March 2023
If These Stones Could Talk: African American Presence in the Hopewell Valley, Sourland Mountain, and Surrounding Regions of New Jersey
by Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills
“Organized around the stories of men and women buried in the African-American Stoutsburg cemetery near Hopewell, New Jersey, this extraordinary book narrates the history of black communities in the Hopewell Valley and Sourland Mountains over a period of nearly three centuries. The authors place these stories in the larger context of American history in the eras of slavery, the Civil War, freedom, and civil rights. Part genealogy, part history, and part personal memoir, rooted in an amazing amount of research, and written with grace and flair, this book brings to light a rich past that had almost been lost.”
— James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
If These Stones Could Talk: African American Presence in the Hopewell Valley, Sourland Mountain, and Surrounding Regions of New Jersey
by Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills
ISBN: 979-8986618852
Cemeteries have stories to tell, voices to unearth—and lessons from the past that we can draw upon to better shape the future. If These Stones Could Talk brings fresh light to a forgotten corner of American history that begins in a small cemetery in central New Jersey.
Authors of If These Stones Could Talk Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills started their journey through the past as two middle-aged African American women with busy but quiet lives. They were both board members of the Stoutsburg Cemetery Association, a cemetery that is nestled in New Jersey's Sourland Mountain region. The cemetery was purchased by three Black men in the early 19th century to bury Blacks with honor and dignity.
When Buck and Mills got an unexpected call for help, what began as a search through the woods for gravestone markers soon had them rummaging through land deeds and making relentless calls to state officials, archeologists, and reporters.
Their foray into historic preservation work convinced Buck and Mills that they had a lot more work left to do to connect African American history to local and national history books—within which they still felt largely absent from the most visible narratives in United States history.
In warm but unflinching voices authors Buck and Mills offer readers a unique window into our past. These stories, including dozens of oral histories, consecrate the collected lives of a minority Black community in a predominantly White region, a pattern of community that reflects a larger, deeply important but typically overlooked national story in small towns all over the United States.
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Praise for If These Stones Could Talk
“At the heart of this moving chronicle is the authors’ impassioned desire to ‘break the cycle of America’s historical omissions’ regarding its black citizens, whose significant contributions have often been consigned to oblivion. ‘The challenges that African Americans face in proving their family history is a direct result of the lack of primary documentation—records of accomplishments or achievements in their lives’… A stunningly thorough and poignant study of African-Americans.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“Since the founding of our country, the recorders of history have not accurately transcribed the African American experience. Much of the African American history has been deleted, misconstrued and / or misinterpreted. Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills have taken the difficult steps to change the false narrative and provide clarification for generations to come.”
— Marion T. Lane, Ed.D., Organizing Secretary General, National Society of Colonial Daughters of the Seventeenth Century
“An honest and thorough unveiling of this slice of American history has been long overdue. This is a wonderful read—a veritable page-turner. Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills are, at once, dedicated researchers and masterful story tellers. They have skillfully woven their personal experiences into a compelling multi-generational story of the formidable challenges faced and remarkable feats achieved by one localized African American community. It has broad implications for American society as a whole.”
— Peter Moock, former Professor of Economics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, and former Lead Education Economist, The World Bank, Africa Region and East Asia and Pacific Region
About the Authors
Authors Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills are co-founders of Friday Truehart Consultants, a firm dedicated to bringing awareness to the fact that there is more to American history than the single Anglo narrative. Because of the egregious omission of the African American narrative in our nation’s history books, Friday Truehart Consultants strives to see African American history built in school curriculum from kindergarten through high school, and not consigned to one month of the year. To learn more about their work, please visit them online: https://fridaytruehartconsultants.com/
