Many of them settled in Liberty Township. In 1849 the first A.M.E. Church was built at Weaver. A Baptist communion was formed to the north of town in 1854 and in the '70s a Wesleyan Methodist church was built west of Weaver. These churches are now abandoned for the negroes have moved to town (Marion) and very little remains of the once thriving little village.
The land here is low and drainage very difficult. The cemetery is being used occasionally but most of the race prefer another place for their cemetery.
The above was written by the DAR in the 1940's.
On Jan. 26, 1990 an article appeared in the Chronicle Tribune about the Weaver Community. Below are portions of that article.
"At the intersection of 300 West and 600 South, hundreds of acres of flat, plowed farmland stretch out for what seems like forever. The scene is dotted by a handful of buildings, mostly farmhouses and barns, floating like bobbers on an earthen lake.
Welcome to Weaver.
Weaver was Grant County's first black settlement. Founded in the mid-1840's, it was home to free blacks and emancipated slaves from the South.
Descendants of the original five founding families are still a part of the Grant County Community, while the town remains only a memory - a mark on an out-of-date map.
The town consisted on one square mile of land surrounding 300 West and 600 South, known locally as the Crossroads. Fewer than a dozen houses can be found in the area now. At the turn of the century, there were about 50 families, two schools, two general stores, a church and a harness racing track.
'People used to come from all over to watch the races,' said Cleo Beck, 80, the grandson of Mathew Beck, one of the first settlers of the town.
Using his memory during a drive down 600 South, north of 300 West, Beck, rebuilt the town of his childhood.
'Down the road a little ways was a school,' he said pointing west on 300 West. 'And here, there was a store.' Beck pointed at the corner of the Crossroads.
The store belonged to John Henry Weaver, who gave the town its name. As a boy, Beck remembered Weaver and his store.
'Everyone had chickens and would go there to cash the eggs in for food. In the winter, when you couldn't do much work on the fields, that's where everyone went to talk,' he said. 'Weaver was kind of a stocky fellow, real jolly. He had a nice attitude and a nice personality.'...
.. Beck's grandfather, Mathew, and father, Fred, were part-owners of the race track. His mother, Zella, played the organ at Hill's Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The church was founded in 1849.
The original building was a simple wooden structure near 250 West and 600 South, next to land owned by the Weaver chapter of the Masonic Lodge. In 1957, the building was replaced by a white concrete block structure, a bit smaller than the original church.
By that time, however, Weaver was fast becoming a memory. The town was thriving at the turn of the century, but by the 1930's, many of its citizens had moved to Marion or other larger cities.
'The farms were too small to keep a man and his family busy,' Beck said. 'A lot of people moved to Marion. That's where the jobs were.'....."
She, too, lived in the area, at 5400 S. 250 W., before moving into the Bradner Village Health Center in Marion. ....
Weaver Cemetery Burden, Jane wife of Daniel Burden died Aug. 10, 1881 aged 63 years Lewis died July 6, 1890 aged 43 years * Margaret wife of Z. Burden died Sept. 29, 1870 aged 28y.10m.19d. Evans, Cicero 1852 - 1941 S/S with Julia Julia 1854 - 1936 S/S with Cicero * Julia wife of Fountain Evans died Mar. 25, 1863 aged 42 years (recently found) Gulliford, * Thomas "Sgt Co. F 28 U.S. C. I." Hill, * Eliza J. dau of C. & M. Hill died Aug. 16, 1863 aged 13y.5m.6d. Jackson, * John W. "Co. B U.S. C. I." Jones, Chas. died July 11, 1917 (No age or birth date was recorded on this stone.) Ethel Ruth dau of Z. & F. Jones died Apr. 28, 1907 aged 9y.6m. Etta (No dates.) Louisa wife of A. Jones Feb. 27, 1865 - Sept. 13, 1916 "Mother" Zeno died Apr. 20 1899 aged 22 years Keen, * Malissa A. dau of S. & M. Keen died Feb. 12, 1873 aged 1m.22d. Mitchell, William S. died May 13, 1885 aged 24y.2m.26d. (This stone was badly weathered and illegible.) Peters, Benjamin H. died May 27, 1881 aged 80y.2m.26d. (This stone was broken.) Peterson, George W. "Sgt Co. F 28 U.S. Cld Inf." Pettiford, Carlos Q. 1909 - 1947 Carrie J. May 13, 1881 - Sept. 11, 1939 John W. 1879 - 19__ (Death date not filled in.) Joseph J. 1861 - 1943 Martha E. 1863 - 1940 Pulley, James died May 29, 1884 aged 80 years "Father" S/S with Lucy Lucy wife of James Pulley (No dates.) "Mother" S/S with James Robinson, * George died July 25, 1865 aged 43 years Smith, Clarrinda J. dau of N. & P. Smith July 16, 1877 - June 8, 1893 Henry E. son of N. & P. Smith Sept. 15, 1870 - Aug. 7, 1872 Lydia E. dau of N. & P. Smith Aug. 22, 1864 - Sept. 1, 1882 Marcella Mar. 1, 1914 - May 22, 1915 Stewart, Addie 1872 - 1941 Frances A. wife of Samuel T. Stewart Nov. 22, 1846 - Mar. 22, 1915 S/S with Samuel T. Samuel T. Dec. 5, 1844 - Sept. 17, 1914 S/S with Frances A. Wallace, Aaron T. "Co. C 18 U.S. C. I." Eva Nov. 29, 1877 - Aug. 2, 1939 Lewis (No dates.) "In memory Lewis Wallace who gave the Weaver Community this cemetery 1866." Ward, Charles A. 1862 - 1952 S/S with Sarah L. Geo. W. born Mar. 14, 1884 died ____ (No death date was recorded.) Lowdema 1946 - 19__ (This stone was broken and part of it was missing.) Sarah L. 1861 - 1922 S/S with Charles A. Weaver, Armilda died Sept. 6, 1880 aged 17y.7m.26d. Elizabeth wife of F. W. Weaver died July 6, 1881 aged 38 years Eugena died Feb. 24, 1890 aged 19y.2m. Frank W. died June 23, 1892 aged 52y.1m.28d. "Dearest Father thou hast left us, her thy loss we deeply feel, but tis God who hath berft us, he can all our sorrows heal." * Henry died Aug. 10, 1902 aged 69y.9m.23d. * Luemma dau of B.L. & N. Weaver died Sept. 28, 1864 Matilda 1820 - 1910 "Mother" * Sarah C. wife of U. Weaver died Mar. 26, 1900 Sarah R. wife of J.H. Weaver died Feb. 9, 1888 aged 26y.2m.18d. Wilson, Percillar P.A. 1880 - 1913 Young, Mary L. wife of Squire Young died Apr. 17, 1876 aged 53 years S/S with Squire, and Mary L. also had a separate stone with the same information on it. Robert C. son of S. & M.L. Young died Sept. 7, 1876 aged 7y.1m.28d. (This stone was badly weathered and illegible.) Squire died Aug. 19, 1891 aged 74y.11m.19d. S/S with Mary L.The following was taken from the book 'Less We Forget', published in 1921. The high school class of Cora M. Straughn visited some of the pioneer cemeteries of Grant County and recorded people that were born before 1840. "Another cemetery for colored people is located in a field about a mile and a quarter northwest of the Weaver cemetery. There was formerly a little Baptist Church located near this cemetery but it has fallen to decay. There is but one aged negro yet living who attended this church, Nathan Jones. The inscriptions are almost obliterated on the old stones." I found the following entry in the 'Atlas of 1877 of Grant County Indiana', "The Regular Anti-Slavery Baptists have a small class in the colored neighborhood. They have church property of the probable value of $100.00 and a membership of about 30. Jeremiah Shewcraft is local Pastor." Jones, * Charles born 1821 * William born 1759 Schucreft, * Jerry born 1770 From Cora Straughn's 'Lest We Forget', published in 1921. I visited this site in the fall of 1996 and didn't find any of the stones listed by Cora Straughn's class. I did find two stones not listed previously. This cemetery is located in Section 4 Twp. 23 N. Range 7 E. about 1/4 of mile south of State Road 22 and almost 1/4 of a mile west of 300 N., in a small woods, on a 13 acre parcel of land owned (1996) by Joan Wilson. Jones, Charles B. 1879 - 1915 White, Lindsey "Sgt. Co. F 28 U.S. Cld. Inf." Old Weaver Cemetery
* Asterisk denotes a stone not found at this time.
...Original page by Sheila D. Watson
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