Garfield Hidden Gold....Benton County

Gypsy Heart

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Nov 29, 2005
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.............. taken from Haddock Heritage, Third Edition and from Mills Heritage, both books by Donna Haddock Cooper, 2004

One family story says that Charles Haddock, Jr. had gone to Arkansas to deliver horses or to sell horses, according to family legend, when he was killed by Union soldiers and the story says that his slave, Steve, brought him home. And also, today, the story goes on to say that he was buried at Walnut Grove in the yard. Charles called his home place Walnut Grove, but there was also a Walnut Grove School. The school came somewhat later but was just up the road from his house, which was located in the Hudson bottoms. And also, it has been discovered that Walnut Grove was what a lot of people were calling New Site Cemetery. And it was already known that they were calling the church New Site but not that they where referring to the cemetery as Walnut Grove. In the early Callaway Funeral Home records New Site Cemetery was sometimes referred to as Walnut Grove Yard or Walnut Grove Cemetery Yard. This is probably where the confusion came that Charles Haddock, Jr. was buried at the home place or at his residence, which was he called Walnut Grove. More than likely he was buried by Sarah, his first wife, at New Site Cemetery or as, in those days, might have said that he was buried at Walnut Grove Cemetery Yard. And also after visiting with the family who lives on Charles Haddock's home place, it's more than obvious that there are no graves at the Walnut Grove home site. The family story goes on today and states that some of Rachel (Haddock) Banks' descendants still live on the home place and all that data fits with the legend that has been handed down by the family.

When Charles buried Sarah at Walnut Grove - New Site - he had not purchased the land yet and it was still in the ownership of John Meeks until a few years later at which time Charles bought it and it became publicly known as a cemetery. The Haddock graves are near the west boundary and near the road and near where almost all of Charles and Sarah's children are buried. Recent rubbings of those early sandstone makers have provided very much new and needed information, and along with the photo work of Gary Ball, new information has now come to the surface. The infant Joel, or as the stone reads "Jeol [sic] Haddock", is buried in the small grave with a flat cover. There is an unmarked grave next to Sarah, which is likely, the grave site of Charles Haddock, Jr. Sarah's, worn from weather, sand stone reads "Mother, Sarah Haddock". In 1850 on the Federal Census Joel is listed as 6 mos old and family legend has it he died at about 9 mos old. That would likely have been Jan or Feb of 1851. Sarah and Joel are, without a doubt, the first people buried there. From the deed records, it is now known that Charles purchased the land after the death of Sarah.

September 26, 1863 is the date that the Haddock family has for Charles Haddock's death, but as one can see, the church minutes state that he died "South, 16 July 1862". Those minutes were recorded before the 1863 date so it's appears that the family may have the wrong death date. Because of the of the way that Charles died, it may have been a questionable date. The church minutes did not state the source they used for the date and that they recorded. So we are left to assume the family gave the date to the church. This story is one that is probably pretty close to what happened, because it was told within more than one branch of the family. Charles Haddock, Jr. was left hanging from a tree in Benton County, AR near Garfield to die. Legend has it that the bushwhackers wanted the gold that he'd collected from horses that he'd sold to the Union Army. He'd hidden in the house in the feather bed and once in the barn when they'd come for him. He decided that he'd have to leave the county so he told about in the community that he was going to Pitt County, NC where he had relatives but the bushwhackers caught up with him somewhere near Garfield. They tied his hands and to a limb and left him hanging with a fire burning under him. The freed black man named Steve who lived on the place took a pack mule and went to Arkansas to find him. He brought his bones back and buried him at Walnut Grove - now called New Site.
 

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