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.