From display card:
Bertha Westmoreland
c. 1945

Bertha Heaggans was born 20 Nov 1905 on the Amity Hill Road. She was the granddaughter of a slave, and her husband was grandson of a slave, Monroe Westmoreland. She says that after they were freed, former slaves took the names of their masters if they liked them. Both of Bertha's parents were of mixed ancestry, making her one quarter Cherokee, Blackfoot, Portuguese, and black.

Bertha is seen here at the beach. She became an institution in Iredell County. When she died in January, 1996 at age 89, Bertha left 182 descendants. She was their rock. Through her initiative South Iredell A.M.E. Zion Church was able to build a new sanctuary this past year.

Copyright of the Red Clay Roots Program and Mitchell Community College
Location: Iredell County
Notes - Notes, Legal, Provenance
The photograph is framed in matt with accompanying label. Photographs are reproductions of originals held by interviewees of the project.

Source: Mooresville archive - Sarah Brawley Cheek Collection - Iredell County, North Carolina
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Bertha and her husband Lenore W. Westmoreland had three children: Willie Jonas Westmoreland; Lenore Junior Westmoreland; Ossie Aletha Clark
Bertha Westmoreland died 3 Jan 1996 and is buried in South Iredell AME Zion Church Cemetery

Source: Find A Grave