A few years ago my husband and I transcribed the Oak Ridge Cemetery. This is a large cemetery located on the north side of Kennett and some of the graves go back to the early 1900s. In order to get the information as correctly as possible, I used old funeral home records, death certificates, and newspaper clippings. One of the things that puzzled me was that some of the death certificates listed Willoughby Cemetery as the burial location. The only information I have found so far is that part of the north end of the cemetery was used for Kennett’s local African-American residents. The location of the current Willoughby Cemetery is actually about two blocks southwest of Oak Ridge.

All of this had me wondering about the person for whom Willoughby School and Willoughby Cemetery was named — Nelse Willougby. I found very little, but what I did find was fascinating. The following two articles from the local newspaper, The Daily Dunklin Democrat, tells the life story of a man who played an important part of daily life in Kennett, MO.

 

Nelse Willoughby

Birth: May 12, 1847
Death: Oct. 23, 1945

Obituary dtd 26 Oct 1945, The Daily Dunklin Democrat, pg 1

“Uncle Nelse” Died Tuesday Evening

“Uncle Nelse” Willoughby, probably Kennett’s oldest citizen, and certainly the most outstanding member of the negro race in this community, died Tuesday evening at his residence on North Vandeventer Street, where he had made his home for more than 48 years. “Uncle Nelse”, who retained a distinct memory of the Civil War, has said that he was born May 12, 1847, near Burlington, Tenn., which would make him 98 years old.

He had lived in Kennett for more than 60 years, according to early residents, who recall that Uncle Nelse was the original “pump man” in this community, and during that period before Kennett had water works, he was the man to whom everyone looked when they needed a pump driven or a point replaced. He carried his outfit in a one-horse wagon, and was a familiar sight throughout this community for a number of years, especially when he had almost an exclusive franchise on this type of work.

Uncle Nelse had been in poor health for the past several years and has been confined to his home for the past several weeks, except however, he attended his church services up until about two weeks ago, and had been quite active and worked every day up until he was about 92 years old. He carried on a small farming operation and did some truck gardening.

The high esteem in which he was held by the white people and by the members of his own race indicated the fact that the A.M.E. Church was named in his honor, and when the new colored school was built a few years ago, the Board of Education further honored this pioneer citizen by naming it the Nelse Willoughby School.

Uncle Nelse is survived by four children, a son, Hurl Willougby; three daughters, Mary Ivy, Carrie Brown and Florence Jones; by seven grandchildren; 12 great grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren

Funeral services will be held at 2:30 o’clock Sunday afternoon from the Willoughby Methodist Church in the northwest part of Kennett.

 

The Daily Dunklin Democrat, unknown date

Willoughby: Black Pioneer Came To Kennett as a Slave

(Editor’s note: In observance of Black History Week in Kennett, The Daily Dunklin Democrat’s Youth Co-Editor, Dana Green, has written a synopsis of the life of Kennett’s first black resident. Green is the great-granddaughter of Nelse Willoughby)

By Dana Green, Democrat Youth Co-Editor

Nelse Willoughby was the first black resident of Kennett, according to local tradition and family records.

Willoughby was born a slave in 1847, but the exact location of his birth is unknown. He and four other children born under the surname Owen were sold away from their mother at an early age. Willoughby was taken to Shelby County, Tenn., where his master gave him the surname of Willoughby.

Willoughby was brought to Kennett at approximately the age of nine by the grandfather of Bill Ballard Bragg. He lived and worked on his master’s farm near Kennett.

Willoughby lived in Kennett until 1908. He then moved his wife, Abbey, and his family to Caruthersville because there was no school for black students in Kennett at that time. His wife died in 1913 and then he moved with his family back to Kennett. He was so well liked by the local residents that he was able to get his same home back. His home was 714 North Vandeventer, a three-room house in Kennett. The house is still standing and is occupied today.

Willoughby worked at several jobs to support his 16 children. He drove a horse-drawn mail hack from Kennett to Clarkton before trains came to the area. He farmed, drove pumps, slaughtered hogs and was a janitor at the Presbyterian Church and the county courthouse.

Willoughby stayed in Kennett the rest of his life. He died in 1945 at the age of 98. He was survived by four of his 16 children. Florence Jones, his oldest daughter, and Hurl Willoughby, his youngest son, died within the next few years. Only two of his children long survived him: Mary Ivy and Carrie Brown, both who are still living in Kennett. Mary Ivy is 82 years old and Carrie Brown is 76 years old.

Willoughby founded the first black Methodist church in Kennett in 1920. It was called Willoughby Chapel and it is now known as the St. John A.M.E. Church. In 1952 Willoughby School, for black students, was founded and named in his honor. The school is now part of the Kennett Public School system, attended by kindergarten students. Willoughby Park and Willoughby Cemetery were also named for Kennett’s first black resident.

Willoughby was survived by 12 grandchildren, four of whom are living in Kennett: Bettye Pulley, Oscar Willoughby, Carrie Brooks and Mary Allen. Catherine Willoughby is a resident of Poplar bluff. Guy Willoughby, Fred Willoughby and Tom Willoughby are all residents of New York City, and Harry Willougby lives in Washington D. C.