Our Arklahoma Heritage: Missouri couple made their forever home in Benton County in 1871
- Dennis McCaslin
- Aug 29, 2025
- 2 min read
In a quiet section of Mount Hebron Cemetery in Cave Springs, the graves of Bazel Pryor David Sr. and Caroline Louisa "Luiza" Brown David stand as silent sentinels of a bygone era.
Their story, woven into the fabric of 19th-century America, is one of family and the relentless pursuit of a better life across the frontier. As historians and descendants reflect on their legacy, the Davids’ journey from Indiana to the Ozarks offers a window into the challenges and triumphs of pioneer life.
Born in October 1834 in Indiana, Bazel was the son of Jeremiah David and Susannah Prather, a couple whose ancestry was rooted in the rugged landscapes of Virginia and Kentucky. Luiza, born July 9, 1839, in Corydon, Indiana, to Henry Brown Sr. and Charlotte Payton, grew up in a world of opportunity and uncertainty.
The two met in Montevallo Township, Vernon County, Missouri, where they married on July 31, 1856, embarking on a 60-year partnership that would see them raise nine children and traverse multiple states.
The couple’s early years in Missouri saw the birth of their first children: Alfred Eugene in 1856 and John in 1859, the latter of whom tragically died before 1870. By 1860, the Davids relocated to Gentry County, Missouri, where Sterling Price (1862), Mary Jane (1865), Bazel Jr. (1866), and Elizabeth Cass (1868) were born.
The Civil War’s turmoil likely influenced their decisions, though Bazel’s near-blindness in his left eye may have kept him from military service. In 1871, the family settled in La Rue on the White River in Benton County, welcoming daughter Anice in 1873.
A final move to Elm Springs, Washington County, around 1874 brought Corba Eli (1874) and Katherine Rene (circa 1880) into the world.
Each move reflected the Davids’ search for stability in a region marked by economic flux and post-war reconstruction.
Their children’s lives mirrored the diversity of the era. Alfred, who married Mary Etta "Tennie" Ford and later Elizabeth, lived until 1944 in Tulsa.
Sterling Price, named perhaps for the Confederate general, settled in Bentonville until his death in 1950.
Mary Jane and her husband, David Franklin Meadow, rest in Elm Springs Cemetery, while Bazel Jr. and his wife, Emma Dee Morris, found a home in Oklahoma.
Anice and Corba remained in Arkansas, unmarried, their lives tied to the Ozarks’ rolling hills.
Less is known of Elizabeth and Katherine, whose stories remain elusive.
Today, their graves in Mount Hebron Cemetery draw descendants and history enthusiasts alike.
As northwest Arkansas continues to grow, the quiet testimony of Bazel and Luiza David endures, a reminder of the pioneers who shaped the region’s heart and soul.
