The Graveyard Rabbit of the California Central Coast: April 2009

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Tuesday's Child: The Kelley Children

Today’s "Tuesday’s Child(ren)" are the Kelley boys: Hugh P., Leo, and Willie. According to their headstones, all three are the children of H.S. and E.M. Kelley. They are buried in the Santa Maria Cemetery, Santa Maria, California.

According to cemetery records, Leo Kelley was interred on January 6, 1887. Willie Kelley was interred on January 15, 1887. The Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society’s online database indicates that both boys were born in 1887, so they were most likely twins who died shortly after birth.

Hugh Perry Kelley died May 16, 1903, at the age of "15 yrs, 4 mos, & 8 d’s."

Buried next to the three boys is Ella M. Kelley, born in 1859 and died March 30, 1890 at the age of 30. Ella is most likely the boys' mother.

In the 1900 U.S. census, a Hugh S. Kelly is found living in Santa Barbara County, California, 8th Township. Hugh is now married to Sadie, and is living with son Hugh P., age 13, and daughters "Lotte," age 3, and Mildred A., age 1.

It’s obvious that Sadie is not Hugh P.’s mother because Sadie is listed as having had 2 children, 2 of which are living. Sadie was born in 1875, which would have made her only 13 when Hugh P. was born – not impossible, but also not likely! Finally, under "Nativity," Hugh P.'s mother's place of birth is listed as Iowa. Sadie is listed as having been born in California. So this is more evidence that Ella M. Kelley is indeed Hugh P.’s deceased mother.

1900 U.S. Census (Click to enlarge)

Hugh S. Kelley is found in the 1910 U.S. Census at the age of 50 living with wife "Sarah," age 35, and daughters Charlotte E., age 13, and Mildred A., age 11.

Sadie is found in the 1920 U.S. census listed as the 43 year old, widowed, head of household, living with daughter Charlotte, her husband George Radke, and their 1 year old son Hugh R. Also in the household are daughter Mildred, now 21 years old, and sister-in-law Charlotte Quinn.

[Note: Hugh R. is listed as "son," which would technically make him Sadie's son, since she is the head of household. However, George is listed as "son-in-law" and Charlotte is listed as "wife." Charlotte is obviously not the wife of Sadie, so it's more likely that the enumerator made an error, and Hugh R. is Charlotte’s son, not Sadie's.].

Hugh Sylvester "Keley" is buried in the Santa Maria Cemetery. He was interred on December 2, 1917. Sadie (Bradley) Kelley is also found in the Santa Maria Cemetery. She was born on July 12, 1875, and died on February 14, 1958 at the age of 82. I do not have photos of either grave... yet.

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SOURCES:

All headstones pictured in this article were photographed by Elizabeth O'Neal, November 11, 2008. Privately held by Elizabeth O’Neal, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Santa Barbara Co., California. 2009.

California Department of Health Services. "California Death Index, 1940-1997." Database. Rootsweb.com, http://www.rootsweb.com/: 2009.

California. Santa Barbara County. 1900 U.S. census, population schedule. Digital images. Heritage Quest. http://persi.heritagequestonline.com/: 2009. From National Archives microfilm publication T623, roll 110.

California. Santa Barbara County. 1910 U.S. census, population schedule. Digital images. Heritage Quest. http://persi.heritagequestonline.com/: 2009. From National Archives microfilm publication T624, roll 105.

California. Santa Barbara County. 1920 U.S. census, population schedule. Digital images. Heritage Quest. http://persi.heritagequestonline.com/: 2009. From National Archives microfilm publication T625, roll 146.

"Santa Maria Cemetery, 1872-2001." Database. Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society. http://santabarbaragenealogy.org/Santa_Maria_Cemetery/Santa_Maria_Web_8Feb04/: 2009.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Tuesday's Child: Homer C. Douglass

Amy, the author of "We Tree," did an interesting post this morning called "Tombstone Tuesday: Between Censuses." In it, she featured the headstone of a child who was born and died during the 10 year span between U.S. federal censuses. Her purpose was that since these children are never recorded in the U.S. Census, records of their existence just seem to fall through the cracks.

I've been photographing cemeteries for several years, and it makes me so sad to see the graves of these forgotten, little children, particularly the ones with no family graves nearby. You just know that someone once loved them very much, and was devastated by the child's passing. But now that child is alone... no visitors, no flowers. It's possible that living relatives don't even know they ever existed.

So I would like to start a series called "Tuesday's Child" in which I'll feature photos of the graves of children. Hopefully somebody will see them and make a connection so these little angels will not be forgotten.

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Today's child is Homer C. Douglass.

Homer was the son of W.H. and M.B. Douglass. He died on September 17, 1896, at the age of 1 year, 2 mos., and is buried in the Lompoc Evergreen Cemetery, Lompoc, California.

Photo of Homer C. Douglass Headstone, Photographed by Elizabeth O’Neal, January 24, 2009. Privately held by Elizabeth O’Neal, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Santa Barbara Co., California. 2009.