The search for lost family: Radar offers hope to find unmarked graves

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — UNCW Is partnering with the Historic Wilmington Foundation to find unmarked graves at a historic cemetery. 

Volunteers, researchers, and graduate students are using ground-penetrating radar to find unmarked graves at the Maides Cemetery in Wilmington. 

The historic African American cemetery dates back to the late 1800s and is the final resting place of an estimated 216 people. However, only 81 graves have been identified.  

 “This is a technique that’s commonly used in archeological and cemetery surveys to try to identify potential grave sites,” UNCW Professor of Geology and Geophysics Scott Nooner said. 

But finding a grave is only part of the process. After locating a potential gravesite, researchers comb through historical documents to find out who is buried there. 

“Most of the time when there are records of a burial, they don’t exactly give you a may of a plot and tell you where it is,” Director of UNCW Public History M.A. Program Jennifer Le Zotte explained. “So, probably the best that we can do is correlate evidence that we find in the records and find a grave and Ancestry.com and sort of narrow it down.”  

For Kathy King—a descendent of the Maides family—the cemetery is more than just a historic sight. It’s where many of her family members were laid to rest, including her sister Carolyn, whose grave she is still searching for.   

 “It means a whole lot to be able to try to find her gave and then also give honor to the other people who are buried at this cemetery,” King said. 

King’s sister was one of the last people to be buried at the cemetery in 1966. Her unmarked grave now resting among the leaves.   

But more than fifty years later, the loss of her sister remains unsettled for King.  She said when she does eventually find her sister’s grave, she plans to honor her with a headstone.  

 “I want to put a headstone on it,” King remarked. “My mother and father never had the opportunity, couldn’t afford it. So, that’s what I hope to do if I find her grave, when I find her grave that’s what I’m going to do.”  

But it’s not just Carolyn King’s grave that’s been lost to time. Many of the graves that are marked have faded into history. 

“Majority are unmarked, but those that are marked, some of them are not legible,” King explained. “So, we’re trying to keep watch of where people are buried so that it doesn’t get lost and forgotten.”