Bay Cemetery
aka Taylor's Bay or Spradlin Cemetery

Pleasant Grove Community

GPS Coords: 35.384005, -91.328035.

(Page 56)
This cemetery is also known as Taylor's Bay Cemetery and Spradlin Cemetery. The Taylor's Bay area of Woodruff County was the site of one of the earliest settlements in this part of Arkansas. Taylor's Bay gave its name to a township of Independence County, created in 1827, which consisted of all of that county east of White and Black Rivers. This territory formed the greater part of Jackson County when it was created in 1829, and the southern part of that county was known for several years as Taylor's Bay Township. later, the name was shortened to Bay Township. After Woodruff County was created in 1862, the county court of the new county established White River Township and Augusta Township from old Bay Township of Jackson County.

Both Baptists and Methodists established churches at Taylor's Bay in the early days. Taylor's Bay Missionary Baptist Church was located in Jackson County when it was established in September of 1850 by Elders J. M. Cox, Ambrose W. Elledge and P. S. G. Watson. Rev. Watson wrote an article about the church in 1881: "At the urgent request of Elders Elledge and Cox, I accompanied them from Batesville to Phillips [should be Jackson] County, sixty miles from Batesville. We had a three day meeting, organized Taylor Bay Church, and Bro. Elledge baptized three persons, John Purssell [great-great-uncle of Virginia Daniels Boyles], Robert Anthony and William G. Purssell. Perhaps Elder John Goad of White County was the first pastor, then Elder W. M. Lea, and then Thomas Pleasant Boone." From Kittrell's history of the Methodist Church in Augusta: "Bay Methodist Church was a member of the Augusta circuit and the pastor's salary in 1871 was $75.00 a year. The last record of the M. E. Church there was in 1872, when the quarterly conference appointed Bro. Garland to dispose of the Bay church property." Taylor's Bay Baptist Church, however, continued to function for many years.

Francis Marion Spradlin, grandfather of Eunice (Mrs. Luther) Wilson, came to the Bay community in 1845 with the family of his uncle, David Spradlin. The family owned ten wagons. They became lost in the Cache River bottoms, spent the night there, and were relieved to hear someone chopping wood nearby the next morning. At this time, most families owned 40 acres of land, which was about all one family could cultivate.

Mrs. Wilson remembers many, many people being buried in the cemetery in the Bay community, but she remembers none after 1914. She also recalls going to many funerals and having to climb over the fence that surrounded the cemetery. Mrs Wilson, who lived in the Bay community as a girl, gave me several names of persons buried there in March of 1976. In November 1975, Jones Montague and I visited Bay Cemetery area. On an abstract: 1854, F. M. Yarbrough; 1878, William Wilkerson; 1887, John P. Penn; 1899, William O'Shields (Mrs. Bowen's grandfather); 1925, Rube Dunn (Mrs. Bowen's uncle); 1940, Charlie Hawk (Mrs. Bowen's father); 1954, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Bowen, the present owners.

Alfrey, Auther, son of J. R. and S. C., b. Aug. 27, 1878, d. Mar. 10, 1899
   - Linda, b. Jan. 30, 1884, d. Feb. 8, 1884
   - Twins of Mr. and Mrs. ?
Childers, Carah
Greeson, Jesse, son of W. G. and B. B., b. June 18, 1888, d. Sept. 20, 1888
Hariston, Susan
Henderson, Mrs. Blanche
   - Rosa Charlotte
Hughes, T. M., b. May 18, 1845, d. July 16, 19?6
Knight, Mr. and Mrs. Sterling
   - Annie E. (Henderson), b. June 8, 1870, d. July 5, 1908
Sibley, Lewis, son of T. T. and M. E., b. June 28, 1905, d. May 8, 1907
Spradlin, Francis M., b. Coweta Co., Ga.
   - Mrs. Sarah
Spradlin, Gus
   - David
   - Columbus
   - Josephine
   - Augustus
   - Earle
   - William T.
Thomas, Martha