"Bone" Mizell - Joshua Creek Cemetery - Arcadia, Florida, USA - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

A legend in Florida, "Bone" Mizell died at the Fort Ogden train depot and is buried at Joshua Creek Cemetery near Arcadia. His grave marker contains several errors; his first name was Morgan, not Napolean, as some people assumed; his year of birth was 1863, not 1853; and although the family name was spelled with an "E" on the end, Bone spelled it without the final "E." The marker was at first erected on the wrong grave; his family had it relocated to the proper site but did not have any of the errors corrected. (source Find A Grave)

Description: Born in 1863 near Horse Creek in Pine Level, Florida, located just west of Arcadia off of State Road 70. Morgan Bonaparte "Bone" Mizell was the eighth of 12 children of Morgan and Mary Fletcher (Tucker) Mizell. "Bone" as he became to be known resulted in a shortening of his middle name of Bonaparte so as to not confuse him with his father who also was named Morgan and a cattleman. Bone was known state wide as a "Cracker Cowhunter" the original term for cowboys of that time. Up until 1949 when The Fence Law was passed, Florida cattle roamed freely throughout the state. Due to different herds mingling with each other it became necessary to identify them with brands and earmarks. Even though Bone was illiterate he had an uncanny ability to remember whose brands and earmarks were for each major cattle ranch and as such he became a most sought after cowhunter. He was also famous for pairing calves with their mothers. He worked for some of the most famous cattle barons of Florida including Ziba King, along with the Parker Brothers, Eli O. Morgan and Capt. F.A. Hendry. His reputation was known state wide but he actually worked the cattle scrubs from Kissimmee to the Everglades (Central and South Florida). In 1895 artist Frederic Remington came to Florida and used Bone as the model for his famous illustration "A Cracker Cowboy", this illustration was used in the August 1895 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine. It resulted in Cracker Cowhunters/Cowboys becoming a term still used today. Besides his famous "portrait" he has had a book written about him, "Florida Cow Hunter, The Life and Times of Bone Mizell" by Jim Bob Tinsley, a ballad penned by Ruby Leach Carson, titled "Ballard of Bone Mizell" and put to music by J.B. and Dottie Tinsley, and numerous newspaper articles and state history articles written about him. He had a reputation of being a prankster and a hard drinking man. So much so that his heavy drinking was the cause of his death. On his death certificate it is listed as, “Moonshine - went to sleep and did not wake up” Date of birth: 01/01/1863 Date of death: 07/14/1921 Area of notoriety: Historical Figure Marker Type: Headstone Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Sunrise to Sunset Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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