The authors would like to express our gratitude to 

Mr. & Mrs. Leroy Murphy 

for allowing us access to their records, 
for permission to extract them, 
and for other invaluable assistance they provided 
in the course of our research of African-American records of Butler County, Missouri.


A work like this can only be accomplished with the help of many people,
 and there are many other individuals who have been of tremendous assistance 
as we endeavored to search out this information.

Our heartfelt thanks go out to each of you.

 INTRODUCTION
   Butler County has many  small  church,  community,  and  family
   cemeteries. Some are still being  utilized  today,  while  many
   others are not only not  in  use,  but  are  virtually  'lost'.
   Several are on private property,  many  are  overgrown  and  in
   disrepair or otherwise inaccessible. There are  some  known  to
   exist whose location can no longer be determined  -  especially
   the small family cemeteries. For more  than  30  years  efforts
   have been made to locate these old cemeteries  and  record  the
   burials before they are permanently lost.  Often  when  an  old
   cemetery is found, the number of graves cannot  be  determined.
   Stones have fallen over, broken, or were made of materials that
   did not survive time and the elements. Older residents  of  the
   area have been interviewed, records researched, and  all  means
   possible have been utilized to try  to  determine  who  may  be
   buried in Butler County. All this is done to try  and  preserve
   the history of the area and make this information available  to
   the researcher. Over the years  some  cemeteries  have  changed
   names, or been  referred  to  by  different  names.  All  known
   variations have been noted.

   Every effort has been made to  record  the  burials  accurately
   though many stones were difficult to decipher. Unfortunately so
   many stones are lost that many who are buried in Butler  County
   may never be identified. In some instances, additional  records
   such have been consulted as an aid in identifying  individuals.
   These may include: census; obituaries and funeral home records;
   newspaper articles; printed and oral histories; and  interviews
   with local residents. We have made an effort in these books  to
   identify the source if it  is  other  than  the  headstones  or
   cemetery records.

The cemetery records are contained in five volumes as follows: 

      * Vol. I - Southwestern Butler County - south of M Hwy and west
      of Hwy 142. (Cem. #35-58; 102-104)

      * Vol. II - Southeastern Butler County - east of Hwy  142,  and
      somewhat south of Hwy 60, on a line that would be equal  to  an
      eastward extension of Hwy M. (Cem. #59-75)

      * Vol. III - Northeastern Butler County  -  beginning  somewhat
      south of Hwy 60 East, on a line that would be above the  before
      mentioned eastward ‘extension’ of Hwy M, and on the east of the
      above mentioned northward 'extension' of Hwy 142. (Cem. #76-99)
      * Vol. IV - Northwestern Butler County - west of  a  line  that
      would be equal to a northward extension of Hwy 142,  and  north
      of M Hwy, with the exception of #33 and  #34  which  fall  just
      south of M Hwy in the western-most part of this area. (Cem. #1-
      34; 100, 101)

      * Vol. V - African-American cemeteries.  This  encompasses  all
      known African-American cemeteries and  burials  in  the  county
      that we were able to locate. Also includes some obituaries  and
      records from other sources.

(See indications on map, p. vi.)

   Within each book, the  cemeteries  are  listed  alphabetically,
   with the name in most common current usage  taking  precedence.
   In the Table of Contents, each cemetery is listed  under  every
   name by which it has been known.
   The accompanying maps are not to scale,  but  show  approximate
   locations. The 'Communities'  map  indicates  communities  that
   show on current maps, as  well  as  any  communities  we  could
   identify that have previously existed in the  county.  Many  of
   these communities were originally established  as,  or  around,
   logging camps, and when that industry died out, the communities
   'disappeared'. The 'Cemeteries' map is  also  an  approximation
   given as a  visual  aid  to  the  researcher.  In  addition  to
   personally visiting every cemetery that could be found and  was
   accessible, we consulted USGS topographical  maps  to  identify
   locations as accurately as possible. A key and list of the maps
   used is found on page x. Actual cemetery locations are recorded
   by Township, Range, and Section numbers, noted at the beginning
   of each individual record. The map locator number refers to the
   map included in this volume. The  map  numbering  system  is  a
   geographical  progression,  going  roughly   counter-clockwise,
   beginning in the northwest corner of the county.


   For reference purposes, an alphabetical and  numerical  listing
   of every  known  or  reported  cemetery  in  Butler  County  is
   included as a key to the map. All cemeteries noted on the  list
   will be included in  one  of  the  cemetery  volumes  with  the
   following exceptions:


   * Cemeteries indicated by the symbol +  are  active  cemeteries
   with sextons. The  records  of  these  cemeteries  are  readily
   available by contacting the cemetery, so were not included.

   * Cemeteries with the numerical  designation  ‘00’.  These  are
   cemeteries that have been mentioned in records, or reported  to
   have existed at one time, and general locations given,  but  no
   records found, nor exact location determined.

   We express our gratitude to all those who over the  years  have
   assisted by providing information, recalling  local  historical
   events, and braving the 'wilderness' and elements to help  with
   the canvassing.



Betty Hanks and Terry McLean