Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Tuesday's Child: John Leslie Bruce


Today's "Tuesday's Child" is John Leslie Bruce.

John was born on July 5, 1905. He died on November 20, 1907, at the age of 2 years, 4.5 months. He is buried in Arroyo Grande Cemetery, Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo County, California.

I do not know the names of his parents; however, there are several people buried in this cemetery with the surname Bruce. To search the PDF database of the Arroyo Grande Cemetery, click here.

J. Leslie Bruce's Headstone, Photographed by Elizabeth O’Neal, September 13, 2008. Privately held by Elizabeth O’Neal, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Santa Barbara Co., California. 2009.

Copyright © by Elizabeth O'Neal

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.

Copyright © by Elizabeth O'Neal

____________________

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.

____________________

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.

Copyright © by Elizabeth O'Neal

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Photo Headstones: A Genealogical Treasure

During previous visits to the Santa Maria Cemetery in Santa Maria, I’ve noticed that a few of the headstones display photos of the deceased. This is not uncommon, of course, as photo headstones are found in cemeteries everywhere.

However, on a recent visit, I discovered that the Santa Maria Cemetery has an entire section of these photo headstones. What a genealogical treasure!

Here's an example of one of the photo stones in this section:


Headstone of Manuel and Belvina Madruga.


Detail of photos and dates on Madruga Headstone.


Photo of Manuel F. Madruga found on headstone.


Photo of Belvina G. Madruga found on headstone.

I would be absolutely thrilled to find such a gem of a headstone for any of my ancestors!

*****

Manuel Felipe Madruga was born in 1871/72 in Poco, Azores, Portugal. He emigrated to the United States in approximately 1888, and was naturalized as a citizen on May 12, 1902, in San Luis Obispo, California. He lived in Nipomo and worked as a rancher in San Luis Obispo County. Manuel died in 1922.

Belvina Gularte Madruga was born on September 14, 1881, in California. She died on November 16, 1940 in Santa Barbara County, California. Belvina must have remarried after Manuel died because she is listed as Belvina Gularte Lewis in the Cemetery's records.

Manuel and Belvina were married in abt. 1900, and had at least five children.


SOURCES:

California Department of Health Services. “California Death Index, 1940-1997.” Database. Ancestry.com,
http://www.ancestry.com/ : 2008.

California. San Luis Obispo County. 1910 U.S. census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com.
http://www.ancestry.com/ : 2008. From National Archives microfilm publication T624, roll 104.

California. San Luis Obispo County. 1920 U.S. census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com.
http://www.ancestry.com/ : 2008. From National Archives microfilm publication T625, roll 144.

Madruga Headstone Photos, Photographed by Elizabeth O’Neal, November 29, 2008. Privately held by Elizabeth O’Neal, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Santa Barbara Co., California. 2008.

Manuel Madruga Passport Application. U.S. Passport Applications, January 2, 1906-March 31, 1925. Digital Images. Ancestry.com.
http://www.ancestry.com/ : 2008. From General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"Santa Maria Cemetery District, 1872-2001." Database. Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society.
http://www.cagenweb.com/santabarbara/sbcgs/Santa_Maria_Cemetery/ : 2008.

Copyright © 2008 by Elizabeth O'Neal

Saturday, November 8, 2008

The Tragic Demise of Mary L. Sargent


"Mary L. Sargent's Headstone at Lompoc Cemetery" Digital image. Photographed by Elizabeth O’Neal, November 23, 2007. Privately held by Elizabeth O’Neal, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Santa Barbara Co., California. 2008.

My little bunny and I were out hopping around the Lompoc Cemetery last fall when we ran across this lovely, well-preserved headstone. The inscription reads:

Mary L. Sargent
Aged21 Y's & 8 D's
Murdered by Indians
Apr. 2, 1881
I had seen Mary's headstone on several previous trips to the cemetery, and had always wondered about her story. This time, I asked the cemetery manager for a bit of Mary's story. Apparently, it was quite a scandal!

Says the Lompoc Historical Society:

[Mary] had left on horseback to go to a neighbor for eggs in the Santa Rita District. Her horse returned without her that evening. A search party was formed and her body discovered in a shallow grave. An Indian sheep herder was held as suspect, since the footprints at the scene matched his. His clothes were also bloody, and there was blood on his lariat. He denied doing the deed and blamed it on another man, whom he could not identify. He was found guilty on the spot and hanged. The Chumash, who inhabited this area before European arrival were a peaceful people. The only instance of violence was an Indian revolt at La Purisima Mission. The sheep herder was of Chumash descent and had come from the Santa Cota Reservation in Santa Ynez.
Can you imagine anyone being found "guilty on the spot" today?

One of the things that struck me about this headstone (other than the "murdered by Indians" declaration) is that it is in such tremendous condition, and almost completely free of mold, moss, lichens and other nasties that grow on gravestones in moist climates. So many of the historic headstones here are rendered nearly (or entirely) unreadable, but Mary's stone is in practially pristine condition.

Perhaps her stone receives special care? I'll have to ask someone the next time I visit.

You can read more about Mary Sargent's tragic demise here.

Copyright © 2008 by Elizabeth O'Neal