Norman Family Cemetery listings

Moniteau County Missouri

Norman Family Cemetery listings

Directions to cemetery: Located on the east side of Highway 87 near the intersection of Hwy 87 and Rt T, approximately 3 miles south of the Hwy 50 and Hwy 87 interchange at the south edge of California on land owned by the Francis family.

The old one room school house, at the intersection of Hwy 87 and Rt T is nearby.

Fairview Methodist church was also located near here.

GPS Location: 38.568174,-92.569129

Mrs Preston Hutchison and Miss Naomi Woods inventoried this cemetery April 20, 1969.

They wrote and is still true: Mr Francis said there were many graves in this cemetery, however, we found only eight, which were all laying on the ground and all but three were covered with dirt. It was in a little grove of trees, some cedar trees, no fence around it, and since it is just a short distance from the barn, there were signs that the cattle and horses often stood in this cemetery.

Mr. Francis said there were slaves buried there also. One slave had shot a Mr Norman, was hung in California and buried in this cemetery. See this story after the listings, below.

James Albin re-inventoried this cemetery in December 2004 and Alan Sparks visited this cemetery January 1, 2005 and January 27, 2018 when the pictures were taken.

Newspaper stories from this time can be found here:

July 18, 1863

July 25, 1863

August 1, 1863

The Moniteau County Historical Society has the Alfred Norman Family table, the gun and bullet used to murder him along with the rope used to hang Henry the slave.

October 3, 2013 Tipton Times

Please do not use them on other websites (including Find-a-grave) without permission.

Above top: Different views of the cemetery

Middle: Looking north with cemetery on the far right and the Norman school behind the trees to the right of the highway

Bottom: 3 Norman stones leaning against a large cedar tree; one on the right - View of Norman school from the cemetery.

* = Calculated Date based on age; d/o = daughter of; s/o = son of; w/o = wife of; m = married

Info from news obit = the information is from a newspaper obituary and no stone was found for the individual.

= Click for picture

= Click for obituary

Last Name, First Name, Middle, Birth Date, Death Date, Comments

Unknown

? Henry -- 1839-1843 * - 1863 Aug 28 -- Aged Abt 16-20y

-- The negro boy who shot his master, Alfred Norman; See article below.

N

Norman Alfred -- 1800 Apr 26 - 1863 Jul 09 -- See article below -- Pic1: Pic 2:
Norman Anna -- 1804 Jun 16 - 1882 Jul 03 -- w/o Alfred Norman
Norman Eliza Florence -- 1851 Mar 31 - 1861 May 17 -- d/o A R & C A Norman -- Pic1: Pic 2:
Norman Margaret E -- 1858 Jan 10 - 1859 Jul 07 -- d/o J F & E A Norman -- Pic1: Pic 2: Pic 3:
Norman Martha E -- 1856 Aug 29 - 1857 Jun 07 -- d/o A R & C A Norman
Norman Mary Adline -- 1832 Dec 11 - 1846 May 17 -- d/o Alfred & Anna Norman

S

Senior Charley -- Died 1893 Aug 19 -- Aged abt 30 -- Info from news obit

Senior Martha A -- Died 1924 Sep 23 -- Aged 84y -- w/o William Senior; d/o Alfred & Anna Norman -- Info from news obit

Senior Sammie -- Aged 1884 Jan 23 -- Aged 8m 14d -- s/o A N & M E Senior -- Pic 1: Pic 2: Pic 3:

V

Vernon Infant -- 1880 Oct 08 - 1880 Oct 08 -- s/o G W & M A Senior -- Pic 1: Pic 2: Pic 3:
Vernon Josie B -- 1873 Aug 28 - 1874 Aug 30 -- d/o W & A Vernon -- Pic 1: Pic 2:

From the February 27, 1908 Moniteau County Herald:

Column 1 of article

Column 2 of article

THE NORMAN MURDER

L. F. Wood's "True Story" taken from a series contributed to the Moniteau County Herald, in the years 1908-1909.

Alfred N. Norman lived on the High Point road, about five miles south of California. He was a farmer wealthy for the time, influential, honored and respected.
In the summer or early fall of 1863, he was killed by a negro boy named Henry, whom he owned. Henry was about twenty years old and was what his race then and now call "a mean nigger". For some reason he had a grievance against a lady, teaching school in the neighborhood, and to annoy her, went to the school house and spilled ink over the books and desks, broke up the furniture and committed other nuisances. He was detected and Mr. Norman whipped him. Henry's wrath was now turned against his master. He procured a gun and while Mr. Norman was at supper, Henry slipped around in the shadow, and resting the gun in the fence shot him through the window. He then ran across the fields and hid the gun in a hollow tree. He was at once suspected, and broken straw was found upon his shoes, corresponding to that found where he stood to fire the gun.

He was arrested and confined in jail. Tad Moore and George Stone took it upon themselves to play detectives. They managed to have themselves confined in jail under the guise of prisoners. When they had gained Henry's confidence, they told him that they were Jim Lane's men, and that Lane was coming into Missouri to rescue all the slaves who had killed their masters and give them each a farm. Henry believed them, and his reliance upon their story could never afterwards be shaken. He told them the full particulars of the murder - how he got the gun, and where he had hid it. They afterwards went to the place he described and found the gun.

Judge G. W. Miller, before whom he was tried appointed J. C. Thompson and myself to defend him. Both of us were young men then. Thompson had been a Methodist minister, and had had charge of the church in California for two years. He had studied law and been admitted to the bar. He was a talented man. We obtained a delay and frequently visited Henry in jail but failed to obtain a retraction of his confession or shake his belief in a rescue. We did, however, obtain a promise from him that he would say nothing in court unless we asked him to. This promise he did not keep.

At the trial when the witnesses were introduced to prove the confession, his attorneys objected on the ground that the confession had been made under duress and promises. He objected to this argument by rising in court and telling the judge that he did not make the confession because he was afraid or because he expected to gain anything by it but because it was the truth. He constantly interrupted the witnesses, and corrected them as to how he crept up to the fence, the manner in which he held the gun and the kind of a tree in the hollow of which he hid it. He was found guilty and sentenced to be hung. S. E. Hoge was then sheriff and H.A. Yarnell was in command of the garrison at California. A gallows was prepared about three-fourths of a mile southeast of the depot in what is now Griner's addition. It was then open ground.

Whether the sheriff feared that there might be an attempt at rescue, or what is more probable, wanted to assure the people that the United States soldiers were not be be used for the protection of criminals, but to enforce the law. At any rate he asked Capt. Yarnell for a guard of soldiers and it was granted him. The action of these two officers was wise at the time and had a salutary effect in quieting this well disposed and deterring the evil disposed.

Thompson and I asked leave to attend our client, and candidly told Mr. Hoge that we wanted to be present to take advantage of anything that might occur that would authorize the prisoner to demand a delay of the execution. Mr. Hoge cheerfully granted us permission to go with our client, not only to the place of execution, but upon the scaffold.

Before the trap was sprung, the sheriff asked Henry if he wanted to say anything. He said he did not, but that he would like to sing a song. Permission being granted he began:
"My name is Captain Kidd, As I sailed, as I sailed,
And so wickedly I did, :
As I sailed, as I sailed."

And on to the end of the wretch doggerel. He had been taught the song by Wm. Barger, a jail mate charged with vagrancy.
Henry was buried in the railroad ground east of the depot, but no one need be afraid of his ghost. His body did not rest there.
*****************************************
Mr. Francis that lived on this farm now told us this story and he stated the slave was brought back and buried in this Norman Family Cemetery. Naomi and I listened with interest, as we stood at Mr. Francis lot gate, as he related the story. Little did we dream that just that week we found this article in the History of Moniteau County (1936), pages 47-50, among other true stories that Lashley F. Woods wrote.
We understood this was the first hanging in Moniteau County, MO.
Contributed by: Mrs. Preston Hutchison

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