Tone Hays, a freed Negro slave, was the first caretaker for the cemetery.  He began is job as caretaker before the Association was organized and continued with the work until his health failed.  He died in 1937 and is buried in this cemetery.  A tombstone marks his grave.

Tone worked hard as caretaker and took pride in his work.  He "scraped clean" each grave with a common garden hoe.  He knew the names and the dates of death of all the people buried in the unmarked graves and would share this information with all who asked.  Several people must have asked, but no one thought to write the information down, now it is forever gone.

The first person buried here was Lester McDaniel, in 1861.  Lester was wounded in a Civil War battle, either in the one here at the cemetery site or in one of the heavier battles across Six Mile Creek and east of Old Cove; between Cove and Vandervoort.  After receiving the wound he returned to his home and there he died.  His two brothers buried him on top of the highest hill.  One brother would dig the grave while the other brother watched for the enemy, the Union soldiers.  Lester's grave was guarded for several days after the burial.

Lester's father was a brother to Hoyt McDaniel's great, great grandfather, Johnson McDaniel, who was born in 1806, in North Carolina and moved to Arkansas in the late 1840's.  Hoyt McDaniel lives on Polk 34 in Hatfield (2/14/1983).

Some of the old timers remember that the next people buried in this cemetery were the Union soldiers who were killed in the Civil War battles fought in this area.

Mrs. Emma E. Eppinette was the first person buried in the North section of this cemetery.  The North section opened in 1930.