March
20, 2018
History of Helping Hand Cemetery Club
The established date for the Helping Hand Cemetery Club was December 17, 1913.
The Helping
Hand Cemetery Club was re-established June 2017and maintained by family members
whose loved ones are interned on the property located on Main Street about a
mile from the Southampton Courthouse with its back end extending to the Nottoway
River. In a very short time, there are over 30 charter members listed whose
generous funds are used strictly to improve and sustain the property. This
milestone action was spearheaded by Alton Darden, the first president of the
newly established club.
In old
ledgers dating back to 1921, over 174 members, mostly with family connections,
were accessed a fee of 10 cents per month which was later raised to 20 cents per
month. The records indicate ailing members of the Club were paid 50 cents per
week for sick benefits with a notice from the doctor which was later raised to
$1.00, 50 cents for the loss of a family member, donations to a school in the
community and payments were collected for burial plots costing $25.00 per
person.
The Trustees
of the Helping Hands Society Club, a charitable organization, were J.M. Scott,
J. N. Darden, J. W. Ridley, C.W. Brown, C. T. Ricks, J. T. Taylor and Thomas,
conveying $5.00 to Solomon Stephens and his wife Bossie, for the consideration
of the deed for the cemetery.
These same
gentlemen were also trustees to the Macedonia Baptist Colored Church, plot
#136, where the original burials occurred until it reached its capacity.
The cemetery
was designated as lot #91, Deed Book #40 in the Clerk’s Office of the
Circuit Court of Southampton County Virginia.
The deed was
presented, certified and added to the records on September 25, 1914 and was
delivered to J. M. Scott on December 23, 1913.
There are 470
plus known internments in the cemetery which are listed on the Find A Grave®
website (https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2156787).
There are
plans are in the making to honor veterans interned at the ceremony, to honor
longtime caregivers, hold Mother’s Day ceremonies, erect a newly design name
sign and plans to hold a celebration to mark the location as a historical site
.
The club is accepting members
to be a part of this historical experience. They may contact any of the
following Trustees:
Alton
Darden - President - amd18084@aol.com (313) 414-9430
MelvinJohnson-VicePresident–mel_johnson@msn.com (757)879-4141
Maurice Darden - Membership Chair – modarden@aol.com (919) 632-3166 Gail
E. Lover - Secretary, Parliamentarian – glover8311@aol.com (619) 264-6454
Presented by Gail E. Lover, Secretary