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Smoky Mountain
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What’s Inside
From the American Revolution to Cocke County..... C4
is published by The Newport Plain 145 East Broadway | Newport, TN 37821 | 423-623-6171
The important history of Roadman Cemetery.............C5
SHANON ADAME
Two sheriffs in the Dawson family.....................................C9
Editor
Several Cocke County cemeteries are on the state historic cemetery register....................................... C11
KATHY BARNES Assistant Editor
Revolutionary War patriots............................................... C13
LESLIE MAGALIOS Advertising Director
SARAH GRAYSON
Cocke County native was an officer killed on duty in Michigan.................................................C14
MultiMedia Account Executive
DARLA ALLEN Designer
The Newport Plain Talk
Copyright: Fall 2026 Smoky Mountain Homeplace, The Newport Plain Talk. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the newspaper management. Reproduction of advertising and design work is strictly prohibited due to the use of licensed art services and agency agreement.
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From the American Revolution to Cocke County, early settlers like John Gilliland paved the way
John Gilliland, a Revolutionary War patriot, is honored with a monument in Pigeon Forge at the site of Fort Wear.
This stone marker is at the entrance to Robert Young, Sr. Cemetery in Johnson City.
BY KATHY BARNES | Assistant Editor
were living along the Watauga River in the town now known as Elizabethton.
America’s 250th anniversary - the official Semiquincentennial - was observed July 4, 2026, celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence through nationwide events managed via America250 and the White House’s Freedom 250 initiative. Independence Day commemorates the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The legal separation of the 13 colonies from Great Britain actually occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence Richard Henry Lee of Virginia had proposed in June.
While the Declaration of Independence led to the colonies breaking away from Britain, the catalyst for independence was the American Revolution. Several men fought in the battles of the American Revolution then made their homes in Cocke County. Several used their land grants to acquire lands in the local area. One Revolutionary War soldier who made his home in Cocke County was John Gilliland. Gilliland was a member of the Overmountain Men, who were frontiersmen who fought at multiple battles in the southern campaign of the war. Before the war, he was instrumental in establishing the Watauga Association, which was a government created by settlers who
Several early settlers are buried at Fort Wear, which is located in Pigeon Forge.
One of the better-known engagements that involved the Overmountain Men was the Battle of Kings Mountain at the North Carolina and South Carolina line. Maj. Patrick Ferguson took 1,000 men supporting the loyalist cause atop Kings Mountain, and the Overmountain Men led by Col. William Campbell, Col. Isaac Shelby, Col. John Sevier, Col. Benjamin Cleveland and Col. James Williams. Williams was killed in the battle, but Campbell and Shelby reached the summit of the mountain. One man at the battle was John Gilliland who fought under Col. Sevier. According to different historical accounts, Gilliland had been shot three
times with 69-caliber musket balls at the battle. He then saw Ferguson atop a white horse wearing a red-checkered shirt. Gilliland fired at Ferguson, but his flint snapped, so he was unable to shoot the British leader. Also at the battle was Gilliland’s father-in-law, Robert Young Sr. Reportedly Gilliland yelled for Young to shoot Ferguson, which he did. Young has long been credited with firing the fatal shot that knocked Ferguson out of the saddle. Ferguson’s boot spur is said to have caught in the horse’s stirrup, and the horse dragged him. With the horse running wildly throughout the battlefield, and accounts say that by the time it was over, Ferguson’s body had anywhere from seven to nine bullets in it. The
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Robert Young, Sr., and seven of his sons served with the Overmountain Men at the Battle of Kings Mountain. This marker is at Robert Young, Sr. Cemetery off Market Street in Johnson City.
gun that Young used to fire the shot had been nicknamed “Sweet Lips,” in honor of his wife, Mary. The gun is displayed in the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville. Robert and Mary had 20 children including seven sons who fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain and a daughter, Elizabeth, who was the wife of John Gilliland. Robert and Mary Young and several of their children are buried at Young Cemetery on the
grounds of the former National Guard Armory off West Market Street in Johnson City.
daughter, Mary, was the second wife of Col. Samuel Wear, who also fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain. Both Gilliland and Wear were delegates to Gilliland recovered from his wounds, the State of Franklin’s Constitutional and he became one of Cocke County’s Convention. early settlers. In 1783, he raised a crop Gilliland donated 50 acres for the of corn on his land. Within a couple county seat of Cocke County, which of years, his large family was brought was named Fine’s Ferry because Peter from upper northeast Tennessee to live Fine operated a ferry that crossed in what is now Cocke County. the French Broad River. That original John and Elizabeth Gilliland’s
county seat was located alongside the
French Broad River about a mile-anda-half from the current county seat in Newport. According to many accounts, Gilliland was visiting his daughter, Mary, at Fort Wear in Sevier County when he was attacked and killed by Native Americans. He is buried at Fort Wear, which is now in Pigeon Forge. His wife, Elizabeth, was buried by his side when she died. Their graves are marked with a monument.
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The important history of
Roadman Cemetery and the work being done to restore it and preserve local history BY KATHY BARNES | Assistant Editor
A project to preserve Cocke County history is nearing completion. A couple of organizations and a group of volunteers took it upon themselves to clean and restore Roadman Cemetery, which is the final resting place for many of Cocke County’s early settlers. The cemetery is sometimes called Old Town Cemetery. It is believed to have been the first municipal cemetery in Old Town, which was prior to the town of Newport moving to its current location.
Revolutionary War patriots One of those buried in the cemetery is Maj. Peter Fine, who fought in the Revolutionary War with the North Carolina militia. He had the first licensed ferry on the French Broad River and was a founder of the town. Fine was an early member of the county’s first church, Big Pigeon Primitive Baptist Church, which was organized at Upper War Ford on Dec. 6, 1787. A land grant entered into the Newport land entry office on July 24, 1816, was for land for Fine’s service in the American Revolution. Edom Kendrick Sr. is also buried in the cemetery. He came to East Tennessee from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley after his sons had settled in the area. He was born in 1730 and died in 1840. His wife, Mary, referred to as
Peter Fine’s headstone has been damaged through the years.
“Aunt Pokey” was said to have been Cherokee. Land grants show Kendrick’s grant entered at the Newport land grant entry office on April 15, 1815. A second land grant was entered on Feb. 20, 1830. The two land grants were for Kendrick’s military service during the American Revolution. Records later showed he owned 327.5 acres of land.
The War of 1812 William C. Roadman, who was one of the more prominent individuals in the county in the first half of the 19th
The graves of William C. Roadman and his wife are the only two graves in the cemetery marked with ledgers.
century, is also buried in the cemetery. In an advertisement in the Knoxville Register on March 4, 1835, W.C. Roadman announced, “I wish to build a bridge near my ferry landing on the French Broad in Newport.” He said the river was 127 yards wide with a solid bottom and timber nearby. Roadman was a veteran of the War of 1812. Attaining the rank of major, he served in Col. Samuel Bayless’s Company., 4th Regiment of the East Tennessee Militia. He was also a close personal friend of President Andrew Jackson.
Stories indicate Roadman headed south to assist Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans, but arrived too late to participate in the battle.
Spanish American War Also buried in the cemetery is Pvt. James Mantooth of the 16th U.S. Infantry, Texas. He was a veteran of the Spanish American War. Mantooth served from Nov. 22, 1901, to Nov. 21, 1904, indicating he fought in the second half of the war, which was the Philippine-American portion of the conflict.
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James Mantooth was a veteran of the Spanish American The headstone of Ben W.D. Gorrell who served with the War. Confederate army.
Mantooth died at St. Elizabeth Hospital, Washington D.C., on Sept. 27, 1917. The application for his Veterans Administration (VA) headstone refers to the cemetery as River Hill Cemetery.
Civil War
he died Dec. 28, 1916. A newspaper clipping from December 1916 mentions Jacob Odell. It may have been the same person, but the newspaper had the age different from the age indicated Clint Hammonds is shown by the grave of his great-grandfather James Hammons, who served with the Union Army during the Civil War. by the dates on the headstone.
Civil War veterans are also buried According to a newspaper, there. Those veterans include men who the 36-year-old farmer died in a both served with the Union Army and Knoxville hospital and his body Confederate States of America (CSA). James Hammons, who served with the North Carolina Mounted Infantry of the Union Army during the Civil War, is one of those veterans.
Another Civil War veteran buried there is Ben W.D. Gorrell, who served with Company F, 5th Regiment Tennessee Cavalry (McKenzie’s), of the Confederate army during the Civil War.
Other burials One grave is that of Jacob H. Odell. His headstone indicates his date of birth was Aug. 27, 1889 and
was sent to Newport on a Friday morning “over an early Southern train” so he could be buried in the cemetery. The date of Dec. 28, 1916 was on a Thursday, so he would have most likely been sent back to Newport the following morning, which would have been on a Friday. The last burial in the cemetery was Octavia Kendrick, who died Aug. 6, 1928.
The cemetery project Tennessee Historic Graveyard See ROADMAN | C8 A sign now marks the entrance to Roadman Cemetery.
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William R. Rankin’s headstone had not been found in several years, but was uncovered under a tree’s roots at Roadman Cemetery.
From ROADMAN | C7
Preservation and Conservation (THGPC), a local nonprofit organization that focuses on cleaning neglected cemeteries, has overseen the project along with the Maj. James T. Huff Camp No. 2243 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV). Channing Greene, commander of the local SCV camp and president of THGPC, is overseeing the labor aspect of the project. Several dozens of volunteers from throughout the local area have participated in the community cleanup days set for the project. To learn more about THGPC and how you can help, visit www. tennesseecemetery.com.
Volunteers are shown working on the cleanup of Roadman Cemetery.
After the cemetery has been cleaned, the volunteers will use D/2, a biological solution that is used by the government to clean monuments, to clean the headstones throughout the cemetery. Any headstones that are knocked over will eventually be set back up and repairs will be made.
The nonprofit organization will return to check on it periodically and prevent it from returning to its current condition. During the Summer of 2026 a new fence was built around the cemetery with a gate put in front along the driveway.
Duay O’Neil, who researched the county’s cemeteries and co-wrote Greene and several of the volunteers have undergone training “Sacred to the Memory” with his to be certified in different aspects of late cousin, Nancy Lampson O’Neil, and then updated the records with headstone cleaning and repairs. “Sacred to the Memory II,” said After the cemetery has been in 2023 that he last visited the cleaned, it will not be forgotten.
cemetery about 15 years ago. “I had tried to get crews working on cleaning up the cemetery at that time,” he said. “It is an absolute shame and disgrace to see a cemetery where Newport’s forefathers are buried in that condition.” The cemetery is located at the end of a gravel road by a cell tower building off Highway 321 just past the intersection with Highway 160. A sign for the cemetery has been placed at the end of the driveway near Highway 321.
TOM TOM SEPTIC TANK SERVICE These Scouts came to help with the Roadman Cemetery cleanup efforts. From left are Olwynne Crampton, Ryland Hopkins, Zachary Buys, Andrew Callan, Barry Pochron and Eli Periera from Scout Troop 101 from Rogersville.
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Two sheriffs in the Dawson family, and one was killed in the line of duty
COCKE COUNTY - There have been 9 law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty in Cocke County. The first law enforcement officer who died in the line of duty was a sheriff who was shot to death on April 20, 1899. Joseph S. Dawson was killed during a raid on a moonshine still near Big Creek across the state line in Haywood County, NC. According to newspaper articles from that time, the officers had located a moonshine still and had arrested one person. As the group headed back to Cocke County, they stopped in the darkness to discuss matters about their prisoner. The officers were illuminated by a lantern they were holding when a shot was fired from the woods. The bullet hit Dawson in the neck, killing him.
Sheriff Joseph S. Dawson
Joseph S. Dawson was serving as sheriff when he was shot and killed in the line of duty.
Drury Dawson
Isaac Dawson
Alfred “Kudge” Dawson
father, Drury Dawson, who served
Driskell Ellis Dawson, are also buried there.
Dawson, who was 31, had served with the sheriff ’s department for three years prior to his death.
The Joe Dawson family Sheriff Dawson was survived by his wife, Arminda Climer Dawson, and their two daughters. Arminda died just four years later on July 20, 1903 at the age of 34. After Arminda’s death, the Dawsons’ two daughters, Izora and Una V., were sent to the Mossop Memorial School in Huntsville, Tennessee. It was a boarding school for girls founded by the Presbyterian Board of Missions in 1909. It was established on the grounds of Huntsville Presbyterian Church following the closure of Huntsville Academy. Dr. and Mrs. Henry Butler ran the two-story frame school that educated underprivileged girls. The school was said to be very strict, and students did coursework as well as manual and domestic labor to cover the cost of their tuition. The boarding school was named after Dr. Butler’s wife, whose maiden name was Mossop. The school relocated to Harriman in 1915 after Dr. Butler retired. It closed in the late 1920s.
Dawson’s death There are several different stories regarding the sheriff ’s death. One of the stories allege that it was widely known that John “Sandy John” Sutton shot and killed Dawson. It is alleged that Dawson illegally crossed the state line into North Carolina and went to Sutton’s home looking for illegal whiskey. Those stories further allege that the sheriff went through Sutton’s home pouring out his whiskey, and “pushed around” Sutton’s wife, Jeanette. Sutton then allegedly went and waited on the trail for the sheriff to head back to Newport, and it was there he shot and killed Dawson. A song was written about the incident, and there were several different versions of that song throughout the area. The version below is the version Tilda Webb had remembered.
Death Of Joe Dawson Sheriff Joe Dawson was the bully of the town, Oh Lawdy law. He rode through Haywood and got shot down, Oh, Lawdy law. He rode through the Haywood and got shot down. He rode through Haywood robbing stills, Oh, Lawdy law. He rode through Haywood robbing stills, He got shot down in Joe Phillips field, Oh, Lawdy law.
This is a photo of Drury Dawson’s land grant.
He got shot down in Joe Phillips field. He was shot in the neck and fell on his side, Oh, Lawdy law. He was shot in the neck and fell on his side And that’s the death Joe Dawson died, Oh, Lawdy law. And that’s the death Joe Dawson died. He came riding on his horses back, Oh, Lawdy law. He came riding on his horses back, Little Charlie Roberts brought him back in a forty dollar hack, Oh, Lawdy law. Little Charlie Roberts brought him back in a forty dollar hack.
Family graves Joseph Dawson and his wife, Arminda, were buried in W.H. Campbell Cemetery in Bybee. His
with the Union Army during the Civil War, and his mother, Elizabeth
See DAWSON | C10
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From DAWSON | C9 His brother also served as sheriff Joseph’s brother, Charles E. Dawson also served as sheriff of Cocke County. Charles and his wife, Darthula Campbell Dawson, are buried in Fowlers Grove United Methodist Church Cemetery. Drury Dawson
also served in the Union Army.
The Bible family Joseph and Charles Dawson also had an uncle by marriage who served as sheriff. Drury Dawson’s sister, Rachel, was married to John Murray Bible who served as sheriff of Cocke County in the 1870s, according to Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee, 1887.
Drury Dawson was one of 10 children born to Amos Dawson, Sr., and his wife, Mary Paralee Black Dawson.
John Murray Bible also spent 20 years on the county court, serving as judge for one term. He served with the Union Army during the Civil War.
Drury Dawson was not the only member of the family who enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War. His brothers, Isaac, Alfred “Kudge,” David Henry, Alexander and Abraham
Rachel and John Murray Bible are buried in the Jonathan Bible Cemetery, which is also known as the Bible-Davis Cemetery. It is located on a farm in Bybee.
Amos Dawson, Jr., is shown seated in front. He is shown with his children from his second marriage to Liz Crumley. Wayne is at left and John is at right. Alexander Brown Harris is in the back center.
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This is a photo of Rachel Dawson Bible. She lived to age 77.
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. Meetings . Parties . Events . Receptions 1015 Cosby Hwy., Newport, TN 37821 This article from the Knoxville Sentinel on Sept. 30, 1901, makes reference to John Murray Bible’s death.
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Several Cocke County cemeteries are on the
state historic cemetery register
BY KATHY BARNES | Assistant Editor
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Historic Cemetery Preservation Program, a division of the Tennessee Historic Commission, has created a Tennessee Historic Cemetery Register. This register includes historic cemeteries from across the state. Cocke County now has several cemeteries on the register. Here are some of the cemeteries on the historic register:
Roadman Cemetery The first cemetery in the county included on the register was Roadman Cemetery, located off Highway 35/321 on a hill overlooking the French Broad River outside of Parrottsville. It has the graves of veterans of Revolutionary War patriots, a War of 1812 veteran, a veteran of the Spanish American War and Civil War veterans of both the Union and Confederate army.
Susong Cemetery Susong Cemetery, which is in the Bridgeport community, was the 50th cemetery in the state added to the register. It was added to the historic cemetery register in June 2025. Susong Cemetery may have initially been the McKay Cemetery. The McKays had a home, which was later known as Seclusion Bend, at the bottom of the hill. When the McKays moved out of Cocke County, the home was occupied by George W. Susong and family. Seclusion Bend burned in 2011.
Members of the Stokely family visited Susong Cemetery and spoke with members of Tennessee Historic Graveyard Conservation Services and members of the James T. Huff Camp No. 2243 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans during the Summer of 2026.
First Lt. Joseph Edwin Carpenter is killed in the line of duty at age 28 buried in the cemetery. He served with on Aug. 26, 1928. He was married 101st Airborne Glider Division and to Madge Carpenter, who was from was killed at the Battle of the Bulge. Parrottsville. Cecil Spencer, who is buried in Several members of the Stokely Susong Cemetery, was a police officer family are buried in the cemetery as with the Fordson Police Department in Wayne County, Michigan. He was
well.
Old Baxter Cemetery Another Cocke County cemetery on the register is Old Baxter Cemetery located in Cosby off Caney Creek Road. It is sometimes called Jesse Baxter Cemetery. See REGISTER | C12
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From REGISTER | C11 War of 1812 veteran James Baxter who served with Bunch’s Regiment of the East Tennessee Militia is buried there alongside his wife, the former Rhoda Giles. There is a marker in the cemetery for Mary Ann Norton Baxter, the first wife of the Rev. Jesse Baxter. She died in 1854 at age 25. Her husband, Jesse, was the son of James and Rhoda Baxter. Old Baxter Cemetery contains several stone markers which do not show any names or dates. Other Cocke County cemeteries included on the register - as of Oct. 21, 2026 - include: • Slate Creek Cemetery • Ogle’s Chapel Cemetery • Williamson Cemetery • Wiley Jones Family Cemetery • W.H. Campbell Family Cemetery • Dawson Cemetery • Jonathan Bible Cemetery (also known as Bible-Davis Cemetery) • Waters-Large Cemetery
Old Baxter Cemetery is located in Cosby.
Historic register guidelines To qualify for inclusion on the register, several criteria must be met. Those criteria include: 1. The cemetery must be 50 years or older, proof can be as simple as the oldest grave marker. 2. The full name and contact information for the entity submitting the request. 3. The submitting party’s relation to the cemetery. 4. Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates are required along with a street address where the cemetery is located and parcel number where the cemetery can be found, if known. Dawson Family Cemetery is located in Bybee.
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John Murray Bible is buried in Jonathan Bible Cemetery. John served 20 years on the county court of Cocke County and was judge of the county court for one term. He also served as Cocke County Sheriff from 1874 to 1876, according to Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee, 1887.
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Revolutionary War
patriots
The William Cocke Chapter of the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) held a 250th Celebration at the Cocke County Courthouse in February 2026.
Conner, Maximillian
Kindrick/Kendrick, Jacob
Shults/Shultz, Johann Martin
Costner, Jacob
Killough, Allen
Sisk/Siske/Sike, Bartlett
Cutshall, Fredrick
Lamberson, Lawrence
Smallwood, William
A list of 110 Revolutionary War patriots tied to chapter members were compiled. Here is that list.
Davis, William
Lenior, William
Smart, Alexander
Dewitt, Harris
Lillard, William
Smith, Alexander
Dunn, Daniel
Love, Thomas
Stokely/Stockley, Jehu
Allen, Isaac
Embry, Abraham
Lufty/Lofty, William
Talley, Sr. William
Ames/Amis, Thomas
Emmert, Fredrick
Maclin, William
Terwilliger, Hugo
Bayless, Reuben
Fancher, Isaac
Martin, Samuel
Vance, David
Bibee, Thomas
Fine, Peter
McJunkin, Daniel
Waddell/Waddill, John
Bible, Johann Christian
Fine, Binet
Wallace, John
Boatright, Daniel
Fox, Matthew
McMurtry/McMurtrie, Joseph
Boggess, Henry
Fugate/Fogate, John
McNabb, John
Williamson, John
Bohanon, Henry
Gilliland/Gilleyland, John
Boydston, William
Goodrum, Thomas
Boyer, Jacob
Gray, James Sr.
Bradley, Seth
Gregory, George
Bragg, William
Hall, John
Brimer, William
Heath, John
Bryant, Jesse
Helm, John
Buck, John
Hembree, Abraham
Burke, Joseph
Henry, John
Campbell, Elias
Hopewell, John
Campbell, John
Hopkins, Ephraim
Carmichael, John
Huff/Hough John
Carter, George
Hughes, David
Click, Henry
Inman, Shadrach
Cocke, John
Jackson, Robert
Cocke, Stephen
Jarnigan/Jernigan, John
Cocke/Cox, William
Jones, Fredrick
Coleman, Spencer
Kelley, George
Coleman, William
Kindrick/Kendrick, Edom
Serving Newport and Surrounding Counties!
Milliken, James
Webb, Jesse Wilcoxson, John
Mims, William Morgan, Ester Taylor Nees/Nehs, Jr. Michael Nichols, Bazdel
Wilcoxson, Sarah Boone Wise, Peter Wood, Aaron Yates, Samuel
O’Neil, Darius
Young, Robert Sr.
Ottinger, John Palmer, Thomas
SOURCES
Parrott, John Payne, Robert Poole, Jacob Van Poppleton, Samuel Potter, James Reagan, Timothy Rogers, Peter Sandusky, Emmanuel Sarratt/Sarrett, Allen Sawyer, Lewis Sevier, John Sherwood, Joseph
1. Cocke County Heritage Book Committee and Don Mills, Inc., Cocke County, Tennessee, and its People, Military page 330, Walsworth Publishing Regional Director, Don Mills, 1992. 2. Newport Plain Talk, Smoky Mountain Homeplace 2023, page 9. 3. Stephen Holston, TN Sons of the American Revolution, “Revolutionary War Patriot’s Pensions & Gravesites of Knoxville and Surrounding Counties, Cocke County, TN”, accessed February 5, 2023. www. stephenholston.org/Revolutionary War Patriot Pensions & gravesites/pdf. 4. William Cocke Chapter, NSDAR Yearbook 2022-2023 & 2025-2026.
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Cocke County native was an officer killed on duty in Michigan
BY KATHY BARNES | Assistant Editor
BRIDGEPORT - Susong Cemetery in the Bridgeport community is the final resting place of a police officer killed in the line of duty. Cecil Spencer was a Cocke County native. He married the Cecil Spencer former Madge Carpenter from Parrottsville. The couple moved to Michigan where he served as a police officer with the Fordson Police Department in Fordson, Michigan. On Sunday, Aug. 26, 1928 he was on duty when a filling station operated by Charles Bell, the brother of Newport Police Chief William Bell, was allegedly robbed. Spencer had grown up with the Bell brothers, and Chief Bell had recommended Spencer for the position. Chief Bell was said to have been in Michigan when Spencer was appointed to his police officer position. The Fordson police chief inquired about Spencer’s fitness and Chief Bell gave Spencer “a fine recommendation” according to the Aug. 28, 1928 edition of The Newport Plain Talk.
over a cross street when his motorcycle was struck by a large truck, throwing him from his motorcycle. At the time of Spencer’s death, his wife and their two children - a son and daughter - were visiting relatives in Cocke County. Spencer’s body was transported to Newport by the Carolina Special, arriving on Aug. 28, 1928. He was taken to the Willis-LaRue Funeral Home where it was prepared then taken to the home of Joe Carpenter, the brother-in-law of Spencer.
After being appointed to the Fordson Six members of the Fordson Police Police Department, Spencer was assigned Department accompanied Spencer’s to the position of motorcycle officer. body to Newport, and they served as Spencer had taken pursuit of the filling pallbearers at Spencer’s funeral, which station robbery suspect and was crossing was held at 10 a.m. on Aug. 29, 1928.
Those officers were Sgt. Papke, Patrolman J. Dean, Patrolman, Lloyd LaRue, Patrolman E.J. Templin, Patrolman T.E. Bell and Patrolman Frank Corn. The funeral was held at the home of Joe Carpenter, which was located near Parrottsville, and interment followed at Susong Cemetery in the Bridgeport community.
The original article, which ran in The Newport Plain Talk, listed the flower girls for the ceremony and said a nice floral arrangement was sent to the Carpenter home from the Newport Police Department and the Newport Board of Mayor and Aldermen soon after Spencer’s body arrived in Newport.
The service was officiated by the Rev. Quinton, of Morristown, who was assisted by the Rev. Huff.
“Mr. Spencer was one of the best officers on the Fordson force, as is attested by the fact that the department sent an escort of six officers with the body to Newport,” the article stated.
Spencer had spent two-and-a-half years as an officer for the Fordson Police Department.
The great-granddaughters of Spencer still live locally. They are Penny and Dawn Lee.
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