-Photos by Leroy Blair, 2000

Walnut Grove Cemetery

Pangburn, Arkansas

This cemetery is in Cleburne County but was originally a part of White County and many White County people are buried here. It has been called Crook Cemetery, because it is located on land homesteaded about 100 years ago by H.W. Crook. It was called Walnut Grove after a church and school nearby.

To reach it, take Highway 110 north from Pangburn, cross the Little Red River and take the McJester Road, to the right, approximately a half mile from the river. The cemetery is within three miles. It originally was listed December 18, 1966, by Cloie and Leister Presley of the White County Historical Society, who reported seeing more than 100 unmarked graves. Then in 1997 Dorothy Ball of the Historical Society and Donive and Betty Smith provided additional information.

Historical Society Leroy Blair added eight graves and other information to the original list after visiting the cemetery October 2, 2000. He also provided the following comments: "To get to this cemetery from Pangburn take Highway 110 across the Little Red River. Go about one-half mile and turn right on McJester Road. Go about one mile and turn right on Old River Road at the McJester Baptist Church. The cemetery is about 300 yards on the left. I talked to an older man who lives in the area. He said local people were keeping the cemetery cleaned up until about three or four years ago. It is now becoming overgrown with briers and weeds. There are a lot of unmarked graves or graves marked only with rocks. Due to the overgrowth it is hard to tell just how many."

Wilma Sneddon of Joplin, Missouri, a White County Historical Society member with relatives buried here, submitted information on Walnut Grove Cemetery in August 2002. "This was the cemetery most talked about by my grandparents," she wrote. "They never spoke of it as the Crook Cemetery, although they were good friends with that family. I believe it was originally known as Walnut Grove Cemetery and is much older than the present-day people realize. A quote from Anthony Christensen’s research on the Rainey Parsons Brown family would support this: ‘About the year 1832 in the church at Walnut Grove in White County, Nancy (Brown) married Elijah Bailey.’ The Walnut Grove Cemetery was used as early as the 1830s. Sadly, most of the graves are no longer marked. In 1995 at a Davis family reunion, our group toured the area and that included a visit to Walnut Grove. Lincoln Johnson pointed out the cairn (structure of stacked stones over the grave) where Rainey Parsons Brown was buried (1838). Although it is not marked, he said that through the generations it has been known as his grave. I don’t have a date on his wife’s death (Margaret Edwards) but I think it was just a few years earlier. Without doubt, they were buried beside each other. Henry Harrison Brown II (1840-1871) also has rocks stacked on his grave. However there is a marker on his. He was the oldest child of Henry Harrison Brown and Margaret Arnold (his first wife). I have a picture of him in his Confederate uniform. It was found in my gggrandmother’s trunk (Viola Brown McCauley). Viola was the youngest child of Henry Harrison Brown."

On December 30, 2004, Leroy Blair, a board member of the Historical Society returned to this old cemetery and compared the latest burial list with the information he could find on tombstones. From this he prepared the updated, corrected list below.

If you have corrections or additions to this list or other information on Walnut Grove Cemetery, contact the White County Historical Society at P.O. Box 537, Searcy, AR 72145.

Altom, Homer – October 8, 1898 – October 12, 1988 - son of Ruban and Ella - on double stone with Lillie L. Altom

Altom, Lillie L. – March 16, 1903 – August 5, 1983 - on double stone with Homer Altom

Baker, Vivian Lenoe – June 20, 1918 – July 2, 2001 - on double stone with W.E. Baker

Baker, W.E. "Peck" – September 20, 1917 – August 4, 1985. Name on double stone with Lenoe Baker

Bellamy, David – March 7, 1883 – October 27, 1908

Bellamy, Samuel W. – October 18, 1852 – April 22, 1884

Bobbitt, Lewis – c1890 – c1911 - unmarked grave in "left rear corner" of cemetery, per nephew Chird Bobbitt of Searcy – there is a grave in this area just out of the main cemetery that is marked with two rocks – the area where it is located is not being cleaned

Brown, Henry Harrison II – April 28, 1840 – September 13, 1871 – Mason - son of Henry Harrison Brown and Margaret (Arnold) Brown - large white stone lying on the ground

Brown, James L. – February 11, 1885 – October 21, 1910

Brown, Lura May – September 19, 1884 – July 27, 1903

Brown, Mary Frances – February 2, 1861 – September 21, 1906 - wife of Thomas R. Brown

Brown, Thomas R. – October 7, 1856 – December 25, 1900

Crook, Audrey Amelia – October 7, 1897 – December 15, 1916 - daughter of Hugh W. and Oretha Davis Crook

Crook, Avis Jewel – April 1, 1892 – December 26, 1904 or 1905 - daughter of H.W. and Oretha Davis Crook

Crook, Hugh William – July 18, 1852 – August 3, 1903 - son of Sarah Gaston (Key) and Jesse Edward Crook - married Oretha Davis December 31, 1876

Crook, Infant – October 24, 1877 – 1877 – child of H.W. and Oretha Davis Crook – this grave could not be found during the cemetery survey on December 30, 2004

Crook, Louis E. – March 16, 1887 – September 1887 – son of Hugh W. and Oretha Davis Crook – this grave could not be found during the cemetery survey on December 30, 2004

Crook, Mary Jewel – November 18, 1909 – March 30, 1910 - daughter of H.C. and C.A. Crook

Crook, Oretha (Davis) – August 26, 1854 in Texas – February 14, 1929 – wife of H.W. Crook - daughter of Louisa (Garner) and Lewis Davis

Davis, John – October 18, 1837 in Hawkins Co., TN – c1865 – son of Louisa and Lewis – this grave could not be found during the cemetery survey on December 30, 2004

Davis, Lewis – September 26, 1804 in Hawkins Co., TN – October 28, 1862 – married Louisa Garner November 29, 1836, at Rogersville, TN – son of Catherine (Shaner) and John Davis – this grave could not be found during the cemetery survey on December 30, 2004

Davis, Louisa (Garner) – November 20, 1817, in Hawkins Co., TN – November 7, 1900 – daughter of William Garner – wife of Lewis Davis – this grave could not be found during the cemetery survey on December 30, 2004

Davis, William H. – March 28, 1842, in Hawkins Co., TN – c1865 – son of Louisa and Lewis Davis – this grave could not be found during the cemetery survey on December 30, 2004

 

Hargis, Abe – September 28, 1924 – February 5, 1996

Henderson, Elmer A. – June 10, 1894 – July 22, 1895 – son of D.A. and O.D. Henderson

Henderson, Olive D. (Bone) – July 11, 1872 – February 14, 1911 – wife of D.A. Henderson – daughter of Sarah Jane (Davis) and J.W. Bone

Henderson, Pauline – May 20, 1918 – October 10, 1918 –daughter of M.S. and C.F. Henderson

Lewis, Abel Lafayette – April 2, 1865 – July 26, 1865 –son of Mary Ann and Abel King Lewis –this grave could not be found during the cemetery survey on December 30, 2004

Lewis, Abel King – December 14, 1841 in NC – September 27, 1916 at Heber Springs - married Mary Ann Davis June 7, 1864, in Independence Co., AR

Lewis, Infant – July 25, 1878 at Hiram – August 1, 1878 – daughter of A.K. and Mary Ann Lewis – this grave could not be found during the cemetery survey on December 30, 2004

Lewis, Infant – October 26, 1879, at Hiram – October 28, 1879 – daughter of A.K. and Mary Ann Lewis – this grave could not be found during the cemetery survey on December 30, 2004

Lewis, Infant – December 22, 1881 – December 24, 1881 – daughter of A.K. and Mary Ann Lewis – this grave could not be found during the cemetery survey on December 30, 2004

Lewis, Mary Ann (Davis) – June 15, 1839 in Hawkins Co., TN – July 4, 1917 – daughter of Louisa and Lewis Davis - married Thomas McCauley September 27, 1858, in Independence Co., AR, then married Abel King Lewis June 7, 1864, in White Co., AR

Lewis, Naomi Ann Lewis – January 15, 1867 – May 22, 1873 - daughter of Mary Ann (Davis) and Abel King Lewis

Lewis, Oprah Rosalie - December 6, 1868 – December 8, 1885 - daughter of A.K. and M.A. Lewis - married James S. Johnson February 25, 1885 in White Co., AR

Lewis, Ozara P. – January 17, 1874 – October 28, 1875 – child of A.K. and Mary Ann Lewis – this grave could not be found during the cemetery survey on December 30, 2004

McCauley, Thomas Harrison – June 28, 1884 – July 18, 1891 – son of T.W. and Viola (Brown) McCauley

McCauley, Thomas William – September 17, 1860 – March 25, 1891 – son of Mary Ann (Davis) and Thomas H. McCauley

Phillips, Laura – March 17, 1934 – only date - on double stone with William Earl Phillips

Phillips, William Earl – April 13, 1928 – June 26, 1985 - son of Dave and Mae Phillips - on double stone with Laura Phillips

Reeves, G.W. – no dates - Co. D, 3rd Miss. Inf. C.S.A.

Reeves, Lee – January 14, 1904 – March 5, 1904 – son of G.A. and A.A. Reeves

Sample, Felix Sr. – February 29, 1928 – August 3, 1998 - on double stone with Wincie Sample

Sample, Wincie May – February 29, 1932 – March 21, 1993 - on double stone with Felix Sample Sr.

Slaten, Lena Maud – April 1882 – c1901 at Hiram - daughter of Sarah Jane (Davis) and Robert W. Slaten

Slaten, Sarah Jane (Davis) – April 26, 1844, in Hawkins Co., TN – September 7, 1904, at Hiram - married J.W. Bone August 24, 1871, and then married Robert W. Slaten August 24, 1876

Vaughan, Elva Altom – October 12, 1925 – September 14, 1979

Vaughan, Richard M. – March 1, 1918 – January 9, 1999

? - cannot read name – October 24, 1932 – August 5, 1983 - funeral home marker