Mary Silvina Burghardt Du Bois (1831-1885), is buried in Mahaiwe Cemetery, her grave unmarked. The family of W.E.B.ʼs generation are in a plot on the north side of the cemetery; his grandparents and others are on the south side, where itʼs likely Mary was interred.
Parents:
Othello Burghardt
Sarah / Sally Lampman
Mary was twice a single mother,
worked as domestic,
plagued by poor health and depression.
First-born son, Adelbert, was born out of wedlock in 1862. According to family tradition, Adelbert’s father was Mary Silvina’s first cousin, John Burghardt, but Adelbert himself later claimed that his father was Charles Craig.
Husband:
Alfred Du Bois
Son:
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois
Mary Silvina Burghardt's family was part of a very small free black population of Great Barrington and had long owned land in the state. She was descended from Dutch, African and English ancestors.
Haitian-born Alfred Du Bois emigrated to the United States, settling in Massachusetts. He married Mary Silvina Burghardt on 5 February 1867, in Housatonic. Alfred was a barber and itinerant laborer who during the Civil War served in Company D, and then deserted the 20th New York Infantry; he also deserted his wife and young son in 1870, two years after William was born.
Mary Burghardt Du Bois moved with her son back to her parents' house in Great Barrington until he was five. She worked to support her family (receiving some assistance from her brother and neighbors), until she suffered a stroke in the early 1880s. She died in 1885.
Parents:
Othello Burghardt
Sarah / Sally Lampman
Mary was twice a single mother,
worked as domestic,
plagued by poor health and depression.
First-born son, Adelbert, was born out of wedlock in 1862. According to family tradition, Adelbert’s father was Mary Silvina’s first cousin, John Burghardt, but Adelbert himself later claimed that his father was Charles Craig.
Husband:
Alfred Du Bois
Son:
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois
Mary Silvina Burghardt's family was part of a very small free black population of Great Barrington and had long owned land in the state. She was descended from Dutch, African and English ancestors.
Haitian-born Alfred Du Bois emigrated to the United States, settling in Massachusetts. He married Mary Silvina Burghardt on 5 February 1867, in Housatonic. Alfred was a barber and itinerant laborer who during the Civil War served in Company D, and then deserted the 20th New York Infantry; he also deserted his wife and young son in 1870, two years after William was born.
Mary Burghardt Du Bois moved with her son back to her parents' house in Great Barrington until he was five. She worked to support her family (receiving some assistance from her brother and neighbors), until she suffered a stroke in the early 1880s. She died in 1885.
Mary Silvina Burghardt Du Bois (1831-1885), is buried in Mahaiwe Cemetery, her grave unmarked. The family of W.E.B.ʼs generation are in a plot on the north side of the cemetery; his grandparents and others are on the south side, where itʼs likely Mary was interred.
Parents:
Othello Burghardt
Sarah / Sally Lampman
Mary was twice a single mother,
worked as domestic,
plagued by poor health and depression.
First-born son, Adelbert, was born out of wedlock in 1862. According to family tradition, Adelbert’s father was Mary Silvina’s first cousin, John Burghardt, but Adelbert himself later claimed that his father was Charles Craig.
Husband:
Alfred Du Bois
Son:
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois
Mary Silvina Burghardt's family was part of a very small free black population of Great Barrington and had long owned land in the state. She was descended from Dutch, African and English ancestors.
Haitian-born Alfred Du Bois emigrated to the United States, settling in Massachusetts. He married Mary Silvina Burghardt on 5 February 1867, in Housatonic. Alfred was a barber and itinerant laborer who during the Civil War served in Company D, and then deserted the 20th New York Infantry; he also deserted his wife and young son in 1870, two years after William was born.
Mary Burghardt Du Bois moved with her son back to her parents' house in Great Barrington until he was five. She worked to support her family (receiving some assistance from her brother and neighbors), until she suffered a stroke in the early 1880s. She died in 1885.
Parents:
Othello Burghardt
Sarah / Sally Lampman
Mary was twice a single mother,
worked as domestic,
plagued by poor health and depression.
First-born son, Adelbert, was born out of wedlock in 1862. According to family tradition, Adelbert’s father was Mary Silvina’s first cousin, John Burghardt, but Adelbert himself later claimed that his father was Charles Craig.
Husband:
Alfred Du Bois
Son:
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois
Mary Silvina Burghardt's family was part of a very small free black population of Great Barrington and had long owned land in the state. She was descended from Dutch, African and English ancestors.
Haitian-born Alfred Du Bois emigrated to the United States, settling in Massachusetts. He married Mary Silvina Burghardt on 5 February 1867, in Housatonic. Alfred was a barber and itinerant laborer who during the Civil War served in Company D, and then deserted the 20th New York Infantry; he also deserted his wife and young son in 1870, two years after William was born.
Mary Burghardt Du Bois moved with her son back to her parents' house in Great Barrington until he was five. She worked to support her family (receiving some assistance from her brother and neighbors), until she suffered a stroke in the early 1880s. She died in 1885.
Gravesite Details
Grave unmarked.
