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Lincoln Cemetery, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
T. Morris Chester Tombstone Ceremony, September 21, 2002
On Saturday, September 21, 2002, descendants of Thomas Morris Chester, journalist, educator, diplomat, lawyer, scholar, gathered at his grave in Lincoln Cemetery, Penbrook, to unveil a newly refurbished gravestone with corrected year of birth. The ceremony was a part of the United States Colored Troops Institute Regional Conference, held at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that weekend, at the National Civil War Museum.
The 
photographs on this page were taken on Saturday, September 21, 2002 at Lincoln Cemetery, at the gravesite of T. Morris Chester. Descendants of Chester from America and Africa participated in this moving ceremony that unveiled a new tombstone for this important Harrisburg African American citizen. Chester's old tombstone had become worn and sunken through the years, and was inscribed with an incorrect year of birth. The new stone unveiled on September 21 was raised by six inches, cleaned and inscribed with his correct year of birth. Many pictures on this page can be clicked to view a larger image. This is the first of two pages.
Left: Calobe Jackson, Jr. points out nearby tombstones of interest to the Chester descendants. Nearby are the graves of Jane and George Chester, parents of Thomas, and famous Harrisburg restaurateurs. Next to the grave of T. Morris Chester is a large and impressive stone for his brother, David R. Chester, a Philadelphia City Council member who died in office. Many local families have ties to the Chester family through the children of George and Jane, and through their grandchildren.
At right, members of the American Legion Honor Guard stand ready to begin the ceremony. While in New Orleans, in 1873, T. Morris Chester had been commissioned a Brigadier General of the 4th Brigade, 1st Division of the Louisiana State Militia. That appointment was probably political in nature, as Republican Governor William Pitt Kellogg had to rely on the militia as a source of his power base. Chester's actual experience with war was as a recruiter in Harrisburg for the 54th Massachusetts regiment and as the commander of a company of local African American men organized to defend Harrisburg during the 1863 Confederate invasion. He later was a war correspondent for the Philadelphia Press, covering the role of Black troops in the Army of the James in 1864 and 1865.
Left: Mrs. Ella Mae Simmons of Wesley Union AME Church, Lincoln Cemetery Chairperson, checks details before the start of the ceremony. At the right is the tombstone of a brother of T. Morris Chester, David R. Chester. David was the second African American to serve on Philadelphia City Council. He died in office in 1889 and his widow married political activist and educator Jacob C. White, Jr., of Philadelphia.
At right, guests begin to gather as event organizers hand out programs for the ceremony.
All photos on this page and on the next page are by George F. Nagle and are property of Afrolumens Project.
Chester's funeral notice from The Patriot, 1892
Go to Photos from USCT Conference
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