PALESTINE CEMETERY - PULASKI CO. AR ------------------------------------------------------ PALESTINE CEMETERY Pulaski Co AR This cemetery listing is intended as an update to that done by Mr. Tim Anderson in 1968 for the 'Arkansas Historical Quarterly'. Since he visited, the cemetery has had considerable sprucing up, which of course makes it much easier to locate and read stones. Some of the stones Mr. Anderson located can no longer be found. A few of the markers were mis-read, and the entry is corrected here. The cemetery is located in Pulaski County on the east side of Clinton Rd. just south of where Blue Hill Rd. intersects with it. A rough legal description would put it in the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 19, township 3 north, range 12 west. The cemetery was at one time attached to a church. There is no building there now, nor are there any vestiges of one. The 'Arkansas Methodist' of 19 Jun 1947 states that "The annual conference of 1872 assigned Rev. R.L. Kirkman, a local minister, as pastor of the Bartlett mission in the Little Rock District of the Little Rock Conference. The Rev. A.R. Winfield was the Presiding Elder. This mission was composed of these churches: Warners Chapel, Belchers Chapel, Pine Grove, Palestine, New Prospect, New Church, Mt. Zion, Pleasant Grove, and Frenchman's Mountain (Cato). In 1874 Mt. Carmel and Argenta were added and in 1875 Bethel and Concord were added." According to R.T. McDaniel (the son), Rev. R.L. Kirkman was his Father's uncle and is buried under a cairn in the Palestine Cemetery. R.T. McDaniel (the son) remembers playing in the old, abandoned church building when he was a boy. He remembers the church being on the west side of the 'Old Wagon Road'. about where the Mercer family plot now lies. Jesse Mercer recalls that her mother-in-law, Josie Mercer, showed her the original church site as being just to the east of the McDaniel family plot, about where the Winningham babies are buried. They both could be right; the building could have been moved. The 'Old Wagon Road' is depicted on an 1860 area map, but by 1906 had been replaced by the Clinton Road. Traveling from the north, the original road cut through the church property in a NNW -SSE direction, crossed the creek, then turned due east about 30 yards north of what is now James Rd. According to the map, it ran along the north side of the James Cemetery, whereas James Rd. runs along the south side. Clinton Road runs through the church property in a NNE -SSW direction. Part of the land for the church and cemetery was donated in 1871 by Mursena Gillium. This is the part that lies in section 24. The land was deeded to the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South: John Q. Rice, John Edmonson, Thomas Hicks, D.D. Greenwood and Conrad R. Folson. Witnessing were: J.D. Martin, J.W/ Allen, and Justice of the Peace Edwin Stokes. The part of the cemetery that lies in section 19 was owned by a Russell W. Benedict, who received the patent for the land from the U.S. Government, Zachary Taylor, President. The land was in Benedict's name from 1847 until 1878. The earliest grave that can be identified is dated 1865. There are at least 55 graves with commercial stone markers. There are at least another 100 graves that are either not marked or are marked by field stones. Some of what appear to be family plots are marked with dry-stacked low stone fences. As of this date, 6 October, 2001. the following graves located by Tim Anderson could not be found: M.A. LESLIE; REBA TURNER; PRUDY WILSON The marked inscribed 'Confederate Soldier', seen by Jesse Mercer and others as late as the early 1960's, also can not be found. --- Frederick N. Scott, Chm., Palestine Cemetery Assn. PALESTINE CEMETERY LIST Last Name First Name Born Died Ref Comments BUMGARDNER Rose Marie Jul 11 1956 Nov 05 1997 nee Fields BUSBY Aldridge 1860 1947 TA BUSBY Margaret J. (Aug 14)1873 (Dec 11)1957 TA Margaret Rice Busby EDMONSON Sidney P. Aug 06 1880 aged 76y EDMONSON Lucia/Lucin? W. Apr 1873 aged 56y EDMONSON William F. Dec 12 1864 Mar 11 1865 TA s/o MB & SS (TA had JB) FARRER Thomas Jr. (Tommy) FIELDS Shirley Darlene Oct 31 1835 Jan 16 1973 (1935?) "In memory of her five daughters & family" FRANKS Levi S. Nov 17 1917 "Grandfather" FRANKS Rena M. Jul 15 1925 "Grandmother" FREEMAN Monroe Jr. Jun 06 1927 Feb 14 1935 TA FREEMAN Irene Jones Feb 25 1903 Apr 05 1984 FREEMAN Monroe M. Nov 22 1901 Sep 02 1965 TA FYE Daniel W. Jul 13 1919 Sep 07 1989 MSG US ARMY WWII KOREA GAY Jane B. Nov 25 1897 May 12 1968 TA GEYER James [Sep 15 1931] Dec 15 1993 62y GEYER Mae [Jan 16 1908] Jan 18 2001 92y HARRELL David A. Aug 02 1957 Apr 19 2000 PVT US ARMY VIETNAM HARRELL Janet Aug 25 1929 Jan 29 1985 "Love lives on" JOBE Myra M. Apr 24 1924 Sep 10 2000 nee Aldridge JOBE Robert L. (Red) Dec 02 1916 Dec 04 1984 JONES William May 11 1864 Aug 07 1939 TA "Father" JONES Nellie Jan 02 1864 Jun 25 1927 TA "Mother" JOYCE Mrs. Augusta McDaniel Jan 20 1878 Sep 23 1958 TA Field stone w/'Gus' carved onto it KELLEY L.D. Jan 15 1850 Apr 05 1883 TA KELLEY Vernon Travis Feb 19 1927 Jan 05 2000 KELLEY Ella Mae Sep 27 1925 Aug 23 1995 "Forever in our hearts" KIRKMAN Robert L. Cairn KUSKE Elmer Frank Jan 19 1919 Feb 13 1982 KUSKE Robert John Nov 04 1917 Apr 26 1975 KUSKE Violet May Mar 25 1922 Mar 28 1993 w/o Robert John marr: 15 Jan 1948 LANDRUM Mary A. Jun 30 1830 Nov 18 1871 TA w/o J.D. Landrum LESLIE M.A. 1868 1942 TA (Can't find) MCDANIEL Tony Joe May 29 1948 Jan 28 1967 TA 'Dying is but going home' MCDANIEL Abbie Jewel 1888 1954 TA MCDANIEL R.T. 1884 1942 TA MCDANIEL Thelma Mattie 1921 1940 TA MERCER Sarah Aug 22 1901 Jun 17 1973 MERCER Josie M. Dec 04 1900 May 05 1984 MERCER Charlie Aug 22 1895 Feb 29 1988 PVT US ARMY WWII MERCER Bettie Jo [Nov 22 1928] Dec 23 1997 69y 1m 1d MERCER Herschel J. Nov 30 1927 Jan 14 1989 MM2 US NAVY WWII MERCER Johnny Ray Jul 26 1950 Jul 29 1973 PVT USMC VIETNAM MERCER Elizabeth Jan 21 1824 Sep 24 1910 TA 2 stones "Kind friend stop and think as you pass by..." MERCER Rachael Buried next to Elizabeth Sister-in-law RAY John E. 1885 1961 TA 12 Oct 1890? RAY Pearl F. 1895 1972 RAY J. Edgar Jul 16 1917 RAY Henry Alvin Jul 31 1919 Apr 18 1974 TEC4 US ARMY WWII RAY Norma Aleta Mar 27 1926 SMITH Sarah P. Jan 03 1888 Mar 03 1967 TA nee Fields STOKES Edwin Apr 30 1824 May 07 1881 Mason/JP "Not dead but gone before" TAYLOR Rickey Wayne Feb 04 1971 4y 10m 15d TURNER Reba Mar 05 19__ Mar 31 19__ TA (Can't find) WARGO Michael Allen Oct 01 1975 Jun 18 1998 WATSON Audie [Aug 10]1892 [Mar]__ 1977 WILCOX Ian P. Aug 29 1970 Nov 29 1971 WILSON Prudy Nov 25 1853 Nov 06 1865 TA (can't find) d/o H.B. & L.E. WINNINGHAM Richard A. Jul 22 1937 Feb 02 1939 s/o A.E. & Flora L. WINNINGHAM Wilma G. Dec 15 1938 Jun 23 1939 d/o A.E. & Flora L. ------------------------------------------------------ Submitted by Rick Scott through David V. Brannon - July 22, 2002 Page typed and formatted by Charlotte Ramsey Info in brackets [  ] from Social Security Records ------------------------------------------------------ Return to Pulaski Co. Page Return to Cemeteries Page