West Carroll-East Carroll-Ouachita County Louisiana Archives News.....Old Casket found carried mystery back to Grave March 30, 1950
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Pauline S. Mobley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00028.html#0006760 August 5, 2010, 3:18 pm

West Carroll Gazette March 30, 1950
Written by James B. Rider

  Legal technicalities resulted in the permanent reburial of a strange casket, 
resembling ancient Egyptian-mummy-cases, Tuesday morning about 11 o'clock in 
the vicinity of an Indian mound on Jewel Head's farm, some three miles east of 
Oak Grove, where it was accidently unearthed late last Thursday afternoon by a 
truck-mounted dragline operated by Henry Tyson, a local contractor.  Mr. Tyson 
was exacavating dirt for landscaping operations.  A hackberry tree, about two 
feet in diameter, grew over the burial site.
  The cast-iron coffin -- properly called a sarcophagus--carried the secret of 
the identity of the remains it contains back to the ground with it.  For four 
days--Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday--curious thousands treked to the 
Head farm to view it and its remains, and speculation has been one among the 
general public as to the identity of the person buried in it.  
  Scores of persons offered as many opinions on the nationality of the 
supposedly red-haried man who was buried an unknown number of years ago.  Dr. 
William F. Everett, a local physician, upon examination of the skull, stated 
that it was " a  man, middle-aged, or past."  No date was found to establish 
the year of the burial in the mound.
  Some facts, however, were discovered.  The man was a Mason for a Masonic 
emblem was found in the casket.  The familiar square, and compasses design was 
engraved on the underside of a ruby colored stone, which possibly came from a 
ring or a pin.
  Authorities who viewed the remanins when it was first unearthed said they 
found a pearl button and "maybe a half-dozen" more buttons which were 
apparently cloth covered.  Some persons believed them to be uniform buttons, 
But this conclusion is not definite.
  The coffin was put together with 30 bolts along the sides and ends.  At the 
head of the casket was an opening through which the head could be seen.  The 
face covering was off.
  Over the breast of the coffin is a mortised rectangular space where 
apparently the name plate had been.  All evidence of the man's identity is 
gone from the plate.  However, a "4" was said to have been found in the lower 
right hand corner of the mortised rectangle.  Those who inspected the skull 
and jaw had not been goldfilled.
  Although the casket is really old, its six handles remain in working 
condition.  Strange flowers were cast on the foot of the coffin.  Other design 
reach from head to foot in a well-planned pattern, suggesting the lines and 
scrollwork of ancient times.
  The gold fillings in the teeth and the belief that the cast-iron coffin was 
imported from a foreign country suggest the body is that of a wealthy man.
  While some persons think the flower design on the foot of the coffin is 
merely for decorative purposes, it is contested by Lavelle Hammett and the 
Rev. W.L. Blackwell, both of Forest.  Mr. Hammett is an instructor at Forest 
High School and a student of Louisiana history.  The Rev. Blackwell is also a 
student of Louisiana history.  
  Both think the flower design is a Spanish coat of arms. 
  Sundry old-timers have been asked about the casket, but none can recall the 
burial or shed any definite information on the subject.
  Who, then, was the alleged redheaded Mason who was buried in an iron casket 
and wore uniform buttons ... if they were uniforms buttons at all?
  Eighty-eight-year old Jim Lester, of Briggs Community, said he had never 
seen a similar coffin.  But it is his opinion that the remains are those of a 
Yankee officer who died during the Civil War, while serving under General 
Grant.
  If this is true it would establish the date of burial sometime between 1861 
and 1865 the beginning of the Civil War, respectively.
  Eugene Taylor, a 79 year-old white-mustached gentleman who lives in the 
Green Community, said a coffin of similar description had been unearthed while 
work was being done on a road in lower West and East Carroll parishes. As it 
was many years ago he cound not recall the exact date.  However, he said the 
iron coffin was viewed by a number of people as this immediate one has been 
viewed.
  A local funeral director stated that as far as he could deterine the casket 
was at least 80 or 90 years old.  He bases his statement on the fact that 
coffins of like description have not been in general production since that 
time.  He also advanced the theory that it was imported from Europe.
  Commenting on the burial of the casket and its remains, Sheriff J.R. Butler 
stated: " I witnessed the burial of the casket both times."  Mr. Butler 
referred to the reburial of the coffin and remains shortly after its discovery 
last Thursday it was later unearthed again.
   


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/westcarroll/newspapers/oldcaske184gnw.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/lafiles/

File size: 5.4 Kb