We picked this up and moved it just for you!!!
Come join us for Open House, October 25th from 10am - 1pm!
Take a self-tour of the cemetery, check out Smurthwaite House, and chat with some awesome folks who love Phoenix history! See you soon!
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!
Thank You for a
Meaningful Memorial Day at PMMP
A heartfelt thank you to The Brothers of Picacho Peak Camp
1, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War for leading our powerful Flag
Raising ceremony on Memorial Day. Your continued commitment to honoring those
who served is deeply appreciated.
We are also grateful to all the volunteers who placed flags
on the graves, set up the Smurthwaite House, and helped prepare the grounds to
welcome our guests with dignity and care.
And thank you to everyone who joined us to observe Memorial
Day in such a special place. Among our visitors were King Woolsey’s
great-granddaughter and great-great-great granddaughters, who paid their
respects at his gravesite in Loosley Cemetery, a truly touching moment of
family legacy and remembrance.
You can see the opening speaker for the Flag Ceremony here: https://tinyurl.com/ycx7pmyf
Gettysburg Address and The Unknown Dead poem here: https://tinyurl.com/mry4s2zy
Let us continue to
honor the past as we preserve it for the future.
.HEIC)
Nathaniel Sears, or Nathan as he was usually known, was born about 1810 in Kentucky. His parents were Jesse Sears and Margaret Ellen Cox. Nathan’s paternal grandfather, John Lewis Sears, Sr., was a veteran of the Revolutionary War and had acquired bounty land there.
On April 16, 1830, Nathan married Nancy Mills in Pulaski County, Kentucky. Their first two sons, Jesse and Thompson, were born there. However, around 1835, the Sears family removed to Missouri, where Nathan and Nancy had five more sons in quick succession. The 1850 census of Missouri records them as small farmers.
By 1860, the Sears family was living in West Point, Bates County, Missouri, and Nathan was running a grocery store. Sons Eli, Winfrey and Alexander were still in the household, but the older boys were married and gone.
At least three of the Sears sons fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, although it is not known whether they served in regular regiments or as irregulars. At any rate, they all left Missouri after the war.
1870 found Nathan and Nancy farming near Anaheim, California. Five of their sons-- Thompson, James, Eli, Winfrey and Alexander--were also farming nearby. Surprisingly, Nathan and Nancy’s household included two young African American children, George and Rhoda, who had been born in Missouri.
Sometime between 1876 and 1879, sons John Marion and Eli moved to Phoenix, Arizona. The 1880 federal census lists their occupation as freighters/teamsters. Nathan and Nancy were also in John Marion’s household, although by then they were retired.
Nathan’s wife Nancy must have died between 1880 and 1882, for Nathan married a widow, Furlisa (Felicia?) Ann House Howerton, on November 16, 1882. Nathan and Furlisa had only three years together, as he passed away on their wedding anniversary, November 16, 1885, in Tempe.
It is presumed that Nathan Sears was buried in the Pioneer & Military Memorial Park, that being the only cemetery in use in 1885. However, no grave marker has been found.
While Sears did have a will, it was not entered into probate
until January 9, 1893. His estate was
estimated to be worth about $7000. Per a
prior agreement, he left half of his cattle and all his horses to his son John
Marion, who was a rancher. The other
half of the cattle were to be divided equally among his other sons. To his widow he left five milk cows and any
offspring they might have. Sons John
Marion and James were named as co-executors.
There is no explanation for the seven-year delay in probating the will.
-by Donna
