Cemetery Name: Father Moses Dickson
Location: 845 Sappington Road, Crestwood
Year Opened: 1903
Year Closed:
Type or Affiliation: African American
Number of Burials: 12861
Removals To and From:
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 2
StLGS CD Ref. Number: F03
Fiche / Film: 0
Sacred Green Space (Pg.): 431
Additional Sources:
Notes: Friends of Father Dickinson Cemetery maintain the grounds.
Records on microfilm
Father Dickson Cemetery Burial Books, Vols. 1-3, 1904-1983 (microfilms SLCEM–4 through SLCEM-6 in drawer 14 on Tier 5)
These microfilmed cemetery books record key information such as the dates of death and interment, name of deceased, places of birth and death, sex, married or single, age in years, months and days, lot, block, and section, number of certificate, The column for cause of death was covered over during filming.
A map of Father Dickson Cemetery can be downloaded as a PDF. The digitized map is provided courtesy of the St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic.
History of Father Dickson Cemetery
The Father Dickson Cemetery Association of St. Louis purchased nineteen acres from William Thane for $5,200 to use as a cemetery according to a front page article of the 18 July 1903 issue of the Carondelet News. The land was “. . . at the junction of the Sappington road and the Carondelet branch of the Missouri Pacific railroad, near the old Gen. U.S. Grant farm . . .”
On September 4, 1903, the St. Louis County Advocate newspaper reported on the cemetery’s dedication ceremony, which took place on August 30. “The cemetery for colored people, located on the Sappington road, south of Oakland, was formally dedicated last Sunday [August 30] to the memory of Father Moses Dickson by the Knights of Tabor and Daughters of the Tabernacle, of which he was the founder.” The article further went on to say that more than 3,000 people attended the ceremony and “. . . the Knights of Tabor had 200 uniformed men in line, headed by the Odd Fellows’ band.”
The following transcribed news article from the St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat, August 31, 1903, page 12, provides the most extensive description of the dedication.
Father Dickson Cemetery is Formally Dedicated
The Father Dickson cemetery for colored people, situated on the Sappington road, south of Oakland, St. Louis county, was formally dedicated yesterday by the Knights of Tabor and Daughters of the Tabernacle, of which the late Rev. Moses Dickson, for whom the new cemetery is named, was the founder. The ceremonies were attended by nearly 3000 people from the city and county, most of whom were members of the societies founded by Rev. Dickson. A train over the St. Louis and San Francisco railroad, at 2 o’clock p. m., took ten coach loads of people from Union station to Oakland, and several hundred more went from the city and other parts of the county on the electric lines and in private conveyances. The Knights of Tabor, with 200 uniformed men in line, headed by the Odd Fellows’ band, marched from Tabor hall, Eleventh street and Franklin avenue, to Union station and participated in the ceremonies at the cemetery. Joe E. Hereford of Chillicothe, Mo., conducted the ceremonies according to the ritual of the order. Addresses were also delivered by Rev. D. P. Roberts, Rev. E. D. W. Jones, Rev. R. H. Cole, Rev. Fred McKinney, Rev. B. W. Steward, J Milton Turner, Walter M. Farmer and Rev. R. C. Gillum. The remains of Rev. Moses Dickson, which formerly rested in St. Peters cemetery, have been removed to the grounds dedicated to his memory, and are the first to be interred in the new cemetery.
Bibliography of Sources about Father Dickson Cemetery
“The Colored Exodus: A Brief Summary of the Work Done by the Refugees’ Relief Association.” St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat. June 11, 1879, p. 8; digital images, Nineteenth Century Newspapers. [Father Dickson was president of the Colored Refugees’ Relief Association.]
“Dedicate Father Dickson Cemetery.” St. Louis County Advocate. 4 Sept 1903, p. 1. Tier 4, drawer 40
“His 76th Birthday, Rev. Moses Dickson Will Celebrate it Royally.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1874–1922). March 22, 1900, p. 11, digital images, ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Subscription database through St. Louis County Library
Jack, Bryan M. The St. Louis African American Community and the Exodusters. Columbia, Mo.: University of Missouri Press, 2007. Call no. R 977.866 J12S and circulating copy
“Negro Cemetery Dedicated.” St. Louis Republic. 31 August 1903, p. 7. Tier 4, drawer 86
“A New Cemetery.” Carondelet News. 18 July 1903, p. 1. Tier 4, drawer 40.
“Secrets of the Underground Railway Told by a St. Louis Director.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1874–1922), Feb. 4, 1900, pg. A3; digital images, ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Subscription database through St. Louis County Library
Whitfield, John. Champions of the Exodusters: The Saga of Reverend Moses Dickson, Charlton Hunt Tandy, and the Black Pioneers. Prattville, Ala.: Afritel Productions, 2004. Call no. R 977.866 W591C and circulating copy
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis County, Missouri, Vol. 6. St. Louis, Mo.: St. Louis Genealogical Society, 1982- . Call no. R 977.865 O44 and circulating copy.
Sappington-Concord: A History. St. Louis: Sappington-Concord Historical Society, 1999. Call no. R 977.865 S241 and circulating copy
Wright, John A. Discovering African American St. Louis: A Guide to Historic Sites, 2nd ed.. St. Louis: Missouri Historical Society Press, 2002. Call no. R 977.865 W951D and circulating copy. Father Dickson Cemetery appears on page 142.
