Eli Truly [1814-1877] was once enslaved and served the Union in the Civil War. He tragically died by falling into a well at the Corrigan house on Alder Street. His son, James, rests next to him, and his grandson, Guy, was a professional drummer for the P.G. Lowery Band featured with the Cole Bros. Circus.

James Truly [1860-1904] was born and reared in Oakland. He became a horse groomer and porter for the Glades and Commercial Hotels. Truly was widely respected and known as a familiar face in Oakland. He was the son of Sara and Eli Truley.

Susan Staley, fondly called “Aunt Susie,” moved from Kingwood to Oakland to live with her daughter Jennie, who was the wife of the A.M.E. Church, Rev. William Walker. Aunt Susie was enslaved by General Buckner Fairfax before the war but remained with the family long after she was freed. Susie‘s daughters Jenny Walker and Mary Etta Notes remained friends with the Fairfax family. They would travel between Preston and Garrett Counties to visit each other.

James Baker Banks [1842-1892], married to Harriet, was born in Moorefield, Virginia, and came to Oakland around the time of the Civil War. After the war, Moorefield became part of West Virginia. Delegates representing western counties formed their own government, which was granted statehood in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln after conditions had been met requiring the gradual emancipation of slaves. James left behind a large family of which he was very proud. Baker died of “dropsy,” a colloquial term for edema, excessive fluid in body tissue.

At just 12 years old, Jennie Banks, daughter of James Baker Banks, died at her home on Water Street in 1893 from a long illness. Her brother, James Jr., has an inscription on the shared family headstone. He died in 1903.

Suffering weeks from typhoid fever, Sidney Banks [1876-1903], daughter of Mrs. Baker Banks, the widow of James Baker Banks, succumbed to the illness at 27 years of age in Oakland. She was highly respected and known to be an industrious young woman.

A Civil War veteran from Talbot County, Edward Young belonged to the Maryland 7th Regiment, US Colored Infantry, Company D. Young was a long-time servant to Dr. Edmond Goldsborough, who had a summer place in Oakland. Goldsborough fought for the Confederacy. Young’s funeral service was at St. Matthew's, officiated by the A.M.E. Church pastor, J.H. Scott. Memorial Day celebrations recognize Young’s service annually.

Handy Gipson was born in North Carolina in 1849. Handy resided in Oakland for about 10 years, building a fine reputation in town offering hair cutting and shaving in his shop. He also became the first African American to serve jury duty in Garrett County. Before living in Oakland, he represented Preston County as a delegate to the Republican Convention.

At age 40, Gipson sought treatment at Johns Hopkins University Hospital for cancer of the tongue and throat. What appeared to be a successful procedure took a turn, and swelling led to his death. After Handy died [1889], his widow Margaret remarried Albert J Lee, a barber in Handy's shop in Oakland. He had two daughters, Bessie and Grace. Bessie married a son of John Robert Clifford, the first Black lawyer in West Virginia. Handy’s twin infants lie next to his grave.

Handy Gipson has two markers in his family plot for infant twins who died in January 1888.

Handy Gipson has two markers in his family plot for infant twins who died in January 1888.

“Uncle” Dan Pleasants [ 1855-1900] earned a reputation for being gentlemanly and conducting an upright life, and a respected citizen of the Seventh District. His funeral was largely attended.

Jonas Kennedy [1876-1901] was a respected resident of Loch Lynn Heights, where he was employed as a porter and watchman at the Loch Lynn Hotel. A sudden illness caused his neck to swell to 28 inches in circumference, leading to his death. Plans were to exhume his body from the Oakland Cemetery to be laid to rest with his family at Luke Male Farm, west of town. It appears those plans never came to fruition.

Oscar Notes [1853-1935] was revered as a meticulous custodian of the Garrett County Courthouse from 1905, the day it was built, until 1933, just two years before his death. He was eight years old in 1861 when he became an Oakland citizen. His family was the property of Edward McCarthy Armstrong and fled his property during a Union occupation of Keyser, West Virginia amidst the Civil War.

Oscar Notes and his first wife, Willy, had a child, Antoinette, who died in 1890 at nine years and four months old. Her gravestone refers to her as “Toy,” a beloved nickname. Notes said, “Toy was a bright child, always obedient and ever, even amid great suffering, unselfish, which endeared her to all who knew her. For several weeks, she was a great sufferer, yet never a murmur passed her lips.”

Harriet Banks [1847-1916] was “most estimable” and the wife of James Baker Banks. They had five children: Daniel [1872-1951], Sidney [1876-1903], Anna Denmark [1876-1954], Jennie Banks [1881-1893], and James B [unknown-1890]. James B., Sidney, and Jennie share a stone with their father in the Oakland Cemetery.

Harriet died at her home on Water Street in Oakland after a brief illness.