“Gypsies & More…“
by Rena Mae (Lents) Thomas (1940-2021)
This is a follow up of an earlier article on Gypsies.
Joies and Broadway families-
When I first heard about there being gypsies buried in Salem Cemetery, the Queen and King of the Gypsies, no less, I just had to see for myself. One nice day recently, my husband and I drove over to East Lawn Cemetery just out of curiosity to see what was there. We had been told that the names we were looking for was Joies and Broadway. We were amazed at the size and greatness of the Gravestones. Obviously not inexpensive.
There has always been a mystery surrounding this nomadic race of people and I personally feel there always will be. for one thing, they were and still are, very reluctant to talk about their lifestyle to outsiders. Thus, many of the secrets in their ways of living shall remain lost to the general public forever.
As before mentioned, the Gypsy population loved bright colors and much of Eastern Marion County history is brightened by these gypsy colorations of the Samual Joies family. They were once a member of the traveling clan until the couple lost two of there daughters and had them interred at East Lawn Cemetery on the east edge of Salem. Why there, you might wonder. Well, the traveling clan had once come across this beautiful spot while passing through from Ohio to Missouri during the summer of 1890, when they camped within sight of the cemetery.
These burials at East Lawn Cemetery gave them a permanent attachment to the area. They found property west and North of Xenia in the Woodlawn Church area. Sam Joies and his wife, Betsy, purchased land there near Skillet Fork on the state road between Xenia and Iuka. This Old Road had been a favorite route for the nomads for many years. Gypsy Sam Joies acquired a fine reputation and was known throughout the area for his fair dealing. Not exactly how we often see gypsies described.
The visit to East Lawn Cemetery and the final resting place of these Gypsy clan members pieced together a large part of the history.
Gypsy Sam’s granddaughter, Estella (known as Stella) became “Queen” of the clan upon the death of Sam. She was married to Richard Broadway and both are buried in East Lawn with impressive stones. He died after her and the floral displays were reportedly spectacular. He was 54 and his wife, Stella, had been 47 at her death.
Her son, Charles Ray Broadway and his wife, Mezzella, became acting “Queen” and “King” at Richard and Stella’s death. They are also buried in East Lawn on separate plot a short distance away.
Although Sam Joies had lived to the older age of 75,1 couldn’t help noticing how much younged some of the older ones were. Stella was 47 and Mezzella, 44, and Charles Broadway only 36.
An attendant at the cemetery came over that day we were there and ask if we had any questions about the Gypsies. According to him, these grave sites have been a continuous tourist attractions or curiosity for many years.
The attendent told us a story about the death of Charles Broadway. Apparently, the Gypsies held the dead in high esteem and came every Memorial Day to decorate the graves, often staying all day at the graves, picnicking, singing and dancing and the like. When King Charles Broadway came to Salem for the Memorial Day celebration he stayed at the Holiday Inn, so the attendant told us. Charles weighed in access of 500 pounds, according to him. He died that day, possible of a heart attack, while at the Holiday Inn. He was also buried at the East Lawn Cemetery.
We were told that a man visits the Broadway graves fairly regular. He drives a big fancy car and is bedecked in jewels, quietly visiting the graves and leaving as quietly as he came. It is not known who he is or where he lives, but he is perhaps the son of Charles and Mezzele. He obviously has some special connection to the family.
Just another one of those mysteries I spoke about earlier. Their life may have had some secrets but whatwas known publicly was thought to be a very fair minded, generous clan of people who inhabited the area.
Until Next Time…………Rena Lents Thomas
(Rena Lents Thomas (1940-2021), Clay County Republican, Louisville, Illinois, Page Three, December 27, 2017)