Anasazi D.A.R Honors Florence Mann, Educator

 

Last weekend, the Anasazi D.A.R. chapter in Glendale, Arizona honored one of our pioneers in the City Loosely Cemetery for Women's History month.  her name was Florence Mann, and she was an educator in Phoenix in the 1890s.  We extend our sincerest thanks to the Anasazi D.A.R chapter for having us at their wonderful event and honoring one of our enterprising ladies of PMMP.  Thank you so much!  Please feel free to watch the presentation below on Florence Mann, which was written, Illustrated, and narrated by Val with demonstrations and Grave marker History Notes by Patty.  

Florence Mann- Arizona Territorial Educator

Weekly Vintage Chuckle

 

Trolley Car, Library of Congress

A small boy who had recently passed his fifth birthday was riding in a Trolley
car with his mother, when they were asked the customary question, 
"How old is the boy?" After being told the correct age, which did not require 
a fare, the conductor passed on to the next person.
The boy sat quite still as if pondering over some question, and then, concluding that full information had not been given, called loudly to the conductor, then at the other end of the car: "And mother's thirty-one!"
 Jokes, Stories, and Quotations - 1916

Rosa Santa Cruz O’Meara (1876 - 1909) - The Death of an Innocent Bystander

 

Picture Created by Val (AI)

Rosa Santa Cruz was born in Arizona, June 1876, to José Maria Santa Cruz and Espectacion Lorona.  She was the second oldest of their four children. Since José Santa Cruz was a blacksmith by trade and also involved in mining, the family moved often. In 1880, they were living in Signal, Arizona. The 1882 Arizona Territorial Census recorded them living in Maricopa County. José then moved his family to the area of Superior, Arizona, where Rosa and her sisters were attending the Silver King School in 1884. Later, the family moved to Florence. 

The Santa Cruzes were back in the Salt River Valley by the time Rosa’s sister, Ramona, married Simon Robles in 1896.  José’s wife Espectacion died in Phoenix November 15, 1897.  Eighteen months later, Rosa married Edward O’Meara on May 1, 1899.  Edward, who had arrived in Phoenix in 1895, was a bricklayer by trade and thirteen years older than Rosa. The couple had two children, Lawrence Francis “Frank”, born 1899, and Mamie, born 1902.  

While their children were still young, Edward became paralyzed and was placed in Sisters’ Hospital.  Rosa moved her family to the small town of Winkelman, Arizona. Times were hard.  during the hot summer, she and the children lived in a shed with only three walls and a blanket covering the open side. It was located behind a general store owned by merchants Akel and Tilly.  Near Rosa’s humble abode was a tent belonging to Pablo Ortega.  

Ortega had an ongoing feud with the merchants because they threw their slops out the back door of the store on to the ground in front of his tent. At 5:40 a.m. on July 31, 1909, an irate Ortega fired several shots at Akel and Tilly, striking both. However, when the shooting stopped, neighbors discovered that Rosa O’Meara had also been hit. She had been standing out of view behind the blanket covering the front of her shed when a bullet pierced her right shoulder, exiting through her left shoulder.  She died 30 minutes later.  Rosa’s sister Ramona had her body brought back to Phoenix for burial in Loosley Cemetery.  At this time, the location of her grave is unknown.

-Donna carr

Weekly Vintage Chuckle

Picture Created by Val (AI)

Teacher: "In which of his battles was King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden slain?"

Pupil: "I'm pretty sure it was the last one."

Jokes For All Occasions - Clode, 1912
      

Headstone Symbolism

 

 

During the Victorian era, headstones were often elaborately decorated with symbols and motifs that reflected the beliefs, values, and social customs of the time. Some common Victorian symbols found on headstones are:

• Anchor - hope and steadfastness
• Broken column - a life cut short
• Crown - victory over death and the attainment of eternal life
• Drapery - veil between life and death or 
• Hands clasped in prayer - devotion and faith
• Ivy - immortality and eternal life
• Lamb - innocence and the soul of a child
• Open book - the Bible or a book of life, representing the deceased's faith and knowledge
• Sunflower - adoration, loyalty, and devotion
• Torch - the spirit of life and enlightenment
• Urn - mourning and the soul's immortality
• Weeping willow - A symbol of grief and sorrow
• Winged hourglass - A symbol of the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of death

These symbols continue to serve as reminders of the values and beliefs of this unique period in history.  Here are some examples of these symbols at the PMMP.  Come visit us soon! (Photos from PCA Archives)

 

Jennie Isaac (1827 - 1902) - Women's History Month

Jennie Isaac with Husband, PCA Archives

Jane “Jennie” Netherton Isaac was born 1827 in Tennessee. She married William in 1848 and they would eventually have 11 children, 8 survived to adulthood. The family moved to California around 1860 and in 1870 were in Gilroy where they were farmers. William would also serve as a Baptist Minister and on the Board of Education. Education would continue to be a priority for this family. 

In the Spring of 1875, Jennie packed up her household and all headed for Prescott with two wagons, each pulled by four horses. It took two months to arrive, at one point crossing the Colorado River. The family would remain in Prescott until the Spring of 1876, moving temporarily to a small adobe house in Phoenix. A home was built on 400 acres of land at what is now 35th Ave. & McDowell Rd. The Isaacs needing to educate their children, donated the land founding Isaac School. That school is still in existence. 

The Isaacs prospered and in 1884 Jennie began conducting business in her own name dealing with stock and farming products. The Arizona Legislature had given married women that right in 1865. In 1887 Jennie helped start a chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star as William was a Mason. Jennie held the office of the “Electa,” who shares the lesson of Charity and Hospitality. Jennie’s husband William died March 23, 1900. Jennie lived alone until she developed grippe, the flu, and died after seven days on February 10, 1902.  Jennie is buried in the Masons Cemetery next to her husband.

-Donna Carr

Superstitions and Pioneer Cemeteries

Picture Created by Val (AI)

There are many superstitions surrounding pioneer cemeteries that have been passed down through generations. Some of these have stemmed from different types of cultures, while others have a religious root.  Here are a few of the notable ones:

walking over graves – it is believed that walking over a grave will bring bad luck or even summon the spirits of the dead. This belief may stem from the idea that the spirits of the dead are resting peacefully and disturbing their resting place could disturb them.

taking any item from a pioneer cemetery – this includes anything, such as a flower or a rock, glass, relics, or the headstones themselves.  It is thought that it will bring bad luck and is a sign of disrespect.  it will definitely bring you a citation for looting, as historical sites are protected. 

visiting a cemetery at night - this belief may be fueled by popular culture and horror movies that depict cemeteries as spooky and haunted places. However, there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that pioneer cemeteries are more haunted than any other location.  However, some cemeteries may be dangerous due to possible living individuals hiding or hanging out there. 

putting dirt or flowers on a coffin or into a grave – this symbolizes that the loved one is returning to the earth, or that family and friends are placing their “love and respect” with the individual.

putting rocks on a headstone – the rocks represent the celebration of the life of the deceased.  In religious customs, it is also placed there to protect the soul of the individual from evil spirits, and in some cases, to weigh down the spirit so it can’t wander around and get into mischief.  

Weekly Vintage Chuckle

Library of Congress

A mysterious building had been erected on the outskirts of a small town. It was shrouded in mystery. All that was known about it was that it was a chemical laboratory. An old farmer, driving past the place after work became curious, and seeing a man in the doorway, called to him:

"What be ye doin' in this place?"

"We are searching for a universal solvent—something that will dissolve all things," said the chemist.

"What good will thet be?"

"Imagine, sir! It will dissolve all things! If we want a solution of iron, glass, gold—anything, all that we have to do is to drop it in this solution."

"Fine," said the farmer, "fine! What be ye goin' to keep it in?"

-Toasters handbook, 1912

City Loosley Cemetery Scavenger Hunt - Like Vintage Recipes?

Photo by Sterling Foster

The Pioneer Military and Memorial Park is located at 1317 West Jefferson in Phoenix, Arizona.  It is composed of seven different cemeteries, which are City Loosley, A.O.U.W, I.O.O.F, K. of P., Masons, Porter, and Rosedale.  

To get you better acquainted with each cemetery, we will be posting some scavenger hunts for each cemetery from time to time.

When the early citizens of Phoenix decided that City Cemetery was a disgrace to their beautiful city, the bodies were reinterred and most of them to the City Loosley Cemetery.  A large mass grave can be found here for the unclaimed dead, but only a few there are known.  

One of our famous interments here is Jacob Waltz.  Waltz was prospecting in Arizona and is reputed to have found a gold deposit near the Superstition Mountain, known now as the legendary Lost Dutchman Mine. 

Now on to the scavenger hunt..............................

In honor of several benevolent saloon owners buried in City Loosley:

to each person who answers each question correctly (or close), we will send you 10 vintage Saloon drink recipes, some common, some not so common.  some of them are the apple of the 1800's bartender's eye!  Just send us an email letting us know you posted by March 24th:  pioneercem@yahoo.com.

The answers can be found on Find a Grave.  Our volunteers have placed all of our interred on this platform.  However, we do hope you will join us in Person soon.  Good Luck!

Find A Grave - Millions of Cemetery Records

1.  Father and daughter buried together after having died a short time between one another in 1883.  

2.  A saloon keeper and a judge, and born in 1812.  His wife's name is Laura.

3.  Murdered in 1884.  Horse on grave marker.  

4.  Died in 1898.  His marker is a replica.  

5.  Also died in 1898 from a railroad accident.  His marker is a part of an enclosure.

Mary Florence Mann (1841 - 1897) - Educator (reposted)

 

Phoenix West End School, Library of Congress

Mary Florence was born about 1841 in Oswego, New York. She was the fourth of five children born to Daniel and Jane C. Shapley Card, farmers.

Mary Florence (she went by Florence most of her adult life) entered the Oswego Normal and Training School in her late teens, graduating in 1863 with a teaching degree. By 1867, she was earning $500 a year as a schoolteacher in Cuba, New York. Sometime in the 1870s, she married Henry D. Mann, a physician and surgeon. The young couple moved to Tiffin, Ohio, where Henry attended Heidelberg College. Later, he did his residency at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor before graduating from the Medical College in Albany, New York. He practiced for a short time in Ohio and Illinois before settling in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Florence continued to teach for a few years after marrying, but she is listed as a housewife on the 1880 federal census of Terre Haute. At some point thereafter, she and Henry separated but did not divorce.

In 1890, Florence came to Phoenix and was hired to teach in the Phoenix school system. Based on newspaper articles, she became well known as an educator. Besides teaching in the elementary schools, she often provided professional council and training at the Maricopa County Teachers’ Institutes, where she excelled in mechanical and industrial drawing.

She even persuaded the Phoenix school board to open a free night school for children over the age of 10 who were unable to attend day classes because of family obligations.

In 1893 Florence was appointed to the Maricopa Advisory Committee on Textbooks and School Law. Her duties included selecting the textbooks to be used throughout the district.

After retiring from teaching, she opened an art studio in Phoenix. A gifted artist, she painted many scenes of animals and the “wild and untamed west” in oils and watercolors. And she continued to volunteer at the night school she had started.

Florence died unexpectedly around 8 PM on March 22, 1897, while on her way home from seeing her students at the night school. Passersby heard her cry out in the alley beside the Ford Hotel on Washington Street and 2nd Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona, but she was gone before medical help arrived. Her doctor opined that she had died of an apoplexy—probably a cerebral hemorrhage caused by a burst aneurysm—as there were no signs of any trauma. She was 56 years old.  mary Florence is buried in an unmarked grave in City Loosley Cemetery.

-Val

Women's History Month - March

 

Apple Harvest - Graphic Fairy

In Celebration of Women's History Month, we will be introducing some of our notable women at the PMMP! Many of these women worked and fought hard to maintain their families, as well as careers, in the wild, wild west.  to meet more of them, stop in and see us soon!  We have a self-guided Walking tour highlighting some of the women and children in our cemetery that you can easily do, and meet some amazing people who helped build Phoenix! 

The Significance of the Pioneer Cemetery

Picture Created by Val (AI)

People often associate cemeteries with ghosts, zombies, and a multitude of other scary encounters.  However, the Victorian era encouraged the idea that cemeteries should be beautiful places in order to remember loved ones.  This can be seen in many cemeteries of the day that display intricate funerary art and architecture of the time period.

Pioneer cemeteries are a window to the past.  These cemeteries provide insights into the lives of the early settlers and their communities. By examining the headstones and markers, one can learn about the social and economic status of the people buried there, as well as their religious affiliations and cultural practices. Additionally, pioneer cemeteries can reveal information about mortality rates and causes of death, providing a glimpse into the health conditions of the time. 

In this way, pioneer cemeteries serve as a valuable resource for genealogists, historians, and researchers interested in understanding the history of a particular region or people.

 

John Bolton (1866 - 1902) - Politician

PCA Archives

John Bolton arrived in Phoenix about 1890. During his short life of 36 years, he journeyed from Kansas to San Diego, California, before relocating to Phoenix for his health. 

Bolton had been born in Tennessee. African-American and a barber by trade, Bolton began his career in Phoenix by working in Frank Shirley’s barber shop, The Fashion. Bolton’s wife Hattie worked at the Alhambra on Papago.
           

Bolton was not a man to be easily intimidated. While walking home from work late in December, 1892, he was accosted by a thief. Seizing a brick, Bolton hit the footpad in the face and made his escape unscathed.
           
Soon after his arrival in Phoenix, Bolton became active in local politics. He was elected as an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention from Maricopa County in April, 1896, the year in which William McKinley won his first term as president.
           
In June 1897, Bolton contracted to have a one-story brick residence built at Fillmore and North 2nd Street. A well-read man, Bolton was elected president of the Colored Literary Society in December, 1897. 
           
As Bolton prospered in his profession, he opened a barber shop in a more prestigious location, the new Adams Hotel in downtown Phoenix. In September 1898, he also took a civil service exam and became one of the first black letter carriers in the city. 
           
Bolton seems to have been a bit of a practical jokester. When he made the acquaintance of African American men recently arrived in Phoenix, he was not above engaging in a little hazing. First, Bolton would suggest that his new companion accompany him to a local park to meet some of the town’s young ladies. Once there, a confederate would jump out of the bushes and fire a couple of gunshots, causing the poor chap to take to his heels with Bolton close behind. Not until the newcomer stopped to draw breath would Bolton innocently remark that the shooter must have been the overprotective father of one of the young ladies.
           
Unfortunately, the desert air was not restorative for John Bolton and he died at his home on North Second Street of a lung hemorrhage on December 26, 1902, leaving behind his wife and son. The funeral was attended by his many friends and customers. His grave in Rosedale Cemetery North is marked with a simple headstone.

-Derek Horn and Donna Carr.

Weekly Vintage Chuckle

Boy in Gardens, Library of Congress

Little William came home in a sad state. He had a black eye and numerous scratches and contusions, and his clothes were a sight. His mother was horrified at the spectacle presented by her darling. she addressed him rebukingly:

"Oh, Willie, Willie! How often have I told you not to play with that naughty Smith boy!"

Little Willie regarded his mother with an expression of deepest disgust.

"Say, ma," he objected, "do I look as if I had been playing with anybody?"

The Belt Cook Family

 

                                                                Picture Created by Val (AI)

The Belt Cook family were African Americans who lived in Phoenix from 1887 on.  Belt Cook was born between 1845 and December 1846 in Maryland.  It is not known whether he was born a slave or free.  Around 1866, he married Rebecca Hall, who had been born in Pennsylvania and was, therefore, more likely to have been born free.  He and Rebecca had fifteen children, nine of whom lived to adulthood. 

The birthplaces of the Cook children show that the family moved back and forth across the country between 1869 and 1887, living in Nevada and California before finally coming to Arizona.  Since Belt and his son Charles were barbers and one of Belt’s sons-in-law was a porter, it is possible that they were either employed by the railroads or simply followed the railroads to the next boom town out West.

1881 saw the Cook family residing in the boom town of Globe, Arizona, where their son William Thomas was born.  The Cooks owned a house on Broad Street, and Belt appears to have invested in a silver mine there.  However, as placer mining gave way to large-scale operations like the Old Dominion mine, Globe reverted to the status of a small frontier town, and the Cooks moved on to Phoenix in 1887.

In spite of having moved around the country during their formative years, the Cook children seem to have received a good education for the times.  In 1900, son Elias Belt Cook was a member of the McKinley Club, a political organization of prominent colored men that included fellow barber Frank Shirley, barber and mail carrier John Bolton, and wholesale produce supplier William Powhatan Crump.

No matter their position in the community, though, the Cooks were still subject to the illnesses of the day.  Daughter Eva, aged 27, died in 1894 of what was probably meningitis.  Charles’s wife Lola succumbed to tuberculosis in 1897.  Daughter Lillie, aged 22, passed away in 1902, and son William Thomas, 28, died of tuberculosis in 1909.  All are buried in the Pioneer & Military Memorial Cemetery, as is an elderly man named Elias Cook who might have been Belt’s older brother.

-Donna Carr