A family tree. A found gravestone. A phone call.
All these pieces have played their part in restoring a historically Black cemetery in Dublin that had been lost to memory around the turn of the 20th century. The Brown-Harris Cemetery, which sits at 6540 Shier Rings Rd., envelops an enduring story of family history and a collective purpose to properly honor the interred.
The City of Dublin entered this tale after purchasing a parcel on Shier Rings Rd. in 2016. However, it was unknown that at least 22 graves sat underground until a civil engineering firm hired to study the property rediscovered a multi-grave cemetery in 2020.
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The firm, EMH&T, helped the City connect archaeological records and accounts from previous landowners to determine that the cemetery’s property had once been owned by Mary Harris. A freed family originally enslaved in Virginia, Harris and her relatives traveled to a plot in the Dublin area granted to them through their emancipation in the 1840s. She then married James Brown, connecting the two families for which the cemetery is now named.
Census records suggest a timeline in which the John Rings family acquired Mary Harris Brown’s property and likely removed grave markers for farming in the early 1900s. EMH&T also unearthed a record of a possible cemetery from local historian Bill Likens, who had discovered a headstone on the site in 2004 when looking for Native American artifacts. An interview with Likens shed light on stories from Rings relatives who also thought a cemetery sat on the land, and relentless research from EMH&T engineers kept this history alive.
Connecting the Dots
Standing in a different cemetery more than a thousand miles away in New Mexico, Joe Howard, a man already interested in exploring his family’s genealogy, decided to answer an unknown call. An interview with Likens shed light on stories from Rings’ relatives who also thought a cemetery sat on the land, and relentless research from EMH&T archaeologists kept this history alive.
“I got this phone call, and it wasn’t on my contact list, so I almost just deleted it or hung up,” Howard recalled. “He wanted to tell me they found this cemetery that had some of my relatives … so I listened.”
“That was five years ago, and away we went,” Howard said. “With [EMH&T’s] help and the City of Dublin, we made it happen.”
So began a journey of strategic restoration and development among the Brown and the Harris descendants, EMH&T and the City of Dublin’s landscape architects.
“We were involved in everything,” Howard said of supporting the design as a representative of the Harris family. That included choosing the plants, stones and elements of the cemetery’s new monument. “I just didn’t realize it would be that wonderful, that they wanted to make sure that the family had everything they wanted…it was all left up to us.”
Honoring Ancestors
During a warm, blue-skied morning, jazz music mixed with the buzz of visitors awaiting the June 28 dedication ceremony for the Brown-Harris Cemetery. More than 100 people gathered to listen to speeches, poems, a ground blessing and the storied history that led to that moment of deference for those buried. The date was chosen to coincide with Juneteenth commemorations centered on African American history.
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“I’d like to take another opportunity to share my gratitude to all the family descendants here today — and those who could not join us — for their enthusiasm and yearslong commitment alongside the City to make this cemetery such a revered space,” said Dublin City Manager Megan O’Callaghan during the ceremony.
“Your contributions, not only to your ancestors but to our community as a whole, will not be forgotten. This cemetery is now a dedicated place for our current and future residents, and visitors alike, to learn from and to honor.”
While the cemetery’s history is complex, the tranquility that has stemmed from the restoration is not.
“My wife and I will visit this quite often, this place. Just sit here and think about things,” Howard noted after the event. “It’s a wonderful site. I’m really happy to have it. It’s part of our family.”
Anita Howard Dixon, a Brown relative who also attended the dedication, reflected on her own personal story.
“We knew of Mary Brown as our great-great-great grandmother but had no idea about our connection to this land. So, being able to acknowledge that and seeing how much work was put into this is very heartwarming for our family.”
Stella Howard, another descendant of the Browns, expressed her sorrow that those buried would remain unnamed. She said, after years of waiting, the almost-forgotten space now can ensure the history of her foremothers and fathers will not be erased.
“If I just want to come by myself and have a conversation with my ancestors, I can,” she said. “I am thankful for this place.”
Theresa Hopkins Dearing, standing next to the newly dedicated cemetery, encouraged all to visit the sacred ground set aside to recognize her Brown family connection.
“We want to honor our loved ones, our past. We need to keep track of our ancestors because they’re the reason that we’re here today.”
Read the Brown and Harris family statements, discover a detailed historical timeline and view photos and video from the dedication event at dublinohiousa.gov/brown-harris-cemetery.
Rebecca Myers is a public information officer for the City of Dublin. Feedback welcome at rrmyers@dublin.oh.us.
