Larey family Cemetery Miller County Arkansas

*Misc info from Lds ancestry file (Bert W. Larey was the submitter to LDS he passed away 2/20/1984 and is buried in Rondo Cemetery. In his will it shows he was doing research on his family and it memtions an original letter written by the Rev. Jacob Whetstone on the family genealogy, in 1846. Al mentions Civil war letters written by his grandfather, Evans L. Larey. He left the reserch to be carried by his secretary.) Census & obits and other sources. Research was done by Tresa & Doris.

The following is an excerpt from the book,
"A HISTORY of DODDRIDGE, SPRING BANK,
and the OTHER COMMUNITIES OF
SULFUR TOWNSHIP ARKANSAS"
1992, by Charles Wesley Bigby, page 84-85.

The second oldest church in the Bright Star area is Olive Branch Methodist Church. It was established around 1860. The land was donated by Henry M. G. Larey and John M. Larey. The church was originally a two story log structure, the Masonic Lodge used the second floor, with the church and school using the first. The church cemetery was originally used for whites and slaves. However, the Elizabeth Baptist Church was eventually given a deed for its own cemetery. Info provided by Bill & Betty Sharp This information is on Olive Branch Cemetery #1 that is on the web site.

Received e-mail from a family member.:

Henry & Emily Larey were my GGgrandparents. I am generally familiar with the family history and have visited the old family cemetery several times.

The cemetery is located on a two-acre square adjoining where the old Larey home was located. The site is not served by a public road; rather, access is from the neighboring ownership to the east or from walking north along a dirt field road connecting with a public road about one-half mile south of the home place. Unfortunately, the cemetery has been vandalized and only 2-3 headstones remain. A local neighbor advised me that as a boy, he remembered a number of stones in place, possibly 25 or more. The cemetery was established in 1842, soon after Henry and Emily settled on the property and built their home.

The Larey homestead was located on land legally described as :

E1/2 of the NE1/4 of Section 36, Township 18 South, Range 28 West, Miller County, Ark,

The cemetery is actually located in the South central part of the above 80 acres, along the east property line. The homestead is roughly divided by Caney Creek and the house was located south of the creek. The only remaining original improvement is an old brick encased well. The cemetery site is open ground while the adjoining home site is lightly wooded.

The cemetery site is now the location of a deer hunting camp and there is very little to actually see other than a couple of headstones marked for several of the John Kelly children. The Lareys intermarried with the Kellys, Whetstones and Blanton families and various members of those families are reportedly buried in this cemetery. The Larey family had largely relocated from the area by about 1900 and I doubt the cemetery was significantly used after that time. I have been told that there was a Negro section adjoining the cemetery for slave burials.