Old Pima Cemetery, Pima, Graham County, Arizona
Old Pima Cemetery - field
Old Pima Cemetery
Pima, Graham, Arizona
 
   
To get to Old Pima Cemetery turn south from US-70 onto 300 West St. in Pima. Turn west on 100 South St., turn south on 400 West St., and turn east on 250 South St. Go to the end of the street. You will see a fence line which designates the farmland that was previously the Old Pima Cemetery. Currently, the farmland is owned by Clarence and Joan McBride.
 
   
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Old Pima Cemetery
by Wilma Carter Rhinehart
 
Henry Elliot Norton was the Sexton in the town of Pima and cared for the cemetery, digging graves etc. And when the railroad was built through the Gila Valley the right of way came right through the Pima Cemetery, so a new plot of ground was obtained for burial purposes and the residents of the old cemetery had to be exhumed and moved. Henry Norton was in charge of the work which was a major undertaking.
 
This information was taken from the Book of Remembrance of the early pioneers written by Laura McBride Smith and Grace McBride Larson
 
In talking with different families and trying to find out who was buried in unmarked graves, the same story was repeated about the graves in the Old Pima Cemetery that were never moved for one reason or another. So I began a list of the people that still remain in the same old plot and never moved. There are no headstones or any sign of a cemetery here. It is a field plowed and planted and being used. But to me the ground is still sacred and the people buried there should be on record.
 
My parents told me that my Great Grandmother Carter and my father's brother were never moved. They said that when they started digging up the graves, the coffins were rotten and the bones were mixed so that you could not tell which bones belonged to what grave. So many of the people decided just to leave the bodies there.
 
Some of the names that gave me information for this list:
Willman Mons Carter of Pima, Arizona
Polly Matthews Carter of Pima, Arizona
Mrs. William L. Kieffer of Pima, Arizona
Clara Allred Larson of Pima, Arizona
Laura Christensen Alger of Safford, Arizona
Millie East Kelly of Safford, Arizona
Mildred C. Olsen
Alton Welker

Surname Name DOB DOD Comments
Allred (little girl) 29 Jul 1889 child Parents: John Warren Allred & Almedia Jane Boyd
Allred Almedia Jane Boyd 19 Mar 1865 24 Jul 1890 Parents: John David Boyd & Victoria Hubbard
Husband: John Warren Allred
Ballard Issac Riley 22 Nov 1869 adult Born: Payson, Utah
Brother of Harriet Ballard Kieffer who is buried at Glenbar Cemetery, Glenbar, Arizona.
Ballard William Henry 1 Mar 1875 adult Born: Provo, Utah
Half-brother of Harriet Ballard Kieffer who is buried at Glenbar Cemetery, Glenbar, Arizona.
Carter Edwin Lavan Jr. 24 Jan 1890 20 Mar 1890 Born: Matthewsville, Arizona
Parents: Edwin Lavan Carter & Betsy Larson
Died: From the effects of measles
Carter Sarah York 25 Aug 1812 8 Sep 1888 Born: at Bathel, Oxford, Main
Parents: Peter York & Abiah Russell
Husband: William Furlsbury Carter
She lived in Nauvoo, Illinois at the time of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. She came with one of the earliest companies of Saints to the Salt Lake Valley. In the fall of 1883 they pioneered their way to Arizona with a company of several other families. She drove one of the covered wagons all the way from Santaquin, Utah to the Gila Valley.
East Edward Wallace 11 Oct 1814 30 May 1884 Born: Virginia
Parents: Thomas East & Sarah Graves
Wife: Willmirth Metilda Greer
Ford Elzadie Emeline 2 Dec 1827 20 Dec 1887  
Kempton Delia Caroline 5 Feb 1881 9 Feb 1884 Born: Brigham City, Navajo, Arizona
Parents: Alvin Bradford Kempton & Sarah Jane Curtis
Kempton Zetta Jane 28 Nov 1875 4 Feb 1884 Born: Payson, Payson, Utah
Parents: Alvin Bradford Kempton & Sarah Jane Curtis
Langston Sarah Wilmoth Junell 8 Nov 1826 25 Aug 1885 Born: Halifax, Halifax, Virginia
She came to Arizona in 1883 and lived in the small community of Graham. She was buried on 26 Aug 1885.
Larson Ellen Bertha 8 Jan 1887 18 Feb 1888 Mons Larson & Olivia Lorentina Eklund are buried in the Glenbar Cemetery, but they had two little girls that died when they lived at Matthewsville. Where they were buried is unknown. Possibly they were left in this Old Pima Cemetery.
Mary Ann 24 Jul 1886 12 Oct 1889
Larson Zelpha Elizabeth 17 Dec 1885 15 Aug 1886 Born: Pima, Arizona
Parents: Lehi Larson, Sr. & Letitia Freeman Carter


Bonnie Briscoe

Many thanks to my dear friend Bonnie Briscoe!
For her support, encouragement and sense of fun!


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Email contact: Melissa Sanders
Last modified on 8 October 2004.