Henry “Harry” Sayers (1832 – 1879) - The Dublin "Sportsman"

 

Henry “Harry” Sayers was born in Ireland around 1832, in a time when many people sought new lives across the sea. He made that journey himself and found new opportunity in the American frontier.

Also known as “Dublin” or “Dublin Tricks”, Sayers carved out his place in history not only as an early Phoenix settler but also as a United States Army soldier. His path to citizenship came through military service, Records show he was naturalized thanks to that service and at least one record shows him registered to vote in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona Territory, on October 14, 1876.

Sayers’ military service appears to have begun in New York in 1858, when he enlisted at the age of 23 in Company E, 5th United States Infantry. A plumber by trade before donning the uniform, he served through the challenging years that included the Civil War era, though his own term concluded before its end. He was discharged at Los Pinos, New Mexico Territory, in 1863.

After his Army years, Sayers eventually settled in Arizona, Known to be a “sporting” character, he appeared in a local newspaper in 1873 offering to fight any man in the Arizona Territory in a prize match under London Prize Ring rules, with $1000 wagered on each side. By 1878, he had established a feed, exchange, and sales stable with a bar attached to it advertising the “best liquor and cigars”.  Henry appeared to be a colorful and savvy part of the gritty fabric of pioneer life.

Henry “Harry” Sayers died on June 28, 1879. He was 47 years old, though records vary slightly on his exact birth year. He is buried in the Loosley section of Pioneer and Military Memorial Park. Originally, his grave was among the earliest in the Old Phoenix Cemetery but was relocated to Loosley when the new cemetery was established.

During the 2025 preservation event, our historian, Patty, reported that his headstone was found in Loosley with its top portion broken off and lying face-up on the ground. The base was discovered about a foot underground using careful probing and was brought back to the surface to restore the marker's presence. The headstone itself was made in Tucson, as confirmed by the maker’s markings, adding another historic layer to this pioneer’s enduring story in Arizona.  Watch the video above to see this restoration.  

-by Val W.

Did You Know? Fact Series - Introducing Smurthwaite

 

Grace Curns (1877-1894) - Beloved by All

 

AI Bing

Grace was born in 1877 in Winfield, Cowley County, Kansas.   She was the second child of John Wesley Curns and his wife, Frances Virginia Hulse.  In 1880, John Wesley was a real estate agent. Grace’s older brother, John Frank, had been born in 1871, and a younger brother, Edison Speed Curns, was born in 1879.  Edison died at the age of seven and was buried in Winfield, Kansas. 

The Curns family moved to Phoenix sometime between 1887 and April 1893.  Though newcomers, they evidently moved in the best circles and were considered relatively cultured.   The Curnses were members of the Presbyterian Church whose pastor, Rev. Preston McKinney, they had previously known in Kansas. 

As a member of the Phoenix high school class of 1895, Grace belonged to the Ionian Literary Society and Philomathean (musical) Society.  Both societies often performed at community events.   In August 1894, she joined several others in a trip to Mogollons to escape the summer heat.

Grace fell ill early in November and died on November 21, 1894, of cerebritis or a swelling of the brain resulting in severe headaches and seizures.  It is often found in persons with lupus although it may also have been caused by a bacterial infection. 

Her obituary describes her as a dutiful daughter, kind sister, affectionate friend and a young lady of high intellect and industry.  Schoolmates draped her desk in black and covered it with flowers.  At the Presbyterian church, a thirty-six string harp with one broken string symbolized the loss of a favorite Sunday School student.   Rev. Preston McKinney conducted the funeral service, after which the remains were borne to Porter Cemetery.  Grace’s coffin was deposited upon a carpet of flowers that lined the grave in the east half of Block 18.

A few years after Grace’s death, Mr. and Mrs. Curns moved to Willow Creek in Yavapai County. The federal census of 1900 records Mr. Curns as a farmer.  Grace’s surviving brother was a bookkeeper.

- by Donna Carr

 

Why Do People Leave Stones on Graves?

 

PCA Archives

Why do people leave stones on graves?

Sometimes when we go out into the cemetery, we see that someone has left a stone on a grave. It’s a simple way to say “I was here. I remember you.”

Unlike flowers, stones don’t fade. They last, just like love and memories.

It’s especially common in Jewish tradition, but anyone can do it.

In some cultures, it can also be considered an offering, or in some cases a way to "pin a deceased to their grave" so they don't roam the earth.

Have you ever seen something left in a cemetery that was unusual (besides our recent ladder of course )?

Someone Brought Their Own Ladder.......

 

By Kim

Kim found this when she opened up Yesterday…

Someone must have been really "dying" to get in........😂

(Or maybe "someone" was trying to break out? 👀)

We know we’re on summer hours, but if you want to visit, just send us an email😀

Mary Hackney (1871-1892) - Too Lonely to Go On

 

AI Bing

Mary was born in Missouri about 1871, the oldest child of Newton Hackney and Elizabeth Silver.  Her parents were living in North Fork Township, Jasper County Missouri where her father worked as a nurseryman.

Prior to 1880, Mary’s parents moved to Leadville, Colorado, so her father could work as a miner in the silver boomtown.  By 1885 Mary had three siblings: Hattie, Martin and Fred.

Mary’s family moved again and, in 1890, the family was homesteading 10 miles south of Mesa (the area is located near Pecos and Cooper Roads in Chandler, Arizona today).  Newton Hackney hoped to return to farming, but he was not familiar with desert conditions.  He planted 15,000 grape plants, but the crop failed miserably because of a lack of available water.  He attempted a crop of alfalfa, but that too failed.  To support his family and hold on his land, Newton went to Globe to seek work in the mines there. 

Neighbors in rural Maricopa County were few and far between.  Mary’s sister Hattie had married Prentice Phillips in 1891 and moved into Phoenix, so Mary went to Phoenix occasionally to visit Hattie and attend meetings of the Independent Order of Good Templars.  IOGT was a fraternal temperance organization that admitted women.

Early in October, Mary’s father had a series of disturbing dreams. For three consecutive nights, he had a presentiment of danger to one of his family members.  In one dream, he saw his wife dressed in mourning.  Concerned, he hurried home from Globe but found everyone at a neighbors’ house…all seemed fine.

The next day, October 5, 1892, Newton and his wife left to visit a neighbor a mile from their house.  Mary remained at home.  Her parents returned later in the day to find Mary in severe pain.  She told them she had taken poison.  It turned out to be strychnine.  Speculation was that Mary had put the poison in a bowl of bread and milk that was on a table nearby. 

Mary had complained of loneliness and not having any close friends nearby, but no one guessed she was so despondent as to commit suicide.  She did have friends in Phoenix and generally seemed in good spirits.  Nevertheless, her father’s premonition had come true.

Mary’s body was taken to Phoenix and her funeral service held at her sister Hattie’s home.  She was buried in the City/Loosley cemetery.

-by Patricia

I.D. Mack. or J.D. Mack - Where Are You?

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🔍 Cemetery Mystery: Who Was I.D. Mack?

In 1903, the body of an old prospector was discovered near Peoria, Arizona. His name? I.D. (or possibly J.D.) Mack. His identity was revealed through a dictionary and letter addressed to a mining woman named Mrs. Fanny Pogue of Tucson.

Mack had big dreams. The letter suggested that Mrs. Pogue fund a mining expedition and even suggested she join him in the hills. Mrs. Pogue apparently had sold many successful claims in the past. But before anything could come of it, he was found dead.

He was brought into Phoenix by the sheriff and Mohn and Dorris, undertakers, on August 20, 1903. The cause of death was "natural", and the body was "buried here last night" according to an August 21, 1903 article in the Arizona Republic. Newspapers later said the money from auctioning his few possessions would pay for a "decent burial and small headstone." But… where is he buried? No funeral record has surfaced. No headstone has been found. And the trail goes cold in Phoenix.

Was he ever truly laid to rest?

🕵️‍♀️ Have info on I.D. Mack? Drop us a comment or message. We're on the trail of another cemetery mystery!

Ethel M. Kent (1884-1901) - Twice Unlucky

 

PCA Archives

Ethel M. Kent was born August 1884 in Socorro County, New Mexico.  Her parents were Alexander John Kent and Abigail Dudley.  She had two older sisters and a brother.  Alexander Kent was a quartz miner, and the family moved to Phoenix sometime after Ethel’s birth.

In 1900, when Ethel was sixteen years old, she was stricken with some kind of neurological disorder (possible seizures) resulting from pressure on the brain.  Her doctors feared that it might be a brain tumor and decided to relieve the pressure by removing a 2-inch section of her skull, a procedure known as trepanning. 

The delicate surgery was performed on July 20th by Dr. J. W. Thomas, assisted by three other physicians.  For days thereafter, Ethel lay in a coma, and traffic outside her home was rerouted so that she could have absolute quiet.  To everyone’s amazement, she made a full recovery and was once again able to resume normal activities, the hole in her skull covered by a silver plate.

Frontier towns such as Phoenix had many saloons, where men frequently overindulged in strong drink.  Like many young ladies of the time, Ethel belonged to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U)., which advocated abstinence from alcohol.

A year later, Ethel’s health was still a cause for concern, and she was unable to tolerate the summer heat in Phoenix.  For that reason, the family sought relief in July, 1901, by going on a camping trip to Mr. Kent’s mining site in Yavapai County.

A young man at the campsite, Bert Ohmerty, had carelessly left his loaded hunting rifle propped up against a rock.  Apparently, Ethel stumbled against it and it discharged, blowing away half of her foot.  The nearest medical help being in Congress, Arizona, she was bundled into a wagon for the three-hour journey. However, the incessant jolting, pain and loss of blood proved to be too much, and Ethel expired the next morning.  Her body was returned to Phoenix for burial in Masons Cemetery.

Bert Ohmerty, the man whose gun had injured Ethel, was plagued by guilt over her death.  He committed suicide just a week later.

 - by Debe Branning

 

 

Have a Great Week! From the Pioneers' Cemetery Association!

 

We at the Pioneers' Cemetery Association have gone down lots of "rabbit holes" just researching someone's name, house, etc.

Hello from us at the PMMP! We have lots of "rabbit holes" here...coffee...browser tabs...and zero regrets! Have a great Week!

Who Was Margaret A. Harris? - Cemetery Mystery

 

PCA Archives

Who Was Margaret A. Harris?

Born around 1847, Margaret A. Harris passed away on December 29, 1884, leaving behind a husband and large family according to an obituary. The primary Phoenix cemetery at that time was the City Loosley Cemetery, but there's no record of her burial there.

If you have any clues or records about where Margaret might be buried, please reach out.

(Article from Weekly Republican, January 1, 1885)

 

Josephine Buck (1875-1902) - Sent to the Asylum

Arizona Insane Asylum, Arizona Memory Project

Josephine Buck was born around 1875, probably in Neosho County, Kansas.  She was one of at least nine children of Asahel Buck and his wife Mary Ann Hutchings.  The Buck family had been in New York state since Colonial times.  Asahel himself was a lawyer, educated in Albany, New York.

By 1880, the Buck family was living in Sedan, Chautauqua, Kansas.

Christmas Eve, 1890, found them in Phoenix, where 15-year-old Josephine and her older sister Irene entertained friends with music and dancing at the Buck home on East Van Buren Street.

In 1892, Asahel Buck, now known as Andrew, was practicing law from his office in the Cotton Building.  Son William Hamilton Buck was a pressman for the Daily Herald newspaper, and daughter Irene Buck was a music teacher.  Daughter Evaluna was married to Charles M. Rupp, carpenter.

Josephine seems to have had a normal childhood.  She was a member of the IOOF’s Rebekah Lodge, and her family certainly enjoyed a certain social standing in the city.  However, it appears that around 1892, she began to manifest mental problems, possibly schizophrenia which tends to become apparent during a patient’s late adolescence.   Initially, she was cared for at home but, in April 1894, shortly after her sister Irene’s marriage to George Simms, Josephine became a patient at the insane asylum in Phoenix.

Released from the asylum in early August, 1897, Josephine was scheduled to be conveyed to a private sanitarium in California.  However, she got hold of a revolver and threatened to kill her mother with it.  When the sheriff arrived to remove her from the family residence, she became violent and had to be physically restrained.  She was recommitted to the asylum by order of a judge on August 31st.   She was still a patient in the Arizona Insane Asylum in 1900, where she probably contracted the tuberculosis that caused her demise.            

Josephine Buck succumbed on June 23, 1902, at her family’s home on 4th Street and Polk.   She was buried in the IOOF Cemetery, Block 21, Lot 2, northeast corner of the southwest quadrant.

-by Donna L. Carr

 

 

Civil War Reenactors of the 1st New Mexico Volunteer Infantry, Co. B Salutes Captain Reuben Hill!

 

PCA Archives

Civil War reenactors from the First New Mexico Volunteer Infantry, Co. B, gathered in solemn silence to honor Captain Reuben Hill, a Union Army veteran laid to rest at our historic cemetery.

Captain Hill enlisted on September 29, 1861, at Camp Downey near Oakland, California, as a third corporal in Co. I, 1st California Infantry. He served under Colonel James H. Carleton, seeing action at Picacho Peak, Arizona—the westernmost battle of the Civil War.

His bravery and leadership earned him a promotion to sergeant and later a commission as Captain of Co. K, 1st New Mexico Volunteers at Fort Sumner on February 29, 1864.

With a silent salute, these reenactors brought his story full circle. See it here: Silent Solute to a Soldier

 

Limited Summer Hours at the Pioneer and Miliary Memorial Park!

PCA Archives

Just a reminder! We are on summer hours! Please email us at pioneercem@yahoo.com before visiting, as volunteers may not be available. However, we will still be here on your favorite cemetery social media channel: The Pioneers' Cemetery Association! Because of YOU, our amazing members and friends, we save history!