Alameda County CA Archives Obituaries.....Mendenhall, Mary Adelaide (Allen) March 25, 1903 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Steve Harrison raleighwood@juno.com May 17, 2010, 10:13 am Oakland Tribune, March 26, 1903 Oakland Tribune March 26, 1903 (Thursday) Page 5, Column 3 “DEATH CALLS PIONEER WOMAN Mrs. Mendenhall of Livermore Closes a Life Full of Good Deeds. Livermore, March 26. Mrs. Mary Allen Mendenhall, wife of William M. Mendenhall of this city, passed away yesterday [March 25] in the seventy-third year of her age, surrounded by mourning members of a large and prominent family and in the enjoyment of the esteem of thousands of people in all parts of the State. Mrs. Mendenhall’s illness had been of a serious character during the past week, a circumstance which led to the gathering about her of her descendants who reside in various places throughout the State. The end finally came at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. George W. Langan, in this city. MANY CHILDREN. Mrs. Mendenhall leaves to mourn her demise her husband, William M. Mendenhall and the following children: James M. Mendenhall, Mrs. C[urtis] H. Lindley of San Francisco, Mrs. J[ames] N. Block of San Francisco, Mrs. G. W. Langan of Livermore, D[avid] A. Mendenhall, William W. Mendenhall, Oswald Mendenhall, Mrs. Fred A. Carrick of San Francisco and Asa V. Mendenhall of Oakland. A PIONEER WOMAN. Mrs. Mendenhall was not only a pioneer woman of this section of the State, but also of the Pacific Coast. She crossed the plains in an emigrant train and soon after married her husband, who now, after more than fifty years of wedded bliss, is obliged to experience the pain of final and irremedial separation. Mrs. Mendenhall was born November 11, 1830, in Lincoln county, Mo. She was only 16 years old when her parents started across the plains. Illness befell the family, the father, David Allen, being stricken, and the mother dying while the party was crossing Nevada. The care of the motherless family devolved upon Mary, who was the eldest daughter. They were among the original pathfinders heading into Oregon, and a year later coming to California. The overland journey had been completed in 1846. NUPTIALS IN SAN JOSE. On April 18, 1847, Miss Allen married the husband who survives her. The ceremony took place in San Jose and was performed by Alcalde Burton. Mr. Mendenhall himself was a California pioneer. He came to California in 1845. He discovered the Truckee sink. As a member of Fremont’s California battalion he took part in quelling Spanish uprisings on the Pacific Coast during the Mexican War. It was while he was stationed at Santa Clara on military duty that he met Miss Allen. In June, 1848, Mr. and Mrs. Mendenhall went to the mines on the American river, near Sutter’s Fort, and later they pioneered in the Tuolumne region, where Mr. Mendenhall engaged in trading. The wife shared all the hardships of those early days. The couple went to the site of Portland, Or., for a time, but in 1849 returned by wagon train to Sacramento. Engaging in stock raising in Contra Costa county, and on the San Joaquin plains, the family acquired a fortune, which was swept away by a drought in 1862. LIBERAL FAMILY. The Mendenhalls settled first in the Livermore mountains that year, then spent a couple of years in the San Ramon valley. They assisted in erecting the first school-house in the Livermore valley. In 1866 they acquired the lands of which the larger portion of the town of Livermore is situated. In 1869 Mr. Mendenhall platted the townsite and gave lands to the Livermore College and a block for a public school. He also deeded thirty-two acres to get the railroad depot at Livermore. The funeral will take place tomorrow [March 27], at 2 o’clock p.m. The services will be held in the Methodist Church in this city.” END AND Oakland Tribune March 28, 1903 (Saturday) Page 5, Column 1 [It was difficult to read the scan on the Internet, so the following may not be a completely accurate transcription.] “VERY IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL OF LATE MRS. WILLIAM MENDENHALL. FUNERAL FOR MRS. MENDENHALL. The funeral of Mrs. W. M. Mendenhall, which took place from the M. E. Church 2 p.m. yesterday, was one of the largest ever seen in the Livermore valley. The numerous friends of the deceased from almost every part of the State accompanied the remains to their last resting place in Masonic Cemetery [currently known as Roselawn Cemetery]. The ceremony was conducted by Rev. C. M. Warner, formerly pastor of the church, but now of Oakland, assisted by Rev. J. L. Burcham. The pall-bearers were E. R. Bassett, J. H. Taylor, Dan Inman, D. Smith, C.A. McClain and C. E. Kennedy. The coffin was enveloped in flowers. Miss Myrtle Harp acted as organist. There was an augmented choir, led by M. E. Reek. The public school closed for the afternoon out of respect to the memory of the deceased, owing to the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Mendenhall donated the block of land on which the first school house was erected in the Livermore valley.” END Additional Comments: Note that there are two death related articles above for Mrs. Mendenhall. 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