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Lincoln Cemetery
Burial Records

Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama

GPS: 32.36773, -86.26533
T16N R18E Section 16

Contributed by: "Lonewalker" []
Published: June 24, 2023
Total records: 6,724

This cemetery is in the north east corner of Lincoln Road and Harrison Rd in Montgomery, Alabama.

Lincoln Cemetery was established in 1908 with the burial of Queenie Victoria Lee McClanahan by the America Securities Company and was the first all black cemetery in Montgomery.

Originally designed for seven hundred spaces in the Olstead design, it now holds more than ten times that amount of recorded burials. After it was sold in 1957, the landscape suffered many years of serious damage and vandalism such as broken vaults. This was in part because of illegal burial practices and general neglect.

The City of Montgomery formed an authority known as Lincoln Cemetery Authority in 2010 after years of complaints and pushing for changes to city codes governing burials. A cease and desist order was put in place after Ground Penetrating Radar revealed the staggering number of graves, some of which are encroaching on WAKA property as well as Harrison Road. This authority took on the challenge of restoring and maintaining cemetery grounds. All work was done by volunteers and board members with donations from various organizations and private citizens.

The entire board resigned after the City allowed a burial to take place due to political pressure. Lincoln is not a legally operating cemetery according to the municipal codes passed by the Mayor and City Council yet burials sporadically have occured.

The travesty of Lincoln Cemetery is its rich African American History that was lost over the years. Almost all visible markers have been photographed and documented for inclusion on this website. Funding and installation of the beautiful fencing at the only entrance was provided by the Montgomery Rotary Club.

Cemetery Records

Records linked below were compiled by a person going by the nickname, "Lonewalker", from tombstone inscriptions, sexton records, and other official documents. "Lonewalker" once served as a volunteer for Lincoln Cemetery Authority, and later became its Secretary and Treasurer, photographing all markers and transcribing them to put into a book format.

Assistance for this transcription also came from Martha Phyllis Powell Armstrong, who after retirement dedicated herself to transcribing cemeteries Alabama. Armstrong read Lincoln Cemetery twice with the Montgomery Genealogical Society and a third time with Lonewalker in 2010. Without Armstrong's previous readings, this transcription would not be nearly as complete due the damage to the landscape and graves.

Anyone wishing to obtain a grave marker photo can contact "Lonewalker" by clicking the e-mail icon in the header above.

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