John Lewis 1845-1941 - Thayer Cemetery, Northville Township, Wayne County, Michigan
Submitted by Mark Jennings, Canton, Michigan
John Lewis 1845-1941
"Private, Company G, 102nd U. S. Colored Infantry Regiment" 1864-1865
(This is the 1st Michigan Colored Infantry later changed to 102nd USCT
The mystery is that on top of his tombstone is the Mason's symbol. I did not know that the Freemason's accepted blacks into their society. John Lewis and his family is buried in the back of this cemetery, a distance from the other graves. It appears they were separated. This is only the second cemetery where I have found black graves separated from white graves. Though he was separated from the whites, he was inducted into the Freemasons? I have e-mailed a Freemason's website to ask for info about the Freemasons and blacks in the 1800's. If I get an answer I will forward it to you.
Mark Jennings
Category: Civil War |
Subcategory: Resting Places |
Tags:
Michigan ,
1941
Related Topics / Keywords / Phrases:
1800,
1845,
1864,
1865,
1941,
Michigan,
