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Resting Place of 'Baby Naomi' Watched Over |
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Montgomery Advertiser |
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Date: 11/19/2004 |
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By Al Benn |
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Ken Tilley of the Alabama Department of Archives and History found the apparent grave of a 3-week-old infant at the site of a boarding house not far from the state Capitol. |
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- Alvin Benn Advertiser |
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Her tiny body apparently was buried in a field behind what once was a boarding house at the corner of Scott and Bainbridge streets not far from the Capitol. |
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The inscription on her headstone reads: "Baby Naomi, Dau. Of W.T. and L.A. King, Sept. 14, 1916. Died Oct. 4, 1916." |
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| Under that was: "The Lovely Flower Has Faded." | |
| The boarding house was torn down two years ago, leaving a large area overgrown in tall grass and weeds. That's when Ken Tilley first saw the headstone and couldn't get "Baby Naomi" out of his mind. | |
| Tilley, who works for the Alabama Department of Archives and History, enjoys examining the past. When he saw the big field, he began to think about possible clues to what once had been. He looked for bricks, bottles and anything else that might help him better understand life in Montgomery nearly 90 years ago. One day, Tilley noticed a wall on a hill across the back of the field. He decided to take a closer look and that's when he found the headstone. It had been lodged into an indention of the wall and driven a few feet into the ground. A mound in front of it led him to believe that's where the baby is buried. Tilley examined statistical information about Montgomery's population during that time, but they revealed little about those who stayed at the boarding house. |
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| "Black families lived there," he said. "Other than that, we really don't know much about them or the Kings. There were probably a lot of Kings in Montgomery during that time." | |
| He checked census figures and other records, but couldn't connect the apparent grave site to any Kings. He couldn't find a death certificate with Naomi King's name on it, either. | |
| "They could have moved after Naomi died," said Tilley. "Government buildings are replacing houses in that area. Maybe there will be interest in disinterment if a grave is found next to the stone." | |
| Infant mortality was common during the early part of the 20th century. It's still a problem today in some parts of Alabama, but medical treatment for babies was relatively primitive compared to today. On Tuesday, Tilley returned to the site and met with Joyce Nicoll, who helped found the Alabama Cemetery Preservation Alliance, which is dedicated to preserving the state's cemetery heritage. Nicoll took one look at the headstone and the mound in front of it and knew what had to be done. She doesn't want the remains, if they are there, dug up and reburied. |
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| "We hope when this property is developed that this grave will remain and that this angel will stay here to guard it," she said, as she examined the headstone. "This is part of history. Every grave should be honored." | |
| Tilley believes whoever built a concrete retaining wall years after the baby's death may have had the same thought in mind. The indention behind the headstone appears to have been cut into the wall to allow the grave to remain. Nicoll, who travels the state examining old cemeteries and their histories, said removal of remains from grave sites requires a permit from the Alabama Historical Commission. She said she doesn't plan to ask for one in Baby Naomi's case. |
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| "She has been here all these years, almost 100 years," she said. "Let's don't move her. Let's honor her where she is." | |
| Nicoll said she would place information about the gravesite on her group's Web site: http://www.alabama-cemetery-preservation.com in an effort to find descendants of the King family. | |
| "We want to see the grave restored and protected where it is," she said, of a site that had remained hidden for decades until Tilley noticed it. "It's an angel for that spot." | |
| As for Tilley, he's happy that something is being done, but still wonders about the infant and her short life. | |
| "There are more unanswered questions now than when I first found it, including if there's even a body there," he said, as he began to walk back to the Archives Building. | |
| For now, though, Tilley is pleased that Baby Naomi's final resting place will be protected. | |
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| Alvin Benn writes a column for the Montgomery Advertiser. (334) 875-3249. | |
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| ACPA Notice: If you wish to contact Ken Tilley, you may call the Alabama Department of Archives: 334-242-4435 www.archives.state.al.us. Contact information for Joyce Nicoll: alabama79@att.net. | |
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| ACPA Notice: The ACPA Representative for Montgomery County is Frank Brown. If you would like to contact Frank about this article or any cemetery issues in Montgomery County, please visit the ACPA Montgomery County Representative Page for contact information. | |
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Copyright©Alabama
Cemetery Preservation Alliance (ACPA), 2003-2009 |
