Cyrus Nott's obituary reads as follows: "Gravette, Dec. 31, 1921 -- Cyrus L. Nott, who located in this vicinity in 1873, died and was buried on Christmas Day in the Donovan cemetery, near the home of his daughter, Mrs. J.S. Cash. Mr. Nott was born in New York, served in the Civil War with the New York Light Artillery, and was in 21 battles. He leaves several children. The funeral was conducted by Rev. R.M. Phillips, pastor of the Christian Church here, of which Mr. Nott has been a member since 1887."
That cemetery, now known as the Nott Cemetery, is located in the Highlands off McGrath Blvd. between Burnmouth Place and Brimsness Lane. Access to the cemetery is via a trail that goes north off the cul de sac of Brimsness Lane. It came to be known as the Nott Cemetery because only the graves of Mr. Nott, his wife Frances, daughter Jennifer, and three others are there. It was originally called the Donovan Cemetery, probably because its location is believed to be near the site of the former School #5 which was known as the Donovan School, named after William Donovan, who sold the land to the school district. That school served for 65 years but was annexed into the Gravette district in 1949. The building stood until Cooper Communities began to develop the Highlands area in the 1970s. The Nott Cemetery now stands on Property Owners Association common property.
While the Nott family attended the Christian Church in Gravette, the nearby Donovan School was used as a church on weekends. A separate church was built in 1935 less than a mile west, originally called the Blackjack Church, after the blackjack oak logs from which it was built. Eventually, the congregation decided to change its name to Donovan to keep the Donovan community name alive. The church is located at the corner of Rocky Dell Hollow Road and Highlands Blvd.
Cyrus Nott was born in 1840 in Chaumont, N.Y., and enlisted in the military in Watertown, N.Y., in October 1861. He mustered out in Elmira, N.Y., in June 1865. It is not known where he fought in the 21 battles mentioned in his obituary but, sometime between 1865 and 1873, he made the decision to settle in Arkansas. He and his wife Frances, who was born in New Jersey in 1840, were married in 1866. They had a son, Frederick, in 1870, reportedly born in Illinois, and two years later, in 1872, they had twin girls reportedly born in Kansas. In 1876, another son, Alonzo, was born. By 1880, they show on the census as being in Benton County, Arkansas, where his occupation was listed as "farmer."
One of the twins, Jennifer, married George Freeman in 1897 and had one child, a daughter named Golden, but Jennifer died at the early age of 28. Her cause of death is unknown. She is buried near her parents.
The other twin, Nellie, married John Cash. She had several children, lived into her 80s, and died in 1955. She is buried at the Hillcrest Cemetery in Gravette.
Frances died in 1907, and Cyrus remarried in 1911 to Mary McCloud Boaz. Her husband, Allen Boaz, had died in 1910. She and Cyrus were married for 10 years when he died, and she lived four more years, until 1925.
Lucas is a volunteer with the Bella Vista Historical Museum, located on Highway 71 next to the former American Legion building. The museum is open Saturdays and Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m., with covid restrictions in place. Admission is free.
