Black Civil War veteran gets gravestone after 133 years of burial in Illinois cemetery

A gravestone dedication ceremony was held Thursday to recognize Black Civil War veteran Robert Parker who died 133 years ago and was buried in an unmarked grave in Cedar Bluff Cemetery, 1200 Rural St.

The ceremony was hosted by the Ethnic Heritage Museum and featured a presentation by the Sons of Union Veterans, a three-gun salute by area Civil War reenactors and spiritual hymns sung by Dorothy Paige-Turner.

David Ruffin of the Ethnic Heritage Museum said he was unable to fulfill a request to find any of Parker's descendants, but he did find several people in the community who wanted to help bring recognition to Parker and other Black Civil War era soldiers buried in unmarked graves in Rockford.

One of those people was Laura Furman, curator of collections at Midway Village Museum.

"Civil War veterans who came to Rockford afterward who were involved with the colored troops as support staff to the white troops have gone unrecognized for decades," she said. "Their service is every bit as important as the ones we have talked about more frequently. It's important that we give them credit for their service as well."

Parker was born a slave in 1923 in Missouri and later escaped to Detroit, Michigan, where he met his wife Mary.

The couple came to Rockford after Parker served with the 102nd United States Army Colored Troops, which fought to retain the union.

The couple became respected community members in Rockford.

Parker was an active member in the Grand Army of the Republic; and Mary was a member of the auxiliary, the Women's Relief Corps. Their membership was at a time when integration in civic organizations was anything but typical.

Parker died of rheumatism on April 4, 1891, and was buried at Cedar Bluff Cemetery without a headstone. After working with the local and the federal Veterans Administration, Ruffin secured a gravestone for him.

Veterans Memorial Hall and the Rockford Public Library also were instrumental in providing research on the Parker family.

A group of volunteers known as 815 Stone Scrubbers is currently cleaning headstones of Civil War Veterans and are in the process of ordering more stones for Civil War vets without a headstone and replacing damaged ones at Cedar Bluff and Greenwood cemeteries.

To volunteer or offer support, contact 815stonescrubbers@gmail.com.

Chris Green is a Rockford Register Star general assignment reporter. He can be reached at 815-987-1241, via email at cgreen@rrstar.com and Twitter @chrisfgreen.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford Black Civil War veteran's grave marked after 133 years