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

Rev. Freeman D. Rickerson (1837-1892) - Baptist Minister

 

Bing AI

Freeman D. Rickerson was born on the 23rd of November, 1837, in Watertown, Jefferson County, New York.   He was the son of Daniel Wilcox Rickerson and his second wife, Malina Corpe. 

Rickerson received his theological education in Rochester, which had a Baptist seminary founded in 1850 (Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School today).   Instead of remaining in New York state, however, Rickerson felt called to minister in the Midwest.  He moved to Des Moines, Iowa, where he was licensed to preach in October of 1858.  After serving a period as an assistant pastor in Grinnell, Iowa, he was ordained in April 1859.  Thereafter, he was instrumental in founding and/or serving Baptist congregations in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.

While he was in Grinnell, Rev. Rickerson met and married Eunice Langworthy.  Like him, she and her family were from New York state.  They eventually had a daughter, Melina May, born in 1870 in Waukegan, Illinois.

In addition to being a man of the cloth, Rev. Rickerson was a high-ranking Mason, advancing to the rank of commander and grand prelate in the Grand Commandery of Illinois.  He was convinced that his religious faith and his Masonic ideals went hand in hand and so preached.  He is said to have been learned, honest and broad-minded, attributes not always evident in frontier preachers.

The Rickersons came to Phoenix in 1889, after Rev. Rickerson was appointed to fill the pulpit of the Baptist Church at 2nd Avenue and Jefferson.   When he arrived, Rickerson found the church in a neglected state and the treasury empty.   He remedied this by soliciting donations from more affluent churches back east, and a new building was eventually raised.

Rickerson proved to be tireless in his work but, after less than three years, heart disease cut short his tenure in Phoenix.  Although he was known to have been in declining health, his death still came as a shock to his congregation.   He was visiting at the home of B. F. McFall when he suffered an apoplexy and died on March 29, 1892. 

Chaplain Winfield Scott from Scottsdale preached the funeral sermon.  Rickerson being the  prelate of the Phoenix commandery at the time of his death, he was buried in Masons Cemetery, as befitting his high status in the order.

The Rickersons’ daughter Melina or “May”, as she preferred, wed John Swilling, Jr. in Phoenix in 1916.  It was a second marriage for both parties.  However, the union seems to have been of short duration; by 1920, May was living with her widowed mother in California.   

-by Donna L. Carr           

               

 

 

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)

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.

Tobias Seelig (1850 - 1892) - Dry Goods Merchant

Microsoft Clip Art

According to his various voter registrations, Tobias Seelig was born in Germany around 1850.  The passenger list of the ship Humboldt shows that  he arrived at New York’s Castle Garden on August 18, 1865.  Except for that, his entire life prior to 1878 is a blank.

Late in 1878, he appears to have opened a dry goods store in Modesto, California.  The Mechanics Cash Store carried clothing, boots and other fancy goods on a cash-only basis.  The local newspaper listed some of the items available.

By 1880, Tobias’s younger brother Gabriel joined him in the Modesto dry goods store.  Perhaps Gabriel took over the management of the Modesto store, for Tobias was in Phoenix by June 1882.  He must have been naturalized, because he registered to vote in that year .  After a stint as a clerk for the dry goods firm of Rosenthal & Kutner, he opened a cigar store in or near the Capitol Saloon.  The cigar store burned down in 1886.

The Seeligs were Jewish.  Jewish stores were essential to life in early Phoenix, and most were subsidiaries of stores founded in California during the Gold Rush days.  Their proprietors could therefore count on financial backing from bankers in San Francisco as well as established sources of supply from the West Coast.  Phoenix’s merchants were usually ‘Reform’ Jews with German surnames who kept their religious affiliations low-key and practiced them behind closed doors.

A Freemason, Seelig also participated in the Fire Brigade and joined the Knights of Pythias.  He was generally well-liked and is said to have dressed stylishly.  By 1891, he was even investing in local mining operations.

Misfortune caught up with him early in 1892, when the Knights of Pythias charged him with defalcation in his use of their funds.  Deeply affected by the charge, Seelig took to drinking and apparently made plans to commit suicide.  He told a friend that, when he died, he wanted to be laid out in his Prince Albert suit.  On March 8, 1892, he carried out his plan in his rooming house, where he donned his suit and shot himself in the temple.

Compounding the tragedy was that his fellow Pythians had already taken up a collection of $600 to cover his debts and restore his good name.

Seelig was buried in a Phoenix cemetery.  Since he owned some property, it is likely that he was interred somewhere in the Pioneer & Military Memorial Park.  There is no marker.

-By Donna Carr

 

The Fairies' Dancing Place - An Irish Tale, 1892

 

bing AI

Lanty M'Clusky had married a wife, and, of course, it was necessary to have a house in which to keep her. Now, Lanty had taken a bit of a farm, about six acres; but as there was no house on it, he resolved to build one; and that it might be as comfortable as possible, he selected for the site of it one of those beautiful green circles that are supposed to be the play-ground of the fairies. Lanty was warned against this; but as he was a headstrong man, and not much given to fear, he said he would not change such a pleasant situation for his house to oblige all the fairies in Europe. He accordingly proceeded with the building, which he finished off very neatly; and, as it is usual on these occasions to give one's neighbours and friends a house-warming, so, in compliance with this good and pleasant old custom, Lanty having brought home the wife in the course of the day, got a fiddler and a lot of whisky, and gave those who had come to see him a dance in the evening. This was all very well, and the fun and hilarity were proceeding briskly, when a noise was heard after night had set in, like a crushing and straining of ribs and rafters on the top of the house. The folks assembled all listened, and, without doubt, there was nothing heard but crushing, and heaving, and pushing, and groaning, and panting, as if a thousand little men were engaged in pulling down the roof.

'Come,' said a voice which spoke in a tone of command, 'work hard: you know we must have Lanty's house down before midnight.'

This was an unwelcome piece of intelligence to Lanty, who, finding that his enemies were such as he could not cope with, walked out, and addressed them as follows:

'Gintlemen, I humbly ax yer pardon for buildin' on any place belongin' to you; but if you'll have the civilitude to let me alone this night, I'll begin to pull down and remove the house to-morrow morning.'

This was followed by a noise like the clapping of a thousand tiny little hands, and a shout of 'Bravo, Lanty! build half-way between the two White-thorns above the boreen'; and after another hearty little shout of exultation, there was a brisk rushing noise, and they were heard no more.

The story, however, does not end here; for Lanty, when digging the foundation of his new house, found the full of a kam of gold: so that in leaving to the fairies their play-ground, he became a richer man than ever he otherwise would have been, had he never come in contact with them at all.

by William Carleton

Irish Fairy Tales, 1892

 

Bryan Darell Duppa (1832 - 1892) - Phoenix City Pioneer

 

Lord Duppa - Arizona Archives

Bryan Philip Darell Duppa was born 9 October 1832 in Paris, France, where his parents, Baldwin Francis Duppa and Catherine Darell, were living at the time. Although not a titled family, they were landed gentry. The family seat, Hollingbourne Manor, was in Maidstone, Kent, England. It was to this mansion that Duppa came as a three-year-old in 1835.

Duppa received a classical education at Cambridge University, where he learned French, Spanish, Italian and German, in addition to the required Greek and Latin. In later life, he was known to recite Shakespeare for hours from memory.

Since Duppa had an older brother, Baldwin, who would inherit the Duppa estate, he had to find some other occupation. It seems more likely that he spent some time on his uncle George’s sheep station in New Zealand and that this might have whetted his appetite for further adventure.

Duppa was known to have been in Prescott, Arizona in December of 1863. He became friends with Jack Swilling and it is likely that the two came to Phoenix together in 1867. Recognizing the area’s potential for growth, Duppa homesteaded 175 acres near what is now downtown Phoenix.  An
adobe building that has been associated with the property sits at what is now 116 West Sherman.

Both he and Swilling were much interested in the evidence of a vanished Hohokam culture on the banks of the Salt River—specifically, its system of canals. When the question of what to name the new settlement arose, Duppa proposed Phoenix, for it suggested a city rising from the ashes of a previous civilization. Duppa is also credited with having named Tempe. - Adapted story of Debe Branning and Donna Carr.

Find out why he was called "Lord" and was actually re-buried in 1991 by coming to Pioneer Military and Memorial Park!

See us on our website: azhistcemeteries.org

Bryan Philip Darell Duppa (1832 - 1892) - Renaissance Men

Lord Duppa - Arizona Archives

Bryan Philip Darell Duppa was born 9 October 1832 in Paris, France, where his parents, Baldwin Francis Duppa and Catherine Darell, were living at the time. Although not a titled family, they were landed gentry. The family seat, Hollingbourne Manor, was in Maidstone, Kent, England. It was to this mansion that Duppa came as a three-year-old in 1835.

Duppa received a classical education at Cambridge University, where he learned French, Spanish, Italian and German, in addition to the required Greek and Latin. In later life, he was known to recite Shakespeare for hours from memory.

Since Duppa had an older brother, Baldwin, who would inherit the Duppa estate, he had to find some other occupation. It seems more likely that he spent some time on his uncle George’s sheep station in New Zealand and that this might have whetted his appetite for further adventure.

Duppa was known to have been in Prescott, Arizona in December of 1863. He became friends with Jack Swilling and it is likely that the two came to Phoenix together in 1867. Recognizing the area’s potential for growth, Duppa homesteaded 175 acres near what is now downtown Phoenix.  An
adobe building that has been associated with the property sits at what is now 116 West Sherman.

Both he and Swilling were much interested in the evidence of a vanished Hohokam culture on the banks of the Salt River—specifically, its system of canals. When the question of what to name the new settlement arose, Duppa proposed Phoenix, for it suggested a city rising from the ashes of a previous civilization. Duppa is also credited with having named Tempe. - Adapted story of Debe Branning and Donna Carr.

Find out why he was called "Lord" and was actually re-buried in 1991 by coming to Pioneer Military and Memorial Park!

See us on our website: azhistcemeteries.org