What are the origins of Johann Nicholas Biehl?
Last week we kicked off the research project with the end goal of identifying the German origins of Johann Nicholas Biehl. You can find that post here.
I introduced the first generation we are going to start on which is Mary Jane Beal. I had visited the cemetery where she was buried in 2024 and photographed the tombstone.
Friendship Cemetery, Springdale, Arkansas
Friendship Cemetery is located at 1980 E. Friendship Road in Springdale, Arkansas. The cemetery had its beginning with the Friendship United Baptist Church of Christ, which was organized on 29 May 1847. The cemetery appears to have been founded in 1860 when property was purchased, and a new church building was built. The original church was a log building.[1] Mary Jane’s tombstone is in the “original cemetery section” of the cemetery near the church.[2] There is a tombstone transcription project of the “Old Original Cemetery Section” being done by Rosa Cline. This project was started in 2002 and includes the four Henry graves that will be discussed below.[3] As shown in the photo, the graves are in a line starting with Mary Jane’s.
Tombstones
Based on the tombstone, it appears that Mary Jane may have gone by her middle name, Jane, as her tombstone is inscribed “Jane M.” Here is the transcription:
“[Image of bible with the words “HOLY BIBLE”]
JANE M.
Wife of
Jas. Henry
BORN
Feb. 15, 1828.
DIED
Nov. 8, 1876.
A loving wife, a mother
dear, a faithful friend
lies buried here.
[Merley & Son?]
Fayetteville”[4]
I compared this to the transcription project information, and it matches except they transcribed her birth year erroneously as 1826 while it is clearly 1828 as you can see when you compare the “6” in 1876 to the “8” in 1828. When they transcribed the tombstone, the transcriber considered the verse at the bottom to be illegible.
The other Henry tombstones that were to the right of Jane’s are:
“[Image of clasped hands]
ALBERT B.
Son of
J. & M. J. Henry
BORN
Apr. 28, 1855,
DIED
Dec. 20, 1877.
“The Lord giveth & the Lord
taketh away. Blessed be the
name of the Lord.”[5]
“[Image of bird]
ELIZA R.
Wife of
Jas. Henry
BORN
Jan. 15, 1837.
DIED
July 31, 1893.
She was a faithful wife, a
a loving mother, a [Zelous?]
Christian, She was loved
by many & respected
by all.”[6]
“JAMES HENRY
1822 1910
ARK. MOUNTED INF. VOL.
1847 1848”[7]
From the tombstones, we can summarize the information as follows:
James Henry was born in 1822 and died in 1910. He served in the Arkansas Mounted Inf. Volunteers from 1847 to 1848. He had at least two wives. His first wife may have been Jane M. Henry, who was born 15 February 1828 and died 8 November 1876. James and Mary Jane Henry had a son named Albert B. Henry. He was born 28 April 1855 and died 20 December 1877. James Henry’s second wife may have been Eliza R. Henry, who was born 15 January 1837 and died 31 July 1893.
To continue research, we want to access all the available census records. We also want to obtain marriage records and James reportedly had military service during the Mexican War.
Next up: Continuing the research with census records for Mary Jane Henry and her husband, James.
[1] “Our History,” Origins of Friendship Cemetery, Friendship Cemetery Association (https://www.gofriendship.com/our_history : accessed 21 October 2025).
[2] “Cemetery Block/Section Map,” Friendship Cemetery Association (https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/5bc3afc5-4fd7-4304-9635-235d358090ad/Friendship%20Block-Section%20Map-0002.pdf : accessed 21 October 2025).
[3] “Old Original Cemetery Section by Rosa Cline,” Friendship Cemetery Association (https://sites.rootsweb.com/~arcemete/washington/friendship-old.htm : accessed 21 October 2025). I found errors in the transcriptions of the Henry tombstones.
[4] Jane M. Henry tombstone, Original Cemetery Section, Friendship Cemetery, Springdale, Arkansas; photographed by Debra A. Hoffman on 26 August 2024.
[5] Albert B. Henry tombstone, Original Cemetery Section, Friendship Cemetery, Springdale, Arkansas; photographed by Debra A. Hoffman on 26 August 2024
[6] Eliza R. Henry tombstone, Original Cemetery Section, Friendship Cemetery, Springdale, Arkansas; photographed by Debra A. Hoffman on 26 August 2024
[7] James Henry tombstone, Original Cemetery Section, Friendship Cemetery, Springdale, Arkansas; photographed by Debra A. Hoffman on 26 August 2024
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