Pearson Family Cemetery
Title
Pearson Family Cemetery
Date
Early Twentieth Century
Description
The cemetery is located on common ground in the Edgewater Subdivision. This small cemetery has been subject to serious vandalism for many years. 1977 and 1987 surveys found the gravestones in a pile near the center of the plot, and a hole dug into one grave. The site was probed in Oct. 1991 and 15 burials were located. There is one inscribed marble headstone and four marble base pieces of varying sizes present. It appears that all five pieces are part of the same elaborate monument to CHARLES T. PEARSON (1831-1916) & SARAH JANE PEARSON (1841-1911).
Source
Fairfax County Cemetery Preservation Association www.honorfairfaxcemeteries.org
Location
Behind homes in the Edgewater Subdivision in Burke
District
Springfield
Additional Notes
Many of the gravestones were handmade. According to descendants, the monument for Charles and Sarah was ordered from Sears and Roebuck. A member of the Pearson family brought it back from the Clifton Railroad Station by wagon.
The Pearson family owned the property near the cemetery until 1951, when the Federal Government condemned the land to build a new airport in Burke. The Burke Community fought the airport and won. Former owners were offered their land back, but the Pearsons could not afford to buy the property.
This cemetery received much attention in 1994 when home construction developed around it. The builders cleaned up debris and fenced in the cemetery. A path was created from the road to the woods where the cemetery is located.
The Pearson family’s history can be traced back prior to the Civil War. When Francis Coffer died on March 30,1861, his will freed from slavery Charles T. Pearson, his three brothers, and mother. The proceeds from the sale of Coffer’s property went to the Pearson family also. Charles Pearson built a home, farmed, and later set aside a plot of land for the cemetery.
According to a family member, the last of 15 people to be buried at the cemetery was Frank Coffer Pearson, age 88. His father was Charles T. Pearson. In an Evening Star obituary of May 19, 1956, Frank Coffer Pearson was “one of the town’s best-known citizens.”
The Pearson family owned the property near the cemetery until 1951, when the Federal Government condemned the land to build a new airport in Burke. The Burke Community fought the airport and won. Former owners were offered their land back, but the Pearsons could not afford to buy the property.
This cemetery received much attention in 1994 when home construction developed around it. The builders cleaned up debris and fenced in the cemetery. A path was created from the road to the woods where the cemetery is located.
The Pearson family’s history can be traced back prior to the Civil War. When Francis Coffer died on March 30,1861, his will freed from slavery Charles T. Pearson, his three brothers, and mother. The proceeds from the sale of Coffer’s property went to the Pearson family also. Charles Pearson built a home, farmed, and later set aside a plot of land for the cemetery.
According to a family member, the last of 15 people to be buried at the cemetery was Frank Coffer Pearson, age 88. His father was Charles T. Pearson. In an Evening Star obituary of May 19, 1956, Frank Coffer Pearson was “one of the town’s best-known citizens.”
Collection
Citation
“Pearson Family Cemetery,” Fairfax County African American History Inventory, accessed October 24, 2026, https://fairfaxaahi.centerformasonslegacies.com/items/show/146.