22 January 2009

Dear Friends of Spring Hill Cemetery,

Happy New Year! Wishing you all a healthy, prosperous, and joyous 2009.

In conjunction with Regional Parks, the "Friends" have accomplished an amazing amount at Spring Hill during 2008. Some of the highlights - discovered many new stones and had others repaired, rid the cemetery of the dead sudden oak death trees, rebuilt the Zilhart enclosure, progressed in our research into Spring Hill families, began formal mapping of the cemetery, loaded and hauled away 11 large dumpsters filled with debris, and even had an initial Ground Penetrating Radar survey conducted. Our website, http://www.wendtroot.com/cockrill/d0011/d0011notes/SpringHillCemetery.html which is maintained by Larry Wendt, was again instrumental in enabling those with Spring Hill connections to find us – and, through our website, one of our wayward headstones is on its way back to the cemetery. My sincere thanks are given to all of you for joining in this effort.

2009 will be a challenging year for Spring Hill. As is the case all over the country, Sonoma County is suffering severe fiscal difficulties. The support Regional Parks has given the "Friends" and the care they have taken with the cemetery has been exemplary up to this point. But they are facing a daunting budget dilemma. From Allan Darrimon of Regional Parks,

We (Regional Parks) have had to make some changes due to budget cuts which will be at least 15% in the next 2 years…our challenge is that the budget cuts and the lack of funding for this site specifically, leaves us without the ability to send staff for additional work days... We will be financially deprived over at least the next 24 months. The cemetery did not come to us with any funding [The County Board of Supervisors through the County Administrator's Office assigns funding]. In such a survival mode, we welcome individual and groups who work to raise and donate money to the Parks foundation specifically designated for, in this case, the cemetery. Sorry for any inconvenience this news may cause.

I am working with Allan, and John Ryan (the volunteer coordinator), to see just what resources we will have available during this projected two-year period of extreme budget crisis. Although Regional Parks no longer has the staff available to join in our workdays, they will continue as much as possible to aid us in debris removal (with the dump trucks), and "We will most likely spray for poison oak. We relocate bees or spray if they are hornets or wasps." I also expect that on workdays volunteer services will still be able to leave us the equipment trailer and supplies. The level of support I am expecting us to have will still enable us to maintain the cemetery. An even greater effort this year by the "Friends" will be required if we are to maintain our goal of restoring Spring Hill.

Now to some great news. Debbie Carlin contacted me day before yesterday about Nettie Stump's headstone. She found it in Pacheco on her mother's rental property. Nettie's headstone was listed on the 1934 DAR listing for Spring Hill, but somehow found its way to Pacheco over the years. I am attaching a picture of the beautiful stone. I hope to bring the stone back to its rightful home on 2009's first workday.

Weather permitting, the first workday of 2009 is scheduled for Friday, February 20th. Subsequent preliminary dates are March 20^th and April 17^th. It would be terrific if this spring we were able to level and reset the headstones / bases for the section of the cemetery we have been working on. Resetting and leveling stones would give some protection to the stones from both vandals and earthquakes. We will evaluate the site with that in mind on February 20^th. If, after looking at the site, re-leveling seems feasible for this spring, I will pursue it with Gary Galeazzi. In the past Gary said that it would require strong bodies to physically move the bases out of their spots, re level the ground and reset the bases. This would have to be done at a time when the ground was soft -- like March - May. I am not sure if it will be possible this spring, but if we can find enough "strong bodies", I will follow this up further with Gary to see if he is still willing, and if he thinks our ground is prepared enough. Now that we no longer have the "strong" Regional Parks' staff, please let me know if either you can help with the physical labor yourself, or if you know of "strong" others you can persuade to join in. It would be a major milestone for the cemetery, but can only be accomplished if we can find the workers.

PLEASE TRY TO JOIN US FEBRUARY 20th! And I will put in a request for a gorgeous, sunny day.

Email from 21 January 2009:

Dear Lowrey connections,

I thought I would forward on this email concerning Nettie Stump's stone. It has been found! Nettie is a bit of a mystery. Her headstone is listed on the 1934 DAR listings. The mystery is that her headstone lists parents as James and Mary Stump. There is a James Stump that married Cristiana Blanch Lawrey (dau of Wm Henry Lowrey). From census records, the James married to the Lawrey daughter is the only James Stump in the vicinity at that time. James and Christiana are listed in both the 1870 and 1880 census records. So -- the James and MARY is confusing. Either it is a different James, or Mary is a pet name for Christiana.

I don't have access to a copy of the Bodega Bay Navigator, but there was an article in it saying:

"The fourth son of John C. Stump was James, born in Virginia about 1835. We know he was listed as Judge of the Bodega Port Precinct in Sept 1855, Sonoma County elections. He owned two warehouses in Bodega port and a Saloon, which burned down during the Bodega fire Sept. 1874. James married Christiana Lowery Sept. 9, 1862. Her parents were William II and Elvira Lowery. They had five children." Source: Bodega Bay Navigator by Mrs. Ruth Burke of Bodega, CA., "Stump Family >From Bodega Bay, CA."

1870 Census:
Bodega TWP, Sonoma, CA, June 10, 1870.
James Stump; age 35; Saloon Keeper; born, VA; Real Estate Value, $700; P ersonal Property Value, $1,700.
Christiana; age 22; Missouri
Wm H.; 7; CA
Fanny Agnes; 5; CA
George H.; 2; CA
James?; 1/12; CA

Food for thought!

Best Regards,

Sue

Email from 21 January 2009, Subject: tombstone:

Hi Sue,

I recently found a tombstone on a rental property that my mom owns in Pacheco, CA. I am attaching a picture and as you can see it is in great shape. I googled the name and it was linked to Spring Hill Cemetery. I would love to return it to where it belongs. From your knowledge of Spring Hill Cemetery, could it possibly be from there?

Any help you can provide in returning it to its proper resting spot would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much,

Debbie

Email from 13 Febuary 2009:

Dear Larry,

...My husband, Larry, and I successfully rescued little Nettie's headstone from her suburban exile yesterday. She is resting in my trunk, ready for me to reunite her back with Spring Hill on the February 20th workday. It is a lovely stone - even has an inscription on the bottom -

"It was an angel that visited the

earth and took the flower away"

I am sure Nettie's stone has quite a story about how she was spirited away from her serene forest cemetery and came to end up in the postage stamp sized back yard of a Pacheco housing development. A photographer captured Nettie's removal on camera. Also there to mark the transition were Debbie Carlin (the wonderful woman who googled Nettie, found your website, and through that found me), and Debbie's mother (Francis Gorges) owner of the rental property, and Francis' husband, Don. Nettie made an impression on us all - with the dis-location of her tombstone, to her death on Christmas day 1877, and the fact that she was only 2 1/2 weeks old. Her return to Spring Hill is a direct result of your efforts on the website...