AKA Davis-Bowe-McCargo and AKA Tinsley Davis Cemetery.

Research in the 1950's and 60's was done by Tinsley's gg-granddaughter Doris Davis Meux who compiled the list of the cemetery burials. (She is buried in Edmondson Cemetery.) Gravestone Inscriptions from Shelby County Tennessee Cemeteries, Vol. III, pp. 74-78, published in 1995, contains this list furnished by Doris Davis Meuxwith with slight variations.

Here at this website is a typed version.
http://register.shelby.tn.us/gravestone/viewimage.php?imgtype=pdfℑ=3074_tinsley_davis_family.tif

History: On May 28, 1838, while living in Limestone County, AL, Tinsley Davis purchased 640 acres in Shelby County, TN. He packed up his entire family and moved there. On the death of his son John Hector Davis in 1839, Tinsley designated an acre on a rise surrounded by tall trees for a family burial ground. Over the course of the next 90 years at least 67 family members and their relatives were buried there. The last burial there in 1929 was a grandson, also named John Hector Davis.

The 640 acres purchased by Tinsley Davis are bordered by Shelby Drive on the north, Tchulahoma Rd on the west, Getwell Road on the east and Holmes Road on the south. This land is just one mile north of the Mississippi/ Tennessee border. Many family connections exist between the inhabitants of this cemetery and those in Edmondson Cemetery in DeSoto County,MS, just south of the Tinsley Davis cemetery.

The visible traces of the cemetery are gone, swallowed in a field called Easthaven Park in the midst of a subdivision built in 1974. The City allocated a 90' by 120' plot in a corner of the "Park" for the cemetery even though the cemetery was originally an acre. The developer left an entrance into the field for family to visit the cemetery. The TN Genealogical Society recorded a few remaining stones in the early 1970s and even those do not remain now so there is little to visit.

Before the land was subdivided, it had been leased to a dairyman who pulled up the stones because his cattle were bumping into them and injuring themselves. There were reports that a City of Memphis truck carted off the old tombstones lying next to the fence in the 1970s.

One stone next to the fence and a stone under the sod were found in 2005. The stone was covered back up for protection. There may be more stones hidden in the ground, but the actual burial location of each individual has been lost.

The cemetery land was taxed by the City of Memphis who had lost the fact that the small plot was a cemetery and not taxable. The cemetery was listed for sale for back taxes in 2005.

Despite proof that the land had been a documented family cemetery since 1839, the City of Memphis would not forgive the back taxes and would not reclassify the land unless the taxes were paid. Jean Rawlings Meaney, ggg-granddaughter of Tinsley Davis, paid the back taxes (about $1000) so the land would not be sold, and the land was once again reclassified as a cemetery and left undeveloped.

This land is very personal to Jean. Her gggg-grandmother Rebecca Bowe Ragland, 3 of her ggg-grandparents (including Tinsley), 2 of her gg-grandparents and her
g-grandmother Frances Eugenia Davis Elam are buried there. This virtual cemetery, showing the relationships between the individuals and information about them, is intended to act as a memorial to them and their kith and kin.

This tribute could not have been made without the considerable help of Jean's fifth cousin, Dr. David Ragland Davis, also a descendant of Rebecca Bowe Ragland.
David was a true gentleman and an avid genealogist, diligently researching and recording Davis family members. Much of the information about the cemetery residents was gathered by David. He and his family are buried in Edmondson Cemetery.

A historical marker for these early settlers of Memphis should be placed at the location of this Cemetery.

Location: This geographical description of the cemetery's location is from a website by Anita White. This website also tabulates the names in the cemetery without the relationships.

"This cemetery is located on the east side of Tchulahoma Road 7/10 mile south of Shelby Drive inside a subdivision On Cloudland Drive, 2/10 mile east of intersection with Morningview Dr. Entrance into subdivision from Tchulahoma Road is just south of this place onto Morning Wind Drive

GPS - N35 00 51.4 W089 57 02.2 N35.01428 W-89.95060 B3 Southeast Memphis"

http://register.shelby.tn.us/gravestone/viewimage.php?imgtype=pdfℑ=3074_tinsley_davis_family.tif

The City of Memphis tax pages has a photo
http://gis.register.shelby.tn.us/index.php?task=update≫=shelby&extent%5B0%5D=785573.3857&extent%5B1%5D=270824.822&extent%5B2%5D=786169.1057&extent%5B3%5D=271420.542&roads=on&cemeteries=on∥=on&orthos2013=on&parcelid=094120%20B00273&f=layersfolder&b=info