A Day of Remembrance

By Claudette Lewis Bard

On Sunday, January 5, 2025, the Family and Friends of Mount Sinai Cemetery held a Day of Remembrance, honoring those interred at Mount Sinai Cemetery. The group invited supporters which included family, neighbors of the area, as well as historians, public officials and the media. 

The Family and Friends group formed in 2020, and is affiliated with the Lovettsville Historical Society. The group’s founders include Ed Spannaus, Vice President of the Lovettsville Historical Society; Ron Campbell, former Leesburg councilman; Howard Gilbert Timbers. Jr., descendant of Pvt. Samual Timbers, buried at Mount Sinai Cemetery; and Claudette Bard, member of the Lovettsville Historical Society. The group’s goal is to bring this abandoned and neglected African American cemetery back to its original state and give those buried there the dignity and respect to which they are entitled.  

Back in 2021, the Family and Friends gathered a group of volunteers and cleaned up an area that included the visible gravestones. A few neighbors have kept that area cleared, but most of the ½ acre lot has overgrown weeds, a pile of wood that the current owner has dumped there and the stone foundation of the former Mount Sinai Free Will Baptist Church that remains covered in weeds. The area looks like a dumping ground. 

Welcome

The attendees received programs that included a picture of the cemetery, the agenda, and a listing of the 30 known burials at Mount Sinai. 

The program began with member Claudette Bard welcoming the crowd and thanking them for attending on this frigid, slightly windy day, which forecasters predicted the area’s looming snowstorm was coming. She introduced the members of the Family and Friends group, noting that Howard Gilbert Timbers, Jr., who lives in upstate New York, was unable to attend because his area has “real” snow. She went on to say to the crowd that if they were curious about the cemetery, they would know a lot more by the end of the program.  

Pastor Josh Wullenweber

Invocation

Pastor Josh Wullenweber of the New Jerusalem Lutheran Church gave the invocation and offered words of comfort. 

Recognition of Special Guests

Ed Spannaus recognized Geary Higgins who is a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 30thdistrict of which Mount Sinai Cemetery is a part. Delegate Higgins mentioned how important it is to remember and document history because, otherwise, it will be lost. 

Ed mentioned Caleb Kershner, member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors who represents the district. He was unable to attend because of a previous commitment.

Ed then introduced Daniel Cooper who is the unofficial “Mayor of Little Britain.” He is a life-long resident of the area, observer of the cemetery and a supporter of the Family and Friends group. 

Ed thanked Chris Barger, who lives next door with his family and he has been very supportive of the group. 

Long-time preservationist Lori Kimball was present and she mentioned how Donna Bohanon, president of the Black History Committee of the Thomas Balch Library, regrets not being able to attend. 

Ed stated that he had authorization to announce that planning is underway for Mount Sinai to be the initial pilot project for the newly-formed Loudoun Cemetery Conservancy, founded by Al Van Huyck. (The project will involve only the area in which gravestones are visible.) In order to honor and preserve historic cemeteries, the Conservancy will provide assistance to abandoned and neglected local cemeteries, and will have training programs as well as access to grants. 

History of Mount Sinai Church and Cemetery

Ed Spannaus talking about the history of Mt. Sinai Church

Ed Spannaus gave a brief history of the Mount Sinai Free Will Baptist Church. He told of how many Black communities sprung up after the Civil War, and why the community of Little Britain or sometimes called “Guinea” was unique in being a mission of Storer College and the Free Will Baptists in Harpers Ferry. Franklin Lewis was the son of Priscilla Lewis who was a free person of color and owned land in Lovettsville. Franklin Lewis attended Storer College, and helped to found this church and school in 1883. The corner stone was laid in 1885, and it was dedicated as Mount Sinai Free Will Baptist Church in 1887. The church building remained here until around 1980 when it burned to the ground. What remains now is its stone foundation located near the intersection of Mountain and Britain Roads. 

The first burial that the group has found was 1887. Ann America Paris was born around 1860. She married Henry Bird in 1879 at New Jerusalem Lutheran Church. She died young, at the age of 26. 

The last burial was in 1955, even though the church disbanded in the 1920s. The land fell into private hands and that contributed to its neglect. That is the reason for the Family and Friends’ mission—to bring it back to its original state. 

The Little Britain/Mount Sinai Community and Cemetery

Claudette Bard talking about the history of Little Britain and Mt. Sinai community

Claudette Bard told of how the research she has done of those buried at Mount Sinai Cemetery painted a picture of the lifestyles of the former residents of this once-thriving African American community. They were farmers, domestic workers and tradesmen. The Mount Sinai Free Will Baptist Church was the focal point of the community, where children attended school during the week and the community worshipped on Sundays. 

According to local residents, there could be as many as 80-100 souls buried in the ½ acre of land. Claudette made it clear that not only were people buried where the visible grave markers are but most likely interred over the entire ½ acre. The group has documented about 30 burials but have only found about 12 visible headstones and footstones. Of those documented burials, there were at least seven children who did not make it to their first birthday. Buried here is at least one victim of murder who was shot in front of her children at Linden Farm, a property that still exist today in Lovettsville. Her name was Kate Curtis Redman. 

In 1900, Henry Howard, an early civil rights leader in Lovettsville was laid to rest. In 1883, he was part of the Mass Meeting that was held in Leesburg. He joined 16 African American men from Loudoun County to petition the courts for recognition of their rights under the 14th and 15th amendments of the U.S. Constitution.[i] What they did was dangerous, in that they could have been jailed or lynched. Of the two requests, they were granted only one—the right to serve as jurors. 

Hettie Paris was one of the earliest burials at Mount Sinai Cemetery. She was laid to rest in 1888. She was born around 1805 and was most likely born enslaved. Looking at her life, she appeared to have stayed on, living in her master’s house after emancipation and continued to work there until her death. She rejoined her family in death., as there are quite a few members of the Paris family interred at Mount Sinai. 

The Black residents of Little Britain either died off, or moved from the area. The last known burial was 1955. The property fell into private hands and the church was destroyed by fire in the 1980s. The foundation and the few visible gravestones are what remain. 

Claudette concluded that this ½ acre holds a lot of history that the Family and Friends group believe should be preserved. 

Pvt. Samuel Timbers

Armatha Timbers Whiting talking about Pvt. Samuel Timbers

Armatha Timbers Whiting represented her brother, Howard Gilbert Timbers, Jr. (co-founder) and she spoke of their ancestor, Pvt. Samuel Timbers. The two are fifth generation descendants of Samuel Timbers. Pvt. Samuel Timbers is the most notable burial at Mount Sinai.

Samuel Timbers was born in 1848 in the Lovettsville area. His mother was Ann Maria Timbers, who was daughter of Margaret and Charles Timbers. He eventually lived in the residence of Daniel Householder where he worked as a laborer. Samuel decided to leave Lovettsville in 1864 and traveled to Baltimore where he enlisted in the Army and was part of the 29th Corps., the United States Colored Infantry (U.S.C.I). If the calculation is correct, he was only 16 years old. Soon afterwards, he became ill, and it is unknown as to what his ailment was. It was quite common that troops fell ill from various diseases during the Civil War. 

On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his troops at Appomattox Court House, Va., and Pvt. Timbers’ regiment was most likely present. Afterwards, the regiment reported to Galveston, Tx., and remained there. It is reported that Pvt. Timbers’ regiment was present when Union General Gordon Granger issued General Order #3 on June 19, 1865, that enforced the Emancipation Proclamation. Those enslaved in Texas did not receive this notification until two and a half years after it was enacted in 1863. This event is now celebrated as Juneteenth. Through this research, we know that Pvt. Samuel Timbers could have witnessed these two significant events in American history. 

(Photo: Jacqueline DuPuy)

Pvt. Timbers was discharged in 1865 and returned home to Virginia. In 1870, he married Julia Springs and raised six children, one son and five daughters. The Timbers family would like to thank Mr. Ken Fleming for his work in resetting Pvt. Timbers gravestone and honoring him every year on Memorial Day. Also, the family would like to thank the Clinton Hatcher Camp, Sons of the Confederacy for their selfless acts and kindness in honoring Pvt. Samuel Timbers. 

The Paris Family

Of the several gravestones that are visible at Mount Sinai Cemetery, the Family and Friends group have found a number of grave markers for several generations of the Paris family. They are as follows: Hettie Paris; J. William Paris; Louisa Ann Taylor Paris; Ann America Paris Bird, Georgiana Paris and John Ebenezer Paris. Hettie Paris is most likely the mother of J. William Paris. Louisa Ann Taylor Paris was the wife of J. William Paris and Ann America Paris Bird, Georgiana Paris, and John Ebenezer Paris were their children. They had other children as well. 

Lori Kimball talking about the Paris family

Lori Kimball researched the Paris family to see if they had purchased land in the Lovettsville area. In 1868 which was shortly after the Civil War and freedom, J. William Paris and his step daughter, Virginia Taylor (daughter of Louisa Ann Taylor Paris) purchased 6 ¾ acres of land from Rebecca Arnold.

The address was 12477 Mountain Road, which is located very close to Mount Sinai Cemetery. The land remained in their hands until 1899 when it was sold for back taxes to Virginia Taylor. A few years later in 1902, she sold it to Harry B. Cooper.

Another child of J. William and Louisa Paris was Melinda Ellen Paris. She married Charles Timbers and they moved to Cleveland, Ohio in the mid-1890s. They had a son named Elmer Brock Timbers who served in World War I. He died very young at the age of 29 years old, in 1924. 

Lori had not figured how Charles Timbers was related to Pvt. Samuel Timbers but thought there was a connection. In finding where the Paris family lived in Little Britain, one can understand the connection to the Mount Sinai Free Will Baptist Church. 

Lee Stone/Pvt. Samuel Timbers’ Grave

According to Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, the meaning of happenstance is, “a circumstance regarded as due to chance.” Lee Stone, a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, spoke of a story that defined that word perfectly. 

Lee recalled that he got interested in Pvt. Samuel Timbers in a most unusual way. Several years ago, Lee ran across an article in the Middleburg Eccentric, a local publication out of Middleburg, Va., and the article was about a tiny abandoned cemetery in Loudoun County. The article stated the cemetery contained the grave marker of a Civil War veteran and it was lying flat on the ground. Lee made it his mission to seek out this cemetery and traveled to the intersection of Mountain Road and Britain Road in rural northwestern Loudoun County. There several yards east of the stone foundation of the former Mount Sinai Free Will Baptist Church and among a few scattered visible grave markers, lay flat on the ground, was a gravestone that read, Sam’l (Samuel) B. Timbers, private of the Company H of the 29th U.S. Colored Infantry. It was a standard Civil War-era gravestone that was issued by the U.S. War Department. 

Lee Stone

Soon after Lee discovered this grave, he was drinking a mug of ale at his favorite restaurant, the Hunters Head Tavern in Upperville, Va., a restaurant he liked but seldom visited. There sat a gentleman next to Lee with which he engaged in a conversation. While in conversation, the two discovered they shared an interest in the Civil War history and the two found this commonality, so the conversation continued. Lee described his experience in finding Pvt. Timbers’ grave. The stranger then revealed his identity–he was Dan Morrow, publisher of the Middleburg Eccentric and he wrote the story of his discovery of Pvt. Timbers grave. They spoke more and Dan gave Lee his business card. 

Upon discovering the grave site and because Lee is a member of the Sons of the Union Veterans, he returned every year to place a flag to honor Pvt. Timbers. He was, after all, a Union veteran and deserved such a commemoration. 

Lee Stone attended a ceremony a couple years later at another cemetery. He mentioned finding Pvt. Timbers’ grave to a personal friend of his by the name of Ken Fleming. Ken is well-known in Loudoun for his work in cemeteries and in particular veterans’ gravesites. He was also quite active in the Clinton Hatcher Camp of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans. Knowing this, Lee did not expect much interest since Ken’s group honored those veterans who fought on the “other side” of the Civil War.  

Lee ran into Ken at a later event and was astonished at what he heard from Ken. Ken had used research from a friend of his, Raleigh Boaze, and he had obtained permission from the landowner, to mark out Timbers’ gravestone and reset the very heavy stone upright. Ken told Lee that he believes no matter what war or what side a veteran served, all military veterans’ gravesites should receive honorable treatment. The Sons of the Union Veterans owe these members of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans their gratitude for their selfless care for one of our veterans. 

Lee Stone then continued by saying what all Americans can learn from this gesture specifically Ken Fleming’s unselfish act of kindness. It truly demonstrates the values that Americans should hold and the attitudes we ought to feel for one another without regard to “North” or “South” or “Black” or “White,” creed or political beliefs.  He continued by saying that during this time of political stress, it seems that we would do well to follow Ken Fleming’s example.  

Benediction

Pastor Josh Wullenweber gave the benediction which was a fitting ending to this program. 

*****

The Family and Friends of Mount Sinai Cemetery wish to offer our sincerest gratitude to all of our supporters, family, and all of the speakers who attended this Day of Remembrance. It was an especially cold winter day and the attendees’ sacrifice in enduring the weather is appreciated. A special thank you goes out to Ed Bard for recording the event and Jacqueline DuPuy for photographing the ceremony.  


[i] For more information on the 1883 Mass Meeting, see here and here.