Around the World in a College Cemetery

Hampton University Cemetery

Hampton, Virginia

 

 

 

The world is an interesting place. However, even more interesting are the people who inhabit this world. There are a vast array of cultures, races, and nationalities. Each is unique and special in its own way. Sadly most of us will only experience a select number of these places, cultures, and peoples  during our short lives. We may read about them or watch shows about them, but for many of us even this is limited. Up until the other day, I would not have considered a cemetery to be a place of cultural diversity. It just goes to show that you never know what you will find when your feet dare to enter the sacred spaces of the deceased. As I entered Hampton University Cemetery, I took a trip around the world and found myself immersed in cultures different from my own.

 

 

It is easy to overlook the small cemetery attached to Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. As far as cemeteries go it is relatively small  and sits just down the road from the very large VA Cemetery. In fact I will admit that as I immersed myself in the rows and rows of Civil War dead buried in its goliath neighbor, I never even knew this little gem was waiting down the road. I was clued into this fact by a co-worker who shared my love of cemetery exploration and had beat me to the discovery. I greatly appreciated his recommendation and set out to see what was so interesting about this little plot of land. You see the truth is that this cemetery is a diversity lovers dream. Stones faithfully share the heritages and nationalities of may buried here and many are distinctly unique.

 

 

 

I suppose this is to be expected from a college like Hampton University which from its own founding has greatly encouraged diversity. The school's founder Brigadier General Samuel Chapman Armstrong can be found resting in the cemetery between two interesting roughly cut stones. The headstone is a large piece of volcanic rock from his birthplace of Hawaii where his parents had been missionaries. The stone at his feet is from Massachusetts where he is reported to have received his education. His desire in founding what is now Hampton University was to see that newly freed slaves where educated and given the tools they would need to survive in the post war, economically destroyed south. It was here that Booker T. Washington both studied and taught before moving on to Tuskegee University.

Another interesting chapter in both the university and this cemetery was that of the Native Americans who also came to study here. Following the end of the Indian Wars, braves from several of the Plains Nations were taken to Florida and imprisoned there to be used as leverage should the subdued tribes revolt. It was while they were imprisoned, that many felt the need for education. In future years, Hampton University invited many of their children as well as other Native Americans to come and study at the school. Unfortunately many succumbed to sicknesses likely brought on by a much different climate than they were accustomed to. In this cemetery are several rows of these young Native Americans. Their small stones of white marble look strikingly similar to the mass produced military stones and each proudly bears the name of their native tribe. It is quite a sight to behold and seems so out place in this coastal Virginia town.

 

 

 

The diverse nature of this cemetery does not end here though. As you peruse its small number of stones you will find former students and faculty from Zululand, South Africa; Tavoy, Burma; Nassau, Bahama Islands; and Gienfueges, Cuba. Some other interesting highlights include the stone of one young man who's epitaph reads, "A short but complete life." A former music teacher is also present whose stone bears this interesting poem,

 

A bell is not a bell

Until you ring it

A song is not a song

Until you sing it

A love is not a love

Until you share it

 

 

Should you desire to embark on this interesting trip around the world and immerse yourself in diversity simply find where the Shore Road meets the Orchard Road. The Cemetery is contained in this small block like area. Just proceed a short distance down Shore Road past the backside of the large VA cemetery