Thomas H. Brown Funeral Home ledger and photograph

This collection contains the manuscript ledger book, "Record of Deaths" kept by Thomas H. Brown's Funeral Home, 301 Gill Street, Petersburg, Virginia. This book detailed the funerals of approximately 500 African Americans during the last years of the Great Depression. The volume opens with a twenty-four page alphabetical index, listing the names of the deceased persons with the number of the page for further information about their funerals. Entries for each funeral appear in chronological order.

In addition to the names of the deceased, most entries also record the dates, persons paying for the funerals and their addresses, services commissioned, the vehicles needed, and the fees for all aspects of the funeral services. Some entries are more detailed, adding the birth and death dates and places of residence of the deceased, names of parents, final resting places, and other details. The volume is rich in genealogical information for the Petersburg, Virginia, area.

Also included is one black and white photograph, undated, 5 x 7 inches, depicting pallbearers bringing a casket out of Brown's Funeral Home. The casket is covered with an American flag, accompanied by an officer, and the pallbearers appear to be soldiers, so the deceased is probably either a serviceman or a veteran.