Jefferson Shannon (1831-1902): Key Figure in Founding of Fresno; Connected to Big Four Railroad Titans

Grave of Jefferson Shannon and Headshot

Plot 32 

Jefferson Milam Shannon was one of early California’s great straddlers of worlds—a frontier lawman, railroad agent, community builder, and businessman whose life paralleled the state’s rapid transformation. Born in Missouri in 1832, Shannon arrived in California in 1850 amid the Gold Rush, eventually settling in Millerton, the first county seat of Fresno County. In 1855, at the age of only 23, he was elected the first sheriff of Fresno County, a position that placed him at the center of a rough-and-tumble frontier community.

Shannon’s early years also reflect the multicultural complexity of the San Joaquin Valley. During his time in Millerton he entered into a business partnership with Ah Kitt, the pioneering Chinese merchant who would become one of the most important early commercial figures of Fresno County. Their store supplied miners, settlers, and Native communities at a time when cross-racial business partnerships between white officials and Chinese entrepreneurs were extraordinarily rare. Shannon’s partnership with Ah Kitt—who would later help establish Fresno’s Chinatown—highlights his practical approach to frontier life and his willingness to work across cultural lines at a time when anti-Chinese sentiment, including the Chinese Exclusion Act, dominated California politics.

Ah Kitt and 19th century Fresno Chinatown

As California shifted from mining camps to rail lines, Shannon shifted with it. He joined the Southern Pacific Railroad as a right-of-way man and later served in its land department as the rail network swept across the San Joaquin Valley. This work placed him squarely under the shadow of the Big Four—Leland Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins—the railroad magnates who built the Central Pacific, dominated the Southern Pacific system, and controlled the political and economic life of the West. Shannon became one of the men who implemented their empire on the ground, helping survey lands, secure parcels, and establish new communities along the expanding rail lines. He played a key role in the founding of Fresno itself, selling the first lots in what would become downtown Fresno and shaping the layout of the emerging city.

Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland contains several figures tied closely to the Big Four’s world of rail power. David D. Colton, Huntington’s chief lieutenant and later the center of the “Colton Letters” scandal, rests in one of the cemetery’s grandest mausoleums. Stephen Gage, a high-ranking Southern Pacific executive; Horace Seaton, a capitalist involved in cases touching railroad interests; and numerous members of Charles Crocker's family are also interred there.

Shannon spent his later years as the Southern Pacific station agent in Alameda, where he continued working for the railroad until the day he died. He passed away on June 8, 1902, leaving behind his wife Rebecca and four children, including noted auditor Sidney F. Shannon of Miller & Lux, as well as valuable vineyards in Fresno County. His life—stretching from the crude mining towns of the 1850s to the structured corporate world of the Southern Pacific—captures the sweeping story of California’s transition from frontier to powerhouse.

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Sources: Alameda Times-Star (June 9, 1902); Fresno Morning Republican (June 10, 1902); Fresno City & County Historical Society (“Ah Kitt”); Biographical files on Jefferson M. Shannon; Southern Pacific historical records; Find-a-Grave memorials for Shannon, Colton, Gage, Seaton, and Crocker family; Ancestry.com

Isaac Milton Kalloch (1852–1930): Avenger, Attorney, and the Son at the Center of San Francisco’s Most Infamous Feud

Kalloch & de Young front page murder story

Isaac Milton Kalloch was born in 1852 into a family whose name became synonymous with some of the most dramatic political and journalistic battles in 19th-century San Francisco. His father, Rev. Isaac S. Kalloch, was a firebrand Baptist minister whose entry into politics during the tumultuous 1879 mayoral race set off a public war of words with the powerful de Young family, founders of The San Francisco Chronicle.

The feud escalated with stunning speed. During the campaign, Charles de Young, the Chronicle’s young and combative editor, accused Rev. Kalloch of moral improprieties in print. Kalloch retaliated from the pulpit with barbed insults of his own—including remarks aimed at the de Youngs’ late mother. On August 23, 1879, ten days before the election, de Young answered the feud with violence: lying in wait outside Metropolitan Baptist Church, he shot Rev. Kalloch twice at point-blank range as the minister stepped from a carriage. Miraculously, Kalloch survived and went on to win the mayoralty while still recovering.

Charles de Young, arrested and released on bail, eventually left town for several months. Local authorities delayed formal charges, frustrating Kalloch supporters. When he returned to San Francisco, de Young re-ignited the controversy by publishing a 60-page “biography” of Mayor Kalloch—part political attack, part personal smear.

Chronicle building where de Young was shot

When Isaac Milton Kalloch, then 28, obtained an advance copy of the pamphlet, he saw it as the final assault on his father’s character. On April 23, 1880, he armed himself, entered the Chronicle Building at Kearny and Bush Streets, and shot Charles de Young dead in the lobby. The killing stunned California and drew national attention. During his sensational trial, the younger Kalloch claimed self-defense, and in one of the most controversial verdicts in San Francisco history, a jury acquitted him.

After the trial, Kalloch retreated from public life and eventually built a quiet career as an attorney. Conflicting historical accounts arose regarding his later years. A 1910 newspaper reported that he shot himself accidentally while cleaning a revolver in preparation for a hunting trip—an incident that indeed left him seriously wounded. But despite the grave tone of early reports, he survived the mishap.

The definitive record comes from his burial information: Isaac Milton Kalloch died on May 1, 1930, decades after the newspaper feud and murder trial that made his name known throughout California. He rests far from the political storms that once swirled around him, a figure whose life embodies San Francisco’s turbulent Gilded Age—an era when newspapers wielded extraordinary power, public feuds turned deadly, and a son’s loyalty changed the course of the city’s history.

Sources: San Francisco Chronicle Vault; Los Angeles Herald (Sept. 29, 1910); The Silver State (Unionville, NV, Mar. 25, 1881); San Mateo Times (Apr. 23, 1926); NewspaperArchive.com; Find-a-Grave memorial for Isaac Milton Kalloch; Guardians of the City - San Francisco Sheriff's Office; Metropolitan Baptist Church historical accounts; The Wasp, May 8, 1880 Cover

Effie Newcomb (1872-1892): 19th Century Child Actress Who Died Young

 

Effie Newcomb Goldsmith death notice

Plot 19, Grave 2603

Effie Newcomb was a notable child actress in the 1880s, frequently performing under the stage name "Little Effie Newcomb" and sometimes billed as Effie Newcomb Hughes. She came from a family of performers, with sisters Gussie (Augusta) and Blanche Newcomb, and was the daughter of well-known minstrel and songwriter Robert Hughes Newcomb and Mary Blake, an actress and ballet dancer. 

​Effie Newcomb was part of the Newcomb family troupe, which included her sisters and parents, and was active on the American theatrical circuit in the 1880s. The Newcomb family was associated with Bobby Newcomb’s Comedy Alliance and performed productions like "Teddy the Tiger" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin," often hitting major cities and theater circuits.

Newspaper ad featuring Newcomb troupe

Effie was most famous for her role as Little Eva in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," a play that traveled extensively and was a staple of 19th-century American theater. Newspaper clippings describe her as "The Wonderful Child Actress" and note her appearances with a specially trained pet pony, Prince, which became one of her stage trademarks. She was often praised in newspaper accounts for her emotional portrayal of Eva, a role requiring both pathos and charm.

Ad for Effie in Uncle Tom's Cabin

While this play was immensely popular in the 19th century and helped spread anti-slavery sentiment, it is controversial today for its use of racial stereotypes, blackface, and its portrayal of African American characters by white actors. Minstrel shows, which the Newcomb family also participated in, are now widely recognized as perpetuating racist caricatures and contributing to harmful stereotypes. 

Effie appears consistently in period programs, advertisements, and news write-ups from 1882 through the mid-1880s, particularly alongside her sisters and under her father's management. 

Her marriage is recorded as Effie Newcomb Hughes marrying Walter John Goldsmith in April 1891, under her full legal name.

Effie died at age 20, but a cause of death is not available in existing records (many San Francisco death records were destroyed in a fire). Her sister Gussie survived her, and various sources note the family's significant role in 19th-century American theater and minstrelsy.

 

Sources: Napa Valley Register, Grand Rapids Telegram-Herald, Cheyenne Daily Leader, San Francisco Chronicle

Carrie Northey aka Caro Roma (1866-1937): Operatic Diva and Prolific Song Writer

Plot 2, Lot 1

Carrie Northey—known to the musical world as Caro Roma—was among the most accomplished American women composers and performers of her generation. Born in East Oakland, California, in 1866, she was the daughter of a local blacksmith. From these humble beginnings, she rose to become a prima donna who sang before royalty and a composer whose melodies echoed from music halls to parlor pianos across the United States.

Northey Family Plot (photo Michael Colbruno)

Northey’s prodigious talent appeared early. At just three years old, she made her first public appearance at Platt’s Hall in San Francisco, performing one of her own compositions. Her family later sent her east to study at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she developed into both a pianist and vocalist of remarkable ability.

She began her stage career under her own name, but by the 1890s she adopted the gender-neutral pseudonym Caro Roma, likely inspired by Verdi’s celebrated aria “Caro nome” (“Dear Name”) from Rigoletto. The name conveyed both affection and continental sophistication, qualities that matched her growing international reputation.

As Caro Roma, she became a prima donna with the Castle Square Opera Company in Boston and later performed at the Tivoli Opera House in San Francisco. Her voice carried her to the concert stages of Europe and North America, and she was even honored with a command performance before Queen Victoria—a rare distinction for an American singer of the era.

Her career soon expanded beyond the stage. Roma composed songs that merged Victorian sentiment with the melodic accessibility of the Tin Pan Alley era, working with such noted collaborators as Ernest R. Ball, Jules Eckert Goodman, and William H. Gardner. Her best-known work, “Can’t You Hear Me Calling, Caroline,” became an enduring favorite. Other popular titles included “Ave Maria,” “Garden of My Heart,” “Resignation,” and “Lullaby.”

Her compositions were admired for their memorable tunes and emotional appeal, though some—particularly “Can’t Yo’ Heah Me Calling”—reflected the racial caricatures of their time. Like many songs of the early 1900s, it employed exaggerated dialects and stereotypes that audiences of the day found amusing but which are now recognized as demeaning and racist. Such works reveal the contradictory nature of the Tin Pan Alley period, when the same culture that nurtured female composers like Roma also trafficked in racially offensive tropes.

In addition to popular music, Roma wrote sacred and poetic works, including “Some Idle Moments” (1900) and “I Come to Thee,” a devotional song set to words by George Graff Jr. She frequently set her own verse to music, bridging the worlds of parlor song and art song.

Returning to her native Oakland in her later years, she remained admired for her artistry and quiet dignity. She died there on September 23, 1937, at the age of 72, leaving what the Oakland Tribune called “a legacy of everlasting beauty.”

Though some of her music bears the prejudices of its time, her accomplishments as a woman composer and performer helped shape the early sound of American popular song.

Sources: The Oakland Tribune (Sep. 23, 1937); The New York Times (Sep. 24, 1937); Wikipedia; California State Library; University of Toronto Music Archives; Find a Grave

James Madison “Old Pard” Bassett (1830–1903): Battled the "Big 4" Railroad Monopolies

Bassett family gravestone and headshot

Plot 12 Lot 38 (headstone reads "Ella: Wife of JM Bassett)

James “Old Pard” Bassett was one of the most colorful and combative figures in early Oakland politics, remembered for his bitter feud with railroad magnate Collis P. Huntington and his role in the long-running battles over control of the city’s waterfront. A former Oakland City Council member, entrepreneur, and prolific letter writer, Bassett spent decades railing against the influence of the railroads and the corruption he believed they brought to California’s civic life.

The nickname “Old Pard”—short for “Old Partner”—was a common term of camaraderie among pioneers and soldiers in the West. To be someone’s “pard” was to be their trusted comrade. Bassett adopted it as both a badge of familiarity and a populist calling card, signing his many published diatribes against political and corporate power as “Old Pard.” His letters, filled with humor, sarcasm, and righteous indignation, appeared regularly in Bay Area newspapers, attacking monopolies and celebrating the common man.

At the center of Bassett’s crusades stood Collis Potter Huntington, one of California’s “Big Four” railroad barons, along with Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker. These men built the Central Pacific Railroad and controlled much of the West’s transportation infrastructure. To Bassett, Huntington represented everything wrong with unchecked corporate power—political manipulation, land grabs, and disregard for public rights. Their feud, waged in both courtrooms and newspapers, became legendary.

Oyster Beds on Oakland/San Leandro waterfront

The dispute centered on valuable property at First and Webster Streets on Oakland’s waterfront, where the Southern Pacific Railroad sought to monopolize shipping and ferry access. The land had been first occupied by James M. Dameron, a squatter who, along with Willard C. Doane, fought to protect it against railroad-backed interests. Dameron and Doane, joined at times by Bassett and former Mayor John L. Davie, even armed themselves to defend the property. The litigation over the site dragged on for nearly twenty years, with dozens of competing claims filed. When the courts finally settled the matter, the title went to San Francisco businessman Charles H. Holbrook Jr., ending one of the Bay Area’s most tangled property disputes.

Bassett relished every moment of his opposition to Huntington. In one widely circulated letter headlined “Bassett Even on Huntington,” he declared victory over his “ancient enemy” after a favorable court ruling, proclaiming that “this decision is more on the side of the people than I anticipated.” To Bassett, the fight was always about more than land—it was about the people’s right to resist monopoly and corruption. His fiery language and tireless agitation made him both admired and despised, a gadfly whose words echoed the populist sentiment of the age.

Beyond his waterfront battles, Bassett served a single term on the Oakland City Council, where his plainspoken style and independent streak set him apart. He clashed frequently with colleagues and business interests, championing causes that others found impractical but which he believed served the public good. Even after leaving office, he continued to insert himself into civic debates, often through letters published under his “Old Pard” signature.

San Francisco Call obituary

By the turn of the century, Bassett’s health and fortunes had declined, but his pen remained sharp. His last years were spent largely in Oakland, where he was remembered as a familiar figure—eccentric, outspoken, and unbowed. When he died in 1903 at the age of 73, the San Francisco Call wrote that he had been “for many years prominent in the public affairs of Oakland” and that “his fearless pen and ready tongue made him both friends and enemies.” Other papers noted that, for all his bluster, his crusades against corporate greed had earned him a certain grudging respect, even among his opponents.

James “Old Pard” Bassett’s life reflected the restless, defiant character of early Oakland—a city torn between rapid industrialization and its frontier spirit. His feud with Huntington was more than a personal vendetta; it symbolized the struggle between public access and private control, between the small reformer and the industrial titan. In an age dominated by the Big Four and their iron rails, Old Pard Bassett stood on the shore at Oakland, railing back at empire.

Sources: San Francisco Call (Apr. 25, 1903, p.4); The Searchlight (Redding, Apr. 25, 1903, p.1); San Francisco Call (Aug. 4, 1903); San Francisco Call (Sept. 17, 1890s, “Bassett Even on Huntington”); San Francisco Report (“Old Pard Bassett”); California State Library Newspaper Archive; San Leandro Historical Society; Ancestry.com; Find a Grave

Captain Edgar “Ned” Wakeman (1812 – 1886) The Sea Captain Who Inspired Mark Twain

Wakeman grave marker (photo Michael Colbruno) and Headshot

Plot 1, Lot 25, Grave 3

Captain Edgar “Ned” Wakeman was one of those larger-than-life 19th-century mariners whose exploits blurred the line between truth and legend. Described by Mark Twain as “a great, burly, handsome, weather-beaten, symmetrically built and powerful creature, with coal-black hair and whiskers and the kind of eye which men obey without talking back,” Wakeman’s tales of the sea thrilled and influenced one of America’s greatest writers.

Wakeman’s career was filled with escapades that Twain later immortalized in fiction. One of the most famous stories—likely told to Twain firsthand—involved the steamboat New World, which Wakeman “borrowed” from authorities after it was impounded for debt. Pretending to “warm up” the ship’s engines, Wakeman invited the sheriff and his deputies below deck for refreshments, only to raise full steam and cast off into the open sea. When confronted at gunpoint, Wakeman coolly declared, “I’m sorry, but we’re at sea now, and I am the law.” He eventually set his captives ashore unharmed and went on to live out a pirate’s adventure that took him to Brazil, Trinidad, and beyond. 

Wakeman with wife and advertisement for adventure

His resourcefulness was legendary. When he arrived in Rio de Janeiro without papers to prove command of the New World, he staged a theatrical “accident,” toppling into the harbor with a tin box supposedly containing his documents. The sympathetic American consul quickly provided replacements—allowing Wakeman to sail on to Peru and Panama, always one step ahead of the law. 

Mark Twain met Captain Wakeman in 1866 aboard the steamship America, sailing from San Francisco to New York. The two formed a deep, if unlikely, friendship. Twain was captivated by the captain’s mix of bluster, humor, and humanity, and he later drew on Wakeman for several of his most memorable sea-going characters—Captain Blakely in Roughing It, Captain Hurricane Jones in Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion, and most notably, Captain Stormfield in Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven. Through these portraits, Twain preserved the spirit of his old shipmate: part philosopher, part pirate, and entirely unforgettable.  

Books about and inspired by Captain Wakeman

Wakeman’s later years were less romantic. By the early 1870s, he was paralyzed and living in poverty near San Francisco. Twain, then living in Hartford, Connecticut, learned of his old friend’s condition and wrote an impassioned open letter, “Appeal for Capt. Ned Wakeman,” published in the Alta California. He urged San Franciscans to come to the captain’s aid:

“I have made voyages with the old man when fortune was a friend to him... and now that twenty years of rough toil on the watery highways of the far West find him wrecked and in distress, I am sure that the splendid generosity which has made the name of California to be honored in all lands will come to him in such a shape that he shall confess that the seeds sowed in better days did not fall upon unfruitful soil.”

The letter is among the most tender and human of Twain’s public writings, a reminder that behind the humorist’s wit was deep loyalty and compassion. According to the blog "Books Tell You Why," it appears that Wakeman received little help from the appeal. 

Both Twain and Wakeman were drawn to San Francisco, then the rough-and-ready gateway to the Pacific. Twain had come west as a journalist during the 1860s, finding work at the Morning Call and later the Alta California, where he honed his distinctive voice. Wakeman, for his part, made the port city his home base after decades of global voyages. The two men—one a restless sailor, the other a restless writer—found in San Francisco a community of dreamers, schemers, and storytellers who thrived at the edge of the known world.  

Oakland home of Capt. Wakeman (Oakland Tribune)

Captain Edgar “Ned” Wakeman died in 1886 and was buried in Plot 1 with many of Oakland's early pioneers. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the publication of his memoir. "Log of an Ancient Mariner," which was published three years after he passed away.

His epitaph might well have been borrowed from Twain’s Captain Stormfield: “He never meant any harm, but he was built for adventure.” Through Twain’s pen, Wakeman’s boldness, wit, and humanity have sailed on far longer than any of his ships.

Sources: Look and Learn (May 24, 2013); Alta California (Dec. 14, 1872); Mark Twain’s Appeal for Capt. Ned Wakeman; Library of Congress; California State Library; Find a Grave.com (link); Oakland Tribune; ebay.com; Bancroft Library

Louise Eddy Taber (1884–1946): Chronicler of California’s Past

Louise Taber (California State Library)

Plot 14B, Lot 116, Grave 4

Louise Eddy Taber was born in Oakland in 1884, the daughter of famed photographer Isaiah West Taber and Annie Taber. Her father’s San Francisco studio was among the most renowned on the West Coast in the late 19th century, producing some of the finest portraits and landscape images of early California. (You can read more about her father on the Lives of the Dead blog here.)

While Isaiah captured California through the camera lens, Louise chronicled it through words and voice. Beginning in 1915, she worked as a writer for the San Francisco Examiner and later the San Francisco Chronicle, where she produced vivid sketches and nostalgic essays about early San Francisco life. Her pieces combined careful historical detail with the warmth of personal memory, preserving a vanishing city that had been forever changed by the 1906 earthquake and fire.

The Taber Family

By the 1930s, Taber had brought her gift for storytelling to the airwaves. She began producing and hosting a popular series of radio programs, including California Memories and Gold Rush Days, which aired throughout Northern California. These programs brought listeners back to the pioneer era, reanimating the voices and adventures of California’s early settlers. Her skillful blend of historical narrative and dramatization made her one of the few women of her time to find success as both a historian and a broadcaster.

Two Louise Taber books

A 1936 Oakland Tribune profile described her as a “historian of California who brings the old days vividly before her audiences,” noting that she often drew from her own family’s deep roots in the state and her father’s visual archive to enrich her storytelling. She also appeared at civic clubs and museums, where she lectured on Gold Rush lore and the evolution of San Francisco’s cultural scene.

Louise Eddy Taber’s work bridged eras and mediums, linking California’s frontier past to its modern identity through the power of story. She died in 1946, leaving behind a body of work that helped preserve the memory of early San Francisco for generations who would never know it firsthand.

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Sources: Oakland Tribune, November 28, 1911, p. 4; Oakland Tribune, January 20, 1936, p. 16; Berkeley Daily Gazette, September 22, 1941, p. 4; California State Library archives; Bancroft Library

Harvey Christensen (1893–1947): Journeyman Baseball Player in U.S. and Canada

Harvey Christensen

Main Mausoleum, Section Six, Crypt 590, Tier 5

Harvey Christensen belonged to a generation of California ballplayers who helped define early 20th-century baseball, when local industrial teams, town clubs, and professional leagues all blurred together into a single, thriving ecosystem. Born in 1893, Christensen grew up in San Leandro, where baseball quickly became both his passion and his livelihood.

Oakland Tribune teasing abridged honeymoon

By his early twenties, he was already making a name for himself around the Bay. The Oakland Tribune described the young infielder as a “well-built youngster who cavorts around the second station,” when he joined the Oakland Oaks during spring training at Boyes Springs in Sonoma County in 1914. Under manager Del Howard, Christensen proved to be a sure-handed second baseman with quick reflexes and a dependable bat. That same year, the papers noted another milestone in his life — his marriage to Ruth Enos of Stonhurst — teasing that the newlywed’s honeymoon had been cut short when team management called him back to camp: “Even a baseball idol must eat,” the Tribune joked.

Over the next several years, Christensen became a fixture of Northern California’s baseball scene. He played in the Alameda County Midwinter League and for clubs such as the Oakland Commission Merchants and the Halton-Didlers, often sharing the field with future Pacific Coast League professionals. During World War I, he anchored second base for the Alameda Bethlehem Shipbuilders, one of the powerhouse industrial teams representing the Bay Area’s wartime workforce. The Tribune named him the best second baseman in the Shipbuilders’ League of 1918, praising his remarkable .975 fielding average and his reliability in playing “every game of the season.”

After the war, Christensen continued to pursue opportunities beyond local play, joining professional clubs in the South and West. He signed briefly with the Nashville Volunteers of the Southern Association and later moved to the Wilson Bugs in the Virginia League after becoming a free agent when, as one newspaper put it, “the Travelers cut his salary 100 iron men.” Like many journeyman ballplayers of the era, he traveled constantly in search of the next roster spot and steady paycheck.

Harvey Christensen, 1920 Calgary Bronchos (top row, 4th from left)

One of the most distinctive chapters of Christensen’s career came in 1920, when he ventured north to Canada to join the Calgary Bronchos of the Western Canada League (WCL). The WCL, then a Class B professional circuit, featured teams from cities such as Calgary, Regina, Edmonton, Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg. It offered strong regional competition and a level of play comparable to America’s Class B minor leagues.

That year, the Calgary Bronchos were a dominant force, winning the league championship after a dramatic best-of-nine playoff series against the Regina Senators. Christensen was among the players listed on the Bronchos’ 1920 roster, appearing in the team’s lineup during its most successful season. For him, the Calgary stint represented both an adventure and a professional high point, a chance to play at an elevated level far from his Bay Area roots and to experience baseball’s growing international reach.

Western Canada League schedule

The Western Canada League itself was short-lived — folding after the 1921 season — but its brief existence marked an important phase in the spread of organized baseball into the Canadian Prairies. For players like Christensen, it was a proving ground and an opportunity to extend a career that might otherwise have been confined to the industrial leagues at home.

After his professional years, little is recorded of Christensen’s later life, though he eventually returned to California. He died in 1947, remembered among the ranks of those unsung ballplayers who bridged the gap between baseball’s rough-and-ready regional past and the modern, organized sport that emerged after World War I. 

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Sources:
Oakland Tribune, Ogden Standard, Ruthven Free Press, At the Plate: Western Canada League Archives, Alberta Dugout Stories, Find a Grave, Ancestry records

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Bill “Duke” Kenworthy (1886–1950): Major League Baseball Player Who Drowned at Sea

Duke Kenworthy and Mausoleum Vault

Main Mausoleum, Section 7, Crypt 783, Tier 5

William Jennings “Duke” Kenworthy was born on July 4, 1886, on a small Ohio farm near Hopewell in Guernsey County. His parents, Benjamin Franklin Kenworthy and Jennie Lowry Kenworthy, named him after the populist firebrand William Jennings Bryan, a symbolic touch for someone who would later earn a populist following in America’s rough-and-ready minor leagues.

Kenworthy graduated from Muskingum College with a teaching degree and began his professional baseball career in 1907 while still working winters as a schoolteacher. He was a small man by ballplayer standards — just 5-foot-7 — but compensated with ingenuity and determination. Fellow player Chuck Dressen once said Kenworthy was the first man he ever saw who put lead shot in the fingers of his glove to help his small hands close around the ball.

Kenworthy began as a pitcher, winning 20 or more games in back-to-back seasons for Zanesville in 1909 and 1910. But his bat soon became as valuable as his arm. Drafted briefly by the Boston Red Sox, he ended up with the Denver Grizzlies, where he batted .315 and was known for his massive 42-inch “war club,” fashioned from a hickory tree on his Ohio farm and seasoned behind the family stove. He treated that bat as a companion — the first of many that became part of his lore.

Seattle teammates Duke Kenworthy & Brick Eldred

One of Kenworthy’s quirks was his devotion to his bats, which he named and polished obsessively. His favorite, “Betty,” was polished to such a shine with tobacco juice, resin, and a piece of pop bottle that he could “see his face in it.” Between games he would “talk” to Betty, running his fingers along the handle until it squeaked.

“Well, how you feelin’ today, Betty?” he’d ask.
“Skeek!” came the reply as his fingers rubbed the smooth handle.
“Gonna get me some hits today, Betty?”
“Skeek!”
“Atta baby. A triple, maybe?”
“Skeek!”

That ritualized conversation between man and bat became part of Pacific Coast League folklore — a mix of humor and superstition that defined Kenworthy’s style.

Kenworthy reached the majors in 1912 with the Washington Senators, playing in ten games and hitting .237. Two years later he joined the Kansas City Packers of the renegade Federal League, where he became one of its brightest stars. In 1914, he hit .317, leading his team with 15 home runs and 91 RBIs — nearly topping the entire league. The next year, he led Kansas City in batting again at .298. His charisma and play earned him the nickname “The Iron Duke.”

That same year, newspapers across the country reported that Kenworthy had inherited $1 million from a wealthy uncle in London, dubbing him “His Lordship Kenworthy.” Though he delighted in the story, the money never arrived; the supposed estate was tied up in British probate and later seized by the Crown. Kenworthy kept right on playing — joking that he’d “quit the game only if I get benched.”

Portland Beavers team photo featured Kenworthy

When the Federal League collapsed, Kenworthy headed west to the Pacific Coast League, where he became a fixture for the next decade — playing and managing for the Oakland Oaks, Los Angeles Angels, and Seattle Rainiers. In 1916 he led the league in hitting with a .314 average for the Oaks. In Seattle, fans adored him for his fiery play and sharp humor. He was also known for his impeccable grooming: he carried his wife’s electric iron on road trips, pressing his own shirts in hotel rooms. As sports cartoonist Al Demaree joked in 1929, “Every ball player used to pride himself on his silk shirts — and if you were a good friend of Kenworthy’s, he’d iron yours too.”

In 1922, Kenworthy’s popularity nearly derailed his career when baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspended him during a contract dispute with the Portland Beavers, suspecting an under-the-table agreement with team owner Bill Klepper. Though reinstated, the controversy stung. Still, Kenworthy remained one of the Coast League’s most respected figures — both as a manager and as a clubhouse wit.

By 1924, he sold his shares in the Beavers for a tidy $46,000 and left baseball to become a building contractor in Oakland, where his energy and optimism made him a success. He never strayed far from the game, however. He coached the Oakland Oaks in 1939 and later joined St. Mary’s College in Moraga as freshman baseball coach.

Kenworthy remained athletic into his sixties, winning the Northern California Senior Golf Championship in both 1941 and 1942. He loved the outdoors, spending weekends fishing or hunting with friends. That passion would prove fatal.

Oakland Tribune headline September 22, 1950

On September 21, 1950, Kenworthy set out from Eureka, California, aboard an 18-foot inboard motorboat with three companions — Fred Williams, Cecil Bilson, and E. J. Hysdal — for a salmon fishing trip on Humboldt Bay. When they failed to return, a Coast Guard search found the overturned boat and Kenworthy’s body washed ashore. The others were never found. The Oakland Tribune reported that the men had likely been caught by a strong tide at dusk and overturned by rough surf. There were no life jackets aboard.

Kenworthy was 64 years old.

Kenworthy’s funeral became something of a reunion for the West Coast baseball fraternity. Among his pallbearers were several men who had left their mark on the baseball diamond. Johnny Vergez, a former New York Giants third baseman and Kenworthy’s coaching colleague at St. Mary’s College, helped lead the procession, joined by Sammy Bohne, who had patrolled infields for the Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Robins. Bud Richards and Wally Lynn, both fixtures of Pacific Coast League carried their old teammate one last time. Another pallbearer, Bernie DeViveiros, had himself played for the Chicago White Sox and spent years as a respected PCL shortstop before turning to coaching. DeViveiros, fittingly, now rests not far from Kenworthy at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland [Read about him HERE].

Sportswriter Emmons Byrne described Kenworthy as “a hustling, fighting ballplayer” who played for love of the game and never lost his humor or kindness. Even in his final years, Byrne noted, “The Duke was as generous as ever, coaching kids for free or helping a neighbor build his house.”

Another former big leaguer, Nubs Kleinke, who pitched briefly for the St. Louis Browns in the 1930s, also drowned in a boating accident off the California coast and is also buried at Mountain View Cemetery [read about him HERE].

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Sources:
Bill Nowlin, “Duke Kenworthy,” Society for American Baseball Research; Oakland Tribune (Sept. 22 & 25, 1950); San Mateo Times (Sept. 22, 1950); Lawrence Daily Journal-World (Aug. 10, 1929); Salt Lake Tribune (Mar. 6, 1928); Portland Sunday Oregonian (Apr. 16, 1922); Baseball-Reference; Retrosheet; Find a Grave; Wikipedia

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Jim “Truck” Cullom (1922–1995): Cal Hall of Fame Athlete Whose Last Words Were "GO BEARS!"

Truck Cullom and Grave

Plot 9

Jim “Truck” Cullom was one of those rare figures who seemed to embody the spirit of the University of California—tough, loyal, and never short on humor. A standout lineman and kicker for the Golden Bears, Cullom was named a first-team All-Coast tackle in 1949 and earned the nickname “The Toe” for his remarkable kicking ability. Between 1947 and 1949, he set a Cal record by scoring in 25 consecutive games and successfully converting 103 point-after-touchdown attempts. During his three varsity seasons, the Bears compiled an extraordinary 29–3 record and made back-to-back Rose Bowl appearances under legendary coach Pappy Waldorf.

Cullom’s path to Berkeley came after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. His gridiron power and personality made him one of the team’s most recognizable figures. Teammates recalled his booming voice in the huddle, his knack for breaking tension with a perfectly timed wisecrack, and his natural leadership. He was once remembered telling a nervous substitute during the 1949 Rose Bowl, “Jeez, Brunk’s here—we’re going to have to block now.”

Truck Cullom

After graduating, Cullom briefly played professional football for the New York Yankees of the All-American Football Conference before being recalled to military duty for the Korean War, where he was wounded and carried shrapnel in his hip for the rest of his life. Friends said he never once complained about it.

Cullom’s professional stint came with the New York Yankees football team—not to be confused with the famous baseball club of the same name. The gridiron Yankees were part of the short-lived All-America Football Conference (AAFC), a rival league to the NFL that operated from 1946 to 1949. Based at Yankee Stadium, the team fielded many future NFL stars, including Spec Sanders and Buddy Young, and faced off against the powerhouse Cleveland Browns. When the AAFC folded, the football Yankees briefly joined the NFL for the 1950 season before disbanding. 

When he returned to Berkeley, Cullom threw himself back into Cal athletics, serving as an assistant coach in both football and rugby from 1964 to 1971 under head coach Ray Willsey. He was particularly beloved as freshman football coach—a role that perfectly fit his mix of discipline, humor, and compassion.

Truck Cullom Memorial Bench at Cal

Cullom was also an outstanding rugby player and remained devoted to the sport throughout his life, helping coach the Cal team alongside the legendary Doc Hudson. A bench at Witter Rugby Field was later dedicated in his honor, a permanent reminder of his devotion to the university he loved. Even after leaving coaching, Cullom stayed close to Cal through his travel agency, which organized fan trips so supporters could follow the Bears on the road.

In 1995, Cullom was inducted into the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame, cementing his legacy as one of the university’s most cherished athletes and coaches. His friends and teammates described him as “the kind of man who knew everyone” and who carried a quiet dignity even in the face of pain.

Cullom’s humor, which had sustained him through decades of triumphs and battles, never left him—not even at the end. During his final days battling cancer, a group of close friends gathered at his hospital bedside. At one point, they were asked to leave the room so he could receive an enema. When they returned, one friend asked gently how he was feeling. Though drifting in and out of consciousness, Cullom opened his eyes, smiled faintly, and said, “We have met the enema—and the enema is us.” Laughter and tears filled the room.

On his final night, the Cal rugby team visited and serenaded him with the raucous Cal drinking song. Cullom, seemingly unconscious, lifted his head as they turned to leave and managed to murmur two words that summed up his life and his love for his alma mater:
“Go Bears.”

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Sources: San Francisco Chronicle/SFGate obituary “Cal Bids Farewell to Truck Cullom”; Cal Athletics Hall of Fame biography; University of California archives; All-America Football Conference historical records; Wikipedia; Find a Grave