October Holidays - 2024

 

Bing AI/Val Prompt

Halloween is always a favorite holiday among many on October 31st.  October is also a time when fall is celebrated, and cooler weather is enjoyed in many parts of the country.  However, there are other holidays that are shared in October as well.  Here are some of the more popular ones:

October 1st

International Coffee Day: A day to celebrate coffee as a beverage and promote fair trade practices in the coffee industry.

October 9th

Columbus Day (U.S.): Commemorates Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas in 1492. Some states celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day instead, honoring the native populations affected by colonization.

October 10th

World Mental Health Day: A global initiative to raise awareness of mental health issues and promote mental well-being.

October 14th 

Indigenous Peoples’ Day (U.S.): Celebrated by many as an alternative to Columbus Day, honoring the history, cultures, and contributions of Indigenous peoples in the Americas.

National Dessert Day (U.S.): A day for indulging in favorite desserts and sweet treats.

October 16th

World Food Day: Organized by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, focusing on global hunger and food security issues.

October 24th

United Nations Day: Marks the anniversary of the UN Charter’s entry into force in 1945, celebrating the mission of the UN in promoting peace and cooperation.

Additionally, October is known for several month-long observances, including Breast Cancer Awareness Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month (ends Oct. 15th), and National Bullying Prevention Month.

 

Dia de Los Muertos Event Big Success!

 

The Dial de Los Muertos event on September 28th was a big success.  The Grave Marker Preservation committee made over $800 dollars for preservation.  thanks to all of the crafters for their talents and helping us with our Mission of the Pioneers' Cemetery Association!

Lillian Gross (1868 - 1897) - The Last Train Ride from Congress

Bing AI/Val Prompt

On a scorching July day in 1897, a northbound train pulled into Phoenix, carrying a mysterious man and woman who quietly disembarked. They registered at the Ford Hotel, posing as husband and wife, yet curiously booked separate rooms. By morning, the woman was teetering on the brink of death, lay gravely ill, and her mysterious companion had vanished without a trace.

With her final breaths, the woman identified herself as Mrs. Lillian Gross of Congress, revealing that her real husband, George, was miles away working in Vulture. The man who escorted her was not her husband. Who was this figure that disappeared leaving Lillian to meet her tragic fate alone?

-Val "Shadow Archives"

"A Sad Death"

Phoenix Weekly Herald, July 15, 1897

 

Trinidad Silvas (1866 - 1911) - Struck by Lightning

Microsoft Clip Art

Trinidad Silvas was most likely born in Mexico around 1866.  In the summer of 1911, she and her long-time partner, José Alvarez, were working for a local rancher and temporarily living in a tent on his property about four miles northeast of the Phoenix townsite. 

During the night of July 16th, a terrific thunderstorm blew up.  Alvarez had been lying awake on his cot and listening to the roar of the thunder for quite a while. Then, all of a sudden, he saw a bright flash of lightning and heard a loud thunderclap.  It seemed to him that a ball of fire rolled into the tent!

Alvarez was tossed across the floor of the tent and lost unconsciousness for a few minutes.   When he came to, he ascertained that his thirteen-year-old daughter, who was lying on a pallet, had not been harmed—in fact, she had not even awakened.  Trinidad, however, had died instantly, the hair on one side of her head burned away.

Alvarez ran to the nearest habitation and poured out the tragic news.  Coroner Johnstone was summoned and ordered that the body not be moved pending an inquest on the following day.  The investigation revealed a small hole with charred edges, burned in the tent canvas.   It was speculated that the tragic event had been an example of a rare phenomenon known as ‘ball lightning’.

In the same neighborhood—and almost at the same time-- a valuable gray horse belonging to W. Bivins was also struck and killed by lightning.

Trinidad was buried in City/Loosley Cemetery.  It is not known what became of José Alvarez and the couple’s young daughter.

-By Debe B.

Dia de Los Muertos - Sign Up Now!

 

Save the date! September 28th, 2024 is our Dia de Los Muertos Event for our Grave Marker Preservation program! All proceeds go to preserving our grave markers at the PMMP! RSVP to nazanaza@aol.com

The Fraternal Order of Argonauts - 1890

The Argonauts in Greek Mythology

Library of Congress

The Order of the Fraternal Argonauts was a fraternal organization that operated in the late 19th century, primarily in San Francisco.  They filed articles of incorporation in 1890, and deemed themselves as an organization for charity, benevolence, and social purposes. It was one of many such secretive and ritualistic societies popular during that era, designed to foster a sense of camaraderie, mutual aid, and moral guidance among its members. Argonauts interacted with Greek heroes who embarked on a daring quest for the Golden Fleece under the leadership of Jason, the Order emphasized values of adventure, brotherhood, and perseverance.

Fraternal orders like the Argonauts often had structured hierarchies, elaborate initiation rituals, and meetings conducted in private lodges or halls. Members typically participated in ceremonies that reinforced their shared values, and the organizations often had distinctive symbols, regalia, and secret rites. Although specific details about the Order of the Fraternal Argonauts are limited, its members would have likely engaged in social, charitable, and possibly even financial support activities, creating a tightly knit community that helped one another in times of need. These societies provided men with not only social opportunities but also networking, protection, and support, which were especially valued in a rapidly industrializing and socially complex America. 

George Woods, Man of Three Names (? - 1892) - Unidentified Canal Laborer

Bing AI/Val Prompt

In 1892, The Arizona Republic posted an article about the mysterious death of a man on January 27 at the Pioneer Hotel who was known by three different names: George Woods, George Wiley, and George Willis. He had checked into the Pioneer Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, under the name George Woods about a week before his death, paying for a week’s stay in advance. Employed by the Arizona Canal Company, he stated that he had been working on the company's dam and had been feeling ill after being exposed to waist-deep water for several days during his work. He spent much of his time at the hotel, primarily in the lobby and barroom, where his health visibly deteriorated.

Initially treated for a bad cold and fever, his condition worsened, progressing into what was thought to be "la grippe" or influenza. On his last night, he had a simple supper of milk toast and tea before retiring to his room, where he was found dead the following morning. Undertakers Randal and Davis were called to handle his body, and it was noted that he had enough funds coming from his employment to cover the cost of his burial.

A search of his belongings revealed a variety of documents identifying him under different names, with no clear indication of his permanent residence. Among the papers was a letter from Farrington, signed by “your sister Carrie Leighton,” which was one of the few personal connections found. An anonymous man who contacted the hotel stated that the deceased had a wife and three children in Farrington but refused to disclose his own identity.

The various documents found included correspondence with different dates and locations:

• One letter to “George Wiley Esq” mentioned $100 sent to him by G.P. Reynolds
• Another letter from the acting president of the Postal Telegraph Company instructed the Southern Pacific Railroad to hand over certain freights to Willis
• Other letters dated back to 1887 and identified Wiley’s employment with the Mackay-Bennett Cable Company in San Francisco
• Another document recommended him as a capable and reliable worker from his time at the Mutual Telegraph Company
• There was also a letter indicating past financial issues with Wells Fargo in Visalia, California, in 1889

Additionally, several other items were found among his possessions, including a printed card listing fire alarm box locations in Oakland, California; the Constitution of the Grand Council of Order of the Fraternal Argonaut from San Francisco; and various business cards and memos linked to names and addresses in Oakland and San Francisco.

The Arizona Canal Company, where he had been employed for four months, described him as sober and industrious but knew nothing of his personal life. Attempts to reach contacts in Farrington, Illinois, via telegram went unanswered. His funeral was scheduled for the next day at 2 p.m., but many questions about his true identity and personal history remained unanswered. He is buried in City/Loosley.

-Val (Resource: Arizona Republic, January 28, 1892)

Magdalena Mendivil Donnelly (1830 - 1905) - Rancher’s Wife

PCA Archives

Maria Magdalena Mendivil was born sometime between 1832 and 1839 in Altar, Sonora, Mexico.  She came north around 1857 with three of her brothers.  While her brothers went on to Monterey, California, in search of work, Magdalena remained with family friends in Yuma.  By the time the brothers returned, however, they found that Magdalena had moved in with George Kippen, an agent for a mining company, who was about twenty years older than she.

To date, no record of an actual marriage has been found.  Very likely this was because George Kippen was already married to Jane A. Nichols of Fairfield County, Connecticut, by whom he had three children.   Sometime after the birth of the third child, George left Connecticut for good.  By 1852, he was working as a miner in California.

The 1860 federal census of Colorado, San Diego County, California, shows George Kippen and Madalena Maldives [sic] living there in the same household, although not married.  Their first son John was born 1860.  John was quickly followed by a daughter, Delfina.

Having had little success at mining, Kippen got a contract to haul supplies from California to the military outposts in Arizona.  He was at Camp McDowell, working as a sutler’s clerk and pharmacist, when he died suddenly on 22 February 1868 and was buried in the post cemetery.  Because Kippen was a civilian employee, his body was not transferred to the national cemetery in San Francisco when the post was decommissioned in 1891.  His headstone can still be seen today at Fort McDowell. 

With Kippen dead, Magdalena was hard-pressed to support her children.  By 1870 the family were living in the household of a Charles Foster in Arizona City, Yuma County, Arizona.  They appear on the 1870 federal census under the surname “Kippin”.

Around 1871, Magdalena met and married a wagonmaster, Frank “Owen” Donnelly, in Yuma, Arizona.  Donnelly, an Irish Catholic, had been born around 1837 in the village of Tyme, County Cork, Ireland.  Upon immigrating to the United States, he found few job opportunities for Irish immigrants.  So, on 21 June 1859, Donnelly enlisted as a private in Battery F, 2^nd U. S. Artillery, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and served until he was discharged on 2 May 1862.

Frank “Owen” Donnelly and Magdalena’s first child, Amelia was born 12 April 1872 in Yuma.  Isabelle “Lizzie” was born 7 April 1874, and Katherine “Kate” Inez was born 6 December 1878.  The Donnellys eventually moved to a ranch near Florence, on the San Pedro River.

By 1890, Frank Owen Donnelly was infirm and living in the Old Soldiers’ Home in Sawtelle, Los Angeles County, California.  He died there on 21 September 1894 and was buried in the National Cemetery in Los Angeles.  Magdalena received a widow’s pension based on his Civil War service.

On the 1900 federal census, Magdalena was recorded living in Pinal County, Arizona, on the Donnelly ranch with her son John Kippen, daughter Kate Donnelly, and granddaughter Elsie Harrington.  She died of pneumonia in Phoenix on 11 February 1905 and was buried in Rosedale Cemetery, Phoenix.

-by Donna

Simple Roast Chicken with Gravy (1892)

 

Bing AI

A dish they may have served at many of the hotel restaurants in Phoenix during the 1890s.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs)

2 tbsp butter (softened)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 onion, quartered

1 carrot, cut into chunks

1 celery stalk, cut into chunks

1/2 cup water or chicken stock

For the Gravy:

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1/2 cup drippings from the roasted chicken (or stock)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Rub the softened butter all over the chicken, both inside and outside, and season generously with salt and pepper. Place the onion, carrot, and celery inside the cavity of the chicken. These add flavor but are not meant to be eaten.

Place chicken in a roasting pan, breast-side up. Pour 1/2 cup of water or chicken stock into the bottom of the pan to keep the chicken moist. Roast for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the juices run clear and the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Baste the chicken occasionally with the pan juices.

Once the chicken is done, transfer it to a serving platter and let it rest while you make the gravy. In a small saucepan, melt 1 tbsp butter. Add 1 tbsp flour and whisk together to form a roux. Gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of the drippings from the roasting pan, cooking until the gravy thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Carve the chicken and serve with the homemade gravy. You can accompany it with simple vegetables like boiled potatoes or peas.

Unclaimed and Unknown: The Strange Case of George Woods and His Three Names

BingAI/Val Prompt

In January of 1892, the body of a man known as George Woods, though he also went by the names Wiley and Willis, was discovered lifeless in a room at the Pioneer Hotel. A laborer for the Arizona Canal Company, little was known about him beyond the strange fact that he had three names, each found among his personal belongings. His funeral was a lonely affair, paid for with his remaining wages, and not a single mourner attended. Who was this enigmatic figure now resting in Loosley Cemetery?

-Val "Shadow Archives"

Library on Congress Sanborn Map 1889

(Pioneer Hotel, formally known as Phoenix Hotel)

The Arizona Republic, January 29, 1892

 

Elena Redondo Garfias (1862-1890) - Wife of Marshal Henry Garfias

 

Photo from PCA Archives

Elena Redondo was born in 1862, probably on the family ranch outside of Yuma.  She was one of eight children born to Piedad Contreras and Jose Maria Redondo.

She married Henry Garfias on April 13^th, 1883, in Yuma, Arizona Territory.  The newlyweds subsequently established their home in Phoenix.  They had two children: Maria Claudina, born in 1884, and Emmanuel Henrico “Manuel Henry” in 1887.  Elena died 22 March 1890, apparently due to complications from her third pregnancy.

Elena’s husband, Henry Garfias, led a colorful and well-documented life in Phoenix.  However, his wife's family history is also a notable record of Hispanic influence in the Arizona Territory, California and Sonora, Mexico.

The Redondo family's roots go back to Spain but they had been in Sonora, Mexico, for several generations prior to Elena's father and other family members going to the goldfields of California in 1849.

Jose Maria Redondo married Piedad Contreras in California and in 1859, they and their two children (with one more on the way), moved to Yuma, Arizona Territory, along with Piedad's extended family.  They first established a home in Laguna outside of Yuma, where they ran a bakery and store in the mining community.

Eventually, Jose acquired a very large ranch in Yuma called Hacienda de San Ysidro.  He dammed the Gila River and used the water to irrigate vineyards, orchards and fields of grain and vegetables as well as growing fodder for cattle, horses and sheep. He was the first grower of lettuce in Yuma County.

He had mining interests as well and served in the Arizona Territorial Legislature, where he was instrumental in getting the Territorial Prison located in Yuma.

Elena's brother, Jose “Joe” Redondo, ran the first Hispanic newspaper in Phoenix, El Progresso.

Although there is little information about Elena after her marriage, Henry Garfias' status in Phoenix must have meant they were socially active in both the Hispanic and white communities.

Elena is buried in the City/Loosley Cemetery at the Pioneer Military and Memorial Park in Phoenix, Arizona.

-story by Susan Wilcox

Tragedy on Adams Street: The Murder-Suicide of Thomas and Anna Secrest (1894)

 

Bing AI/Val Wilson Prompt

On the evening of September 21, 1894, a horrific scene unfolded on Adams Street and Second in Phoenix. Thomas Secrest, 45, fatally shot his wife of 20 years, Anna Secrest, 38, before turning the gun on himself. The tragedy occurred shortly before 6:30 p.m., as Anna stood near the gate of the cottage. He shot her twice.  After shooting her, Thomas crossed the street and shot himself in the temple.

A crowd quickly gathered as the wounded couple was brought into the house and tended to by physicians Purman, Helm, and Martin. Despite their efforts, it was clear there was nothing more to be done. Within the hour, both husband and wife were dead. Their son, Barry, was at his mother’s side when she passed.

The Secrest family’s history added a somber complexity to the event. Thomas Secrest had moved to Phoenix 14 months earlier from Aspen, Colorado, to work as a mining engineer for the Mammoth Mine. Prior to Aspen, the family had resided together in La Grande, Oregon. The couple had three children: a son, Barry, 13, a married daughter, Mrs. Madaline Guardinier, 18, and another son, Wanda, 20.

Nine months before the murder-suicide, Anna and her two sons had joined Thomas in Goldfield Mining Camp from La Grande. However, Anna disliked life in the mining camp and left for Denver in June, though her reasons and whom she visited remain a mystery. Her older son, Wanda, returned to Oregon and lived with his sister Madaline, while Barry stayed with his father at Goldfield. A month before the tragic night, Anna returned to Phoenix, staying briefly at the Gregory House before renting a cottage from J.L.B. Alexander, the place of the fateful event. Barry moved in with her, and during this time, Thomas visited her, marking their final interactions before the fatal evening.

While the exact motive behind the shooting is unknown, there were troubling signs of discord. Barry, their son, described his father as increasingly unstable, saying Thomas had experienced “absence of memory” and had grown jealous. Anna’s last words suggested that Thomas shot her because she refused to return to the mining camp. A letter Thomas had sent two days prior hinted at reconciliation if Anna returned, but ominously warned of darker consequences if she did not. Rumors circulated about Anna taking late-night carriage rides and an unnamed man visiting her at the house, adding fuel to Thomas’s jealousy.

The weapon used was a .38 caliber revolver of the American Bulldog pattern.  Newspaper reporters stated that such a revolver was commonly used for suicides and murders. 

In the aftermath, the bodies of Thomas and Anna were removed together and placed side by side at the morgue, a chilling reminder of the tragic event that left the community shocked and devastated.

-Val-Shadow Archives (Resource, Arizona Republic, September 21, 1894)

 

Frances Musser (1868 - 1898) - Chicago Nurse Graduate

 

Mary Thompson Hospital
Library of Congress

**Repost from 2020

Frances E. Musser, the cousin of the south side representative of The Republican, C. M. Zander, came to Phoenix shortly after graduating from the Women's and Children's Hospital of Chicago in 1893.  The hospital was created by Mary Thompson, who was one of the first female physicians in Chicago.  

This hospital would later train female physicians and nurses, since the formal education of women in medicine was extremely limited.  Frances took advantage of this training, and had become known as one of their stellar nurse graduates in Chicago.  

Sadly her health failed her.  Suffering from cirrhosis of the liver, she went to Omaha to improve her health, and continued with her nursing practice.  When her physician recommended that she leave because of the winters, she came to Phoenix.  Despite efforts by a fellow classmate, Julia E Hay, and her cousin, she died from her illness, and is buried in Porter Cemetery.  Sadly, the only relative who could attend her funeral was her cousin due to the distance.  

Happy Labor Day - Labor Day Parade 1906

 

Library of Congress, Labor Day Parade 1906

Labor Day, celebrated on the first Monday of September in the United States, honors the contributions and achievements of American workers. The holiday was established in the late 19th century during the labor movement, which advocated for fair working conditions, reasonable hours, and better wages. Labor Day was first recognized as a federal holiday in 1894, following widespread labor strikes and the Pullman Strike, which highlighted the need for a national day of rest and recognition for workers' rights. The day also marks the unofficial end of summer and is often celebrated with parades, picnics, and other community events.