Found a headstone

[Story]

This might help. It is an early Hensley Family Cemetery near Stafford, Missouri. Twelve family members are listed, but more burials are there that haven't been recorded or photographed yet. Cager Hensley died about 1888 and the cemetery is from that time period.

Hensley Cemetery in Missouri - Find a Grave Cemetery

Located off Highway DD near Crocker, Missouri. Unfenced, this old family cemetery is on private property and has become overgrown. (T37-R12-S25)

www.findagrave.com

Found this, you have to use the cached URL to access the text -


Hensley Cemetery

Hensley Cemetery is located in Pulaski County, MO., near Crocker, Missouri off Highway DD. It is on land known as the Clifton Jones farm.

Hensley Cemetery is a small, family cemetery with about 12 marked graves, most of them belonging to the Hensley family. Other families with members buried here are Caldwell, Kerley, and Ridenhour. Most of the tombstones here do not have dates, the ones that do range from 1883-1902.

Township 37-Range 13-Section 01

Hensley Cemetery

Hensley Cemetery is located in Pulaski County, MO., near Crocker, Missouri off Highway DD. It is on land known as the Clifton Jones farm. ...

webcache.googleusercontent.com

 

[Taji04]

You may also want to contact the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (of which I am a member). They are the successor organization to the GAR by act of Congress. They have been commissioned by Congress to also preserve the memory of those who served and sacrificed to save the Union. They have a graves registration project that is trying to capture the graves of every Union soldier in the US and Europe (yes, there are Union soldiers buried in Europe). They can help you with preservation efforts.

We must not forget that there is a soldier buried under that stone. He may not be important to some of you who advocate making the stone (and his location) disappear because he is viewed as a nuisance to you, but he IS a part of our National history. He lived, served in the Civil War, died and is buried on that plot of land. Out of respect, leave him be and preserve his memory. My 2 cents.

 

[Patrick H]

I would say if it is a family cemetery it was very strange spot choosen. In the middle of the field? All family cemeteries I saw either close to the road in the front or somewhere in the private corner of the property under trees or something, often fenced

I would generally agree with you, but that field might have looked very different in the 1880s than it does today. You could easily probe for covered stones with a metal rod. I dont mean deeply. You would only need to push through an inch or two of soil. In fact I have watched a caretaker probe like this for corner markers on family plots when they have been covered.

 

[John Winn]

I would leave it and it wasn't plan to remove it. I just want to save it anyhow. It's a HISTORY I dont want letters to keep disappearing, I just don't know what should I do to save it at least in the same condition as it is right now

About all you can do is clean it and protect it from damage (e.g. from livestock). Marble is chemically basic and anything acidic - like acid rain - will slowly dissolve it which is why the lettering is no longer sharp. Over time moss and lichen will damage softer stones like marble and I can see that yours has some lichen. Perhaps at one time there was more and somebody removed it, possibly using some damaging method. I can't tell from the photos but it does look like there might be some granulation/sugaring also. That, too, is from exposure to acidic water or other things (who knows what might have been sprayed in that field in the past or if somebody "cleaned" the stone at some time in the past).

If you want, I can help you with how to clean the stone using safe, approved methods. If you PM me with an email address I'll send you some printed directions and a few other pieces of advice. I do preservation work at an historic cemetery and regularly conduct marker cleaning workshops in the warm months.

 

[Wawaz]

Found this, you have to use the cached URL to access the text -


Hensley Cemetery

Hensley Cemetery is located in Pulaski County, MO., near Crocker, Missouri off Highway DD. It is on land known as the Clifton Jones farm.

Hensley Cemetery is a small, family cemetery with about 12 marked graves, most of them belonging to the Hensley family. Other families with members buried here are Caldwell, Kerley, and Ridenhour. Most of the tombstones here do not have dates, the ones that do range from 1883-1902.

Township 37-Range 13-Section 01

Google Search

That cemetery is 70mi from where I'm

 

[John Hartwell]

Actual name: Corpl. Micajah Henslee, discharged 4 August 1862, for "General Debility due to old age" rendering him unfit for duty. (he was 51 years old!) He also served in Co. F of the Webster Co. Rgt., Mo. Home Guard. Born 1811, Caswell Co., N.C.
His pension card:

His CSR attached:

 

[Story]

Actual name: Corpl. Micajah Henslee, discharged 4 August 1862, for "General Debility due to old age" rendering him unfit for duty. (he was 51 years old!) He also served in Co. F of the Webster Co. Rgt., Mo. Home Guard. Born 1811, Caswell Co., N.C.

Looks like he wound up in Webster County, MS (see p.229 https://books.google.com/books?id=B9IyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA229&lpg=PA229&dq=Micajah+Henslee&source=bl&ots=KStxjudALi&sig=ACfU3U2CwiLBTgZeUhfYQPkBZOEyPH7prQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi9j-ugho7pAhWzgnIEHUl5BvAQ6AEwAXoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=Micajah Henslee&f=false )

 

[Western Reserve Volunteer]

If you can identify more graves, or the overall extent of the cemetery then maybe you can put up some kind of fencing to better define and protect it?

It'd be odd for the guy to be buried alone. I'd go walk the site again, and take a trowel so you can scrape off a couple inches of topsoil in case you find any other markers that may have become sunken. Use some graph paper to make a rough map of what you find. Keep an eye out for other landscape features that might be important, like old tree stumps, big depressions in the fields ect. If you've got plowed fields you might also find some relics by field walking, broken porcelain being the most common. You may find more hints of the 1880s farmstead and get a better idea of the context of the grave.

If you find anything interesting let your State's archeological authorities know! They may be able to help do a more through investigation and provide advice on what to do.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

What someone upstream said, that field may have had a road nearby, 150-years-ago and a couple of houses or so, long gone.

Having been with a Department of Public Works person who had to do this a couple of times at the historic cemetery across the street from me, sounding isn't hard. They have a 6' rod, about 1/4" in diameter and carefully push it into the ground. One time, in my own family plot we had a "whoosh" sound as it penetrated a rotten pine coffin and the fellow wasn't even pushing. That coffin was about 70-years-old and we have highly acidic soil and there was no embalming on that particular person.

I think it's a very exciting opportunity for you to take care of a possible family cemetery, certainly a CW grave. If you can, mow and rake in that area, sound the area, use a trowel and look for other stones. Now you can put up the appropriate flag next to his stone and honor him. He's not forgotten!

 

[drezac]

I would say if it is a family cemetery it was very strange spot choosen. In the middle of the field? All family cemeteries I saw either close to the road in the front or somewhere in the private corner of the property under trees or something, often fenced

In Ohio, I have seen quite a few that were in the middle of a field. However, it's highly likely that at one time there were other things there ( trees, buildings, etc). I know that the family farm in Goltry Oklahoma where my mother grew up ( these farms were original land rush claims) had a house and several outbuildings, all are gone now and you would not know they were there unless you already knew about them or found the remains of foundations.

 

[John Hartwell]

It's also possible it was a removed/stolen or discarded stone, and there is no grave there at all.

 

[John Winn]

It's also possible it was a removed/stolen or discarded stone, and there is no grave there at all.

It seems to me that's not likely as it would be a lot of work to dig up a stone, move it, and re-set it. Remember that those old-style stones weigh something like 150 pounds and are up to 42 inches long (there were two types of the older ones and the marble has variances in density so there's some variation in length and weight). Why go to all that trouble just to be a bad boy ? Just sayin'.

That said, it's certainly a possibility (just don't think it's probable). Another consideration is that it's a cenotaph placed by a relative and maybe it's not known where the body actually is. I think the most likely thing is that it marks an actual burial and that there are others nearby that never got a marker, got only a wooden one, or whose markers fell over or got broken and are now buried or just got tossed. Livestock (or even wild animals) are hard on old cemeteries on home sites and I've seen photos of ones where the markers are now almost totally gone but where there are photos from a hundred years ago showing quite a few.

 

[John Hartwell]

I would contact the Missouri State Historic Preservation Office, and ask for guidance. The ideal would be to have the area scanned with ground-penetrating radar, that would reveal if, and how many graves are located there.

 

[Story]

That cemetery is 70mi from where I'm

What do County Records say about who owned your land in 1888?

 

[Wawaz]

What do County Records say about who owned your land in 1888?

I just looked. Owner was M Henslee!

 

[John Winn]

I would contact the Missouri State Historic Preservation Office, and ask for guidance. The ideal would be to have the area scanned with ground-penetrating radar, that would reveal if, and how many graves are located there.

Agree that the HPO would be the logical step.

GPR is expensive if you can't get somebody to do it as a training exercise (e.g. a university). Also, it's not definitive and depends a lot on soil type (i.e. works better in some types than others). Basically, all it does is detect differences in soil density. Graves have a different density because soil was loosened and coffins inserted making the grave less dense than the native soil. One has to analyze the sizes, depths, and patterns to determine if burials are likely.

Another possibility - also expensive - would be cadaver dogs. Many of them can detect graves hundreds of years old.

But first, it would be fairly easy to remove a large square of grass - spray and burn might work well - around the stone and look for depressions. As has been suggested, probing for other stone pieces would also be fairly easy and cheap. A systematic approach with careful mapping would be best but a cursory look might well reveal if a more detailed approach was warranted. If there's evidence of other graves that would be useful in trying to convince somebody to maybe come use the site for a workshop.

 

[Story]

1) Here's the facts, so far -

Per FOLD3 (and thus, MS state CW records) US Government headstone issued for one Cager Hensley Co B 24th MO INF and placed @ 1888, apx 70 from the Hensley Family Cemetery (per FindAGrave), Clifton Jones Farm Pulaski County, MO., near Crocker, MS .

Per 1860 Federal Census, Cager/Cager Henslee (b. 1811) living in Walnut Grove MS with his family.

Per FOLD3 pension card, Corpl. Micajah Henslee, discharged 4 August 1862, for "General Debility due to old age" rendering him unfit for duty. (he was 51 years old!) He also served in Co. F of the Webster Co. Rgt., Mo. Home Guard. Born 1811, Caswell Co., N.C.

Per the 1889 History of Laclede, Camden, Dallas, Webster, Wright, Texas, Pulaski, Phelps and Dent Counties, Missouri, listed by company and regiment as a union veteran living in Webster Co MS.

2) Here's the questions, so far -

Why was Cager/Micajah buried where he was on Wawaz' property?

Is he actually in that grave?

Does an obituary still exists, in the newspaper morgues for the nearest town or county?

Actual date of death (per MS death records)?

 

[Wawaz]

1) Here's the facts, so far -

Per FOLD3 (and thus, MS state CW records) US Government headstone issued for one Cager Hensley Co B 24th MO INF and placed @ 1888, apx 70 from the Hensley Family Cemetery (per FindAGrave), Clifton Jones Farm Pulaski County, MO., near Crocker, MS .

Per 1860 Federal Census, Cager/Cager Henslee (b. 1811) living in Walnut Grove MS with his family.

Per FOLD3 pension card, Corpl. Micajah Henslee, discharged 4 August 1862, for "General Debility due to old age" rendering him unfit for duty. (he was 51 years old!) He also served in Co. F of the Webster Co. Rgt., Mo. Home Guard. Born 1811, Caswell Co., N.C.

Per the 1889 History of Laclede, Camden, Dallas, Webster, Wright, Texas, Pulaski, Phelps and Dent Counties, Missouri, listed by company and regiment as a union veteran living in Webster Co MS.

2) Here's the questions, so far -

Why was Cager/Micajah buried where he was on Wawaz' property?

Is he actually in that grave?

Does an obituary still exists, in the newspaper morgues for the nearest town or county?

Actual date of death (per MS death records)?

Now I know why he was buried here. It because of that he owned this land according to the county record of 1876