NEW BOOK CHRONICLES HISTORY OF BLACK CEMETERY; LOCAL PAIR PUT HARD-TO-FIND INFORMATION TOGETHER ON SHADY GROVE CEMETERY

Periwinkle lines the path of Shady Grove Cemetery, and tombstones tell of former slaves and children of slaves in Cape Girardeau County at the turn of the century.

A new book titled "Dark Woods and Periwinkle: A Glance Back at Shady Grove" written by local historians Sharon Sanders and Diana Bryant chronicles a part of local black history.

"The periwinkle ground cover still blooms around the entire border of the cemetery," Bryant said. "This is a pristine, beautiful location that has stood the test of time."

Often old cemeteries have unique plantings, a tribute to those buried. But Bryant said the periwinkle ground cover is unique. "Someone had to haul it in and took great care to put it in place," she said. "It covers the paths and the borders."

The careful planting of periwinkle shows the importance of the cemetery to the Shady Grove community at the time.

Shady Grove was home to a cemetery and a school. The Shady Grove school was also known as Black Abernathy School and Black Pecan Grove School.

Obituaries included in the book tell something about the lives of the people buried there.

Pete Cato was buried in Shady Grove Cemetery. He was a "prominent Negro farmer of near Greenbrier, in Bollinger County." His obituary states, "Cato was a successful farmer as shown by his acquisition of 140 acres of the best land in the south end of Bollinger County."

Willie Giboney, a murder victim in 1924, is also buried at Shady Grove. Giboney had collected his week's pay but never returned home. Giboney's body was found on the railroad tracks near Blomeyer. The money was gone.

Also buried at the cemetery is "Aunt" Charlotte Gordon, "one of the oldest colored persons in this country and one of the last slave characters." She died in 1914 at age 99. Her obituary states: "She was brought here from Virginia in 1830 by the Gordon family and at that time was about 15 years old. When her party crossed the Ohio and entered anti-slave territory, she said she and the other slaves were locked up at night for safe keeping."

"Aunt" Caroline Neeley "died at her cabin in the Robert Giboney place" and was buried at Shady Grove in 1915. For 40 years she had been the cook and nurse for the Robert Giboney family.

The book also includes records from the Shady Grove School, including minutes from board of education meetings and enrollment lists and the names of teachers.

The book on Shady Grove stems from an earlier book the two wrote, telling the story of Holy Family Catholic Church and the Rev. Willis F. Darling. This book provides a historical and genealogical record of black Catholic families in Cape Girardeau.

"In talking to Father Darling and looking at early registries of the church, we noted Shady Grove Cemetery, but we couldn't find it," Bryant explained. "Everyone we talked to had heard of it, but no one seemed to know where it was."

About a year ago Sanders found "Old Black Shady Grove School" on an old map. The two followed the map and found the cemetery off Highway 74, above the former Pecan Grove School.

About 40 graves have markers, but Sanders and Bryant estimate some 200 people were buried in the cemetery without markers.

"We mapped the graves and the roads. We ran strings trying to estimate the number of graves," Bryant explained.

Sparks Funeral Home in Charleston, which used to be in Cape Girardeau, also assisted.

"They trusted us with all their Cape files," Bryant said.

Bryant said several people have asked why two white women are interested in researching a black cemetery.

"I can't imagine being black and growing up at the turn of the century," Bryant said. "The book doesn't try to do anything like that."

The book is a resource for historical and genealogical research. It includes documentation of people buried at Shady Grove, newspaper obituaries of several people buried there and information about the Shady Grove community from history files and interviews.

"I love genealogy," Bryant said. "One of the frustrating things in doing research is to find nothing documented."

Very little documentation exists for blacks in Cape Girardeau County trying to do genealogical research.

The book on Holy Family was a beginning. The book on Shady Grove continues that work, Sanders said. "This is a wonderful resource," she said.

"The only known picture of the school shows four little white girls visiting the area," Bryant said. The picture was taken in the 1940s as the girls stood in front of the abandoned building.

The book is being printed this week and should be available Friday. To order the book, call (573) 339-1066 and leave a message.

The book will also be available through the Cape County Genealogical Society.

The next project for the pair is a data base of persons in Cape Girardeau County who are black or mulatto. "The file is already 5,000 people strong," Bryant said.