Esther, I've never personally been to this particular cemetery, but I've been to some of the larger cemeteries in St. Louis such as Calvary and Bellefontaine Cemetery and many of their family plots are arranged in this circular fashion. Sometimes the mother and father will be in the center with all their children surrounding them, and sometimes there will be a big monument designating the surname(s) with the family members in a circle around it. There is one plot at Bellfontaine Cemetery that I think is particularly unique. The smaller monuments in a circle around the large center one are all open-faced books with the info on each respective family member inscribed on the pages of the open book. Therefore, I don't think that the circular shape is any indication of witchcraft. It's just an arrangement that you rarely see in rural areas. The next time you're in DeSoto, if you stop by the Calvary Cemetery on the Rock Road, you'll see the Cantwell family plot right along the roadway. It's designed in a circular fashion. By the way, this plot lost just about all of the big shade trees surrounding it in the recent tornado and may have sustained damage to the stones as well. The last time I was there was shortly after the storm and the stones could not be seen because the plot was covered with uprooted trees. It was really a sad sight. According to a Crawford County cemetery book I have most of the graves in the Woodlock Cemetery are of a family by the name of Woodlock. The oldest individuals in the cemetery appear to be Patrick D. Woodlock and his wife Henrietta P. (Pamella) Woodlock with the other graves appearing to be descendants and their families. Mr. Woodlock was born in Ireland in 1840 and came to the U.S. at the age of 16. He was married to his wife Henrietta on March 21, 1877. They had 12 children. Mr. and Mrs. Woodlock lived in St. James, Missouri about two years after their marriage then moved to Davisville where they lived and reared their family. Mr. Woodlock was a miller and engaged in the milling business up until about 15 years before his death in 1918. His wife Henrietta died in 1930 at the age of 76. Her obit indicates that she was for many years actively engaged in the management of the "Woodlock Resort" a well known hotel in Davisville. They appear to be a pretty normal family for their time from everything I can see in the book I have. There is even a veteran of the Spanish American War buried there in that cemetery. I'll bet this rumor got started because the name Woodlock and warlock are so similar. Bettye ----- Original Message ----- From: "crittersRus" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 1:10 PM Subject: [MOCRAWFO] Woodlock Cemetery > Some friends & myself were out at the Woodlock Cemetery near Davisville last week & it is a very unusual cemetery. I have been doing genealogy research for over 30 years & have been to a LOT of cemeteries & this is the first time I have ever seen one where the graves/tombstones are in a circle. We were also told it is a witch craft cemetery. Was wondering if anyone might have any information on this place. > > > ==== MOCRAWFO Mailing List ==== > Visit the Crawford County, MOGenWeb > http://www.rootsweb.com/~mocrawfo/ > > >