Faulkner County, Arkansas Census and History by Sondra Johnson Flag Pond Cemetery Census by Sondra Johnson - 2012 1 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 2 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 one- room 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 3 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 4 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 5 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.