George Frank Breninger (1865-1905) - Naturalist

 

Masons Cemetery with Masonic Memorial - PCA Archives

George Frank Breninger was born September, 1865, probably in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  From age fifteen, he manifested an intense fascination with nature, collecting specimens, pelts and eggs.  His collection of birds’ eggs was at one time considered the fourth largest in the country.

Breninger became an ornithologist and expert taxidermist, mounting many of his specimens himself.  As a naturalist, he had traveled widely in the continental United States from the Rockies as far south as the Isthmus of Panama to locate and collect rare species.  Some of his work was sent to the Smithsonian Museum and Field Columbian Museum in Chicago.  Another of his collections was at Colorado State University. 

He married Margaret J. Hoag, daughter of Addison Hoag in Fort Collins, Colorado, on September 19, 1888.  Although he and his wife had five children, only their oldest son, David Addison, had a somewhat normal lifespan.  Juvenile diabetes seems to have run in the family, as son Walter and daughter May both died of it before insulin became available to treat it.  Another child died in infancy, and daughter Luella Ruth died of scarlet fever in 1903.

The family moved to Phoenix around 1897.  In 1900, Professor Breninger spent six months in the Rockies, collecting specimens for the Foote Mineral Museum in Philadelphia.  He published several scholarly papers about birds.

In 1903, Professor Breninger traveled to Guatemala and Nicaragua for four months to secure 500 bird specimens for the Field Columbian Museum.   The conditions of the trip were rather primitive and Breninger’s team was regarded with some suspicion by the locals, who feared they might be a filibustering expedition intent on destabilizing the Mexican government.  Breninger collected many parrot specimens and even some ocelots.  He also brought back an orchid plant.  It survived the six-week journey back to Arizona and bloomed in 1904.

Breninger grew different varieties of crops on his farm to determine whether they could survive in desert conditions.  His wife Margaret had a fine flower garden and sold cut flowers in season.  It is not known whether they had a greenhouse for their more delicate plants, although there were greenhouses in Phoenix by 1913.

For years, Breninger was exposed to arsenic in the course of his taxidermy work.  Although he knew it was detrimental to his health, such was his devotion to his nature studies that he accepted the risk.  He suffered three strokes, with each one leaving him weaker. 

He died on December 2, 1905, at his home at 386 North Sixth Avenue.  After a Christian Science funeral, he was buried in Masons Cemetery. 

-by Donna Carr

 

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A Bird’s-Eye View of History: Comparing PMMP from 1930 to 2025

 

A New View of Our History!

On April 25, 2025, a drone soared above Pioneer & Military Memorial Park, capturing stunning high-resolution aerial photographs of the entire cemetery from just 50–60 feet above ground. Using precise parallel flight paths, every inch of both the north and south cemeteries was documented in detail.

But the real magic? We're comparing these 2025 drone images to aerial photos dating as far back as the 1930s! Take a look at these shots and see how the landscape has changed!

Photographs: City of Phoenix

Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Donna!

 

PCA Archives

When Donna Carr first met Marge West in 1985, both were working at Cholla Branch Library. Like Marge, Donna was a librarian and family genealogist well before personal computers were widely available.  From time to time, Marge would mention her work at the pioneer cemetery near the State Capitol and how she was reading rolls of newspaper microfilm, searching for obituaries of those buried there.  Still, it wasn't until 2004 that Donna had enough free time to actually join the Pioneers Cemetery Association, becoming its first webmaster.

In addition to long-time PCA member Marge, Donna then met Diane Sumrall, Frank Barrios and Reba Grandrud.  She assisted with major projects such as the 2012 Inventory of Arizona's Historic Cemeteries and the compilation of a burial list for nearby Cementerio Lindo.  Between 2015 and 2017, she was on the team that revised the burial list of the Pioneer & Military Memorial Park in light of additional information that had been unearthed since the publication of the first edition in 2005.  And she sometimes donned period-appropriate dress for the PCA's annual Memorial Day observances.

In 2017, the PCA coordinated with author Derek Horn and the History Press to publish a book specifically about some of the notable characters buried in the Pioneer Cemetery. As chair of the PCA's Living History team, Donna has carried on that project by researching and writing almost 200 short biographical sketches of the Cemetery's 'residents'--with more to come!  She has paid particular attention to documenting the lives of African American, Chinese, Hispanic, Native American and women pioneers who rest in the cemeteries that the PCA manages.

Thank you Donna for all you do!

Original Phoenix Township Cemetery Burials at City/Loosley Cemetery

 

Luke Monihon - Died 1879

City/Loosley - Block II Grave 6

Map - Ed Dobbins

Did you know that the Original Phoenix Township (OPT) Cemetery was moved?  The “Old City Cemetery” was between 5th and 7th Avenues, Jackson to Madison Streets.  By 1884, it was considered unsightly and too close to the growing business district.  

Ed Dobbins, one of our historians at the PCA, has shared the following in several talks:

"The new City/Loosley Cemetery in the current Pioneer and Military Memorial Park was opened in October 1884. It took three and one-half years to complete the transfer of burials from the old cemetery to the new in early 1888. We do not know the exact number of burials that were moved but Enrique Garfias was credited with exhuming 295 graves and John R. Loosley was reimbursed almost $700 for expenses he incurred removing an unspecified number of remains.

John R. Loosley, owner of Loosely Cemetery, contributed to the clearing of the OPT through newspaper advertisements appealing to the families and friends of those buried in the old cemetery. He offered liberal terms for lots in his new cemetery while informing the public of “the contemplated removal of occupants of the old cemetery to the city Potter’s field.” The grouping of pre-1884 graves in the northwest part of Loosley Cemetery may be evidence of responses to his advertisements. OPT burials were relocated to Blocks II, III, VI and X which were areas also favored for contemporary burials in the earliest years of the cemetery. 

After three years of discussions and proposals, the city in late 1887 decided to use its own employees to clear the OPT. Much of the work was accomplished in January 1888 by a crew supervised by Enrique Garfias, the first city marshal of Phoenix, serving at the time as City Zanjero. In April 1888 the OPT cemetery was declared cleared."

Stay tuned!!!  Who were the "original residents" of the old cemetery that were moved?  Find out here at Behind the Epitaph!

 

Robert John “Robin” Icke (1858-1905) - Ostrich Wrangler

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Robert John “Robin” Icke was born April 1858 in Attleborough, Warwickshire, England. He married Fannie Townsend in England.  However, their first child, John Henry Townsend Icke, was born April 1888 in Bathurst, Eastern Cape, South Africa, where Mr. Icke had gone to engage in ostrich farming.  Ostrich feathers were in great demand for Victorian ladies’ millinery, and the huge birds were also raised for their meat.

The couple’s second child, Edith Winifred Icke, was born in July 1890 in Wellington, Shropshire, England.  The 1891 census of England and Wales also recorded the Ickes in Wellington, where Mr. Icke was working as a commissions agent.

By about 1893, the Ickes were in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when Mr. Icke was hired by Josiah T. Harbert to manage his ostrich farm in south Phoenix.  Perhaps the desert climate reminded the Ickes of South Africa, for they came to Arizona at once…and stayed.  The United States federal census of 1900 records them living about three miles northwest of Phoenix.

Around this time, newspaper accounts suggest that Robin Icke was of unsound mind.  He was committed to the insane asylum for a brief period in September of 1900. In April 1901, Fannie Icke contracted typhoid fever.  She died on April 13th.   Because Mrs. Icke’s doctor had been sanguine about her chances of recovery, and because of her husband’s previous mental illness, an autopsy was ordered.  It proved, however, that Mrs. Icke had indeed died of typhoid fever.

Fannie Icke was buried in Porter Cemetery, Block 17.  Shortly thereafter, the two Icke children--John, 13, and Edith, 10—were sent back to England to be raised by Fannie’s married sister.

While the exact nature of Robert Icke’s mental illness is not known, the death of his wife and the loss of his children may well have pushed him over the edge.  On March 2, 1905, he died of alcoholism in his room at the Commercial Hotel in Phoenix.  He was buried next to his deceased wife in Porter Cemetery, B17.

- by Donna Carr

 

 

Early Old Phoenix Cemetery Monuments - Who Were They?

City Loosley Cemetery Looking East - PCA Archives

When settlers first arrived in the Salt River Valley in the 1860s and early 1870s, the area was still very much a frontier. In the early years, there were no formal cemeteries, no mapped burial grounds, and very little infrastructure beyond irrigation ditches and adobe homes. When someone died, they were often buried quickly in small, informal family plots, ranch sites, or near settlements along the canals and river. Graves might be marked with simple wooden crosses, piles of stones, or homemade markers, if marked at all.

These early burials reflected both the urgency and isolation of pioneer life. Disease, accidents, violence, and childbirth took lives unexpectedly, and there was no central burial ground to bring the community together in mourning. As the settlement that would become Phoenix began to grow with the construction of canals and a platted townsite, it became clear that the community needed a formal cemetery where loved ones could be laid to rest with respect and where families could visit and remember them.

By the early 1870s, town leaders recognized this need and selected land on what was then the southwestern edge of Phoenix, bounded by Seventh and Fifth Avenues and Jackson and Madison Streets.   By today's standards, it was rudimentary, as burials were not always mapped or marked, and records were sparse.  However, this first city cemetery provided a designated space for burials and included early pioneers of Phoenix.

Curious about who these early burials were, and how they were carefully moved to their new resting place (otherwise known as the Pioneer and Military Memorial Park)? Stay tuned for the next part of our story!

Happy Fourth of July!

 

Happy Fourth of July!  Stay safe!

A Thursday Funny for You!

Doesn't everyone have this hobby? 😀😀

 

How Old Do You Think is the Oldest Grave Marker In Our Cemetery? Old Station Subs Weighs In.........

Find out next week!  Stay tuned to our blog, Facebook, and Instagram accounts to find out how old the oldest grave markers are in our cemetery, and the story behind them!

Facebook:  Pioneers' Cemetery Association

Instagram:  @pcacemeteries

 

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 )?