When The Ancestors Whisper

Nov 2

Written by KMc

From the historic Highland Cemetery to the historic Quindaro in Kansas City

Illustration of a cameo silhoutted figure of a woman from the turn of the century. She is speaking wisdoms to her relatives in the modern era. Her breath is drawn as colorful wind upon wisdom and history of the family tree are guiding her relatives. — Ancestral Whisper

I do believe our ancestors guide us.

During one of my ancestral journeys home to Kansas City last year, I spent some time in Kansas researching my second-great-grandmother, Tillie, who was born in Lawrence in 1880.

Miss Tillie has been whispering to me recently.

First, she’s been pointing me back to Highland Cemetery in K.C., MO, where she is buried. This historic Black cemetery in Kansas City now has digitized records online at FamilySearch, which gives us better access to finding more ancestors interred there. Big thanks to the archivists at the Black Archives of Mid-America for locating Miss Tillie’s resting place for me during my visit to Kansas City last year, and for digitizing the interment records for everyone.

Photo of the cemetery booklet from the historic Highland Cemetery of Kansas City Missouri. "Devoted to the exclusive use of the Negro Race" — *Courtesy of the Kansas City Public Library, Missouri Valley Room*

Second, she’s pointing me to another historic place in Kansas that needs our help. While I was in Lawrence and Topeka searching for Miss Tillie, friends and fellow members of KAAHGS (Kansas Afro-American History and Genealogical Society) told me about Quindaro in Kansas City, Kansas.

Established in 1857 along the Missouri River, Quindaro became an important gateway to freedom for enslaved people escaping Missouri and seeking refuge in Kansas. It was a Black town in a free state.

So I set out to visit Quindaro and its historic bluffs above the Missouri River. If you know me, you know my curiosity leads me to the heritage museum. When I arrived, what I saw hurt my soul: it was closed and in disrepair. I’ve wondered about it ever since. Then, this headline caught my attention: “The Old Quindaro Museum is a wreck. This group has 90 days to begin saving it.”

The Old Quindaro Museum & Information Center, also known as the John Walker Home, is more than an aging structure. It represents generations of resilience, freedom, education, family, and community. It preserves, shares, and passes down the stories of Old Quindaro’s earliest Black families.

This historic home needs our help! The Concerned Citizens for Old Quindaro, Inc. (CCOQ) is asking 1,500 people to give $20 each to help take a critical step toward restoring the museum and reopening its doors to the community.