Modesto Citizens’ Cemetery, Modesto, Stanislaus County, CA Genealogical Society of Stanislaus County, Modesto, CA 1999 Submitted by Beverly Krieg 6 Jan 2004 ********************************************************************** These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ********************************************************************** HISTORY: The Modesto Citizens’ Cemetery, now known as the Modesto Cemetery Association, and also known for many years as Silent City, is the final resting place for around 12000 of Modesto area citizens. The history of our county and specifically Modesto is written on the headstones of those interred in the 11.75 acres located on Scenic Drive, between Bodem and Coffee streets. There are five cemeteries located in the area. The Masonic Cemetery, called Acacia, Odd Fellows, later called Pioneer, the County Cemetery, or Paupers Field, Citizens’ Cemetery, and St. Stanislaus Catholic Cemetery. Citizens’ Cemetery is located in the middle of the property, across from the former Scenic General Hospital, previously called Stanislaus County Hospital. There is a granite marker in the front of the cemetery, on the North side of Scenic Drive, placed there in 1996, by a historical group, with the following wording. SILENT CITY The first recorded burial here was in 1860, but oral history says that there were burials as early as 1850. Veterans of wars and conflicts since the Civil War are also buried here. In 1890 a wooden sidewalk was built from downtown so that the ladies dresses wouldn’t get muddy when they visited the graves of their loved ones. Many of the founders of Modesto and Stanislaus County are at rest here. Over the years, the cemetery has fallen upon hard financial times. Long ago you could buy ten plots for $20.00, plus $5.00 a year maintenance. The prices have increased, but with few plots remaining to be sold, very little income from perpetual care, and a small endowment investment account, only the efforts of one paid employee and the help of many dedicated volunteers have managed to keep the Association solvent. They have managed to repair some of the ravages of time and maintain the property in a respectable manner. A walk through some of the impressive and beautiful markers, many of them dating prior to and during the early 1900s, is a tour of the names of the families who founded and nurtured Stanislaus County in its early days. The names of many city streets and county roads, named after some of our pioneer citizens, are inscribed on the stones. Some of the history of Citizens cemetery is based on recorded documents and some on oral legend. For example, Fact: There are at least two amputated legs buried in graves. One buried in 1932 and the other in 1937. There is no record that the owners were ever reunited with their limbs. Oral History: There is a story that a lady was laid out in a piano crate and was buried in two graves. We must assume that she was a person of some substantial proportions. Fact: There is a Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) plot, containing seventy graves. There are fifty-seven identified Civil War veterans. The plot is marked by a flag pole and two large coast artillery muzzle loading cannons. The GAR was an organization composed of veterans of the Civil War, who fought on the Northern side. Buried among all of the Yankees, is a veteran who is listed as having been in Company E, Tennessee Cavalry, Confederate States of America (CSA). His burial in the GAR plot probably caused some discussion among the members of the Cemetery Board. Oral History: There may have been an infant buried in 1855, near the Winkleman plot. The marker was reportedly stolen in 1961. Fact: The oldest existing known headstone is for Eli Martin, from Empire City and is dated December 19, 1860. Oral History: For years it was thought that the impressive Finnegan crypt and monument was vacant. During the research that went into the compilation of this record it was determined that the crypt is actually occupied by two Finnegans, James and Patrick. Ten acres of land was purchased in 1906, from S.R. and J.R. Clayes, of Stockton, by the Modesto Cemetery Association. The purchase price was $1500.00 in gold coin. Apparently this was added to the small burial ground which was already being used. In 1907 an additional twenty foot roadway was purchased for $10.00 in gold coin, also from the Clayes family. Parts of the cemeteries are located on a land grant which Abraham Lincoln gave to a man for his services in the War of 1812 and the remainder is part of a grant, also from Lincoln, to another man who had served in the Civil War. The second grant was made in 1865, probably not long before Lincoln was assassinated. Prior to purchase by the Association, the land had been held by several different people. The 1906 purchase shows a recording fee of $1.00 and the second, made fourteen months later has a recording fee of $1.10. You are encouraged to use this book in your historical and genealogical research and you are also encouraged to visit Citizens cemetery and to stroll among the peaceful and beautiful memories of Modesto’s early days. Alfred E. Menshew Turlock, California METHODOLOGY: A crew under the leadership of Beverly Jamison copied records from the Modesto Citizens’ office card files and the burial books. They then recorded the inscriptions from the grave markers. Pauline Priest entered all of this information in a computer data base. Additional items of information from the Burial Permits of Stanislaus County were added to the original data base created by Pauline Priest. There were 97 pages of permits for burials in the Modesto Citizens’ Cemetery containing more than 5000 names. About half were not in the record files. Of these 2500 lost burials many were pre 1910 and very difficult to trace. There were quite a few of later date also but these were generally easier to locate. They all had to be pursued through a variety of other sources: books of plat maps, block books, sales books, deeds, burial orders, obituaries, the California Death Index and back to the original burial permits for clues to clarify obscure entries. The extra work has been most valuable for our publishing effort and for the cemetery records. GENERAL INFORMATION: The Stanislaus County Plot is not charted on the map of the MCC. Burials that are in the county ground are designated in the remarks column by the notation Stan. Co. Plot. All named placed not located in California have been identified with a state name if this was available. San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento, being well known California localities, were not given any further identification. Communities known to be in Stanislaus County were not given the county identifier. Some names that are not now known were given the extra information. Because this cemetery is in Modesto, deaths in Modesto, were usually not identified as such. If the death occurred elsewhere and that information was available it is stated. There was a tuberculosis sanitarium at Ahwahnee in Mariposa County. There was State Hospital at Stockton in San Joaquin County. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The Cemetery and the Publishing Committees would like to thank the Genealogical Society of Stanislaus County for funding this project and for having so many wonderful members who are willing to work so hard to preserve our records. Very special thanks go to: Beverly Jamison Marilyn Belleville Valerie Cunningham Joyce Evans Ouida Fillebrown Melva Gentry Betty McCabe Alfred E. Menshew Geri Moser Phyllis Muirhead Pauline Priest Glen Richards Alexa Robinson Sandra Turner Lola Whitescorn Wayne Hasemeier, Cemetery Committee Chairperson Millie Starr, Publishing Committee Chairperson, Editor Explanation of Special Punctuation Usage and Abbreviations Surname column: Alger/Algar indicated two equally possible spellings. We made every effort to determine the correct form of the name, but when all efforts failed, we offer you the choice. Given name column: Dewain/David indicated two equally possible given names. S./H. indicated initials that were interpreted differently in two different sources. When we were unable to determine the preferred form, we offer you the choice. Parenthesis have been used to indicate three different additions in this area: 1) When only initials have been used in the records and we have been able to ascertain the sex of the individual. Jones, M.G. (female). 2) Nicknames are indicated in parenthesis. Jones, John (Slim). 3) Maiden names when clearly identified as such. Jones, Juanita (Moniz). Standard abbreviations of titles are used, Dr., Mrs., Rev., etc. Birth / Death date columns: The months are indicated by their first three letters. Jan 4, 1900 Location column: Ave Avenue Sec Section Bl Block Lot is not abbreviated TR Tier GR Grave Bet, bet between GAR Grand Army of the Republic-Civil War Veterans Vet, VET Veteran of any war Remarks column: B, b Born D, d Died y Year m Month d Day m/o Mother of f/o Father of s/o Son of d/o Daughter of h/o Husband of w/o Wife of Bot, bot Bought #1234 Deed number 1234 Stan Co Plot Stanislaus County Plot – this is a separate cemetery at the same loc maintained by the county for indigent burials. The Modesto Citizens Cemetery office keeps the records. B.P. Burial Permits of Stanislaus County CADI California Death Index AKA Also known as – alias MCA Modesto Cemetery Association – aka Modesto Citizens Cemetery Cre Cremains Comp., comp Companion – a companion grave has two persons buried in the same pla nr Near Standard postal abbreviations were used for the states. Military abbreviations are copied as they are in cemetery records. Yesterdays 100 Years Ago - The Citizens’ Cemetery Association gave notice that no one would be permitted to open a grave or have one dug in the cemetery without the permission of the President of the Association, Dr. A.A. Wood. In addition, all persons having cemetery plots in the cemetery were urged to make them clean and neat prior to Memorial Day. The time period around the turn of the century is a time when there are some blanks in the records. This article appearing in the Modesto Bee on May 6, 1999, seems to explain why. It can be clearly interpreted to mean that there were unauthorized burials taking place in sufficient number to cause the President of the Association to make this pronouncement.