Geer Cemetery-Annice Lunsford Glenn

Image and Annice Lunsford Glenn's life story by:
Friends of Geer Cemetery - Durham, NC
Monday, October 10, 2022

Today, we celebrate the birthday of Annice Lunsford Glenn.

She was born 201 years ago, and so much has changed as she would have known it. Some portions of her life are difficult to piece together and some we will probably never know.

Most likely, Annice spent the first forty plus years enslaved. Based on records left by her children’s lives, she was born in Person County. The only reference to Lunsford as her maiden name is on her headstone and her daughter’s death certificate. Records include many spelling variations of her name: Annis, Anice, Annice, and Anise. We have chosen to use the name on her headstone.

In 1870, Annice was living in Roxboro in the Albert Satterfield’s household with two of her children: Floid (12 years old) and Catherine (7 years old).

Albert’s wife is Agnes (23 years old). Marriage records for Albert and Agnes lists her maiden name as Glenn.

Annice was 46 years old and a widow. No marriage record has been found for Annice Lunsford and an unknown Glenn marriage. It is possible, her husband died before emancipation.

By 1880, she was living in Durham with sons Floyd (19, spelled as Floid in earlier census), Crockett (14), and daughters Aggie (25), Indiana (23). She would live in Durham the rest of her life.

Based on Durham city directories she made her living as a sack stringer. “In the early 20th century loose tobacco was sold in small cotton pouches about 3 inches x 4, each tied with a short piece of string, a drawstring threaded through a gathered tube.” (Tobacco Bag Stringing Operations in North Carolina and Virginia (unc.edu
).
Women were often employed in making these tobacco bags.
City directories also show that Annice lived on Glenn Street in close proximity to one or more of her children. Glenn Street was home to a number of other people who are now resting in Geer Cemetery.

Her son, David Crockett married Phoebe Goodloe in 1884. Her daughter, Catherine “Katie” Louise married Riley Gilmore, who was one of the caretakers of Geer Cemetery.

They all lived on Glenn Street, and Annice at different times in her life shared a home with them. Indiana, known as India, married Martin Page in 1882.

Starting with the 1900 census, Annice was living in the household of her daughter Katie and son-in-law Riley. Also included was Anges Satterfield listed as Riley’s sister-in-law.

In this census, we learn that Annice had thirteen children with six living at the time.

Annice died on Christmas Eve 1904. She was buried in Geer Cemetery next to what would become her daughter, Katie Gilmer’s final resting place years later.

Katie Gilmer’s headstone contains “Daughter of Annice Lunsford.” Annice’s headstone was placed and contains her sunrise and sunset: October 10th, 1821 - December 24th, 1904. The epitaph on her headstone reads,

“her life was beauty, truth, goodness and love”.

The flower at the top of the headstone is symbolic of beauty and the frailty of life.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=822003442250566&set=a.773248673792710