--photos by Leroy Blair, 2002
There is one grave – that of Willie Maud Tucker – on the Garland Hardcastle Farm, Section 31, Township 9 North, Range 7 West. It is a short distance northeast of the point of the northeast corner of the Smith farm.
According to White County Historical Society researcher Cloie Presley, who wrote about this site around 1962, "This child was a cousin of Mary Whisenant Yingling of Pangburn and she gave the following story. This was the daughter of Melissa Howell and Lewis Tucker. At that time there were
several families living in the area where the grave is located and the road came through on the section line. The child caught fire and burned to death, the creeks were in flood and it would have been difficult to reach a cemetery so she was buried here."
Leroy Blair of the Historical Society visited this gravesite on February 6, 2002 and filed the following report: "The cemetery is closer to Albion than Pangburn. To get to the cemetery from Albion, take Highway 16 north to Highway 305. Turn right and go about 100 yards to the first road to the right. This is the old missile base road. Follow this road about one-fourth mile. There is a dirt road off to the left. Turn onto it and go maybe 100 feet. Another dirty road will turn right. Take it around the backside of the old missile base. Follow it probably 100 yards to a red metal gate, which is locked. You will have to walk from there. After you get over the gate turn right onto a logging road and go about one-fourth mile. You will come to a cabin and an old barn. Go between the cabin and barn. The grave is located just past the barn to the right. It has an old-type tombstone with the following on it:
Tucker, Willie Maud – July 12, 1884 – December 31, 1889
"The old list said the child caught fire and burned to death. Mrs. Hardcastle,
who owns the land where the grave is located, said that the little girl’s father
was killing hogs and the little girl fell into a vat of boiling water and died.
The gravesite needs to be cleaned and possibly fenced in."
If you have additional information on this burial contact the White County Historical Society at P.O. Box 537, Searcy, AR 72145.