--Photo by Gerald Torrence

Gilbert Cemetery

Russell, Arkansas

This site, also known as O’Neal Cemetery, is located at the west side of the city. From Hwy 67N, take the Russell exit (60) and enter the city from the east. Crossing the railroad tracks, turn left onto Hwy 367 and go south to Vine Street; turn right on Vine and continue until it dead ends; turn left on Second Street and follow it until it ends, then turn right and continue approximately 150 yards. The cemetery is up on the hill to the left from the house that is there.

This cemetery was originally listed November 8, 1981, as "O’Neal Cemetery," by Cloie and Leister E. Presley of the White County Historical Society and published in the 1988 White County Heritage. It was fenced and had a gate March 17, 2000, when Tommy H. Treadway of the White County Historical Society updated the Presleys’ work. "The cemetery is maintained and most of the stones are in good shape," he reported. "Some sunken spots were seen, apparently old gravesites." He said he was told the cemetery was first called Gilbert because the first individual buried there was a small child whose last name was "Gilbert". A one-year-old boy named Gilbert was buried here in 1877.

The records were updated again December 7, 2000, by Historical Society member Leroy Blair. He found 19 mounds or depressions that were probably unmarked graves, nine graves marked only with rocks and 11 other graves with funeral home markers that were no longer legible. Blair was chairman of the WCHS cemetery committee and a member of the board when he visited the cemetery again January 7, 2005, and made additions and adjustments to this list.

The cemetery was visited in June 2004 by Historical Society member Scott Akridge, who noted that it is on "a very old road" from Searcy to Grand Glaize. "Carter Cemetery and another cemetery at Bald Knob are also on this old road.  This road predates the railroad and thus likely was a pre-Civil War route as well." Blair, who is chairman of the Historical Society’s cemetery committee and a member of the Board of Directors, visited the cemetery again on the last day of 2004 and double-checked the information below against what he saw on the tombstones, making some corrections and other adjustments.

The gravesites are alphabetized here for convenience but were listed numerically by the Presleys as indicated in parenthesis following each name. They reported seeing "at least 30" unmarked graves.

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

Anderson, Agness (11) – 1873 – 1949

Barnes, Ann (39) – 1884 – 1922

Barnes, Ed I. (38) – 1874 – 1958

Barnes, Edwin M. (32) – June 30, 1832 – February 10, 1899 – name on double stone with Mattie E. Barnes

Barnes, Mattie E. (31) – December 12, 1835 – October 26, 1895 – name on double stone with Edwin M. Barnes

Barnes, Mattie E. (34) – 1872 – 1950

Bray, Porter (5) – 1879 – 1929

Burnett, Ethel T. (58) – May 8, 1907 – April 11, 1940 – name on stone with infant son

Burnett, Infant – no dates – son of Ethel T. Burnett - name on stone with Ethel T. Burnett

Burnett, Joseph W. (59) – July 15, 1903 – December 26, 1978

Burnett, Scotty O. (60) – July 10, 1935 – November 22, 1975

Burnett, Vernon W. (57) – November 10, 1930 – December 27, 1930

Byrd, Mary C. (7) – 1863 – 1954

Byrd, Noah W. (8),– March 3, 1898 – August 25, 1912 - son of J.E. and M.C. Byrd

Cook, Howard Preston (56) – born and died March 2, 1934

Craig, Maudie (23) – February 16, 1897 – March 5, 1897 – daughter of J.W. and L.C. Craig – stone off its base in 2004

Dobbs, Callie Mae – January 4, 1916 – July 26, 1974 – name on double stone with Delphard "Dude"Dobbs

Dobbs, Delphard "Dude" – June 13, 1911 – April 27, 1974 – name on double stone with Callie Mae Dobbs

Folsom, Austin C. (45) – March 6, 1879 – October 9, 1900

Folsom, Charles M. (46)– November 25, 1825 – July 6, 1891 - 7th Indpt. Btry Wis. Lt. Arty. - military marker

Folsom, Cornelia Knapp (47) – October 13, 1845 – February 13, 1918 – wife of Charles M. Folsom

Folsom, W.T. (44) – November 6, 1869 – October 31, 1911

Gilbert, Infant (61),– March 23, 1876 – August 9, 1877 - son of S.S. and H.R. Gilbert

Gilbert, Mother (63) – October 30, 1843 – 1886

Gilbert, Nellie E. (64) – March 3, 1878 – April 2, 1897 – stone broken

Gilbert, Sam W. (49) – March 16, 1874 – May 1, 1967

Gilbert, Samuel S. (62) – September 1?, 1838 – February 20, 1899? – stone broken and almost unreadable

Goad, John W. (36), – June 3, 1868 – March 30, 1887 – son of J.L. and C.M. Goad

Good, Canarisa M. (35) –July 12, 1840 in Ballard Co., KY – April 10, 1890

Hammond, Corine (65) – November 20, 1896 – April 9, 1897. Daughter of S.D. & E.L. Hammond

Hammond, Elizabeth (66) – December 25, 1893 – October 9, 1896 - daughter of S.D. and E.L. Hammond

Hammond, Eva (67) – 1871 – 1899

Hilton, W.R. (48) – September 16, 1848 – November 14, 1897

Litherland, Della (28) – 1888 – 1902 - Sister

Litherland, James A. (29) – 1852 – 1924 – name on double stone with Mary E. Litherland.

Litherland, Mary E. (30) – 1885 – 1927 - name on double stone with James A. Litherland

Litherland, Sarah J. (27) – December 11, 1879 – April 4, 1911 - wife of Ira Litherland

Matlock, Paul T. (1) – April 17, 1919 – February 20, 1978

McGehee, Benjamin F. (33) – May 11, 1842 – May 21, 1918 – very large massive stone

McNatt, Willie Mae (74) - 1910 – 1914

Moore, Edna Odell (53) – October 25, 1922 – July 30, 1929

Moore, Harold (37) – May 7, 1907 – November 1, 1937

Moore, Helen (52) – November 26, 1912 – June 6, 1924

Moore, Josiah (21) – February 25, 1828 – December 24, 1912 - Mason

Moore, Josiah "Joe" Jr. (50) November 2, 1874, in White County – May 11, 1929 at Russell

Moore, Lenora (51) – January 9, 1885 – July 22, 1926 – wife of Joe Moore

Moore, Palmyra (20) – August 29, 1841 – April 20, 1923 – wife of Josiah Moore

Moore, Robert M. (22) – no dates - Co. E. 3rd Ark. Cav. C.S.A.

Nelson, Junita (55) – April 20, 1909 – May 31, 1935

Nelson, Nellie Gilbert – September 28, 1904 – October 31, 1996

Newman, Bertha – December 29, 1891 – January 20, 1982

Newman, Daniel A. (54) – February 9, 1883 – August 9, 1952

O’Neal, Grace M. (69) – 1878 – 1958 - name on double stone with W.B. O’Neal

O’Neal, J.W. (71) – January 4, 1835 – May 8, 1891 – stone turned over in 2004

O’Neal, James M. (75) – October 19, 1857 – January 12, 1910

O’Neal, Lawrence (68) – June 17, 1908 – September 22, 1939

O’Neal, Perry E. (72) – died March 25, 1941 – age 64 years, 6 months, 8 days - funeral home marker – this grave was not found during the cemetery survey on December 31, 2004

O’Neal, Rebecca C. (76) – June 15, 1864 – October 20, 1946

O’Neal, W.B. (70) – 1869 – 1938 – name on double stone with Grace M. O’Neal

Odle, Anthony R. (40) – February 2, 1839 – October 10, 1890 - Co. G. 9 Ind. Regt. U.S. Inf. – rocked grave covered with concrete slab

Ostella, Carl Norman (4) – 1944 – 1945 – son of Arthur and Margaret Perryman Ostella

Pennington, Charles S. – February 26, 1932 – August 14, 1996 - SP4 U.S. Army – this grave was not found during the cemetery survey on December 31, 2004

Pennington, Elmena S. (9) – 1901 – 1966 - name on double stone with Robert A. Pennington

Pennington, Robert A. (10) – 1899 – 1966 – name on double stone with Elmena S. Pennington

Perryman, Carl Norman – 1914 – 1945 – son of Arthur & Margaret Perryman

Roberts, George (3) – 1868 – 1958

Roberts, Ted D. (2) – April 7, 1918 – February 12, 1967

Roetzel, Carl D. (16) – 1939 – 1940

Roetzel, Loyd B. (17) – 1915 – 1916

Ross, Jimmy W. (6) – August 13, 1936 – December 15, 1948

Singletary, Charles A. (12) – November 27, 1850 – December 8, 1909

Smith, Arthur T. – January 23, 1914 – September 25, 1987 – Powell Funeral Home marker.

Smith, Billy Ray – February 11, 1933 – April 29, 1987 – name on double stone with Joan Smith.

Smith, Joan – April 21, 1935 – only date - name on double stone with Billy Ray Smith – married April 30, 1953

Williams, Maud Edna (73) – December 27, 1906 – August 14, 1932 – stone turned over

Wood, Alonzo A. (25) – 1856 –1923

Wood, Alvis A. (15) – 1882 – 1932 – name on triple stone with Minnie and Howard Wood

Wood, Atlee Franklin (19) – October 3, 1892 – October 23, 1918

Wood, Cecil J. (18) – 1896 – 1917

Wood, Harry (42) – 1905 – only date – infant – name on double stone with Oscar Wood

Wood, Henrietta (26) – 1867 – 1902

Wood, Hettie (24) – 1875 – 1935 – stone off its base in 2004

Wood, Howard A. (14) – 1907 – 1909 - name on triple stone with Minnie and Alvis Wood

Wood, Joe D. (41) – 1880 – 1938

Wood, Minnie B. (13) – 1887 – 1912 – name on triple stone with Howard and Alvis Wood

Wood, Oscar (43) – 1906 – only date – infant – name on double stone with Harry Wood.

Wood, Wayne Sutherlin – January 21, 1928 – August 15, 2003 – husband of Juanita Burnett Wood – this grave was not found during the cemetery survey on December 31, 2004.

Recent unmarked grave due east next row from Arthur T. Smith – may be Wayne Sutherlin Wood or Charles S. Pennington