Rankin Wright Cemetery
also called the Spearman Cemetery
Richwood Township
Section 33, Township 39 North, Range 13 West
Miller County, MO.
From Iberia, take Hwy EE and go 2.6 miles to Cottonwood Rd. Turn right on Cottonwood Rd and go 1.2 miles and you will see a sign on the right side of the road that says Rankin-Wright Cemetery. Go through the gate, it is a long lane through a pasture, for about 3 or 4 tenths of a mile and the cemetery is on the right. This cemetery is in bad shape. The weeds are chest high, which makes it difficult to find the head stones. For some reason the other compilers called this the Spearman Cemetery.
Personally inventoried by Dianna (Hale) Mattingly and Glenda (May) Crawford – Sept. 2001.
Updated by Dianna (Hale) Mattingly using thousands of obituaries. Updating will continue as long as I am able to do so.
For any information or corrections please contact me at deestarr47@gmail.com
***In addition, at the end of the listing I inserted a History of the Rankin Wright Cemetery by Peggy Smith Hake
Allen, Elizabeth
no dates – no info
s/o Anderson Allen & Mobeley Elizabeth “Bettie” (Keeth) Allen – wed 8 Sept. 1893 – Miller County, Mo
Allen, Johnny (Infant)
died - before 1905 - age 4y
s/o Anderson Allen & Mahala Elizabeth “Bettie” (Keeth) Allen – wed 8 Sept. 1893 – Miller County, Mo
Allen, Maudie May
died - before 1905
d/o Anderson Allen & Mahala Elizabeth “Bettie” (Keeth) Allen – wed 8 Sept. 1893 – Miller County, Mo
Allen, Nancy Caroline (Keeth)
1871 – died before 1893
d/o Solomon Keeth
w/o Anderson Allen - wed 31 Oct. 1886 – Miller County, Mo
Bear, Lucinda (Spearman)
1 Oct. 1843 - 17 Nov. 1868 -age 25y/1m/17d
d/o Thomas William Spearman & Nancy (Shelton) Spearman
w/o Henry Bear - wed 2 Jan. 1868
Bear, Lucinda Ann
14 Nov. 1868 –16 Aug. 1941
d/o Henry Bear & Lucinda (Spearman) Bear
Brumley, Andrew Jackson (Civil War - Veteran)
1827 – 12 Jan. 1863
Co H 6th Regiment MO Calvary
s/o Daniel Brumley
h/o Harriet Hester (Cochran) - wed 9 Aug. 1846 – Miller County, Mo
Brumley, Harriet Hester (Cochran)
Aug. 1826 – 3 Oct. 1876
w/o Andrew Jackson Brumley – wed 9 Aug. 1946 – Miller County, Mo
Cochran, Joshua D.
26 July 1825 –1919
h/o Sarah A. (Keeth) - wed 7 July 1846
Cochran, Sarah A. (Keeth)
June 1831 –8 July 1914
d/o John Keeth &Ruhama (Allen) Keeth
w/o Joshua D. Cochran - wed 7 July 1846
Colvin, Sarah Melissa (Cochran)
May 1855 –1903
d/o Joshua D. Cochran & Sarah A. (Keeth) Cochran
w/o Sterling Maynard Colvin - wed 1874
Dial. Abraham (Infant)
26 Jan. 1891 – 26 Jan. 1891
s/o William Lewis Dial & Malinda Elizabeth (Thomas) Dial -
Malinda gave birth to four living children – three boys and a girl - Jacob, Mary, Isaac – don't know the name of the last son
Dial, Caroline (Infant)
26 May 1894 – 21 Nov. 1894
d/o William Lewis Dial & Malinda Elizabeth (Thomas) Dial
she gave birth to four living children – three boys and a girl
Dial, Isaac (Infant)
26 Jan. 1891 – 26 Jan. 1891
s/o William Lewis Dial & Malinda Elizabeth (Thomas) Dial
she gave birth to four living children – three boys and a girl
Dial, Jacob
26 Jan. 1891 – 26 Jan. 1891
s/o William Lewis Dial & Malinda Elizabeth (Thomas) Dial
she gave birth to four living children – three boys and a girl
Dial, Mary (Infant)
26 Jan. 1891 – 26 Jan. 1891
d/o William Lewis Dial & Malinda Elizabeth (Thomas) Dial
she gave birth to four living children – three boys and a girl
Dial, Mary Elizabeth (Cochran)
18 June 1847 –19 Nov. 1883
d/o Joshua D. Cochran & Sarah A. (Keeth) Cochran
w/o William Lewis Dial – buried Piedmont, Oklahoma
Hoskins, Elizabeth J.
died - 12 Oct. 1873
age 24y / 23m / 2d
Keeth, Catherine (Whittle)
2 June 1827 – 24 Jan. 1872
w/o John J. Keeth – wed 6 Oct. 1847 – Miller County, Mo
Keeth, Daniel “Dan’” (Civil War - Veteran)
10 Oct. 1834 – 26 Apr. 1910
Co. H 14th MO. Calvary
s/o John Keeth
h/o Susan Elizabeth (Hoskins)
Keeth, Francis Marion (Civil War - Veteran)
22 Nov. 1840 – 11 Nov. 1889
Co. K 47th ENR MO. Militia
s/o John Keeth & Ruhama (Allen) Keeth
h/o Sarah Ann (Shelton) – wed 1864
Keeth, John (Civil War - Veteran)
15 Sept. 1825 – 1 Sept. 1892
Co. A 11th MO. Calvary
s/o John Keeth & Ruhama (Allen) Keeth
h/o Catherine J. (Whittle) – wed 6 Oct. 1847 – Miller County, Mo
h/o Susannah “Susan” M. (Dean) – wed 24 Sept. 1873 – Miller County, Mo
Keeth, John R. (Civil War - Veteran)
1840 – 13 Dec. 1873
Co. H 6th MO. Calvary
s/o Stephen Keeth & Mahala (Blacklidge) Keeth
h/o Melvina (Davidson) – wed 8 Nov. 1866 – Miller County, Mo
Keeth, Mary Catherine “Mary Kate” (Infant)
1872 –12 Oct. 1873
age 1y / 3m / 2d
Keeth, Mary Ellen (Bouren)
28 Apr. 1839 –11 Dec. 1927
d/o John Bouren & Mary Ellen (Blackburn) Bouren
w/o Solomon Keeth – wed 14 May 1856
Keeth, Ruhama (Allen)
no dates – no info
d/o Stephan A. Allen & Sarah (Radford) Allen
w/o John Keeth Sr.– wed 23 Nov. 1820 – Warren County, Kentucky
Keeth, Sarah Ann (Smith)
26 Oct. 1839 – 18 Jan. 1889
w/o Francis Marion Keeth – wed 7 Mar. 1864 – Miller County, Mo
Keeth, Sarah J. “Salley”
30 July 1877 – 24 Aug. 1892
d/o John Keeth & Susannah “Susan” M. (Dean) Keeth
Keeth, Solomon (Civil War - Veteran)
10 Sept. 1836 – 8 June 1913
Co. H 6th MO. Calvary
s/o John Keeth & Ruhama (Allen) Keeth
h/o Mary Ellen (Bouren) – wed 14 May 1856
Keeth, Susan Elizabeth (Hoskins)
14 Feb. 1834 – 29 Mar. 1915
d/o ? Hoskins & Susan Elizabeth Hoskins – both from KY
w/o Daniel Keeth
Keeth, Susannah “Susan” M. (Dean)
23 Feb. 1844 – 18 May 1893
w/o John Keeth – wed 24 Sept. 1873 – Miller County, Mo
Long, Polly Ann (Keeth)
died - 1875
w/o Willis Valentine Long – wed 10 Dec. 1875
Long, Willis Valentine
died – 13 Dec. 1888 – age 38 yrs.
s/o George William Long & Mary A. (Pennington) Long
h/o Polly Ann (Keeth ) – wed 10 Dec. 1875 – Miller County, Mo
h/o Persilla (Shelton) – wed 2 Nov. 1882
MO. Permanent Records 1883 - 1890
Lovell, John
no dates –no info
Miller County records
Madden, Eddie F.
1868 –1920
s/o James Madden & Martha Malinda (Spearman) Madden
Madden, James M.
17 Dec. 1832 – no date
h/o Martha Malinda (Spearman)
Madden, Martha Malinda
8 Jan. 1837 – 6 May 1904
w/o James M. Madden – wed Jan. 1868
Nichols, Lizzie (Infant)
31 Dec. 1898 –14 May 1900
d/o L. N. Nichols & Celia Nichols
Nichols, Maggie A. (Infant)
28 Sept. 1875 –30 Aug. 1878
d/o William Henry Nichols & Mary Jane (Wood) Nichols
Nichols, Sarah Arizona (Infant)
18 Aug. 1878 –5 Aug. 1879
d/o William Henry Nichols & Mary Jane (Wood) Nichols
Nichols, William Henry
1 Jan. 1844 –11 Mar. 1883
h/o Mary Jane (Wood)
AF&AM
Smith, Jane
1820 - no dates
w/o Samuel Smith
Miller County records
Smith, John (Civil War - Veteran)
no dates
Co. A 11th MO. Calvary
h/o Nancy (Allen) - wed 1869
Smith, William “Billy”
no dates –no info
h/o Mary Polly (Keeth)
Spearman, Cornelia B.
27 Dec. 1858 –11 Feb. 1922
d/o Thomas William Spearman & Nancy (Shelton) Spearman
Spearman, Eunice Opal (Hutsler)
1 Feb. 1905 –19 May 1997
d/o Jonah Griffith Hutsler & Ida Ester (Silsby) Hustler
w/o Fred Spearman - wed 7 May 1922
OES
Spearman, Fred (Veteran)
23 July 1880 –1 Jan. 1961
MO. CPL U. S. Marine - WW I
s/o Thomas Jefferson Spearman & Margaret Elizabeth (Nichols) Spearman
h/o Eunice Opal (Hutsler) - wed 7 May 1922
AF&AM
Spearman, Infant
died - 19 Apr. 1871 - age 1d
d/o Zebedee Spearman & Mary E. (Gardner) Spearman
Spearman, James Wesley (Civil War - Veteran)
27 June 1810 –17 Jan. 1897
Co. E Osage Co. MO. Home Guards
s/o Thomas William Spearman & Nancy (Shelton) Spearman
Spearman, John
stone down-no info
Spearman, Margaret Elizabeth (Nichols)
7 Feb. 1852 – 28 Mar. 1913
d/o Leroy Nichols & Marie (Allison) Nichols
w/o Thomas Jefferson Spearman
Spearman, Martha Susan (Watkins)
died - 2 Jan. 1860 -age 23y/2d
w/o Edmond Spearman
Spearman, Mary E. (Gardner)
1837 - 19 Apr. 1871- age 34y/1m/20d
w/o Zebediah “Zebedee” Spearman – wed 11 Sept. 1859 – Miller County, Mo
Spearman, Nancy (Shelton)
1 Apr. 1812 –27 Nov. 1870
w/o Thomas William Spearman – wed 6 July 1830
Spearman, Octavia C. (child)
22 Mar. 1856 - 23 June 1868 age 12y/2m/1d
d/o Thomas William Spearman & Nancy (Shelton) Spearman
Spearman, Oalando M. (Infant)
died - 10 Apr. 1870 - age 4m/18d
s/o Zebediah “Zebedee” Spearman & Mary E. (Gardner) Spearman
Spearman, Sarah Jane
4 Apr. 1835 - 2 Mar. 1890
d/o Thomas William Spearman & Nancy E. (Shelton) Spearman
Spearman, Thomas Jefferson
24 Apr 1848 - 10 Oct. 1896
s/o Thomas William Spearman & Nancy (Shelton) Spearman
h/o Margaret Elizabeth (Nichols) – wed 23 Feb. 1879
Spearman, Thomas William
4 Dec. 1800 - 3 Apr. 1870 - age 69y/4m/18d
h/o Nancy E. (Shelton) – wed 6 July 1830
Spearman, William Kinkead
12 Mar. 1854 - 30 Aug. 1900
h/o Sarah Elizabeth (Steen) - wed abt. 1892 prob. Camden Co., Mo
Spearman, Zebediah “Zebedee” (Civil War - Veteran)
2 May 1831 - 13 Feb 1897
Mo. Home Guards, Co. E. Osage Regiment – enlisted June 1861
1st Lt. Co. D 42nd Regt. Eng. MO. Militia
s/o Thomas William Spearman & Nancy E. (Shelton) Spearman
h/o Mary E. (Gardner) - wed 11 Sept. 1859 – Zebediah is buried beside Mary E. (Gardner)
h/o Cynthia Frances (Hawkins) – wed 12 Feb 1885 – Miller County, Mo
White, Selias L.
died - 4 June 1880
Whittle, George Cephus
15 Mar. 1859 – 11 Mar. 1931
s/o Peter J. Whittle & Serilda A. (Hoskins) Whittle
h/o Sarah Eliza Jane (Wiseman) - wed 4 Mar. 1882
Whittle, James A.
died - 15 Jan. 1882
s/o Josephus Whittle & Leatha Jane (Lovell) Whittle
Whittle, John A.
5 Feb. 1856 –1 Apr. 1886
s/o Peter J. Whittle & Serilda A. (Hoskins) Whittle
Whittle, M. A. (child)
28 Nov. 1876 – 14 Feb. 1886
Miller County records
Whittle, Martha (Infant)
2 Sept. 1899 – 19 Apr. 1900
d/o Albert E. Whittle & Mary Ann (Long) Whittle – buried Pleasant Hill Cemetery
Whittle, Sarah Jane (Wiseman)
no info
d/o Peter Wiseman
w/o George Cephus Whittle
Whittle, Silas Levi (Infant)
born & died – 4 June 1880
s/o Josephus Whittle & Leatha Jane (Loveall) Whittle
Whittle, Stella M. (Infant)
8 Feb. 1891 –18 Oct. 1893
d/o Albert E. Whittle & Mary Ann (Long) Whittle – buried Pleasant Hill Cemetery
Whittle, Susannah (Kinser)
no dates – no info
w/o Joseph (may be buried here)
Miller County records
Workman, Delmar C.
8 Dec. 1906 –21 Apr. 1928
s/o James Melvin Workman & Sarah Elizabeth (Steen) Workman
Workman, James “Melvin”
6 July 1871 – 19 Mar. 1911
s/o Thomas “Owen” Workman & Nancy Jane (Keeth) Workman
h/o Sarah Elizabeth (Steen)
Workman, Nancy Jane (Keeth) Whittle
May 1832 KY – after 1900 in Miller County, Mo
d/o John Keeth & Ruhana (Allen) Keeth
w/o John Levi Whittle – wed 2 Jan. 1850 – Miller County, Mo
w/o Thomas Owen Workman -wed 2 Apr. 1865 – Miller County, Mo
Workman, Thomas Owen
July 1832 Ill. - after 1900 in Miller County, Mo
s./o Jacob Workman & Lydia (Harrison) Workman
h/o Eliza Jane (Thompson) – wed 15 Jan. 1852 – Miller County, Mo
h/o Nancy Jane (Keeth) Whittle) – wed 2 Apr. 1865 – Miller County, Mo
Last update: 2022
© 2001 by Dianna Hale-Mattingly
HISTORY OF THE RANKIN WRIGHT CEMETERY
By Peggy Smith Hake
Standing
stark and alone on a southern Miller County prairie is an old cemetery that
came into existence almost 150 years ago. For a certainty, one of Richwoods
Township's early pioneering families buried a young daughter there in 1860.
Martha Susan Watkins married Edmund Spearman in 1859 and the next year she
died, perhaps in childbirth, at the age of 23 years. Hers is the earliest known
grave in the Rankin Wright Cemetery (later called Spearman Cemetery).
Thomas
W. and Nancy Spearman came to Miller County circa 1855 and settled on some
prairie land of southwestern Richwoods Township. They were natives of South
Carolina and Kentucky respectively. Thomas was born c/1800 and Nancy c/1812.
They reared several children including: John W. Spearman, Sarah J. Spearman, F.
J. Spearman, Edmund Spearman, Octavia C. Spearman, Cornelia B. Spearman,
William K. Spearman, Zebedee Spearman, Martha Melinda Spearman, and Lucinda Ann
Spearman.
Since
the oldest known grave in the cemetery had the name Spearman engraved on it,
researchers and those who inventoried old burial grounds gave it the name
'Spearman Cemetery' in the early 1970s. But over several generations, it was
called Rankin Wright Cemetery and is still known by that name today.
William
Rankin Wright owned many acres in the cemetery's locale and it was referred to
by that name over the years to identify its location. William Rankin Wright was
from Tennessee, born there 23 December 1830. His wife, the former Lucy Moon,
was also from Tennessee, born 15 January 1823. They were married in McMinn County,
TN on 6 April 1844, the marriage performed by Tapley Gregory, a Justice of the
Peace. I have to wonder about the date of his birth and his marriage because if
all these dates are correct, then William Rankin Wright would have been only 14
years old when he married Lucy Moon (she would have been 21 years
old)...........
As
far as I can determine from research, they had no children. They came to Miller
County in the 1850s and settled near his older sister and her husband, Thomas
L. and Elizabeth (Wright) Shelton. Thomas and Elizabeth Shelton were the
parents of Dorcas Canzada Shelton who married Squire John Ferguson, a native of
Dumfries, Soctland and they lived in the Madden community. Squire Ferguson was
a colorful figure in the history of the Iberia region. He was a well-known
Civil War soldier who served in the Union Army and spent the remainder of his
life actively supporting the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) and its Miles
Carroll Post No. 111 in Iberia.
William
Rankin Wright was a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. Some of his
neighbors were northern sympathizers, so it was only a matter of time until
hatreds flared up and spread over the countryside. Family legend of the Whittle
clan has been handed down through the generation....John Levi Whittle, born
1825 in Edmonson County, KY, was a neighbor to the Wrights for several years
prior to the war. When the fighting reached Missouri, John Levi Whittle joined
the Union forces while Rankin Wright joined the South. It has often been said
that "neighbor fought neighbor" and evidently that is what happened
between the Wright and Whittle soldiers. I do not know the real truth of my
great, great grandfather's death (Levi Whittle) during the Civil War. The
legend has been told to the newer generations that he died because of his
betrayal by Rankin Wright, the Southern soldier. It was told he was severely
beaten by a group of Rebels (led by Wright), but his Civil War records say he
was killed in a battle on August 29, 1862 in Miller County at the "Elsey
Farm Fight". That skirmish occurred about 3 miles east of Iberia on land
owned today by the Perkins family. Perhaps the true account of his death will
never be known.
During
the Civil War, the old cemetery was called "Rankin Wright Cemetery"
because when the Rebel soldiers captured Levi Whittle, his young wife, Nancy
Keeth Whittle, and their 3 children fled from their home in fear and hid out in
the cemetery, about a mile north of their homestead on Whittle Creek. This
story was told by Levi's son, Josephus Whittle, a young child of 7 years when
his mother took refuge in the cemetery. He repeated the story to his children
and the story continued onward to my generation. I have heard the story told
several times by the grandson of Levi Whittle and he always said that his
grandmother, Nancy Whittle, ran to the "old Rankin Wright Cemetery"
for protection from the soldiers when they took her husband away.
Almost
30 years ago, I trudged through two cornfields and over some fences to reach
this old burial ground. It was my first visit there. It was early winter and
much of the underbrush was dead, so I was able to find about 40
tombstones...there are many more people buried there in unknown graves. Several
years ago, a group of descendants of those pioneers buried in Rankin Wright,
gathered and organized an association to preserve the old cemetery, which had
been neglected for many years. It has been cleaned up and is now accessible by
automobile. Before Memorial Day each year, an effort is made to get the
cemetery in a presentable shape so that any and all, who want to visit, can
drive to the old gate and then walk through the cemetery.
The
following are names of families who are buried in Rankin Wright/Spearman
Cemetery. Perhaps you have an ancestor there and did not know about them!
-----Allen, Bear, Cochran, Colvin, Dial, Keeth, Madden, Nichols, Smith,
Spearman, Whittle, Workman, Long, Loveall, Lawless/Lollis....there are probably
others who have been buried there, but known only to God.
William
Rankin Wright and his wife, Lucy (Moon), sold their property, which adjoined
the old cemetery and moved to Iberia in their elderly years. She died in
January, 1890 and was buried at Iberia City Cemetery. Ten months later, in
October 1890, William Rankin Wright married Mary E. Holloway. He lived until
October 1906 and was buried beside his first wife, Lucy, at Iberia Cemetery. He
left no descendants to carry his name forward to new generations.