Thursday, November 27, 2025

Billy Simpson (1872-1911): Gunfire, Divorce Drama & Funeral Spectacle: Alameda’s City Attorney Drowns in a Sea of Scandal!

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Images from Oakland Tribune pictures Plot 43 Lot 108 Milton William “Billy” Simpson was one of Alameda’s most prominent early civic figures—...
Wednesday, November 26, 2025

Prince Lasha (1929–2008): Pioneering Jazz Musician

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Prince Lasha in Rolling Stone magazine Prince Lasha—born William B. Lawsha on September 10, 1929, in Fort Worth, Texas—was one of jazz’s gre...
Monday, November 24, 2025

Pauline Powell Burns (1877–1912): First Black Woman Artist to Exhibit in California

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Pauline Powell Burns Plot 45, Grave 844 Pauline Powell Burns occupies a landmark place in California cultural history as the first known Afr...
Friday, November 21, 2025

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

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Grave of Jefferson Shannon and Headshot Plot 32  Jefferson Milam Shannon was one of early California’s great straddlers of worlds—a frontier...
Thursday, November 20, 2025

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

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Kalloch & de Young front page murder story Isaac Milton Kalloch was born in 1852 into a family whose name became synonymous with some of...
Friday, November 14, 2025

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

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  Effie Newcomb Goldsmith death notice Plot 19, Grave 2603 Effie Newcomb was a notable child actress in the 1880s, frequently performing un...
Tuesday, November 11, 2025

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

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Plot 2, Lot 1 Carrie Northey—known to the musical world as Caro Roma —was among the most accomplished American women composers and performer...

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

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Bassett family gravestone and headshot Plot 12 Lot 38 (headstone reads "Ella: Wife of JM Bassett) James “Old Pard” Bassett was one of t...
Sunday, November 9, 2025

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

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Wakeman grave marker ( photo Michael Colbruno) and Headshot Plot 1, Lot 25, Grave 3 Captain Edgar “Ned” Wakeman was one of those larger-tha...
Saturday, November 8, 2025

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

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Louise Taber (California State Library) Plot 14B, Lot 116, Grave 4 Louise Eddy Taber was born in Oakland in 1884, the daughter of famed phot...