This article will deal primarily with subject matter on that data which has been obtained and which I will start to record at this late date -- March 28, 1950 -- concerning an old, old cemetery located in Lee township, Platte county, Missouri. The following information will consist of my early recollections as they impressed me.
I am a native Platte Countian, having been born in Lee township, November 14, 1898, and I have had occasion to visit the old cemetery many times in the course of my life. When I last visited the cemetery in 1947, I gathered what remaining evidence there was at that time, which was very little compared to the size of the place and number of markers that I remember having seen when I first visited there many years ago.
First, as a very small child, I accompanied a lifelong friend of our family, Miss Eliza Alma Lois Humphrey, who was born in Lee township, September 22, 1856, who had relatives and intimate friends buried there. Later in my life, I often passed the old buryin' grounds daily on my way to and from school or the mailbox as the old lane to our home was routed within a stone's throw of the place. I think my friendship and love for those dear, departed souls grew, flowered, and matured when I lost my fear of passing by there at night when I found that the genial air of peacful repose remained undisturbed by darkness.
The exact location of this cemetery rests on a hilltop in a beautiful pasture belonging to the Humphrey estate, about 150 or 200 feet from the east side of the public road and about a quarter of a mile north of the crossroads known as the Humphrey Corner.
The markers in the old cemetery reveal only meager facts concerning the burials there. Several of the Tribble family found last resting places in this cemetery.
Mrs. Ruby Humphrey Heerwald of East Leavenworth, Missouri, is a descendant (granddaughter) of an early pioneer buried there, Julia Ann Tribble Humphrey, born October 4, 1829, and the wife of Orlando Prentice Humphrey, who died February 4, 1904.
Jane Tribble died November 16, 1855 at the age of seventy-nine (79) years. (She was born the year the Declaration of Independence was signed, 1776).
Dudley Tribble died November 2, 1847, at the age of 29 years, 6 months, and 9 days; born April 23, 1818.
Of Thomas Tribble even less is known as revealed by existing evidence, other than he, too, found eternal rest in the family lot.
Elijah Morgan, a pioneer of sterling character, found rest June 19, 1861, at the age of 66 years, 10 months.
Of the many monuments that once occupied space in this cemetery, the one of Graham Turner was the most picturesque. He died January 4, 1880, at the age of 67 years, 10 months, and 16 days. His wife lived many years after he passed away. Prior to her marriage to Graham Turner, he name was Basket. The Turners had a large family of girls, six in all. Ella married a DeMaster; Ida married a Slaughter; Mary married a Hon; Frankie married Thaddeus Farley (buried in Green cemetery); Susan married a Lyons; Annie married a Norris and are buried there.
When Grandma Turner passed away, there was no more space left in the old cemetery, so she was laid elsewhere. She was a hardy soul with an aggressive nature; a truly pioneer spirit was hers. My most vivid memory picture of her finds her seated before the fireplace in her favorite chair, enjoying the smoke from her cob-pipe.
This Humphrey cemetery is one of the interesting historical spots in Lee township.