 1907, Adams purchased property, that was surveyed from the boundary lines of College Park to the Annapolis Elkridge Railroad. The property was dedicated and is now known as the J. Albert Adams Academy. He was member of St. Anne's Church, Annapolis, Maryland and is interred at St. Anne's Cemetery. Numerous black men from the community served as Aldermen. They include; Wiley H. Bates and Raymond Dorsey Garver, son of incorporator Allen Brown Parker Garver, son of a former slave, Jacob Garver of Pa.

 Maryland Day Photos 

          IThompson Collections

Clergy of The Old Washington Conference are interred in the cemetery without a marker. This conference organized just four days before slavery ended in the State of Maryland.

November 1, 1864.

Conservation, Preservation and Documentation

You Are Not Alone

                 Marriage Certificate

            Thomas and Hattie Reed

 Thompson Collections

IThomas and Hattie Reed Baden interred at Brewer Hill Cemetery. They were the parents of Photographer Thomas Baden. Several of their children are interred at the cemetery.

Thomas Edward Baden was born on March 6, 1880 according to his official Death Certificate in Anne Arundel County. He was the son of Augustus and Louise(?) Baden. He passed away on February 16, 1964 and is interred at Brewer Hill Cemetery.

Source: Certificate of  Vital Records Death  Citation: 01436

MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN BURIAL FACTS

Did you know there are many men and women who served in foreign wars and who are interred in the cemetery that do not have a Military Marker?  Most of the Civil War Veterans families provided their own personal markers.  Genealogy research documents that there are many....... we will explain more when you join us for a walking tour.

Garver Family Plot

Allen B.P., Allen. Hester, Raymond Dorsey, and Annie Elliot Garver are interred in this burial plot. Allen B.P. Garver, also served in the Civil War. He was one of the original founders and he was a member of the Universal Lodge #14, Annapolis, Maryland.  His father is interred in Bethel Burying Ground Cemetery.

Fifty-five-year-old Jacob Garver died this date, February 17th, in 1854 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Fifty-five-year-old Jacob Garver died this date, February 17th in 1854 of “Debility” and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. The death certificate states that he was a “native” of  Lancaster, Pennsylvania. However, the 1850 U.S. Census reports that he was born in Maryland. In addition to Mr. Garver, the family included forty-five-year-old Maria Garver and […]

Sources: 

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William George Miller

Plot Ownership

Historic records of burial plot purchases

I'm William Diggs, past Cemetery Sexton of the People's Cemetery of Anne Arundel County. Prior to becoming the caretaker of this cemetery there were other people who maintained the cemetery. Many of them were former slaves who could not read nor write. However, they knew exactly where everyone was buried. There are slaves, businessmen and women interred in this cemetery that I once maintained. Military men and women who served in the wars that have claimed many lives. There are preachers and teachers, doctors, lawyers and everyday people who helped build African-American churches, schools and communities of which my ancestors lived in. People from within Maryland and abroad the United States are interred in this cemetery and that includes the unknown people who were identified as unknown as well as other people from many ethnic backgrounds whose remains are resting in this cemetery. Some may have a headstone, footstone or symbolic figure that marks the spot where they lay in state. With your help we hope to = identify everyone. 

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Death Certificate and Genealogy Requests

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We are happy to respond to requests for lot locations of deceased family members as a service to our visitors. It is best to submit your request in writing.

As we are a non-profit cemetery, we reserve the right to charge a nominal fee for research that is requested and takes significant time to complete. Submit a request form.

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• Research Fee – Members:  $20.00 per hour;  Non-members:  $25.00 per hour

• Minimum Request - 1 hour of research.   Payment must accompany your request.

• Copy Fee for successful results - $25.00 per copy, plus postage (if required)

• We cannot guarantee that a search will be successful, and the research fee is not refundable. There are many people with the same first and last names and accurate information must be provided for Death Certificates. All burials have not been documented. 

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Can you guess the age of the oldest person who was interred in this cemetery?

Pages In American History

Many occupants of the cemetery played a significant roll in building the Black Communities in Maryland and beyond. It is important that we preserve the pages of this rich history and share it with future generations. This is a burial insurance log that was found in an antique shop. It was purchased for $5.00 many years ago. I'm glad that I purchased it!

                           Reverend Benjamin Truly Perkins

His death certificate documents that he passed away in 1938. However, his tombstone dates he died in 1940. The death certificate is the final official record of a person's life. Sometimes the memorial markers are incorrect.

Research requests:

           Planning to visit the cemetery?

Take a snapshot of your loved ones marker. It will also help us to document the burial section. Don't let our history be washed away.

Use your GPS and map it.

Thank you!

 We are seeking volunteers to help document the interments If you would like to help us.

Please send an e-mail to historybrewerhill@gmail.com.

Subject line:  Genealogy request

Please allow two to four weeks to process. If you have a loved one interred in the cemetery, please let us know.

When using this  site please give  proper credits to the site owner

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