Belew Cemetery Picture

The cemetery is forgotten and overgrown, as Kathy Moss’ photo indicates

Belew Cemetery

Rose Bud, Arkansas

This cemetery, which has also been known as Pence Cemetery, dates back as early as 1861. It was called Belew Cemetery by several aging residents of the area, including former Rose Bud Postmaster Glen Belew, when White County Historical Society volunteer Kathy Moss located it in April 2000. It is located south of Rose Bud on Highway 5. Take the highway 5.4 miles to Overbeck Lane, then turn right. The cemetery is at the top of the hill in the woods on the right side of the road. Using information provided by Mr. Belew, Kathy Moss was able to find the cemetery when she noticed flowers blooming in the woods. She returned with her 14-year-old son Brandon to survey it. "It is in very poor condition," she reported. "It is impossible to get an accurate count of the graves. There are approximately 40 graves marked with field stones. Some graves aren’t marked at all. I am sure that there are stones that are buried by years of fallen leaves. There are several broken markers. This cemetery could really use some attention."

This cemetery was listed as Pence Cemetery by Cloie and Leister Presley of the Historical Society 24 years earlier - April 2, 1966. They reported it was was the Brooks Watson Farm and they found 20 graves with names and dates.

"Leaving Highway 5 and going through the barn lot gate," they wrote, "there is only a field road to the cemetery and most cars could not be driven over this road. The cemetery is scattered over a large area on a hilltop overgrown with woods and has not been used for some time. There are possibly 150 graves in this cemetery that are not marked."

The cemetery was visited November 15, 2000, by Leroy Blair of the White County Historical Society, who provided additional information. He notes that "the graves of Laura Ann, Ples and Quincy Henderson are fenced in with hog wire and barbed wire, using old horse-drawn buggy axles for posts. There are eight of them. The directions that are on the Pence list are no longer good. Use the directions on the Belew list. This cemetery is in very bad condition – in need of a lot of cleaning. There are a lot of unmarked graves – probably more than the estimate of 150 on the old list. The cemetery covers a very large area." (See also PENCE CEMETERY.)

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

Belew, James M. May 9, 1853 April 1, 1872  age 18 years, 10 mos., 21 days
Belew, Lean J.  March 15, 1857  August 27, 1861  age 7 years, 5 mos., 12 days
Belew, Martha  December 23, 1828  February 17, 1906  on same stone with T.C. Belew  "Mother and Father"
Belew, T.C.  March 23, 1820  February 23, 1897
Harper, E.  October 19, 1821  August 26, 1899  Masonic stone
Harper, Chellie O.  June 17, 1892  June 28, 1896
Harper, infant  born and died February 9, 1876  son of W.K. & M.E.
Harper, Lannie E.  June 17, 1884  July 2, 1899  inscription: We die to live, we sink to rise, we leave this mortal store, But brighter suns and bluer skies shall shine on us forevermore.
Harper, Savell O.  September 17, 1882  October 10, 1886  stone broken in half
Harper, Ulys. P.  September 20, 1897  August 6, 1898
Hendrickson, Laura Ann  June 6, 1879  September 15, 1882  daughter of J.D. and M.E. Hendrickson
Hendrickson, Ples.  February 28, 1881  November 18, 1892  age 11 years, 9 mos., 18 days - son of J.D. and M.E. Hendrickson
Hendrickson, Quincy  April 13, 1887  November 8, 1899  age 12 years, 6 mos, 26 days - son of J.D. and M.E. Hendrickson - stone has fallen over.
Lewis, Emma J.  February 20, 1863  December 11, 1882  wife of J.W.
Lewis  stone broken along the death date, difficult to read.
Malies, George W.  1944  1984  Jacksonville Funeral Home marker
Matthews, Anna  December 25, 1873  September 19, 1876  daughter of J.B. and M.S. Matthews
Matthews, Loretta  March 20, 1882  February 17, 1901  daughter of J.B. and M.S. Matthews
Pence, Lou B.  March 29, 1852  April 10, 1908  age 56 years, 2 days  wife of Davis G. Pence
Pickard, Ellen O.  February 1, 1856  August 12, 1881  age 25 years, 6 mos., 11 days -wife of J.W. Pickard, daughter of E.&M. Harper - "this beautiful large stone has broken off and is sinking into the ground; I could not dig it out enough with my hands to pick it up."
Pruett, Bell  December 25, 1874  October 31, 1877  daughter of J.T. and S. Pruett - marker is a very small, broken stone lying on the ground.
Ruark, Catherine    died March 19, 1878  age 37 years, 2 mos., 15 days -wife of R.B. Ruark -stone broken into three pieces
Vestel, Missouri N.  December 25, 1869  October 27, 1872
Yoast, F.E.  June 27, 1819  July 13, 1882  Masonic marker, broken