Dennis Evanosky Discusses Cemetery Symbolism

[Photo of anchor and Goodall monument by Michael Colbruno; click images to enlarge]

From Dennis Evanosky's book "Mountain View Cemetery" -

Symbols abound in cemeteries and make them interesting; Mountain View is no exception. A neatly trimmed sheaf of ripened wheat, an inverted torch that still burns and an obelisk draped with a tasseled pall: each has its own meaning.

Some symbols make personal statements about the deceased; others chosen from the stonecutter's sketchbook leave more general messages.

A dove flies across a marker with a sprig of olive bearing the message of life after death. A winged hourglass reminds us that time flies.

Laurel leaves, often in the shape of a wreath, announce victory over death. A broken column speaks of a life cut short. Ivy and lambs; lilies and urns all have their messages.

All we have to do is discover them.

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." These words from the New Testament - Hebrews 6:18 - appear throughout Mountain View in the form of a woman leaning on an anchor. She points skyward in this detail on the Goodall mausoleum on Millionaire's Row: the star above her forehead announces she is not of this world.

To purchase Dennis Evanosky's book on Mountain View Cemetery, click here: http://www.evanosky.info/

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Henry Crocker (1832-1904) - Businessman

Henry Crocker was born in Troy, New York in 1832. He moved to California in 1850 with his three brothers, Edwin, Clark and Charles, who became famous as one of the “Big 4” railroad barons. Charles Crocker is buried in one of the more spectacular family mausoleums on Millionaire’s Row in Mountain View Cemetery.

Henry Crocker traveled to the mines, where he worked until 1856. He then moved to Sacramento where he opened a stationery store named Crocker & Edwards, which later became H.S. Crocker & Company. He opened a store with the same name in San Francisco in 1874 at 1st & Market Street[pictured above]. The company made stationary, maps and books.

He married the former Clara Ellen Swinerton in 1864.

He died at his residence at the St. Francis Hotel after a three month illness. One of the floral tributes at his well-attended memorial service was a representation of a Benjamin Franklin Printing Press. The beautiful angel was designed by the San Francisco firm of Seregni & Bernieri. It is also the angel that graces the banner of this blog.

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Washington Oglesby Story Runs in Globe

The Globe newspaper, one of the preeminent newspapers serving the African-American community was gracious enough to allow me to publish a story about my recent post of Washington Oglesby. You can read the entire story here: http://globenewspapers.com/ba6.htm

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Dr. Wallace O. Buckland (1838-1903) – Brigham Young’s Doctor; Oakland Councilman and Mayoral Candidate

[Photo of Wallace Buckland gravesite by Michael Colbruno; city hall as Buckland knew it, photo from www.oaklandhistory.com]

PLOT 30

Wallace Buckland was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and moved to Chicago when he was still a young man. He had worked as a rector in various Episcopalian churches before getting his medical degree. He later converted to Presbyterianism.

He lost all of his belongings in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and decided to move to Salt Lake City. In Utah, Buckland became the personal physician for Mormon leader Brigham Young.

In 1873, he moved to Oakland where he became a successful doctor. He served for one term as a Republican on the Oakland City Council and in 1899 ran for Mayor on the Prohibitionist ticket against Roland Snow and John Davie. Buckland campaigned on a platform of suppressing the saloons and women’s suffrage. He received only 86 votes.

He died on November 29, 1903 of pneumonia after a surgical procedure. His wife Kate McNeal Buckland survived him for five years.

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George Turner (1828-1885) Corrupt Judge Appointed by Lincoln; Mark Twain’s Career Launched by Lecture on Jurist

[Photo of George Turner tombstone by Michael Colbruno]

PLOT 30

George Turner served as a United States District Judge of Virginia and a Territorial Judge of Nevada.

With the establishment of the Nevada Territory in 1861, President Lincoln appointed three justices to the Territorial Supreme Court, one being Turner. Territorial Governor James Nye assigned each to a judicial district to serve also as a circuit court judge, giving Turner the Central District. The Territorial Supreme Court rendered 88 decisions, which were never formally reported. Chief Justice George Turner was commissioned by the legislature to have them published, but the bill was vetoed by Governor Henry Blasdel. Turner took the majority of opinions with him when he left the state and they are considered lost.

Turner developed quite a reputation for corruption and pompousness during his brief stay on the bench, catching the attention of Mark Twain. According to the Nevada Observer:

Judge Turner began to earn a reputation for being the shallowest, most egotistical and mercenary occupant of the Supreme Bench. It was a matter of record that when he traveled in Europe he invariably signed his name on hotel registers as "Hon. George Turner, Chief Justice of the United States." Curiously enough it was Judge Turner that first attracted attention to Mark Twain, then "Samuel Clemens." He delivered a lecture in Carson City on some apparently important subject, but it turned out to be merely a history of his own vain-glorious achievements. Clemens reported the lecture for the Territorial Enterprise and spoke of Turner as "Mr. Personal Pronoun." The skit was regarded with such favor by Joseph Goodman, the editor of the paper, that he offered Clemens a permanent place upon the Enterprise, which was promptly accepted, and this incident launched Twain upon a literary career which gave him, later on, a world-wide reputation. The article was a scorching exposition of Turner's vanity, egotism and emptiness, and created a great deal of discussion throughout the territory.

This was soon followed by a signed article from the pen of R. E. Arick, the first Mayor of Virginia City, who charged the Chief Justice with being absolutely corrupt in his court decisions, and for sale to the highest bidder. Similar charges followed from other sources until in the summer of '62 the Enterprise was in full cry against him and demanding his resignation or removal. But it was not until 1863, when some of the big mining cases were appealed to the Supreme Court, that Judge Turner began playing the game for all that was in it. He did it in a regal way, his broker—a man named Johnson, a near relative—notifying litigants what a favorable decision by his royal highness would cost. In the first Chollar-Potosi trial it was only $60,000 for Judge Turner himself and $10,000 for his broker, which the Chollar company readily paid, of course ; and in every other suit there was a similar demand.

The Territorial Enterprise newspaper hammered the judges for their ethical lapses, particularly focusing on Judge Turner. More from the Observer:

The Enterprise opened fire on Judge Turner and demanded his removal as early as 1862. From that time it never ceased pouring hot shot into him and the Supreme Court, and by 1864 its attacks became a regular bombardment. In August of that year the Supreme Court convened for the fall term, but before any proceedings were had the judges were informed that the bar of the State unitedly refused to practice before them until they had vindicated themselves or taken action against the Enterprise for the charges of corruption it had made against them. The response was probably the most remarkable one ever seen in a court; all the judges descended from the bench—Turner and North resigning at once, and Locke a little later in the day.

All three justices resigned on August 22,1864.

George Turner's Coroner's report (courtesy of Janice Sellers)

Turner committed suicide at the Lick House in San Francisco by shooting himself in the head with his revolver. Turner had been complaining of ill-health before killing himself. He left behind his widow and two children. His wife was known to have accepted bribes on behalf of Turner when he was on the bench.

The Cornoner's report states, "Seven dollars and twenty cents cash, two gold nuggets, eleven pair quartz sleeve buttons, eye-glasses, one gold watch and chain, one seal ring, one stud, one gold stud, one gold match-box, keys, papers, certificate of deposits for three hundred and eighteen dollars and sixty cents on Anglo-California Bank. August 15, to Charles Hensley, order of widow of deceased."

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Washington Jacob Oglesby (1859-1902) First Black Member of California Bar; Candidate for Judge

Jackie Robinson. Franklin Raines. Barack Obama. Sidney Poitier. Arthur Ashe. These are all black men who we know were the first to break the color barrier in their respective fields. However, does anyone remember Washington Oglesby today?

In 1896, Oglesby was the first black man to be admitted to the California Bar Association. However, today he is completely forgotten and buried under a bunch of dried out weeds in the unendowed section of Mountain View Cemetery. I searched for an hour and couldn’t find his grave. Most of the gravestones are either damaged beyond recognition or are too overrun with weeds or covered with dirt to locate. It’s a sad ending for a man who was truly a trailblazer in the closing years of the 19th century. [UPDATE: The weeds have been cleared and the unendowed area in being restored].

Oglesby was born and raised in Virginia. He came to California around 1890 from Arkansas, where he was teaching school. Upon arriving in Oakland, he began selling real estate. His home was at 8th & Linden in Oakland. Directories from the late 19th century show him working in real estate, but the 1902 Husted's Oakland City Directory has him working as an attorney at 861 Broadway in Oakland.

He was involved with the Populist Party (also known as the People’s Party), whose national platform was getting rid of the gold standard. However, many Southern Populists, including their Presidential candidate Thomas E. Watson, spoke about whites and blacks getting past their racial differences and focusing on issues where they had economic self-interest. Oglesby ran for Justice of the Peace on the Populist ticket, but lost.

After passing the California Bar, one of Oglesby’s first divorce cases he handled was for a white woman named Elise Burkert. Her husband in the East had abandoned the woman and her two children. Oglesbly not only won the case, but he won a bride and raised the children as his own.

Oglesby died of a “weak heart” at the early age of 43. His wife said that she heard him call out her name at 3 AM, she flipped on the light and saw him breathe his last breath.

According to the California Association of Black Lawyers, there are over 2,600 black lawyers in the state today. Hopefully, the story of Washington Oglesby will become better known as he helped pave the path for generations of black lawyers.

Edward Newland (1827-1912) – Wealthy Businessman on Both Sides of the Bay

[Photo of Newland gravestone with hawk by Michael Colbruno; Click image to enlarge]

PLOT 14, Lot 120

Edward Newland was born in Kirkdale, England on May 12, 1827. He lost both parents by the time he turned three and was raised by his brother. In 1833, he was sent across the Atlantic to meet his brother who had emigrated to Boston. He stayed until 1848, before moving west.

Newland traveled around the Horn in inclement weather, delaying the ship’s arrival for weeks. Unlike most people on the ship, Newland did not head for the gold mines. He settled in South Park in San Francisco and started a stage coach line, which made him quite wealthy. He soon opened a drayage business (hauling goods on wagons), which carried much of the produce in San Francisco at the time.

In 1856, he married the former Catherine Allen, a Canadian who had come to San Francisco with her sister. The couple had four children.

In 1859, he moved to Oakland where he went into the livery stable business with his brother at 1st and Broadway. Newland rented from Oakland founders Horace Carpentier and Edson Adams.

Newland who had made friends with many of the Comstock millionaires in San Francisco (Flood, Ralston and Fair), soon became friends with the millionaires on the eastern side of the Bay (Merritt, Castro and Hayward). He regularly hosted parties for Oakland’s emerging high society at his home. He also constructed the Newland Hotel, which stood at 7th & Broadway. He started breeding race horses, including many for Senator Leland Stanford.

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Conrad Liese (1833-1886) - Alameda Banker and Butcher

[Photo of Liese monument by Michael Colbruno]

PLOT 16, Lot 4

Conrad Liese was born in Cassel, Germany on July 25, 1833. He emigrated to New York City where he owned a butcher shop. After a few years, he traveled west to San Francisco, and lived in Brooklyn (now East Oakland) where he ran a butcher shop with his brother Henry.

In 1866, he sold his interest in the shop to his brother and moved to Alameda. He originally lived in a two-story house on Park Street before moving to Pacific Street. In 1883, he became president of the Alameda Bank. The bank was the first one in California based upon a currency standard, rather than gold.

Liese became active in creating a vibrant retail community in Alameda, helping create the Park Street business district. He built the Alameda Market on Park Street, which was another butcher shop. Liese turned over the shop to his nephew when he became involved with the bank. Liese also became a major land owner in Alameda and Oakland.

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Hameline Palmer (1837-1894) - King of the Gypsies

[Photo of Hameline Palmer grave by Michael Colbruno; photo of Point Lobos Road as it looked when Palmer lived]

PLOT 58, Lot 843

Hameline Palmer was known as “Bendigo” and ruled the gypsies on the Pacific Coast. He led a nomadic pack of horse traders and peddlers up and down the coast, camping out in tents along the way. Newspaper accounts describe him as “portly” and holding autonomous sway over his camps.

He was born in England and raised an Episcopalian, like most gypsies who emigrated from the British Isles. It is unclear where the nickname Bendigo came from, but it’s a small town in Australia where a number of Palmers reside. Palmer made his headquarters in Oakland and was well-known to those in the livestock trade. He also owned real estate in the City, but most gypsy wealth came from their ownership in gold.

He died at a gypsy compound near 5th Avenue and Point Lobos Road (now Geary Blvd.) in San Francisco of natural causes. It was reported that a “pageant” of gypsies followed the corpse to Oakland’s Mountain View Cemetery. His last rites were performed by Father Akerly, an Episcopalian priest, in front of fifty gypsies.

Read more about the gypsies at Mountain View Cemetery at: http://mountainviewpeople.blogspot.com/2008/03/samson-palmer-and-aaron-boswell-king-of.html

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William Stow (1824-1895) Attorney, Politician, San Francisco Park Commissioner and Anti-Semite

[Photo of Stow gravesite by Michael Colbruno]

PLOT 33, Lot 3738

William W. Stow (1824-1895) was a native of Binghamton, New York, where he was raised on a farm. He graduated from Hamilton College and moved to California when he was 28-years-old. He married the former Ann Eliza Patterson and they had six children.

He settled in Santa Cruz County and grew lemons. Two years later he ran for the California Assembly and served two terms. In 1855, he became the Speaker of the California Assembly. A year later, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for Governor on the Know-Nothing ticket. Stow made headlines as Assembly Speaker when he railed against Jews from the floor and even proposed a tax on Jews that ''would act as a prohibition to their residence amongst us.'' Stow’s outburst was a reaction against Louis Schwartz, a resident of Santa Cruz, who had opened businesses. Stow’s goal was to discourage Jews from moving to California.

California newspapers blasted Stow’s anti-Semitism and San Francisco attorney Henry Labatt published a letter to the Assembly leader in the April 7, 1855 issue of the Los Angeles Star. Despite the uproar from the Jewish community and citizens around the state, another law passed in 1858 after Stow’s departure from the Assembly banning stores from opening on Sundays, a law aimed at Jewish businesses.

Around 1856, he quit his political career and moved to San Francisco. Stow became a partner in the law firm Patterson, Wallace & Stow, which handled primarily land use issues. Despite having what some claimed was the largest law firm in California, he dissolved the practice and accepted a lucrative job with the railroads.

From 1878-1893, Stow made a name for himself as the political “strong arm” and attorney for Collis P. Huntington and the powerful Southern Pacific Railroad. Stow was primarily responsible for the Southern Pacific’s ability to build the railways through his ability to raise massive amounts of financing and gain political favors. His skills as an attorney allowed him to manipulate the complex legal hurdles facing the railroads. Stow became Huntington’s key strategist in California, while issues in Nevada were left to Mountain View Cemetery denizen Stephen Gage. (http://mountainviewpeople.blogspot.com/2008/01/stephen-t-gage-powerful-railroad.html) The San Francisco Chronicle in its obituary said, “Stow was one of the ablest and one of the shrewdest manipulators of men which the peculiar political conditions of this State have ever developed.” They went on to say that for twenty years there wasn’t a session of the Legislature which Stow didn’t dominate.

In 1889, he was appointed to the San Francisco Park Commission and immediately began complaining about the lack of funds for Golden Gate Park. Ironically, when he was Assembly Speaker, he had cut funding for the park in half. In 1893, a lake at Golden Gate Park was named after Stow, who then convinced Huntington to pay $25,000 for a waterfall that still pours into the lake and is named after the railroad baron. That same year, he retired from the railroad to focus his attention on his duties as a park commissioner. His main reason for leaving the railroad was an ongoing feud with Charles Crocker.

In 1890, Stow showed his skills as a political operative while helping Leland Stanford in his re-election campaign for the United States Senate. Stanford was politically wounded by a very public feud with Huntington, which was regular fodder for the newspapers. He was also being dragged down by the unpopularity of William McKinley and the Republicans, primarily over the issue of tariffs, which Stanford supported. Stow insisted that Stanford return early from a trip to Europe and to re-engage the public on the campaign trail. Thanks to Stow’s tenacity, Stanford was re-elected.

Stow died at his San Francisco office while being tended to by a doctor and Assemblyman G.W. Dixon. Reportedly, his last words were a request for a carriage to take him home and an acknowledgment of the time. Before dying he had complained of severe stomach pains. His cause of death was listed as apoplexy.

His obituary in the San Francisco Call dubbed him the “greatest political manager that California has ever known.” His estate was estimated at $3 million at the time of his death.

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