James Edwards was the first person to be buried in the Moore (Quincy) Cemetery in Newton County, Arkansas. He was born August 7, 1829 in Tennessee and died February 18, 1885. He was married to Martha Lillian Stubblefield, born 1835 in Tennessee and died 1903, Mena, Arkansas.

James Edwards and Martha were walking across the top of the mountain at Quincy going to visit their friends, the Leonard Claude Craigs, not long before he died. James mentioned to her that the top of the mountain would be a beautiful place for a cemetery. He died in February, 1885. Bart Casey who lived nearby, owned the land mentioned. When he heard that James had thought it would be a nice place for a cemetery, he donated the land and James Edwards was buried there.

James and Martha Edwards were the parents of: Mary Elizabeth Edwards Rose (who lived to be 100 yrs. old), James Irvin Edwards (never married), California Edwards Wright, Emmaline Edwards Craig Cato, Patrick Mordecia (died as a teenager and is buried in the Moore Cemetery next to his father), Arizona Edwards Standridge, and Laura Belle Edwards Sisco.

Arizona Edwards and Grant Standridge were the parents of twins, Alvis and Alvin. Alvis, seventeen, died of a shot gun accident Feb. 3, 1913 and is buried near his grandfather, James Edwards and Uncle, Patrick Edwards in the Moore Cemetery. His paternal grandmother and grandfather, Jeremiah Standridge are also buried nearby.

Martha Stubblefield, James Edwards wife, is not buried in the Moore Cemetery. She very much wanted to be buried by her husband, James. In the late 1890's she moved to the Mena area with her daughters, Zone (Arizona) and Laura Belle and their families. The week she died they were having a heavy snow storm, so it was impossible to return her body to Moore since they would have had to transport her by wagon. She is buried in the Foster Cemetery 8 miles west of Mena. (This past spring-1999, I organized all the Edwards Family I could find and we bought her a nice big tombstone which list all their children on the back and notes that her husband James is buried in the Moore Cemetery in Arkansas. It was a very satisfying experience for me!)

Submitted to Newton County, Arkansas Scrapbook® by, Mary Lea Burlison.

Thank You Mary Lea!

Remember to check Newton County, Arkansas Families® for information on the above.

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