Hauppauge church to dedicate headstone to Alfred Griffin, former enslaved man who was never recognized
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. -- A Long Island church is preparing to dedicate a military headstone to Alfred Griffin, a former enslaved man and Union soldier who was never recognized.
It's been a mission for Nancy and John Wanamaker -- homage needed to be paid.
"It should be the beginning of a lot of understanding," Nancy Wanamaker said.
Nancy, 85, and John, 90, worked to help right a wrong within the Hauppauge Rural Cemetery behind the United Methodist Church where they are among trustees and volunteers.
"We are all one. Color shouldn't matter," John Wanamaker said.
It shouldn't, but it did. There was no headstone when Griffin was buried there in 1897, a Black man chased by bloodhounds while fleeing slavery. He later joined the Navy to fight for the Union during the Civil War.
"We are seeing our history disappearing," Thomas Bandamo said.
Bandamo and the nonprofit Society of the Grand Army of the Republic will be honoring Griffin for Juneteenth.
"Juneteenth is a celebration of the emancipation of all enslaved people in the United States," Bandamo said.
Trustees of the cemetery began investigating the life and military history of Griffin, providing detailed documentation to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, who paid for and delivered the marble marker in time for Juneteenth.
Bandamo explained that, on June 19, 1865, "It was general order number three given by President Abraham Lincoln ... Letting everyone know that they were no longer enslaved."
Griffin was then 37 years old and soon became a master mason.
"He could do more bricks than any two men," Nancy Wanamaker said.
"It's really marvelous that he finally has a headstone," Bandamo said.
Marvelous, too, that CBS2 was able to track down Griffin's 97-year-old granddaughter, Miriam Griffin, a former New York City public school teacher with vague recollections of going to the cemetery as a child.
"I remember my father going over. He'd take his rake with him and so on, and try to make it look as nice as possible," she said.
"And now it's gonna look really nice," CBS2's Jennifer McLogan said.
"Oh, thank you. Thank you for honoring my grandfather. I never met him. I never knew him, but I'm hearing a lot about him now," Griffin said.
She hopes to have a front row seat at the Juneteenth ceremony in the cemetery on Saturday.