Montvill's Resting Place

A closeup of Montvill's probable burial spot.

It's not often that I have pictures of burial locations where there is not tombstone.

Kerry Scott of ClueWagon discovered the location for Montvill's burial in the Mountain Valley Cemetery in Barton, New Mexico, using a list of burials from a 1968 issue of the New Mexico Genealogist and information on Montvill's death certificate.

Montvill had no stone when Kerry visited the cemetery the weekend of March 22. Based on the fact that Montvill's family did not live in the area at the time of his death, I am speculating that a permanent stone was never erected.

Montvill Harness' probable burial spot is between
the tombstone (on the left) and the brush to the right of it.

Kerry also include some panoramic shots to provide some area of the terrain in the area. The mountains made travel more difficult in 1925 when Montvill died than they do today.

Montvill died after falling from his horse near Venus and breaking his neck.Why he is buried in this cemetery is a mystery to me at this point. I also am currently unaware of any connection between Montvill and Earl Farmer who was the informant on the death certificate.

Cemetery entrance

A big thanks to Kerry for making the trip to the cemetery for me. Her two children went with her as a weekend educational experience.

Genealogy Lessons:

• Not everyone has a stone
• Remember local geography when thinking about where your ancestor went to church, did business, etc. 
• Plat out the relative location of places mentioned in documents when you are unfamiliar with them. There's a significant distance between Montvill's place of death and place of burial.