Church Hill
Virginia Black History Archives
Church Hill
Oral History Collection
This collection consists of transcripts of 35 oral history interviews conducted in 1982 that were part of a project to document the history of Richmond's historic Church Hill neighborhood. Sponsored by the Historic Richmond Foundation through a grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the interviews were with former and current residents of Church Hill.
The project director was Akida T. Mensah, president of the East End Think Action Committee. VCU provided secretarial support, advice on organizing the project and methods of conducting oral history interviews.
The typed transcripts were scanned in 1994 under the direction of the library's Electronic Archives Coordinator as part of the Virginia Black History Archives project. The original audio cassette tapes and transcripts are retained by Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University.
To access a transcript,
click on the individual's
name.
- Allen, Florence M. (b.1898)
Fourth Baptist Church; Dog Bottom; Mt. Olivet; Emancipation Day.- Baldwin, Bessie Bailey (b.1907)
Depression; Influenza Epidemic of 1918; Streetcar Barn; Father's restaurant.- Christian, James S., Jr. (b. 1918)
Member of Virginia General Assembly; Pilot in Second World War and Korean Conflict; Bill Robinson; Fourth Baptist Church.- Courtney, Rachel (b.1905)
Domestic work; Church Hill leaders.- Dandridge, Lillian (b.1905)
Former teacher; Church and school life; Furman (architect); Prominent people.- Dennis, Katherine "Kitty" Tyndall (b.1896)
South Africa; St. John's Church area; Visiting the Van Lew Mansion.
- Finley, Hattie (b.1893)
Arriving in Richmond in 1911; Railroad tunnel collapse; Family enterprises; Perfumes; Street Cars; Broad St.- Fitzpatrick, Helen Williams (b.1911)
Jefferson Park; Williams Pharmacy; Railroad tunnel collapse.- Flannagan, Katie (b.1902)
Joseph Hodes; Dr. Vernon J. Harris; Church life; 27th Street; Working in downtown Richmond.- Gary, Susan, D. (b.1890)
Former teacher; Monte Marie Convent; Libby House; Children's play; Family life on 2700 Block of East Franklin St.- Harris, Diane
Dentist; Wife of Henry L. Marsh III.; Daughter of Dr. Vernon J. Harris; Father's practice; Bill Robinson Theatre.- Harris, Jean Ellis (b.1931)
Physician; First African-American to attend MCV and first to be member of Va. Gov.'s cabinet; Daughter of Dr. Vernon J. Harris; School life in 1940s; Parental influence and segregation; Joseph Hode; Four corners of 29th and Q Sts.; Virginia Union University; Family and school life.- Hicks, Horace R. (b.1903)
Physician; Church Hill baseball; Dr. William H. Parker and sports.- Holcomb, Lucille B. (b.1891)
House destroyed by fire; Valley School; Rev. Bowler; Nickel Saving Bank; 2800 Block of East Leigh Street; Barrett family.- Holman, Amanda (b.1907)
Retired tobacco factory worker; Cousin's grocery store; Midwives; C.C.A. Baseball Park.- Howard, Maggie Alease Taylor Jackson (b.1902)
Domestic worker; Neighborhood and Church life; 29th Street Car Barn; Holiday celebrations; Conditions during World Wars; Racial incidents.
- Jackson, Samuel (b.1904)
Postal Worker; Mayo's Bottom;Nickel Saving Bank; Businesses of the day; Sport's teams.- Jones, Thelma Francis (b.1923)
Restaurant operator; Views of today's (ca.1980s) youth.- Jones, Welton (b.1918)
Restaurant owner; Early experiences with racism; Service station; Hauling bricks for public buildings.- Kelly, Ellen B.
Government Services; Recreation and social life.- Lively, Jack W. (b.1925)
School life; Role of Church; Recreation in the neighborhood.- Loundes, Edna Mitchell (b.1892)
Pastry cook and butcher; Father was Civil War veteran and early black Mason; Burliegh Hill; Dog Bottom; Life on Pink Street; Black and white families on Pink St.; Bar rooms on 25th Street; J.P. Harwood; Early's Yeast Co.; 1200 Block of 24th St.- Marsh, Henry L., III (b.1933)
First African-American mayor of Richmond; School life; Virginia Union University; Oliver Hill; Spotwood Robinson.- Morse, Naomi L.
School teacher; Buchanan St.; Founding of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church; "P" Street; Teaching in Richmond; Street Cars.- Ramsey, Aubrey (b.1904)
Grocery clerk and Painter; Barnards Store; World of Mirth Carnivals; Tunnel Cave- In; Oakwood Parade; Physicians; Funeral Homes.- Roane, Lina (b.1878)
Coming to Richmond from Ohio in 1939; Ellis' Diary; Bootlegging Neighbor; Life at age 104; James Roane; Selling flowers at Lombardy and Grace St.; Plantation life after the war; Bowlin Family; Early life in Durham, N.C. while living with white family.- Roane, Robert Willis (b.1880)
Tobacco worker and carpenter; Studley, Va.; C&O Railroad; Tunnel Collapse; Race relations; Dr. Parker, C.C.A. Ballpark; 1918 Flu Epidemic.- Robinson, Elsie Purnell (b.1913)
School and community life; George Mason School.- Robinson, Mary Florence (b.1913)
Laundry worker; Williams Confectionery; School life; Area businesses.- Sweat, John (b.1911)
Teacher; Leaders in community; Fourth Baptist Church; Education.- Toliaferro, Edith M. (b.1910)
Stewart Street; Fairmount Elementary; Streetcars; Boze's lumber yard; C.C.A. Ballpark; Tobacco company teams.- West, Melissa (b.1889)
School days; Rose of Shennon Band; Nickel Saving Bank; Old Foundation Baptist Church.- Wilder, Lawrence Douglas (b.1931)
Former Governor of Virginia and first African-American Governor in United States history; Family history; Sports; Odd jobs; Boyhood heroes; Oakwood Steam Rollers Football Team; Black Baseball stars; Street cars; Early voter registration in Church Hill and political involvement; Outlook on Church Hill.- Wilkerson, Rosa Allen (b.1903)
Teacher; Richmond Broom Company; Fourth Baptist Church; May Day Plays; Shopping; Segregation; Shedtown.- Willis, Lillian Burke (b.1911)
Teacher; George Mason Elementary School; Registering draftees at school; Integration; Community life.
Questionsor Comments
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Last update 9/96 (rb)
