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Only a few miles from the rapid transit and noisy commerce of IH-35, and even closer to the lesser bustle of the state highway system, yet disturbed seldom by anything more strident than a bluejay's call is a tiny, private cemetery for which the pages of history almost closed many years ago....

Located in virgin timber near the center of a section the plot is surrounded by a wrought iron fence, complete with an entry gate that is almost obstructed by trees that have grown to maturity since the original installation.

Except in the dormant growing season of winter, the cemetery is almost impossible to see or find because of the lush, verdant growth of trees, underbrush, grass and briars.

Inside the fence are located two graves, marked by impressive granite monuments. They have been there for many years.

The first grave inside the gate is that of one Thomas A. McManus, who was exactly 21 years of age when he died less than a month after staking his claim in the Run of 1889!

There is no hint as to the cause of death for this young, unmarried man - just the poignant inscription; "Gone Too Soon."

The second stone marks the resting place of Jacob McManus, who lived 66 years before his death in 1903. The tiny cemetery is on the farm for which Jacob filed his claim after the Run. The two claims adjoined, and research has revealed that Thomas was the son of Jacob.

The Final Receipt was issued at Guthrie on November 12, 1894 with the following inscription; "Received of Jacob McManus Father and heir of Thomas A. McManus, dec. the sum of Four dollars and no cents, being the balance of payment required by law for the entry of (his quarter-section farm.)

Signed by Grover Cleveland, president of the United States, the original patent for the farm of Thomas McManus was issued on April 5, 1895 to "the heirs of Thomas A. McManus."

Jacob and Elizabeth sold Thomas' farm for $1500 in 1894 to T. J. Miller. The farm now belongs to Mrs. Marie Henke of Orlando, and has for many years.

The adjoining claim, which Jacob and his wife, Elizabeth had built into a farm, received its patent in 1892. After the death of Jacob in 1903, Elizabeth and one daughter sold it to Melissa A. and Minnie B. Miller. In 1905, the latter two sold it to Charles E. Hudspeth, a nearby farming neighbor.

The signatures of the two Miller women on the Warranty Deed was acknowledged before a Notary Public in Linn county, Oregon; indicating they had moved far from the original Oklahoma homestead.

Present owner of this farm is Al Turner of Orlando, former John Deere dealer and retired Polled Hereford breeder.

The two farms originally claimed by McManus, father and son, are now productive wheat and pasture operations, complete with another "cash crop;" producing oil and gas wells.

But the small cemetery in the dense woods remains tranquil and undisturbed, except for an occasional visit by wildlife and/or a people-person wishing to get away from civilization for a little while.