The Bradley area’s primary claim to historical significance lies, of course, in the fact that Walnut Hill was the residence of the first Governor of Arkansas, James Sevier Conway. Amidst much fanfare, for Bradley, anyway, the Conway family cemetery became a state park in 1986. Among the speakers at the dedication of the park was then Governor and future President Bill Clinton. Since 1986, the State’s maintenance of the park has often been, to put it diplomatically, less than ideal. However, during a recent visit, the park appeared to have been maintained reasonably well.
Governor Conway’s tombstone has deteriorated to the point that it is almost unreadable.
Near Governor Conway’s grave is a plaque which recites, in the briefest of terms, his biography.
The plaque reads:
“James Sevier Conway
Dec. 9, 1796 — March 3, 1855
First Governor of the State of Arkansas
Born in Greene County, Tenn., he came to Arkansas in 1820 to make land surveys. In 1823 he settled at Walnut Hill, Lafayette County and began to acquire a large cotton plantation.
President John Quincy Adams in 1825 appointed him to survey the western boundary of Arkansas from the Red River to the Arkansas River.
President Andrew Jackson in 1831 appointed him Commissioner for Arkansas in determining the southern boundary of the State.
In 1832 when the office of Arkansas Surveyor General was created, he was appointed to the post.
In 1836 he was elected Governor of Arkansas and after serving his one term of four years, he retired to Walnut Hill.”
Governor Conway’s grave also has another marker, placed there by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The tombstone of Arkansas’ first First Lady, Mary Jane Bradley Conway, underwent a crude repair many years ago but is, for the most part, readable.
“Gone To Rest
MARY JANE BRADLEY
Wife Of
J. S. Conway
Died Feb 15, 1878
Aged
68 ys. 5 ms. 15 ds.”
[The bottom line says something about “a faithful friend,” but the bottom two lines are mostly illegible.]
One of the most poignant aspects of the cemetery are the graves of five of the children of James and Mary Jane Conway who died in infancy or childhood. They had five children who lived to adulthood, and apparently had ten children in all. This would make for a infancy-childhood mortality rate in the Conway family of fully fifty per cent (50%), a figure we would consider shocking today, but which was probably not atypical at the time.
Here are photos of the grave markers of those five children. Below each photo is a transcription of each marker, insofar as can be ascertained.
“INFANT
Son of
J.S. & M.J.
CONWAY”
[no dates given]
“MARY ELIZABETH
Dau. of
J. S. & M. J.
CONWAY
Born
Jan. 12, 1833
Died
Oct. 17, 1845
Aged
12 Ys 3 Ms 4 Ds”
“JAMES SEVIER
Son of
J. S. & M. J.
CONWAY
Born
Mar. 23, 1838
Died
October 31, 1845
Aged
7 Years 7 Ms.”
“SARAH JULIETTE
Dau. of
J. S. & M. J.
CONWAY
Born
Mar 5, 1843
Died
Oct. 11, 1946
Aged”
[The marker has sunk into the ground, obscuring the last line. However, it should read “3 Years, 7 Months,” or something similar.]
“WILLIAM NELSON
Son of
J. S. & M. J.
CONWAY
Born July 24, 1851
Died
October 13, 1855”
[This marker has also sunk into the ground, obscuring what are probably the bottom two lines. If they followed the pattern of the other markers, they would read “Aged 4 Years, 3 Months,” or something similar.]
Finally, the Conway cemetery can be, when properly maintained, not just a place of historical significance, but also a place of quiet beauty. These photos were taken about an hour and a half before sunset earlier this month:
bradleyark.com 