Pioneer Cemetery

Glaize Township

Section 31, Township 39 North, Range 14 West

Miller County, MO.

Brumley, Missouri - right in town

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The cemetery lies behind the house. There are several graves off to the right and to the left is the mound grave where the dogs determined it was a mass grave.

Excerpts of information are taken from Eldon Advertiser issue of 4 June 2015

This cemetery is known as the Pioneer Cemetery. Newly discovered in June 2015 and located right in town Brumley, Mo.

This cemetery was discovered when the new owner went out back to bury a pet that had died. When they began digging they found a coffin and some old headstones. But it wasn’t the only cemetery. A search team from Jefferson City came to the property with their search animals and the dogs kept alerting on what looked to be a mound with a tree growing out of it.

It turn out that it was a mass grave. In 1918 when the Spanish Influenza ravaged the country, one of five Miller County residents died and many of them ended up in a mass grave in the backyard of Dr. Jones.

The Great Pandemic of 1918: State by State

Missouri State Summit: That Great Pandemic also touched Missouri. It began burning in both big cities-St. Louis and Kansas City-at about the same time, the first week of October in 1918. Despite all those efforts, the pandemic still took a terrible toll. In St. Louis, the mayor, Henry Keil, announced on October 7th that “Spanish influenza is now present” in the city. It will, he continued “become epidemic.” Following this announcement, he ordered to close immediately and indefinitely all schools, churches and theaters. Public gatherings of 20 or more people were all prohibited, including dances, parties, weddings, or funerals. Crowding in stores was banned. Streetcars were forbidden to carry more than 20 standing passengers. Elevators were sterilized once a day. Telephone booths were sterilized twice. But on October 24th, the situation took a turn for the worse. Influenza began spreading into rural districts. Between October 26th and 28th, the situation continued to be dire, with rural and urban areas across the state reporting high numbers of cases and deaths. The pandemic continued to burn across the state. By the end of October 1918, more than 21,000 Missourians had been stricken. More than 500 had perished. The disease peaked in the fall of 1918. No one knows nationwide exactly how many people died during the 1918 – 1919 influenza pandemic. During the 1920’s, researchers estimated that 21.5 million people had died as a result of the 1918-1919 pandemic. More recent studies have estimated global mortality from 1918 - 1919 pandemic at anywhere between 30 and 50 million. An estimated 675,000 Americans were among the dead. The pandemic continued to be prevalent throughout the state during the winter of 1918 and spring of 1919. It gradually disappeared during the summer. When it comes to pandemics, there is no rational basis to believe that the early years of the 21st century will be different than the past. If a pandemic strikes, it will come to Missouri.

Prior to Dr. Jones the property belonged to Dr. Walter Dixon and his wife Martha, who died in 1901. Dr. Dixon soon remarried and the property went to Dr. Jones. This property was used by doctors from 1850 to 1950.

Hill, Annie

died – age 8 yr

burnt in an accident by boiling water