Familiar names from Jefferson City's past will be brought to life from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, at Woodland-Old City Cemetery.
The event took shape as a memorial to Carrie Crittenden, the 9-year-old daughter of a late 1800s governor who died of diptheria and whose grave marker was lost to overgrowth and time.
In addition to the Friends of the Missouri Governor's Mansion dedicating a new marker in Woodland Cemetery at 11 a.m., docents from that group will join with other volunteers to tell the stories of more than 25 other individuals and families buried there and at the adjacent Old City Cemetery.
Another 40 burials will have informative markers, so visitors may wander at their own pace to markers with or without docents.
"We're uncovering stories not so well known; those are the most valuable we're telling," said Executive Director Rebecca Gordon.
Violet and Elijah Ramsey are one such family, whose story will be told.
Barbara Swanson, a docent for six years with the mansion, chose the Ramseys at first because she wanted to make sure stories from the segregated section were included.
"The tour's focus started as a memorial for Carrie, but it's a good idea to make citizens know about this cemetery," Swanson said.
Once Swanson began researching the Ramseys, she discovered an extraordinary story reaching across slavery into the early years of both Lincoln University and Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church.
Violet Ramsey, born Violet Clark in 1796 in Kentucky, was freed by her owner in Jefferson City in 1838. By working as a washerwoman, she was able to buy a piece of property and purchase freedom for her husband and youngest son, Elijah Jr., in 1845. They freed their older son, Harrison, in 1855 as Elijah worked as a drayman, teamster, farmer and laborer.
"She worked terribly hard," Swanson said.
According to the Ramsey's third great-granddaughter, Konetta Alexander, the couple loaned their first log cabin to Quinn Chapel. And 40 acres, which the couple left to their children after their deaths before 1862, were sold to Lincoln Institute.
"That is really significant that she and her husband were able to do all that," Swanson said.
Other notable names on the hosted tour include LePage, Lohman, Berry, Green, Parsons, Bolton, McHenry, Gordon and Bruns.
When Howard's Bluff was designated as the future state capital, 26 families lived in what is today Jefferson City. Of the 12 who stayed, nine are buried in the Woodland-Old City Cemetery.
About 30 docents from the mansion will participate Saturday, along with a dozen more from the city's Cemetery Resources Board and Lincoln University.
With two governors buried at the state lot inside the Woodland Cemetery, Gordon said this was a unique opportunity for the organization to take its mission outside the governor's mansion.
City Cemetery Resources Board Chairman Nancy Thompson said she hoped this tour, modeled after those hosted a few decades ago by Mark Schreiber and other historians, could become a more frequent event, especially for school-aged children.
For the last two years, the board has worked on restoration projects at the cemetery, as funding has allowed. This event also will show visitors the progress made in restoring and recovering aging headstones. The board hopes some of those visitors will be inspired to donate toward further improvements.
"The goal is to raise awareness that our history is being lost out there," Gordon said. "We hope individuals and organizations will support this."