Lon Cemetery
a.k.a. Lee Ranch Cemetery, a.k.a. Joneta Cemetery, a.k.a. Mary Lee Cemetery
Submitted by Wayne Kuykendall
Format and editing by Kathe and Charles
Return to Lincoln County Cemetery Listing

5 US Boys
My wife and I found this tombstone in June of 2006 in a desolate portion of Lincoln County, New Mexico between Albuquerque and Roswell off County Road 247. We were looking for the grave of my great grandmother, Mary Lee. She died December 5, 1923 and was buried on her daughter and son-in-law's (my grandma and grandpa's) ranch. At that time there was a small community there known as Lon but it had long since disappeared along with all evidence of it's existence. The ranch was sold during WWII, before I was born, and all the family had moved away. My grandparents, father and all his siblings had passed away by then so the only directions we could get to the grave were the vague recollections of older cousins who had not been there for years. With the help of the Internet and a GPS we got close enough to receive a hostile greeting from the current ranch foreman (we were trespassing on his land in our search). After explaining our quest he calmed down and gave us the final directions to the grave and permission to visit it. I had seen pictures of my great grandmother's grave and thought it was alone on the prairie. As it turned out though it was in a small unkempt cemetery. Once we found great grandma's grave and paid our respects we went on to examine the other markers. Many were broken and unreadable but we collected the information we could for further research. The most curious tombstone though was the one inscribed “5 US Boys”. It seemed likely “5 US Boys” had something to do with WWII but why would soldiers have been buried here and why would they all be buried together with one quaint marker? This mystery bewildered us until, after inquiries, we began to receive responses from cousins that were at the ranch at the time of this burial.   They remembered a military plane had crashed on the ranch somewhere around 1941 or 1942. There were five aboard and all died in the crash. The military came out and quickly picked up the wreckage and what they could find of the bodies; however, after they left, my grandma and grandpa, along with their kids and grand kids, began to find body parts scattered over a large area that the military had missed. One cousin, who would have been about ten at the time, says he still has vivid memories of finding a portion of a leg. The family decided the respectful thing to do was to give the men a proper burial in the family cemetery. My grandmother inscribed the marker. With this information to go on, using Newspaper ARCHIVE.COM I was able to find the full story in the Albuquerque Journal dated October 29, 1941.

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The Ben Moseley who named the town was James Been Moseley (1865-1940 TX) and Charlotta Moseley who died in 1935 apparently his wife. I have a death certificate for a Charlotta Shannon Moseley, wife of James "Ben" Moseley who died in Roswell, Chaves Co., NM on March 14, 1935. Her certificate states that her body was sent to be buried in the Lon Cemetery but I can find no existence of such a cemetery. James Moseley and Charlotta Shannon had a son Cecil Moseley who in 1930 Census was in Joneta, Lincoln Co., NM. He in turn had a daughter named Lottie Maxine Moseley who died December 5, 1932 in Lincoln Co., NM.  (Extracted from a message board.)

Lon and Joneta were the same place. Lon had a post office from 1934 until 1943. The community was established in 1924 as Joneta for Mrs. Joneta Bagley. When Ben Mosely opened the Post Office, he changed the name to Lon for his son, Lonnie. Named for Lonnie Moseley by his father Ben; previously called Joneta for Joneta Bagley. 

From Find A Grave listed under Mary Lee Cemetery:
Birth: Jul. 4, 1834 Tennessee, USA
Death: Dec. 5, 1923 Lincoln County New Mexico, USA
Born Mary Kuykendall she was first married to George Corley who became a Confederate soldier and died in the Civil War.
She later married Tom Lee. She had three sons by George Corley and one daughter with Tom Lee. She died on her daughter and son-in-law's ranch in Lincoln County, New Mexico.

Obituary abstract: The obituary for Charlotte "Lottie" Moseley (wife of Ben). Her remains were taken to the family home in Lon, NM. Services were held and then she was buried at the Lon Cemetery.
Four of her sons lived at Lon, J. E. ; Cecil; Roy; and Curtis. The rest of her kids lived in Concho, Texas.

Census data from Ancestry.com
Name: John Lee
Age in 1910: 74
Estimated Birth Year: 1836
Birthplace: Scotland
Father's Birth Place: Scotland
Mother's Birth Place: Scotland
Spouse's Name: Mary Lee
Home in 1910: Carrizozo, Lincoln, New Mexico
Marital Status: Married Race: White Gender: Male
Year of immigration: 1836
Household Members:
John Lee 74
Mary Lee 69
James Lee 28
Jeanette Lee 26
Lula Lee 26
Alton Lee 5
Melvin Lee 3
Dayle Lee 1

John T. Lee (or John B. Lee)
Home in 1900: White Oaks, Lincoln, New Mexico
Jicarilla, Lincoln, New Mexico
Age: 64
Birth Date: Nov 1835
Birthplace: England
Race: White Gender: Male
Immigration Year: 1836
Father's Birthplace: England
Mother's Birthplace: England
Spouse's Name: Mary Lee Lee
Marriage year: 1863
Marital Status: Married
Years married: 37
John T. Lee 64
Mary Lee Lee 54
James Lee 20
May T. Lee 17
Jeanette Lee 16

Maxine Moseley
Home in 1930: Joneta, Lincoln, New Mexico
Age: 5 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1925
Relation to Head of House: Daughter
Father's name: C B Moseley
Mother's name: Amalize Moseley
Race: White
Name Age
C. B. Moseley 29
Amalize Moseley 24
Maxine Moseley 5
Carrol Moseley 3
Frances Moseley 2
Nyal Moseley 2/12