Helena Conley

Helena Gros Conley (September 10, 1864 – September 15, 1958) was a Wyandot activist and self-styled sorceress known for her fierce defense of the Huron Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas. Along with her sisters, Lyda and Ida, she gained national attention for occupying the cemetery in a makeshift fort to prevent its sale and development by the federal government. Conley was particularly noted for her role in physically guarding the grounds, her use of curses against political opponents, and her reputation as a "force to be reckoned with."

Early life and education Helena Conley was born on September 10, 1864, on a farm near Nearman station in Wyandotte County, Kansas. She was the third of four daughters born to Andrew Serenes Conley and Eliza Burton Zane. Contending that the ground was sacred and should not be disturbed, the sisters launched a multi-year campaign to resist the sale.

In a direct act of occupation, the sisters moved onto the cemetery grounds to protect them. They maintained their vigil for nearly five years in total, defying United States marshals and police who attempted to interfere. Helena Conley was described as a "force to be reckoned with". On one occasion, she caught a young boy climbing the cemetery fence and confronted him. Upon learning he was climbing in to visit his little brother's grave, she brought him into the shack to comfort and console him. Upon her arrest, she refused to give her name or age to the police sergeant. In later years, she asserted that a 1951 flood in Kansas City was caused by a curse she placed on the city after her home was sold for taxes.

Later life and death In her later years, Conley lived at 1704 North Third Street in Kansas City, where she often recounted stories of her curses to visitors. She was the last survivor of her immediate family.

Conley died at her home on September 15, 1958, at the age of 94, believed to have suffered a heart attack. Funeral services were held at Gibson Chapel and officiated by reverend Judd Jones. Although she had previously expressed a wish in 1956 to have her ashes thrown into the Missouri River, she changed her mind and requested burial in a walnut casket.

She was buried in the Huron Cemetery. Her tombstone bears the Wyandot name "Floating Voice" and the inscription: "Cursed Be The Villain That Molest Their Graves". At her funeral, a friend sprinkled sweet balsam on her coffin, fulfilling a specific request Conley had made.