Barrow Cemetery, located on Island 37 in Tipton County, Tennessee. This area is on the west side of the Mississippi River. It is part of Tipton County but across the river because of the violent shift in the Mississippi River.
A lot of the headstones are no longer visible so most of the information came from old records found at Covington City Hall and the public library.
Because of the Centennial Cut-Off, a sudden and violent change in the course of the Mississippi River in 1876, a large portion of Tipton County, Tennessee was separated from the mainland of the state. After the Cut-Off occurred, this Tennessee land was on the west (usually the Arkansas) side of the Mississippi River, where, though much changed in form, it is located today. The islands are reached by driving about eight miles from either Frenchman’s Bayou or Joiner, Mississippi County, Arkansas.
There are four burying-grounds on the islands: The Barrow Cemetery, the Williams Cemetery, the 37 Graveyard, and the Corona Graveyard.
The Barrow Cemetery is located beside the main (dirt) road on Island 37. The land is presently owned by Clyde WHISTLE of Osceola, Arkansas. The approximate dimensions of the cemetery are 40 x 50 yards. A decorative iron fence separates the Barrow graves from the others.
[The Tennessee Genealogical Magazine, Ansearchin’ News, Vol. 31, No. 2, Summer 1984]
| Name | DOB | DOD | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barrow, A. J. | 6 Jan 1868 | 10 Jan 1886 | Broken obelisk |
| Barrow, E. D. | 26 Sep 1866 | 12 Sep 1904 | |
| Barrow, Elisabeth | 1844 | 16 Jun 1889 | Broken obelisk |
| Barrow, G. L. | 20 Feb 1878 | 16 Oct 1900 | Broken obelisk |
| Barrow, Infant Son | 18 Feb 1898 | 25 Feb 1898 | |
| Barrow, Iva Siscelia | 9 Dec 1900 | 10 Aug 1902 | Dau. of E.D. and L.A. Barrow |
| Barrow, L. A. | 24 Feb 1874 | 2 Dec 1901 | No pain, no grief, no anxious fear, can reach the peaceful sleeping here |
| Barrow, L. G. | 1832 | 25 Dec 1885 | Broken obelisk |
| Barrow, Salem | 24 Jan 1885 | 24 Nov 1900 | |
| Blunt, Eugenia T | 6 Jan 1872 | 7 Mar 1899 | Broken obelisk |
| Howard, John C | 1 Jan 1844 | 1 Jan 1914 | |
| Lee, Dora A | 16 Mar 1884 | 12 May 1901 | |
| Lee, Infant | 1882 | 1882 | |
| Lee, Isabelle | 20 Jun 1879 | 4 Feb 1898 | Dau. of T and S.L. Lee |
| Lee, Taylor | 10 Jul 1847 | 23 Sep 1890 | |
| Lee, Twins | 1889 | 1889 | Sleeping Dear Children and Take Thy Rest, In Jesus Arms Forever Blest |
| Miller, Infant Son | 18 Feb 1898 | 25 Feb 1898 | Infant son of B.F. and C.B. Miller |
| Miller, Oliver F | 5 Nov 1895 | 14 Feb 1898 | Budded on Earth to Bloom in Heaven |
| Morse, Cora | 21 Aug 1899 | 3 Nov 1899 | Dau. of J.L. and M.P. Morse |
| Wise, Martha A. | 31 Jul 1870 | 12 Nov 1898 |
NOTE: There are many places in Tipton and Shelby counties where the river [Mississippi] has “straightened itself” over the years, leaving much Tennessee land west of the river. One of these places is Centennial Cutoff, named for the fact that the river made the shift during a single day in the year 1876. Centennial Cutoff removed a bend in the river that was called “Devil’s Elbow” and created a new island, Island 37. Because of confusion about which state owned the island, it became a harbor for lawbreakers, which is why the Arkansas militia raided the island in July 1915. In the 1918 case known as State of Arkansas v. State of Tennessee, the Supreme Court ruled that the piece of land then known as Island 37 was still part of Tennessee. Today the river has completely shifted to the east side of what was once known as Island 37; the land is attached to the Arkansas side but still part of Tennessee. [Written by Bill Carey founded Tennessee History for Kids]