Looking Through Delta Burial’s Historic Records Together

Community members gathered Saturday, October 24, at Pleasant Hope M. B. Church for a workshop on historic records and family preservation hosted by Crimson Stories in partnership with Scan South.

Participants looked through records from the late 1930s belonging to Delta Burial Corporation. The workshop was part of a larger project to digitize the company’s funeral records from its first 50 years, dating from 1925 to 1975.

“It was just special to see everyone pouring over records from the late 1930s paying attention to every detail,” said Tommiea Jackson, founder of Crimson Stories.

Scan South has spent months carefully digitizing Delta Burial’s delicate record books. Jackson thanked Manuel Killebrew, president and director of Delta Burial Corporation, for opening the archives to the project. “His willingness to open up these archives does more than just help us record history. It gives us a chance to learn right now about the people in our past,” Jackson said.

The workshop also introduced participants to ways of preserving their own family records. Attendees shared that the presentations and conversations helped them understand the importance of protecting family history. Josephine Lipsey Jackson described the gathering as “a case of gifted minds feeding gifted minds,” with conversations that continued after the presentations ended.

The workshop was supported by a $10,000 grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council and America 250.