The Graveyard Rabbit of Northern Arizona

Blogging Woeful Wednesday

2009-07-22T14:53:00.001-07:00

I've been horrible at posting lately....my apologies! Tis Renaissance Faire season, and I've been very busy vending at Faire.

Then, I injured my back and have been preoccupied by PAIN...

I will post on all my blogs SOON!!

Shootout in Williams, Arizona on December 2, 1898

2009-04-09T19:04:00.001-07:00

FRANK MORRELL
Arizona Republican Newspaper
December 2 ,1898

Telegrams were received yesterday stating that Deputy United States
Marshal Frank Morrell had been shot and killed in Williams in a
personal difficulty by Ed Hardesty. Morrell leaves a wife and
several children. He has realtives in Prescott.

December 2, 1898

Frank Morrell, Deputy United States Marshall, was shot and killed
at 2 o'clock Monday monring at Williams by Ed Hardesty, a constable.
It appears that Morrell had been drinking for several days and it
is claimed that the men had some words preivous to their meeting
which occurred in May Bryant's Saloon. Morrell on seeing Hardesty
made the remark, "there he comes" and with a word or two more drew
his gun and fired at Hardesty, the bullet passing through
Hardesty's hat.

At this juncture, Hardesty, drew his gun and fired twice, one
shot taking effect in the forehead and the other went through
the heart. Morrell did not utter a word after the shooting.

Morrell was a member of the Order of Red Men and Foresteres of
Williams and funeral services were conducted by these orders.
He leaves a wife and two sisters. Hardesty, after the shooting
went to the house of Deputy Sheriff Buglin, woke him and gave
himself up.

Mrs. Morrell, wife of the man who was killed, was in Phoenix at
the time of the shooting and left for Williams as soon as she was
informed of her husband's death.

Tombstone Tuesday

2009-03-31T08:18:00.001-07:00

This is a headstone made from flagstone. A good example of the way this stone deteriorates. The entire back of this headstone has fallen away, so I thought I should photograph the front now while I still can. Who knows when the front will fall. I will post this on Find-a-Grave.

Manchester Maxwell - From the Civil War in Tennessee to Sheep Ranching in Flagstaff, Arizona

2009-03-10T17:34:00.001-07:00

ABOVE PHOTO: GRAVESITE OF MANCHESTER MAXWELL

Amazing things happen when you have a blog.

A few days ago, Teresa (previously unknown to me) was doing some research, saw my blog about Flagstaff's Citizen's Cemetery, and wondered if Manchester Maxwell (her ancestor) might just be buried there. She contacted me, asking if I would look.

Of course, I love a good mystery, and, having lived in Arizona most of my life, I just dove right in and starting doing some research out here in Arizona! Teresa and I communicated back and forth, each providing new clues as to where Mr. Maxwell had been in Arizona.

Teresa already knew Manchester had been a soldier in the Civil War, had been taken prisoner, and when he was released, he left the area, disappearing for awhile, and her family lore had him going to Oklahoma's oil fields or to Arizona. Teresa had found his obituary in the Prescott, AZ newspaper, stating he was a sheep farmer from the Flagstaff area. Mr. Maxwell had died while visiting Los Angeles and his remains were shipped back to Flagstaff for burial in May 1905.

Then Teresa found a Google Book which listed Manchester as a Delegate to the Seventh Annual Convention of the National Live Stock Association in Portland, Oregon. He was the delegate from the Arizona Wool Grower's Association and it stated he lived in Bellemont, Arizona (about 7 miles from Flagstaff).

I did a little research and found out that Bellemont was the home of many sheep ranchers in that time period (late 1800's). I've been to Bellemont many times. It's a very small town, even now.

Yes, Bellemont, Arizona is the place where part of the movie "Easy Rider" was filmed (you remember? Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper starred in this famous film). Bellemont is featured in the film when Peter and Dennis stop in front of the Pine Breeze Motel, tried to rent a room and the proprietor (opening the door a crack, and seeing bikers) promply turned on the neon "NO VACANCY" sign. They still have that sign, hanging over the Route 66 Roadhouse Bar & Grill, located on the same 2.5 acres as the Pine Breeze Motel.

And so our research on Manchester Maxwell continued and I decided he just HAD to be buried in Flagstaff (he resided in this area for over twenty years) and it HAD to be Citizen's Cemetery!

We have had much snow over this past winter, and the last I had tried to go to the cemetery, it was under two feet of snow. But, as fate would have it, we've started having our Spring thaw. The cemetery had hardly any snow, and it was a gorgeous, sunshiney day!

Shawn and Greg, the caretakers of the Citizen's Cemetery are so very helpful and they directed me right to Mr. Maxwell's gravesite. I will tell you more about Shawn and Greg and the help they have/are providing me in my researches there, in another story. But, I digress.

What a beautiful gravesite it was! Surrounded by a wrought iron fence and positioned so that the San Francisco Peaks provided a backdrop to the view, Mr. Manchester Maxwell sleeps in eternity in what, I'm sure, he considered his home...Flagstaff, Arizona.

The uncanny part of this was, as I was walking toward the gravesite, I knew I'd been there before.

Yes, definitely, I was...I remembered that, quite some time ago, my husband and I had been at the cemetery and were drawn to this gravesite because of the wrought iron fencing and the beautiful view. Never did I think, then, that I would be photographing it and getting to meet his descendant!

Thank you, Teresa, for allowing me to post this story and photos on my blog! And thanks, Shawn and Greg for helping me out today!

Peaceful Valley Cemetery in Flagstaff AZ

2009-03-09T11:17:00.001-07:00

I've recently found out there is a small cemetery in Flagstaff, called Peaceful Valley Cemetery.

I intend to go out there this weekend to investigate, photograph and document this graveyard.

From what I understand, it was used previously to Citizen's Cemetery in Flagstaff and, in fact, there were a few graves exhumed from Peaceful Valley and re-buried in Citizens when a housing development encroached on the graveyard.

I have discovered there was a recent burial there (February of this year), so the cemetery is still in use.

I'll be posting what info and photos I obtain.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-03-04T10:18:00.001-08:00

My father, Rex Hoover, Sr. when he worked at Maytag in Iowa ca: 1952-3

My Dad was the only one of his family who moved away from Iowa. I think he got his 'traveling legs' while in the U.S. Navy during WWII.

He moved to Prescott, Arizona (mile high city in north-central Arizona) to work at the Veteran's Hospital there.

He always loved Arizona.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-02-11T15:49:00.001-08:00

Tombstone Tuesday - Arizona Headstones

2009-02-10T06:13:00.000-08:00

Here is a headstone reflecting the mountain pines of Flagstaff, Arizona. The Zumstein family has lived in Flagstaff for four generations now, and each family member in the Citizen's Cemetery here has a headstone similarly engraved. The Zumstein's are my grandchildren's maternal line.

George Geder: Genealogy - Remember Your Teachers

2009-02-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

George Geder: Genealogy - Remember Your Teachers

Wordless Wednesday

2009-02-04T13:53:00.001-08:00

Words really can't describe the beauty here...

The San Francisco Peaks in the summertime...I can hardly wait for summer!

Tombstone Tuesday

2009-01-20T15:59:00.001-08:00

The Columbarian Wall in the Prescott National Cemetery where my father, Rex Hoover, Sr., is interred. He was in the U.S. Navy during WWII on the ship the U.S.S. Helena - in 7 major sea battles in the Pacific arena.

My father was also at Pearl Harbor, on the Helena, on December 7, 1941.

Thought I would post this on such an historic day (the inauguration of Barack Obama) as my father was one of "The Greatest Generations" and I have hope that his great-grandchildren will take up the torch and become another "Great Generation".

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-14T07:37:00.001-08:00

Flagstaff, Arizona train station

TransylvanianDutch: How Genealogy Can Determine Your Age - 2009

2009-01-09T19:01:00.000-08:00

TransylvanianDutch: How Genealogy Can Determine Your Age - 2009

Winter in Flagstaff

2009-01-09T07:43:00.001-08:00

My desire to go to Flagstaff's Citizen's Cemetery to photograph headstones and memorials has been delayed, due to the huge amount of snow we have received in the high mountains of Arizona.

I thought I would post a photo of the snow while I await the day I can go out there and resume my role as a Graveyard Rabbit!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-07T08:58:00.001-08:00

Flagstaff, Arizona in 1899

The Proximidade Award

2009-01-03T12:28:00.000-08:00

I am honored to be a recipient of the “Proximidade Award”.

Many thanks go to GEORGE GEDER
for nominating me for this award.

This is the Proximidade blog award. The details of the award are as follows:

"These blogs invest and believe in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!

Deliver this award to eight bloggers, who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I have added the Proximidade Award logo to my blog . Additionally, as a recipient of this award, I am required to nominate eight other blogs and the people I am nominating are:

Thomas MacEntee of The Graveyard Rabbit of New York Rural Cemeteries

Judith Richards Shubert of The Graveyard Rabbit of the Covered Bridges

Richard O. Cheek of I’d Sooner be a Graveyard Rabbit

Elizabeth of The Graveyard Rabbit of the Central California Coast

Travels Wright of The Grave Yard Rabbit Travels Wright

Randy Seaver of South San Diego County Graveyard Rabbit

Amy Crooks of Untangled Family Roots

Henk van Kampen of The graveyard rabbit of Utrecht and Het Gooi

I will leave comments on each of these blogs.

Enjoy!

Flagstaff's Citizen's Cemetery

2008-12-21T07:04:00.000-08:00

The Citizen's Cemetery in Flagstaff is located directly across from the Northern Arizona University, on San Franscisco street. 1300 San Francisco St. to be exact.

The first time I went to this cemetery was in 1995, to attend a funeral. Not a very happy day, but I vowed, then, to return to this beautiful place to photograph, care for and learn of it's history. Since I live within 10 miles of the cemetery, I've returned quite a few times.

High up in the mountains of Northern Arizona, this cemetery enfolds many old pioneers from the days of logging in Flagstaff, which is surrounded by a large stand of Ponderosa Pine trees.

I will share some of the stories of these pioneers in future blogs.

Come this summer, I will be out there photographing some of the beautiful headstones, and especially the 24 by 72 foot Grand Canyon Memorial Plot for the TWA crash victims (Grand Canyon June 30, 1956. On July 9, funeral services were held for 67 of the TWA victims at the Citizen's Cemetery in Flagstaff.). I will tell the tale in that blog.

As of today, the cemetery has about a foot of snow on the ground and I will have to wait for the Spring and Summer to go out there.

The First in my Famous People Buried in Northern Arizona Series

2008-12-19T16:55:00.000-08:00

William Wallace Bass
Birth: Oct. 2, 1849
Shelbyville, Shelby County, Indiana, USA
Death: Mar. 7, 1933
Wickenburg, Maricopa County, Arizona, USA

American Folk Figure. He was a pioneer of the Grand Canyon, where he built a cabin in 1884 with the help of the Havasupai Indians, whose causes he supported locally and in Washington. Established a river camp at Bass Ferry and made mineral claims. Guided the first geological survey of the Canyon in the 1890s. Constructed a cableway across the Colorado River in 1906 and helped found the first school at the Canyon, 1911. Bass's properties were bought out at the establishment of the National Park. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage and was cremated, his ashes scattered over the Canyon - the stone in the American Legion Cemetery is therefore a memorial only.

A Few Headstones From Citizen's Cemetery in Flagstaff, Arizona

2008-12-17T12:10:00.000-08:00

I thought I would start this blog with a few photos of headstones I have taken in the Citizen's Cemetery of Flagstaff, Coconino, Arizona.