The book "The Old Pioneer Cemetery" by Aileen L. McWilliam, written in the early 1970s, has this to say.
"The last person to be buried in the old burying ground was the man who was the last of the settlers to leave the mountain. Bill Hefley had remained in his mountaintop home as long as his health would permit, leaving in 1949 to go where he could receive medical care. He had for years tended the old graveyard, fencing it to keep cattle out, though his wife had been taken back to their former home near Fort Smith when she had died not many years after the Hefleys moved to the mountain in 1910. The two children, Maurice and Marie, had grown and gone, both living in Wewoka, Oklahoma. Bill Hefley had loved the mountain and asked that he be buried there, making the arrangements with Geyer Funeral Home, in Mena. So when he died, in 1952, past 80 years of age, his wish was granted, and a granite stone bears his name."
In order to secure the data needed to write about the cemetery, Aileen interviewed multiple old-timers from the area, recording their stories. She did not have the Internet. Blending her gleanings and the online records allows for an expansion of information.
One excellent piece of the puzzle was from The Wewoka Daily Times dated December 4, 1952. It states "Services were conducted at Mena, Ark., Monday for Bill Hefley, father of Mrs. Stella Chamblee and Maurice Hefley, Wewoka. Mr. Hefley, 85, is survived by Mrs. Chamblee, Maurice Hefley and a niece, Mrs. Otto Cooper, and nephew, Otto Ritzky, both of Heavener." Since this obituary was in the Wewoka paper, it is likely that one of the children was involved in its content.
The mother of the above-mentioned niece and nephew (and Bill's sister) was Eunice May Hefley, born in 1880 to George and Mary Hefley per the 1880 Yell County, Arkansas Federal Census (she was shown as May). William Hefley was 8 years old, son, placing his year of birth as ca 1872.
From https://shoreacres.wordpress.com/2018/09/09/life-on-rich-mountain-part-ii-some-stayed-behind/ comes the following:
Sometimes called Uncle Bill, but just as often referred to as The Old Hermit, Hefley brought his wife to Rich Mountain for her health: particularly the presumed benefits of fresh mountain air. Not long after their move to the mountain, Hefley's wife died. After her body had been taken back to their former home near Fort Smith for burial, Hefley himself returned to the mountain, and lived as a recluse. Even thirty years after his death, jars of preserved food he'd buried atop the mountain continued to be found, giving new life to stories about his unusual habits.
In his latter years he tended the old graveyard, fencing it against wandering cattle and generally overseeing things. All he asked was to be buried on the mountain he loved; in 1952, after 86 years of life, his wish was granted. Some say he still watches over the old graveyard from his resting spot there: the bits of stone and coins atop his gravestone seem to acknowledge a continuing sense of his presence."
The 1950 US Census for Polk County, Arkansas shows Bill as a "patient" beginning in 1949. He died in 1952.
"The last person to be buried in the old burying ground was the man who was the last of the settlers to leave the mountain. Bill Hefley had remained in his mountaintop home as long as his health would permit, leaving in 1949 to go where he could receive medical care. He had for years tended the old graveyard, fencing it to keep cattle out, though his wife had been taken back to their former home near Fort Smith when she had died not many years after the Hefleys moved to the mountain in 1910. The two children, Maurice and Marie, had grown and gone, both living in Wewoka, Oklahoma. Bill Hefley had loved the mountain and asked that he be buried there, making the arrangements with Geyer Funeral Home, in Mena. So when he died, in 1952, past 80 years of age, his wish was granted, and a granite stone bears his name."
In order to secure the data needed to write about the cemetery, Aileen interviewed multiple old-timers from the area, recording their stories. She did not have the Internet. Blending her gleanings and the online records allows for an expansion of information.
One excellent piece of the puzzle was from The Wewoka Daily Times dated December 4, 1952. It states "Services were conducted at Mena, Ark., Monday for Bill Hefley, father of Mrs. Stella Chamblee and Maurice Hefley, Wewoka. Mr. Hefley, 85, is survived by Mrs. Chamblee, Maurice Hefley and a niece, Mrs. Otto Cooper, and nephew, Otto Ritzky, both of Heavener." Since this obituary was in the Wewoka paper, it is likely that one of the children was involved in its content.
The mother of the above-mentioned niece and nephew (and Bill's sister) was Eunice May Hefley, born in 1880 to George and Mary Hefley per the 1880 Yell County, Arkansas Federal Census (she was shown as May). William Hefley was 8 years old, son, placing his year of birth as ca 1872.
From https://shoreacres.wordpress.com/2018/09/09/life-on-rich-mountain-part-ii-some-stayed-behind/ comes the following:
Sometimes called Uncle Bill, but just as often referred to as The Old Hermit, Hefley brought his wife to Rich Mountain for her health: particularly the presumed benefits of fresh mountain air. Not long after their move to the mountain, Hefley's wife died. After her body had been taken back to their former home near Fort Smith for burial, Hefley himself returned to the mountain, and lived as a recluse. Even thirty years after his death, jars of preserved food he'd buried atop the mountain continued to be found, giving new life to stories about his unusual habits.
In his latter years he tended the old graveyard, fencing it against wandering cattle and generally overseeing things. All he asked was to be buried on the mountain he loved; in 1952, after 86 years of life, his wish was granted. Some say he still watches over the old graveyard from his resting spot there: the bits of stone and coins atop his gravestone seem to acknowledge a continuing sense of his presence."
The 1950 US Census for Polk County, Arkansas shows Bill as a "patient" beginning in 1949. He died in 1952.
The book "The Old Pioneer Cemetery" by Aileen L. McWilliam, written in the early 1970s, has this to say.
"The last person to be buried in the old burying ground was the man who was the last of the settlers to leave the mountain. Bill Hefley had remained in his mountaintop home as long as his health would permit, leaving in 1949 to go where he could receive medical care. He had for years tended the old graveyard, fencing it to keep cattle out, though his wife had been taken back to their former home near Fort Smith when she had died not many years after the Hefleys moved to the mountain in 1910. The two children, Maurice and Marie, had grown and gone, both living in Wewoka, Oklahoma. Bill Hefley had loved the mountain and asked that he be buried there, making the arrangements with Geyer Funeral Home, in Mena. So when he died, in 1952, past 80 years of age, his wish was granted, and a granite stone bears his name."
In order to secure the data needed to write about the cemetery, Aileen interviewed multiple old-timers from the area, recording their stories. She did not have the Internet. Blending her gleanings and the online records allows for an expansion of information.
One excellent piece of the puzzle was from The Wewoka Daily Times dated December 4, 1952. It states "Services were conducted at Mena, Ark., Monday for Bill Hefley, father of Mrs. Stella Chamblee and Maurice Hefley, Wewoka. Mr. Hefley, 85, is survived by Mrs. Chamblee, Maurice Hefley and a niece, Mrs. Otto Cooper, and nephew, Otto Ritzky, both of Heavener." Since this obituary was in the Wewoka paper, it is likely that one of the children was involved in its content.
The mother of the above-mentioned niece and nephew (and Bill's sister) was Eunice May Hefley, born in 1880 to George and Mary Hefley per the 1880 Yell County, Arkansas Federal Census (she was shown as May). William Hefley was 8 years old, son, placing his year of birth as ca 1872.
From https://shoreacres.wordpress.com/2018/09/09/life-on-rich-mountain-part-ii-some-stayed-behind/ comes the following:
Sometimes called Uncle Bill, but just as often referred to as The Old Hermit, Hefley brought his wife to Rich Mountain for her health: particularly the presumed benefits of fresh mountain air. Not long after their move to the mountain, Hefley's wife died. After her body had been taken back to their former home near Fort Smith for burial, Hefley himself returned to the mountain, and lived as a recluse. Even thirty years after his death, jars of preserved food he'd buried atop the mountain continued to be found, giving new life to stories about his unusual habits.
In his latter years he tended the old graveyard, fencing it against wandering cattle and generally overseeing things. All he asked was to be buried on the mountain he loved; in 1952, after 86 years of life, his wish was granted. Some say he still watches over the old graveyard from his resting spot there: the bits of stone and coins atop his gravestone seem to acknowledge a continuing sense of his presence."
The 1950 US Census for Polk County, Arkansas shows Bill as a "patient" beginning in 1949. He died in 1952.
"The last person to be buried in the old burying ground was the man who was the last of the settlers to leave the mountain. Bill Hefley had remained in his mountaintop home as long as his health would permit, leaving in 1949 to go where he could receive medical care. He had for years tended the old graveyard, fencing it to keep cattle out, though his wife had been taken back to their former home near Fort Smith when she had died not many years after the Hefleys moved to the mountain in 1910. The two children, Maurice and Marie, had grown and gone, both living in Wewoka, Oklahoma. Bill Hefley had loved the mountain and asked that he be buried there, making the arrangements with Geyer Funeral Home, in Mena. So when he died, in 1952, past 80 years of age, his wish was granted, and a granite stone bears his name."
In order to secure the data needed to write about the cemetery, Aileen interviewed multiple old-timers from the area, recording their stories. She did not have the Internet. Blending her gleanings and the online records allows for an expansion of information.
One excellent piece of the puzzle was from The Wewoka Daily Times dated December 4, 1952. It states "Services were conducted at Mena, Ark., Monday for Bill Hefley, father of Mrs. Stella Chamblee and Maurice Hefley, Wewoka. Mr. Hefley, 85, is survived by Mrs. Chamblee, Maurice Hefley and a niece, Mrs. Otto Cooper, and nephew, Otto Ritzky, both of Heavener." Since this obituary was in the Wewoka paper, it is likely that one of the children was involved in its content.
The mother of the above-mentioned niece and nephew (and Bill's sister) was Eunice May Hefley, born in 1880 to George and Mary Hefley per the 1880 Yell County, Arkansas Federal Census (she was shown as May). William Hefley was 8 years old, son, placing his year of birth as ca 1872.
From https://shoreacres.wordpress.com/2018/09/09/life-on-rich-mountain-part-ii-some-stayed-behind/ comes the following:
Sometimes called Uncle Bill, but just as often referred to as The Old Hermit, Hefley brought his wife to Rich Mountain for her health: particularly the presumed benefits of fresh mountain air. Not long after their move to the mountain, Hefley's wife died. After her body had been taken back to their former home near Fort Smith for burial, Hefley himself returned to the mountain, and lived as a recluse. Even thirty years after his death, jars of preserved food he'd buried atop the mountain continued to be found, giving new life to stories about his unusual habits.
In his latter years he tended the old graveyard, fencing it against wandering cattle and generally overseeing things. All he asked was to be buried on the mountain he loved; in 1952, after 86 years of life, his wish was granted. Some say he still watches over the old graveyard from his resting spot there: the bits of stone and coins atop his gravestone seem to acknowledge a continuing sense of his presence."
The 1950 US Census for Polk County, Arkansas shows Bill as a "patient" beginning in 1949. He died in 1952.
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