Ebenezer Baptist Church Portsmouth

Portsmouth, Virginia: When Decoration Day Parades led to the cemeteries…

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Mount Calvary Cemetery Memorial Day Program, May 30, 1935. The Virginia Historical Society

Reflecting back on some of Portsmouth, Virginia’s early Decoration Day parades, when they led to the city’s oldest extant African American cemeteries: the historic Mt. Calvary Cemetery Complex (est. 1879) and Lincoln Memorial Cemetery (est. 1912)…

The Memorial Day observance in Portsmouth greatly eclipsed the former celebrations. Promptly at 10:30 a.m., the procession headed by the Municipal Bank, followed by a firing squad of U. S. sailors, the Uniformed Rank of Pythians under command of Major J. T. Fisher, I. B. P. O. of Elks and other secret fraternities. A striking feature was the large number of females in the parade – the Woman’s Relief Corps, the Patriotic Daughters of the G. A. R. and about six hundred school children dressed in white middie suits. A company of boys carried a massive blanket of flowers which was later placed upon the grave of their former chiefton, Prof. Israel Chas. Norcom, this silent tribute attesting the fact that though he sleeps his memory still is green. Floral tributes were also placed upon the grave of Miss Serena A. Moseley.

The program was very impressive. Dr. W. B. Anderson, preside

Dr. E. H. Hunter delivered the principal address in which he extolled the deeds of the old soldiers and plead for a continued loyalty and patriotism for the American flag.

The singing of the patriotic choir was an enjoyable feature.

After taps were sounded the mounted section of the parade was driven to the Lincoln Cemetery, where the G. A. R. carried on appropriate exercises around the monument.

The Daughters of the G. A. R. received much praise for the splendid granite curbing which they had placed around the monument at a cost of $150.00.

The School Children Honor the Memory of Their Dead

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Portsmouth, Virginia: Honoring Civil War Veterans of Virginia and North Carolina

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Photos: Nadia K. Orton, 2010-2019. All rights reserved

So pleased that Rev. Ashley H. Lewis has a new headstone! Photo: Dennis E. Orton, December 8, 2018.

In the summer of 2007, I began a family history project to document all interments in the Mt. Calvary Cemetery Complex. Established in 1879, it is the oldest, extant African American cemetery in Portsmouth, Virginia. It’s a historic site near and dear to our family’s heart, having over forty-eight ancestors buried there, although most are without visible gravestones.

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Portsmouth, Virginia: New Civil War headstones approved

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Two more replacement headstones for Civil War veterans have been approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs. They will be installed as time and weather permits. They are:

Cpl. John Cross, 10th United States Colored Infantry

Cpl Cross Mt. Olive Portsmouth Copyright 2011 Nadia Orton
Gravestone of Cpl. John Cross, Co. F, 10th U. S. Colored Infantry. Mount Olive Cemetery (Mt. Calvary Cemetery Complex). Photo: Nadia K. Orton, October 11, 2011.

Cpl. John Cross, of the 10th United States Colored Infantry, was born enslaved about 1833 in Gates County, North Carolina, owned by the Langston Family. He escaped in 1863, and enlisted on the fourth of December of that year at Craney Island, Virginia. He mustered in at Fort Monroe, Virginia, on December 17, 1863. He was appointed Corporal on August 1, 1865, and was discharged from service on May 7, 1866, at Galveston, Texas.

John Cross was married to Eliza Robbins, a free person of color also from Gates County, North Carolina, shortly after the war. The ceremony was performed by Rev. William Brock Wellons of the Suffolk Christian Church. Cpl. John Cross passed away on May 29, 1894, and was interred in Mount Olive Cemetery (Mt. Calvary Cemetery Complex). His wife, Eliza Robbins Cross, passed on July 2, 1913. She was also interred in Mount Olive Cemetery, presumably near her husband. Her gravestone has not been located.

Sgt. Ashley H. Lewis, 1st United States Colored Cavalry

Sgt. Ashley Lewis Mt. Calvary Portsmouth Copyright 2015 Nadia Orton
Gravestone of Sgt. Ashley H. Lewis, Co. B, 1st U. S. Colored Cavalry. Mount Calvary Cemetery (Mt. Calvary Cemetery Complex). Photo: Nadia K. Orton, May 23, 2015

Sgt. Ashley H. Lewis, of the 1st United States Colored Cavalry, was born enslaved in 1842 near Tarboro, Edgecombe County, North Carolina, on the Foxhall Estate. He enlisted on December 3, 1863, at Newport News, Virginia, and mustered in at Camp Hamilton on December 22, 1863. He was promoted to Corporal on April 25, 1864, and promoted to Sergeant on November 26, 1865. He was discharged from service on February 4, 1866, at Brazos Santiago, Texas.

Lewis Family Mt. Calvary Portsmouth Copyright 2015 Nadia Orton
The Lewis Family Plot, Mount Calvary Cemetery, Portsmouth. Photo: Nadia K. Orton, January 22, 2015.

After the war, Sgt. Lewis returned to Tidewater, Virginia, and married Josephine Baker, a free person of color from Smithfield, Virginia, on August 21, 1867, Portsmouth. The ceremony was performed by Rev. John W. Godwin, the first pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church (est. 1865), Portsmouth.

Sgt. Ashley H. Lewis was also an ordained minister, serving as pastor for First Baptist Church Mahan (est. 1866), Suffolk, Virginia, from 1880-1883, and the second pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church (following Rev. John W. Godwin), from 1885 to 1890, the year of his death.  According to information culled from his death certificate and an article from the Baltimore Sun, Rev. Lewis died from complications of apoplexy, or, a cerebral hemorrhage, on the morning of November 29, 1890. His wife Josephine, whose name also appears on the family monument, preceded him in death, passing on August 6, 1890. ♠