August GYR Carnival:Favorite Photo

This was tough for me because I always think my favorite photo/best photo is still ahead of me somewhere but that's a personality problem I have.I dream of taking pictures in Oaxaca on Dia de Muertos, of New Orleans and London,the old burying grounds of the North Eastern U.S. and New Mexico. I am sure if I ever get to visit them there will be wonderful graveyards and headstones to photograph, but for now my home is California and this is what I see. Most of my ancestors lie in unmarked or mass graves ,even those who may have had the money for a nice marker at the time of burial. This photo is of a unreadable marker in the San Juan Buatista Cemetery in San Benito Co. CA This cemetery was dedicated in the early 1840's as "the Mission cemetery could hold no more". There are a number of these old wooden markers that survive and many other old graves.It is here that my great,great grandmother Maria Teodora Garcia would have attended her mothers funeral when she was 13 years old.I believe her father is buried here as well,he died when she was 10,murdered,"three leagues from the Mission".He was the son of the first non-Indian child born west of the Mississippi. Behind and below this hill the cemetery is on, runs the San Andres Fault.In 1809 the first San Juan Mission and all buildings for miles around were leveled when there were earthquakes for 9 days. These and others of my family rest here.I like to look at this marker and think it might belong to one of them,this is my favorite photo.This is my California.

Wordless Wednesday

St. Joseph Cemetery,Sacramento CA

Seeking Room For The Dead

With all of the negative news about the cemetery employees at Burr Oak in Illinois and the awful things they have done,this story in the New York Times provides a wonderful counter point.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/nyregion/19graves.html

Grave Robbers

With all the recent publicity about the Burr Oak Cemetery in Illinois and the terrible things done for profit there I thought I would share the following article.Grave robbing is nothing new but it is the scope of the crime at Burr Oak that has appalled so many people-and maybe the idea that we should be better than that by now.
These articles are in the January 13 and 16,1903 San Francisco Call newspaper
GRAVE ROBBERS' NEFARIOUS DEED IN LOS ANGELES
Grave robbers broke into the tomb of Donna Maria Pico, wife of Pio Pico, the last Spanish (actually,Mexican)Governor of California a few days ago and removed the remains, which had beers buried for nearly fifty years. The well preserved skeleton was found by a boy this afternoon in old Calvary Cemetery, fifty feet from the Pico family vault. All the flesh had fallen from the bones, but on the hands, which were folded over the breast, was found a pair of gloves, and shoes and stockings encased the feet.
It is supposed that the vandals expected to find valuable jewels on the body, as the Picos were wealthy at the time of the death of Donna Maria in Santa Barbara in 1854,but if they obtained anything there is no evidence of the fact. The body rested In a niche in the vault, protected by a marble slab, on which were inscribed her maiden name, Maria Ignacia Alvarado, wife of Pio Pico, and a verse in Spanish. Inside of a hermetically sealed box rested the coffin, richly trimmed with gold and silver fringe and lined with silk, while the body was clad in rich laces, velvets and satin, all in a good state of preservation. The remains had been embalmed, which accounts for- the good condition of the skeleton. Old Calvary Cemetery has been abandoned for many years and is in a state of dilapidation. Many of the early Spanish families used it as a burial ground but a large portion of the bodies have been removed. Don Pio Pico's body, which rested be side that of his wife,was not molested

Tombstone Tuesdays

This is in Old Holy Cross,Santa Cruz CA To me it appears that a older stone that was broken has been set in concrete?I don't really understand the way the grave is covered with a tunnel though.I can see sealing the grave site with concrete to stop vandals, and this cemetery has a history of vandalism, but why the tunnel?If anyone else has seen this or has any ideas about it let me know!Maybe they were going to guarantee she rested in peace!

Writing Your Own Obituary

This was brought to my attention by a thread on Findagrave.com by JHofmann I think we can all learn something from this lady's obituary.Not just about writing our own obit though that's a great idea.But about how we look at our own lives and loved ones.I thank her for a lesson I sometimes need a reminder of.How even the small,everyday things count in life. http://obits.cleveland.com/obituaries/Cleveland/obituary.aspx?n=Nancy-Lee-HIXSON&pid=129179739
http://www.37days.com/2009/07/live-an-irresistible-obituary.html I included both links because online obits don't stay for long and I could use a reread of this one now and then.And the blog 37 days looks interesting too!

Vacation

Back in a few days,camping, no graveyards sorry to say but fun none the less!

Famous prostitute's gravestone deemed too 'slutty

I confess, I wonder exactly how he was going to present the "two pink marble boulders"
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20090702-20335.html
This is a case were "making the memorial about the persons life,not death" Could get a bit-difficult.Though from the article this woman seems to have overcame a difficult life to become a advocate for a group women who are often voiceless. This again points out the importance of putting your wishes about how you want to be remembered down in writing and letting the people in your life know.If she wanted the pink boulders-I say let her have them!It's just boobs!

Wordless Wednesday

St. Joseph Cemetery,Sacramento,CA

Tombstone Tuesday

This is the grave of Rina Picchi.she was born in Roseville CA. in 1915 and died in 1936.It is in the Roseville Cemetery in Roseville in Placer County.This is a lovely cemetery with a number of nice stones.Rinas is the most elaborate one.I love the way the marble has mottled so it looks like real skin.I was surprised to see so many Italian and Greek names on the early headstones.This was a railroad town,that and ranching were the economy for many years in this area.

Historic Catholic cemetery's upkeep

Lisa Burke over on adventures in Grave hunting has a post that expresses some of my feelings and concerns about older historic Catholic cemetery's here in California and what seems to be a pattern of neglect concerning them.I find it sad the church is failing to care for those who during their lives cared greatly for them.Please read it and I look forward to updates!Thank you Lisa and Louise Gaffney for bringing this to our attention.
http://lisaburks.typepad.com/gravehunting/catholic-cemeteries/

Irish Roadside Memorials

Mayo Fan over on Findagrave posted the link to this very interesting site.
http://www.irishroadside.com/index.htm
I find it interesting that there seems to be the absence of controversy about the presence of these memorials in Ireland.Some even seem"official" or done with the approval of authorities.Considering all the controversy they seem to bring up here what with banning them in some places or with them having to be approved and erected by the local road authorities. We really have become a nation of "only by the book,and only what the book allows".I realize some safety issues have been raised about these memorials but again I would think that could also apply to some of the new digital billboards that are blinding me while I drive!
The older Memorials are particularly intersting!

Shaming the Dead-Facedown burial

Found this over on the National Geographic site.http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/090623-facedown-burials.html
Interesting that the lead study author Caroline Arcini states that"shaming of the dead is most likely a deep rooted behavior in humankind."It mentions the practice occurring up into the first World War.Most likely with prisoners I would imagine?Information of this sort fascinates me.The why we are and the way we are and how many things are the same all over the world.
Here is a link to the original article in Current Archaeology http://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/buried-face-down-prone-burials.htm customs

The Real Deal

Graveyard Rabbit that is! I did a little trip to Roseville District Cemetery this morning and this fellow was "half way galloping among the graves".And Wary Still indeed he was! Racing away from me.

A Tradtion Saved-sort of

This was in the San Fransisco Chronicle today. While it's sad that it won't be staying in the family it's nice the tradition will be carried on by people who care and California can use all the jobs we can get!
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/24/BU3V18DB06.DTL

Tombstone Tuesday

Old Holy Cross Cemetery -Santa Cruz CA. Jose Brijido Rodriguez is one of the early Californianos,he was baptized at Mission San Antonio de Padua,his father was a soldier.I believe this lady,Francisca R. Escamilla, in the same plot is his wife but that he was not her first husband as I found a record of her marriage to one of the Castro's.She was baptized at Mission San Francisco de Asisi,her father a soldier of the Presido there.Her parents originally came from Guadalajara.
This family plot is in a sad state but at least they have headstones,very few early Spanish/Mexican Californians do.
Sources- The Huntington Library, Early California Population Project Database, 2006. Photos are my personal property.