Greenwood Cemetery in Birmingham contains the remains of some of Oakland County’s earliest pioneers and most prominent citizens. Unlike the others who buried there though, George and Eliza Taylor were both born into slavery.
It is well-documented by the Birmingham Museum that George was born near Louisville, Kentucky and escaped slavery in 1855 by running north with the Underground Railround. After spending some time in Canada, he moved to Southfield in 1858 where he took up farming. When the Civil War ended, Eliza, who was born near Nashville, Tennessee, was finally free and determined to reunite with her mother after enduring a harsh separation years prior. She ended up finding her mother in Royal Oak, and shortly after their reunion, she and George met.
“They were married sometime before 1870,” local historian, Greenwood Cemetery tour coordinator and board member of the Friends of the Birmingham Museum George Getschman said. “They worked a little farm in Southfield, and they adopted a little girl named Clara. In 1881, the family moved to Kansas, but 12 years later, in 1893, they moved back to Michigan, here in Birmingham. They bought a house on Bates Street, just north of Frank, and lived in that house for the rest of their lives. George was very proud that he was the first African American to pay property taxes in Birmingham. Given the prevailing attitude concerning race and segregation in the 1890s, it’s remarkable that George and Eliza were accepted and highly regarded members of Birmingham’s community.”
The Taylors joined Birmingham’s Presbrysterian Church, and George was “affectionately known” as Uncle George in the village. However, in 1901, after cutting his hand on a straight-edge razor while shaving, George developed sepsis and died that year on November 3. His funeral took place two days later on what Getschman described as being “a cold, miserable day,” and immediately after the funeral, Eliza became sick with a severe respiratory infection, never able to fully recover. Six months after George’s death in April of 1902, Eliza died and was buried next to her husband.
Although both of the Taylors were buried in Section E of the cemetery, Getschman said “the casual observer walking through Greenwood would not be conscious of the role that these people played in our nation’s history” as neither have monuments to mark their burial places, adding that not having a monument is actually true for a number of people interned at Greenwood.
“It was astonishing that these two people, who had been a part of such an important story of our nation’s history, turned out to be a part of Birmingham’s story, as well,” Getschman said. “They joined our small farming community and lived their lives here, but then were totally forgotten for three or four generations. It was immediately apparent that we needed to do something about the missing marker.”
Piety Hill Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), a non-profit, non-political women’s service organization dedicated to preserving the memory and spirit of the men and women who achieved American independence, and the Friends of the Birmingham Museum came together in a joint effort to raise the needed funds to properly memorialize the Taylors. The DAR and Friends committed $2,000 to the project, which left $2,700 to raise from private donations from the community.
Additionally, a “Fall 2020 Pioneer Tour of Greenwood Cemetery” took place in September, which was led by both Getschman and another local historian, Linda Buchanan. The tour covered the earliest parts of the cemetery, known as the “pioneer period,” as well as the addition of the recently-acquired information about the Taylors. Proceeds from the cost of the tour also helped fund a marker for the Taylors’ unmarked graves.
With the sufficient funds, a large marker, similar in style to the older graves in the cemetery with biographical information about the Taylors, will be installed. The notation “Born in slavery; died free in Birmingham” will be included on the marker, as well.
“It’s the hope of many of us who love the history associated with Greenwood Cemetery that George and Eliza Taylor can be properly memorialized, so that anybody walking through our cemetery will know their story,” Getschman said.
Contact the Birmingham Museum to learn more about the Taylor monument project at (248)-530-1682.