Richardson Funeral Home, Inc. Amite Preserving History Once Again By Donating Funeral Programs for Preservation

Photo Credit: Dr. Antoinette Harrell

Just as I was finishing up a long day at my home offie, my phone starting ringing. On the other end of the line was Jo-Ann Frazier, the secretary at Richardson Funeral Home, Inc. Amite. It was obvious to me that if she was calling me so late that evening, it must be something important. As it turned out it was true, she mentioned that the staff had cleaned out the closet of one of their long time staff members, Eddie Brazil, who had recently passed away, and they had discovered boxes and boxes of funeral programs that he had been been holding on for many years.

Eddie was the archivist at Richardson's Funeral Home, so to speak. The quote "Those who plant trees, knowing that only others will enjoy the shade, are public benefactors." Even in death, Eddie continues to give to the community through these rich funeral programs. My only wish is to have had the opportunity to interview him about the collection. I would like to know what motivated him to save the funeral programs?

As a result, they discussed what should be done with the collection in their staff meeting. Jo-Ann suggested they contact me about the collection. I replied that I would take them without hesitation when Earl Richardson, one the proprietors contact me. I advised him that I would consult with Dr. Samuel Hyde, Executive Director of the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies about the collection. Following the consultation with Dr. Hyde, he informed me that the department would gladly take the collection for preservation. We both agreed that the collection should stand on its own as the "Richardson Funeral Home Funeral Program Collection" and it was formally established at that point. 

The Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies mission is to preserves and promote the history and cultures of Louisiana's Florida Parish, Southwestern Mississippi. It is customary for African American funeral programs to include extensive information about the deceased and oftentimes it contains a piece of local history as well.  In addition to that, they are donating a volume of funeral book that include the name of the deceased person, date of death, where they will be buried, and other information.

 Funeral Records

Richardson Funeral Home, Inc. Amite is the first funeral home to preserve such a large amount of records, which will prove to be extremely valuable to genealogists, historians, writers, and filmmakers. I would appreciate if other funeral homes in the area took similar measures. It all began with Eddie preserving and collection these funeral programs and he probably did not realize that it would lead to something so great and wonder. Once again, the entire staff is giving back to community through these donations. 

When the collection is placed in my hands, I start reading and analyzing each program carefully and thoroughly. Then I immediately begin sorting them alphabetically. I begin the process of developing a database for the collection before it is donated to the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies. Once the center receive it, it processes and posts a finding aid online to the collection. Depending on the complexity of the project, the entire process may take six to seven month to complete.  Genealogist, historians, and organizations and societies that study genealogy will benefit from this collection. Please accept our appreciation to Richardson's Funeral Home, Inc. Amite for their generous contribution to the study of genealogy and local history. Please see the link below for their collection at the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies. Please email Dr. Antoinette Harrell at nurturingour@gmail.com  if you have any funeral programs in your private collection that you would like donate.

Link to the collection:

http://www.southeastern.edu/acad_research/programs/csls/historical_collections/archival_collections/r_s/richardson_funeral_home/