Thornhill Grave

South of Purdy, Barry Co., MO
Land Office Location: Section 3, Twp. 24N, R 28W






Directions:From Purdy, take 37 north to FR2070 and turn left (east), go to FR1055 and turn right (north). At the T in the road with FR2065 the cemetery is directly opposite of 2065. It is next to the Stone's Prairie Tree Farm.




Jack Fly's Message:
The photo is of the Thornhill house, which Mr. Schad allowed us to copy and use. Unfortunately, the grave stone does not show in the picture as they originally thought. The grave lies just on the far side of the porch area in what looks to by the front yard. Of coarse the house is no longer there.




Pictured are the land owner Gary Schad (on left), daughter and John Rehwinkle. As Jay mentioned we made a search for the stone last week. The good thing is IF we are able to locate the stone, Mr. Schad has given us permission to reset the stone on the grave. It sure would be nice to be able to achieve that goal. It is such a pleasure to meet landowners like Mr. Schad and his family who cooperate and give full support to our efforts of grave restoration.


Jay Trace's message: I had met Mr. John Rehwinkle in Purdy, and he told me that the property across the road and next door to his, between his home and Purdy, had a grave on it.

This land had been owned by William A. and Lenora (Kemp) Thornhill years ago, and it's identified on the 1909 Barry County Plat map as being in Township 24N, Range 28W, Section 3. It was a 117.14 acre parcel of land at that time.

Anyway, rumor had it that a daughter of theirs had died and was buried on the property. The child was memorialized by an obelisk-shaped stone at the time, in front of a tree, in the front of the property facing Farm Road 2070, on the east side of the old house.

Approximately 50 years ago, John Rehwinkle had seen the stone. Between the time the child was buried and the time Mr. Rehwinkle had seen the stone, it had been removed and had been placed on the south end of the property near the fenceline, in a patch of woods.

Jack Fly, Mr. Rehwinkle, and I went out there on April 8, 2011 and walked all over that area, but didn't find the stone. However, using his grave dowsing rods, Jack was able to determine where the grave was. It was small, like that of a child, and seemed to be that of a female, according to the particular information gleaned from the rods.

This property is located west and a little bit south of Purdy. The address is 6871 Farm Road 2070. The property is owned by a Mr. Gary Schad. Mr. Schad told us that he and his children would gather up some stones and cover the grave. We decided we would try to walk that area again when the colder weather sets in, after the bugs and undergrowth have become manageable. I did notice that the Thornhill's are buried in Purdy Cemetery, and a child of theirs named "Wray" is buried there as well, having passed in 1893 at the age of 3 years. According to FamilySearch.org

The Thornhills were married around 1890, and I wonder if perhaps they had no means to bury the child but in the yard, and then moved the stone with them when they passed.


Submitted by Jack Fly and Jay Trace