Leroy Blair of the White County Historical Society learned of this cemetery from a friend, David Reynolds of Clay, and visited it in the summer of 2001. Following is his report: “To get to the cemetery from Wilburn take Tyler Road; when the blacktop ends, go 2.1 miles and take the road to the left; the cemetery is three-tenths of a mile down this road, on the right. It was in need of mowing the day I visited, but otherwise is not in bad condition. A lot of rocks that probably at one time marked graves have been piled back by the woodsline; some appear to have markings scratched on them.” This cemetery, which is located in Cleburne County, was recorded by the White County Historical Society because of its potential importance to White County genealogists. This is obviously one of the oldest cemeteries in the area.
Confederate Army Captain James Richard Morris, one of the earliest settlers in this area, is buried here. According to a family history in the Searcy Public Library (“Whirlwind / Story of the Faulkner Family From Pangburn” by James H. Faulkner), Morris came to White County several years before the Civil War. During the war he was taken prisoner and didn’t get home for two years. Over six feet tall and of Irish and German descent, he homesteaded creek bottomland at Tyler and built a large plantation with “large vineyard, cattle, horses, ducks, geese and swans on the ponds.” He owned and brought with him from Tennessee three slaves “who adored him,” according to the Faulkner history. When the war ended, they stayed on and are also buried here, although their names are unknown. According to the Faulkner history, this graveyard is located on the old Morris plantation. Morris was first married to Emily Pruitt Morris, who was part Cherokee Indian. She died several years before his death in 1881. Then he married Gretchen Mary Wilson. She died and he married Nettie Knott.
Blair found 39 graves marked with concrete blocks, noting that it appears that the blocks were used to replace rocks over the lower half of the cemetery. The graves in the back part are still marked with rocks. He found 42 graves marked with rocks or covered with slabs of rock.
If you have corrections or additional information on this cemetery, contact the White County Historical Society.
| NAME | BIRTH | DEATH | COMMENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowers, Catherine | October 12, 1843 | May 1920 | |
| Bowers, Henry | May 29, 1837 | January 5, 1989 | |
| Bowers, William Hubert | May 27, 1886 | November 14, 1904 | son of Henry and Catherine Bowers on double stone with Henry Bowers |
| Ellis, Dessie | August 9, 1908 | September 11, 1924 | |
| Ellis, Ethel Mae | May 15, 1912 | September 27, 1926 | |
| Hardin, Harriet | November 18, 1862 | January 10, 1880 | wife of J.H. Hardin grave is rocked in |
| Lindsey | no dates or other information scratched on a rock | ||
| Lindsey, Mahala J. | October 28, 1841 | October 6, 1903 | |
| Massey, Amelia Ann | February 8, 1855 | April 14, 1917 | |
| Morris, James | 1835 | 1881 | Cpt. Co. H 32 Regt. Ark. Inf. C.S.A. |
| Owen, John W. | September 6, 1866 | February 28, 1939 | |
| Owen, Rebecca I. (Lindsey) | May 31, 1872 | February 8, 1935 | on double stone with John W. Owen |
| Warren, Elzy | 1903 | 1988 | |
| Warren, Zelma | 1906 | 1997 | |
| Whitworth, A.T.W. | died 1865 | on stone with J.W., L.A. and William Whitworth | |
| Whitworth, J.W. | died 1865 | on stone with L.A., William and A.T.W. Whitworth | |
| Whitworth, L.A. | died 1863 | on stone with J.W., William and A.T.W. Whitworth | |
| Whitworth, William | died 1863 | on stone with J.W., L.A. and A.T.W. Whitworth | |