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Farming For A Better Future, page 343
(Above) Photograph of Farmer's Capital School, Date of the Image and the Child Depicted is Unknown (Huntsville Revisited Facebook Page) them members of his family like his brothers Eddie and Orlando, gathered the initial $700 for the school. Their father, Burrell (or Burwell), a carpenter and brick mason, began construction on the one-room schoolhouse in 1928, presumably following the Smith-Rosenwald plans. Later, another room was added. Garth and Bertha also boarded teachers in their home and were trustees of the school. 19 ■ Fennell Plantation* and Fennell (Fennil) Cemetery The Fennell Plantation, also known as Fennell Place and sometimes spelled as Fennil or other variations, has connections to many of the Fennell family. One of the first recorded Fennells in South Madison County, James C. Fennell (1780-1817) is thought to have the oldest headstone in all of Madison County. When he passed away, his last will and testament inventoried his large estate, including at least 320 acres of land on the west side of Green Mountain (southwest quarter and the west half of the southeast quarter of Section 4, Township 5, Range 1 East; and the southeast quarter of Section 30, Township 4, Range 1 East). At the time of his death, he owned 25 slaves. His estate was divided among his wife and children, leading to several other Fennell properties in the area. Isham Fennell's will from 1815 records his 200-acre property on the northeast border of the Redstone Arsenal. Isham left several slaves to his wife, Temperance, and their children, although the total number is not known. When Temperance died in 1844, her will divided 28 slaves among her children but did not include any land. Records may be incomplete because there is evidence that Isham bought the section containing the Fennell Cemetery in 1843, although this is not included in his or Temperance's wills. George W. Fennell, son of Isham and Temperance, died around 1848. His estate was on the far eastern border of Madison and Jackson counties. However, he also owned 120 acres in the northeast of Redstone Arsenal, just south of his father's land. His will also included a reference to “40 acres of the Old Fennell tract,” although where that is located is not clear. In 1830, George W. Fennell owned 19 slaves and by his death, he had 33 slaves. In a summary report for the Fennil/Fennell Cemetery, historian John P. Rankin concluded that the cemetery is “generally believed to have been used exclusively by black families through the years. However, a check of the old land records for its location shows the pioneer ownership of the parcel. Any of its owners could have begun the cemetery as such by burying family members there, and then when black families came into possession of the land, they naturally continued to use the cemetery for interments.” There are only three marked graves in the cemetery, including Corp. Joseph Beasley (1839-1918). According to his headstone and a personal history recorded in Thomas Henry Kenny's “Slave Genealogy,” Beasley served in Company C of the 12th United States Colored Infantry (USCI). He was born in 1843, and by 1869, he lived as a farmer on the plantation of Matt Strong. His parents were Bill and Maria Beasley, and his wife was named Emmaline. James had a brother named Elick, who also served in the 12th USCI. Not all the names and dates match up exactly, which is not uncommon for records of the time. James was often abbreviated as “Jas,” and Joseph as “Jos.,” which are very similar. No Elick was recorded in the 12th USCI, but there was a Nick Beasley. Others said to be buried here include the relatives of Emma Lankford Horton, a previous resident of the area who was interviewed in 1999 and 2000. Horton said that her mother, Magnolia Baker Lankford (born August 23, 1902); her aunt, Maggie Simpson; and her brother, Walter Lee Lankford are all buried in the Fennell Cemetery. 2011 Gaines Chapel* and Burton Cemetery Although not directly related, these two points of interest were once side by side. Founded in 1911, the Gaines Chapel was a Missionary Baptist church in Mullins Flat on what is now Redstone Arsenal. There was once a separate schoolhouse next to the church, but it was torn down and school was held inside the church. Known as Gaines Chapel Church School, it served the children of the area, including Shirley Chunn (interviewed in 2005), granddaughter of Adolphus Love, who owned a substantial amount of land in Mullins Flat. Burton Cemetery is a family cemetery located just west of the chapel. It's named for Joseph Burton, whose land was just north of the cemetery on a parcel belonging to Kirby Cartwright in 1841. Although it was located on land owned by white families, the U.S. Army identified the Burton Cemetery in 1952 as a “colored” cemetery. Subsequent research has revealed some of the individuals who are interred there. According to Georgia Mae Lacy Lanier, a former resident who grew up in Mullins Flat, “Lucy Fisher Lacy was one of the six children of Jackson Fisher and Hannah Fisher. She died in the 1930s and was interred in Burton Cemetery. Depending on her birth date, she was either born a slave or ‘just down from slavery.'” Others known to be interred at Burton Cemetery are: Bernice Copeland, Bessie Burton, George Burton, Susie A. Burton, Ella B. Chunn, Annie Willingham, Mary Cuff, L.V. Tate, William and Tansy Barnhard, and 21 other unmarked graves. 211 Glenwood Cemetery Glenwood Cemetery is located west of downtown Huntsville on Hall Avenue. However, the history of the cemetery is entwined with another, older cemetery, The Old Georgia Slave Cemetery. In 1818, Leroy Pope, known as the “Father of Huntsville,” sold two acres of land to the city of Huntsville, which reserved the lot for a slave burial ground. This cemetery was known as the Old Georgia Cemetery, thought to be named in reference to the state of Georgia, where many of the slaves were born before being brought to Alabama by their masters. The Old Georgia Cemetery was located where the Huntsville Hospital is located today. While the history of the two cemeteries have become muddled, there is no record or other evidence for any of the interments at the Old Georgia Cemetery having been moved to Glenwood. 343 - MADISON - (4871)