1906Atlanta Race MassacreGive
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George Union Wilder

He escaped slavery during the Civil War and enlisted in the U.S. Army. He took the middle name Union because of that service. He was found dead in a shed behind Frank Fambro’s store.

Age
70
Where they died
A shed behind Frank Fambro’s store, Brownsville
Date
25 September 1906
Buried
South-View Cemetery — the only marked grave of a victim

What we don’t know

  • Exactly how he died

His is the only marked grave of a victim at South-View Cemetery. The stone carries the middle name he adopted because of his service, and a hand-written epitaph:

A soldier of the Civil War, was killed in the riot

The 2006 centennial began here, with a funeral motorcade and a memorial service at this grave.

Sources

  1. Fulton County Remembrance Coalition, “Atlanta Race Massacre of 1906 Narrative”
  2. National Center for Civil and Human Rights, “The Atlanta Race Massacre of 1906: A brief history” (PDF)
  3. U.S. Army pension records of George Union Wilder, 1890–1907, National Archives and Records Administration