Faulkner County, Arkansas Census and History by Sondra Johnson

Faulkner County, Arkansas
Census and History by Sondra Johnson
Flag Pond Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson - 2012
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Copyright 2012 by Sondra Johnson.
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system.
Disclaimer
While every effort has been made to produce as accurate and reliable information as possible, the
certainty of errors is inherent in human nature. A number of resources have been used to
construct the contents, some of which may also contain errors or misleading information. The
author, therefore, advises that the information contained in this document should not be used to
supplant or otherwise take the place of independently documenting and verifying any information
contained herein.
Dedication and Acknowledgements
This census is dedicated to my sweet, dear mother, Veradean McCord, my wise and understanding sister, Charlotte
Moudy, and Suzee Cia, my tried-and true, faithful friend, who have continually supported my efforts to complete this long
and difficult project.
It is also dedicated to the memory of so many loved ones that have gone before us, whose lives changed our history and
our perspectives of life.
To my Lord and Savior, whom I thank for guiding me and watching over me as I walked the hallowed grounds and for
giving me courage, strength, and determination.
Throughout the years that it took to complete the Faulkner County Cemetery Census, I was helped along the way by
many people. To name them all, would be difficult due to the passage of time and I would run the risk of omitting some.
However, I would like to especially thank the following: Veradean (Johnson) McCord, Charlotte (Johnson) Moudy,
Stephanie (Moudy) Weatherington, Glenna (Blair) Shumate, Suzee (White) Cia, Joe Melton, Connie (Hall) Weir, Lynita
Langley-Ware, Desmond (Walls) Allen, Euna and Steve Beavers, Charles Parsons, and Vivian Hogue. I'm also grateful
for and indebted to Terri Buster and Charlie Ward, who have made it possible for me to accomplish my dream.
— Faulkner County, Arkansas, Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson —
For more information on the cemeteries of Faulkner County, Arkansas, contact Sondra Johnson at
[email protected] or the Faulkner County Museum at [email protected]
Flag Pond Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson - 2012
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Flag Pond Cemetery
GPS Coordinates: 34 58.056 92 30.134 (Approximate)
Township 4 North, Range 14 West, Section 21
Political Township: Benedict
Location and Description
This historic cemetery is located in the southwest corner of Faulkner County, near the
Arkansas River in a community once known as “Providence.” Scattered throughout the cemetery
are commercial and handmade monuments, as well as rock markers.
History
In an article written by Joe Mosby for The Log Cabin Democrat in the February 21, 2005,
edition, Mr. Mosby stated:
Abandoned cemetery permanently awakened
Mosleys, archeologists bring light to dissipated Flag Pond
Mayflower — The mainstream shifted away from a corner of southwestern
Faulkner County years ago. Rail and highway vehicles replaced riverboats, and
Mayflower came on to the map as Benedict Landing faded off it. Providence’s oneroom school housed pupils of 12 grades, and it’s long gone. Residents died and
were buried at Flag Pond Cemetery, then it was gone, at least from most memories.
Flag Pond became an abandoned cemetery.
Today, however, there is new interest and a fresh breeze blowing through the
mixed pines and hardwoods that have grown among the scattered, rough grave
markers on a sloping hillside a half dozen miles west of Mayflower.
About 20 persons gathered at the cemetery Wednesday [February 16, 2005]
for the first step in bringing it back to light and in a permanent fashion.
Representatives of the Arkansas Archeological Survey and the Faulkner County
Historical Society were joined by people with family connections to the cemetery —
most of them Mosleys or related to Mosleys.
When they had finished searching for and flagging graves, one participant
said, “It looked like a field of blue wildflowers out there.” Blue markers were used to
designate graves, those with headstones, those with rock markers and those with
none.
In 1980, as part of a countywide cemetery census, Flag Pond was visited by
enumerators who listed 27 graves. Mike Adams, who came from Georgia for the
Wednesday get-together, said, “When we finished, there were somewhere between
130 and 140 blue flags out there.”
Flag Pond Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson - 2012
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Sophia Timandra Sevier Lavender Mosley may have been pleased. She was
something of an unusual character herself. Sophia was the last person, apparently,
buried at Flag Pond Cemetery, and that was in 1937. Born in 1848, she was a
member of a family prominent in two states, producing governors and U. S. senators
in both. Sophia had seen the Civil War, its aftermath, a first marriage and loss of a
husband, a second marriage and loss of another husband. She lived 51 years after
being widowed the second time.
This is Sophia Sevier, who didn’t hesitate to travel by herself as a teenage girl
from the Old Stagecoach House on Old Military Road southwest of today’s Conway to
Benedict Landing on the Arkansas River near Flag Pond, according to her
descendants at the derelict cemetery Wednesday.
Along the way, she had company. A panther began stalking her. Yes, today,
they are cougars or mountain lions. In the Civil War era, panther was the common
label. Sophia began running, the panther easily matched pace. Then Sophia untied
her bonnet to run better. The bonnet blew off, and the panther grabbed it instead of
the girl.
The early Mosleys of the Providence area included William C. Mosley, who
fought for the Confederacy, his father Robert, and a dozen children including Albert
Flag Pond Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson - 2012
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and Wiley. Wiley isn’t buried at Flag Pond, but he was a long-time businessman
and public figure in Faulkner County. Mayflower has a park named for him, the
little one with the eye-catching unique sign on Highway 365, where it meets
Highway 89 on the north side of town.
Albert Mosley married the widow Sophia Sevier Lavender. Wednesday,
her grandson, Lewis Adams, 93, of North Little Rock, commented that he helped
dig the grave for his grandmother in 1937 at Flag Pond.
Flag Pond Cemetery may have been termed “abandoned,” but it was not
forgotten. The recent effort to restore it came from near and far. Gladys Mosley
Raney of Little Rock said, “My sister, Rose Mosely Bell, in California, and Frank
Adams, in Iowa, have been the main ones pushing this.”
Dr. Skip Stewart-Abernathy of the Arkansas Archeological Survey, said
Wednesday, “After we mark the graves, we’ll make a GPS record of the perimeter
of the cemetery, and we’ll use this as a possible archeological site designation.”
From there, the assorted family members plan a cleanup of the cemetery and to
erect a fence and a suitable sign. An account has been established at First State
Bank for the Flag Pond Cemetery work. Treasurer of the group is Patricia Pray, 66
Flag Pond Road, Mayflower, Ark. 72106.
Another interesting article written by Joe Mosby for The Log Cabin Democrat appeared in
the same edition on February 21, 2005. It was entitled “Sophia Mosley: A remarkable woman.”
Buried at Flag Pond Cemetery, Sophia Sevier Mosley was a woman of
interest — well-connected and remarkable on her own. Her life spanned from
pioneer days through the Civil War and all the way to the eve of World War II.
She once outran a panther, she long survived two husbands, and she gave birth
to 10 children. Those who knew Sophia Timandra Sevier Lavender Mosley said,
“She was a fine woman.”
Her connections, and these are just few:








Great-granddaughter of John Sevier, Revolutionary War general and
first governor of Tennessee
Cousin of James Sevier of Conway, first governor of Arkansas
Cousin of Henry Wharton Conway, Arkansas territorial delegate to
Congree
Cousin of Elias Nelson Conway, governor of Arkansas
Cousin of Ambrose Hundley Sevier, first U. S. senator from Arkansas
Cousin of Henry Massey Rector, governor of Arkansas
Cousin through marriage of Thomas James Churchill, governor of
Arkansas
Cousin through marriage of James Lawson Kemper, governor of
Virginia
Flag Pond Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson - 2012
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Sophia’s parents were Michael Robert and Sara Emmaline Bayless Sevier,
and both are buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Conway.
In 1980, the property on which Flag Pond is situated was owned by Joe Fetzek. In
2008, the property was owned the Satterfield family.
In Faulkner County: Its Land and People, Omie Evelyn Raney Smith wrote an article about
the Providence community.
In 1902, Papa had bought 120 acres out in the hills and cut virgin pine timber,
had it sawed into lumber, hauled to Conway, and dressed. In 1904, we moved to
Providence to our new home. The Albert A. Mosleys lived next to us at Providence.
They had the only telephone at the time. Mrs. Mosley was the former Sophia Sevier,
who had moved into her home there as the bride of Will Lavender. After Mr.
Lavender died, she married Mr. Mosley and they remained in her house. Mrs.
Mosley was the sister of Elbridge Sevier, whose father, Mike, built the Stagecoach
Inn on the Rocky Gap road, which was a waystop on the old stagecoach road.
“Bridge” lived at the Inn. It is marked by a historical marker and is close to the
location of the Ludwig Schoolhouse. It is also known as the Singer Place, after
people who lived there in later years.
Mr. Albert Mosley was Sunday School Superintendent, Justice of the Peace,
School Director, and, I guess, Townshihp Committeeman. But in November 1906,
Mr. Mosley passed away. That was the first I knew of dying. It seemed like the
world had stopped. Somebody had to take up the torch. That is where my papa,
Frank Raney, came into his own, and began to influence what was to be at
Providence.
Census Data
In October 1980, a census was taken of Flag Pond Cemetery by Hattie Ann Kelso, Mr. and
Mrs. Holley Raney, Lucille Starr Anesi, and Dorothy Starr Yeltman. At that time, they found a total
of 27 distinguishable grave sites.
Participants in the Flag Pond Cemetery survey on February 16, 2005, included the
following:
Lillian R. Hogue — Daughter of Jewell Mosley Adams Speights
Dr. Paul Hogue
Patricia Pray and Loren Pray
J. Yvonne Speights-Mills
Wendell Speights — Son of Jewell Mosley Adams Speights
Judy Speights
Robert Wayne Mosley
Robert Edward Mosley — Son of Robert Wayne Mosley
Joe Mosby — Reporter for The Log Cabin Democrat
Lewis Mosley Adams — Grandson of Sophia Sevier Lavender Mosley
Barbara Fischer Adams — Mother of Michael & Frank Adams
Flag Pond Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson - 2012
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Myrtle K. Adams — Son of Lewis M. Adams
Michael K. Adams
Gladys Raney — Sister of Trish Mosley Taylor & Rose Mosley Bell
Grace Maclean — Faulkner County Historical Society
Sonny Taylor — Husband of Trish Taylor
Dr. Skip Stewart-Abernathy — Arkansas Archeological Survey
Alan Smith — Assistant Archeologist
Sondra Johnson — Faulkner County Cemetery Surveyor
Bob Meriwether — Faulkner County Historical Society
Although an attempt was made to mark each site which could possibly be considered a
grave, only a total of 48 are included in this survey. Individuals who were buried by Pence
Funeral Home were added to the census, as well.
RESOURCES:
Allen, Desmond Walls. Pence Funeral Home, Conway, Arkansas, 1881-1945. Vols. I, II, & III. Arkansas Research, Inc., 1986.
Faulkner County Census of Cemeteries as of December 31, 1987. Faulkner County Historical Society
Faulkner County: Its Land and People. Faulkner County Historical Society, 1986.
Shubert, Dwight. Faulkner County Marriage Index, 1873-1925, Vol. 1, 1996.
Shubert, Dwight. Faulkner County Marriage Index, 1926-1967, Vol. 2, 1997.
Flag Pond Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson - 2012
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Dr. Skip Abnernathy
Arkansas Archeological Survey
Flag Pond Cemetery
February 16, 2005
Flag Pond Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson - 2012
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Flag Pond Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson - 2012
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Driving Directions: Drive west on Highway 89 from Mayflower. Go approximately
six miles to the Cedar Ranch property on the left (south) side of the highway. The
cemetery is about 1.5 miles south of the highway through fields and pasture, but
permission and guidance must be obtained by a knowledgeable person to gain
access to the cemetery.
Flag Pond Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson - 2012
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Abbreviations and Symbols
?
Monument inscription illegible or difficult to read
DS
Double-Stone Monument (two names listed on one monument)
MS
Multi-Stone Monument (more than two names listed on the monument)
HS
Headstone
FS
Footstone
w/
with
md.
Married
Co.
County
FH
Funeral Home
FM
Funeral Marker
"...."
Epitaph or other information engraved on the monument
b.
Born
c.
About or estimated date
d.
Died
Dau
Daughter
Bro
Brother
Hus
Husband
FCHS
Faulkner County Historical Society
(name)
Maiden names are enclosed in parentheses
CSA
Confederate States of America
WW I
World War I
WW II
World War II
LCD
Log Cabin Democrat (Newspaper)
Rev
Reverend
OES
Order of the Eastern Star
yrs
years
mos
months
dys
days
WOTW Woodmen-of-the-World monument
US
United States
Ark.
Arkansas
FC
Faulkner County
Flag Pond Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson - 2012
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Census of Flag Pond Cemetery
NAME
BIRTH
?
?
?
?
?
Akins (Infant)
DEATH
1825
Akins, Vena
Glenn, John
Grissom, Susan R. (Shrum)
c. 1893
1 Jan 1859
15 Nov 1902
3 Oct 1898
Hughes, J. E.
Hughes, Wheeler
Kerr, Claud
Lavender, B. L.
4 Sep 1902
c. 1872
c. Apr 1900
c. 1871
25 Nov 1902
24 Apr 1911
21 May 1900
2 Feb 1904
Lavender, Hettie (McCormick)
c. 1877-78
14 Dec 1897
c. 1860
16 Nov 1898
McCormick, Saul
Mosley, ?
c. 1831
3 Oct 1894
Mosley, (Infant)
Mosley, (Infant)
Mosley, Albert A.
1894
1895
5 Dec 1858
1894
1895
23 Jan 1907
Mosley, Bob
Mosley, Charlie
Mosley, Emory R.
Mosley, Jerusha A.
Mosley, John
Mosley, Julian G.
Mosley, Lee
Mosley, Mollie (Swift)
Mosley, Sophia Timandra (Sevier) Lavender
1884
1892
19 Jun 1904
26 May 1832
23 Jul 1881
11 Mar 1900
1884
3 Feb 1872
6 Jan 1848
1888
1892
Aug 1905
15 Dec 1910
10 Aug 1900
27 Jun 1902
1888
8 Feb 1898
13 Feb 1937
Mosley, William C.
Murphy, Oscar
Nooner, Mariam
Raney, (Child)
Raney, Eula Fay
17 May 1826
c. 1874
c. 1834
11 Jan 1886
14 Oct 1895
13 Feb 1904
18 Nov 1888
1908
Lavender, J. M.
Lavender, John
Raney, Hubert
1911
Raney, Marie
1909
Raney, Pearlie Mae
1907
Rankin, Emma (Mosley)
Reynolds, Jess
Styers, J. H.
Styers, L.
Wilhite, A. J.
c. 1873
27 Feb 1893
c. 1874
22 Aug 1851
13 Dec 1896
22 Aug 1856
28 Jul 1900
21 Dec 1898
25 Nov 1902
4 Oct 1930
Flag Pond Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson - 2012
OTHER INFORMATION
Rock marker next to Sophia Sevier Lavender Mosley
Sunken grave next to Susan Grissom
Sunken grave next to Susan Grissom
Rock marker east of Susan Grissom (adult grave)
Rock marker south of Susan Grissom
Buried w/ mother Vena Akins; 1980 FCHS census - not
located in 2005
Buried w/ infant; 1980 FCHS census - not located in 2005
Pence FH record - not located in 2005
md. Robert Grissom 2 Sep 1877 in Faulkner Co.; Pence FH
(d. 7 Nov 1899)
DS w/ L. Styers
Pence FH record (Huse) - not located in 2005
Pence FH record - not located in 2005
md. Hettie McCormick 8 Oct 1894 in Faulkner Co.; md. Mrs.
Lucy L. Lavender 13 Oct 1899 in Faulkner Co.; Pence FH
record - not located in 2005
md. B. L. Mosley 8 Oct 1894 in Faulkner Co.; Pence FH
record - not located in 2005
md. Lucy L. Ludwick 29 Apr 1888 in Faulkner Co.; Pence FH
record - not located in 2005
Husb of Sophia (Sevier) Lavender Mosley; 1980 FCHS
census - not located in 2005
Pence FH record - not located in 2005
Wiley Mosley's Grandparents; 1980 FCHS census - not
located in 2005
1980 FCHS census - not located in 2005
md. Mrs. Sophia (Sevier) Lavender 1 Feb 1881 in Faulkner
Co.; Pence FH; Monument broken (next to Sophia Lavender
DS w/ William C. Mosley; Pence FH
"Son of Albert Mosley"
"Son of W. E. & M. D. Mosley"
Diamond-shaped monument
md. Gibson A. Mosley 22 Jan 1891 in Faulkner Co.; Pence
Wife of John "Will" Lavender & Albert A. Mosley; Pence FH
DS w/ Jerusha A. Mosley; Pence FH
Pence FH record - not located in 2005
Pence FH record - not located in 2005
Child of Frank Raney; Pence FH
Rock marker; Child of Frank & Mary Josephine "Josie"
(Claunch) Raney
Rock marker; Child of Frank & Mary Josephine "Josie"
(Claunch) Raney
Rock marker; Child of Frank & Mary Josephine "Josie"
(Claunch) Raney
Rock marker; Child of Frank & Mary Josephine "Josie"
(Claunch) Raney
md. G. E. Rankin 14 Jan 1892 in Faulkner Co.; Pence FH
record - not located in 2005
Pence FH record - not located in 2005
DS w/ J. E. Hughes
md. Mrs. Laura E. Atkins 15 Mar 1914 in Faulkner Co.; Pence
FH record - not located in 2005
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Census of Flag Pond Cemetery
NAME
Wilhite, Ethel
Wilhite, S. H.
Willis, Dortha Viola
Willis, Eunice
Willis, May
BIRTH
DEATH
c. 1894
c. 1866
28 Dec 1908
Jun 1900
c. 1880
31 Mar 1911
30 Mar 1911
20 Sep 1909
18 Aug 1906
22 Mar 1913
Flag Pond Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson - 2012
OTHER INFORMATION
Rock marker; Pence FH record
Pence FH record - not located in 2005
Monument damaged
Pence FH
Pence FH record - not located in 2005
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