-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.

Name Birth Death Comments
? - cannot read name October 24, 1932 August 5, 1983 funeral home marker
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 February 19, 1905 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 February 14, 1929 Born in Texas wife of H.W. Crook - daughter of Louisa (Garner) and Lewis Davis
Davis, John October 18, 1837 c1865 Born in Hawkins Co., TN son of Louisa and Lewis this grave could not be found during the cemetery survey on December 30, 2004
Davis, Lewis September 26, 1804 October 28, 1862 in Hawkins Co., TN 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 November 7, 1900 Born in Hawkins Co., TN 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, c1865 Born in Hawkins Co., TN 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 King December 14, 1841 September 27, 1916 Born in NC at Heber Springs - married Mary Ann Davis June 7, 1864, in Independence Co., AR
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, Infant July 25, 1878 August 1, 1878 born at Hiram 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 October 28, 1879 Born at Hiram 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 July 4, 1917 Born in Hawkins Co., TN 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 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, September 7, 1904 Born in Hawkins Co., TN - 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
Whitener, Michael Devon July 16, 1953 March 3, 2013