Mississippi’s oldest black-owned business is celebrating 120 years of service to Vicksburg.

W.H. Jefferson Funeral home turned 120 years old in December, making it the oldest black-owned business of any kind in the state and one of Vicksburg’s longest continually operated businesses.

“The Lord has blessed us continuing to be here 120 years family owned,” said James Jefferson Jr., business manager and president of the funeral home. “There’s always been a Jefferson at the helm.”

Three generations of Jeffersons have led the business through times of trouble and opportunity.

William Henry and Lucy Jefferson established the funeral home Dec. 1, 1894, in the 1100 block of Grove Street.

It moved to its current location at 800 Monroe St. in 1909, and the building was remodeled to its current state in 1965. The couple had no children, but their nieces and nephews followed them into the business.

Robert Jefferson Sr., 92, is the last living member of the second generation. James Jefferson Jr. is his nephew, and followed his father and uncle into the family business.

“I was 7 or 8 in the early 1960s when I saw my first body,” James Jefferson Jr. said. “My mother was working here in the office and my father had gone on a call to pick up a body. So rather than leave me alone at the house, they brought me to the office.”

It was the young Jefferson’s first glimpse at what the family business was truly about, and it lead to a rewarding career, he said.

“If you love your job, it doesn’t make it a hard job,” James Jefferson Jr. said.

Longtime funeral director and deputy coroner Ron Regan is another major fixture at the funeral home. Regan has been in the funeral business for more than 40 years, and agreed that the business of serving the living by helping their loved ones transition from this life is rewarding.

“I have enjoyed my work. And if I had to make a choice, I would do the same thing all over again,” Regan said.

Times weren’t always easy for the funeral home. In 1955, George L. Jefferson qualified for election to the city school board, and a cross was burned in front of the funeral home. Yet the business persevered and continued to grow.

The beginnings were also tough. In the 1890s, blacks made up a majority of Warren County residents and about half the population of Vicksburg was black. The vast majority of them lived in poverty, so starting a successful business — especially one that would thrive into the 21st century — was a major achievement.

“As entrepreneurs in a largely segregated trade, they were among the few black individuals in any community who were economically independent and not beholden to the local white power structure,” historian Suzanne E. Smith wrote in 2010 on the history of American funeral homes.

James Jefferson Jr. also serves as central district justice court judge. He said he plans to seek re-election this year.

“I have gone from a marriage ceremony to a funeral and from a funeral to a marriage in less than the same hour,” he said.

 

Historian Earnest McBride contributed research into the history of the funeral home for this story.