GRAVE ROBBING AT WALCOTT, ARKANSAS
Crowley Family Cemtery
Photo courtesy of the Paragould Daily
Press
Photo Courtesy of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Excerpts below come from the Paragould Daily Press hereafter referred as PDP.
Below is a picture of the Crowley Family Cemetery that houses the remains of the descendants of Wiley Crowley, the 4th son of Benjamin Crowley II and Catherine Wiley. They include his daughter, Elizabeth Jane Crowley who married her first cousin, Benjamin Harrison Crowley, son of Samuel Crowley (eldest son of Ben and Catherine Wiley Crowley) and Sarah Hutchins. Five young children are/were buried in the cemetery, Lucy J., Ann M., Benjamin S., John F. and William H.. These are all children of Benjamin H. and Elizabeth J. Crowley.
Sometime before Tuesday, July 6, 2004 and the end of June, someone dug up the grave of Benjamin S. Crowley, an infant buried here. Below are excerpts from articles from P.D.P.
VANDALS UNEARTH CROWLEY'S REMAINS
Walcott- The grave of a relative of one of the community's forefathers was found to have been robbed Tuesday afternoon. According to Capt. Jamie Martin of the Greene County Sheriff's Office, the grave of Ben Crowley, which is located at Crowley's Ridge Cemtetery in a secluded, wooded area in the Walcott Community, was found to have been dug up.
Martin explained that it is obvious by the way that the grave was excavated that it was not the work of an animal... no remains are there. (above from PDP 7 Jul 04)
GRAVEROBBING INCIDENT PROMPTS HISTORICAL CONJECTURE
According to Bettye Busby, with the Greene County Genealogical and Historical Society, the cemetery was visited about two weeks ago when the Crowley Family reunion was held, and several visited the site. "No one knows those graves are out there," Busby said.
According to Rick Lane, assistant superintendent at Crowley's Ridge State Park... added that the recent cleanup could have made the area more inviting to someone just walking around. " That's pretty low," Lane said. "Why they would pick on a baby's grave... I don't know"
Busby questioned the person who excavated the grave of the infant Crowley. "Do they think it's the first Benjamin Crowley? Because it's not. Benjamin was a family name, and there were several," she said.
[Benjamin Crowley II and wife Catherine Wiley] Crowley, along with Lawrence Thompson and other, instigated a movement for the creation of a new county. The new county was taken from the eastern end of Lawrence County and was named after General Nathaniel Greene.
[Benjamin II] Crowley, who was buried in Shiloh Cemetery, is the namesake of
Crowley's Ridge as well. [PDP 08 Jul 04]
OFFICIAL SAYS GRAVEROBBERS COULD FACE FELONY CHARGES [by Miranda Remakius, PDP]
Paragould-- Greene County investigators say no real progress has been made in finding who may have been behind a graverobbing incident at Crowley's Cemetery, which was discovered earlier this week. According to Greene County Sheriff Dan Langston, the guilty party may face charges of "defacing objects of public respect."
According to Curtis W. Hitt, the culprit could face Class-D felony charges as well. If remains are found to have been removed from the site, Hitt said that the individual could face the charge of "abuse of a corpse."
The marker on the exhumed grave says Ben S. Crowley 1872-1873 [PDP 09 Jul 04]
Below is the tombstone of Benjamin S. Crowley
