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

 

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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