Holliday & Livingston were the first to charge monies for a burial plot in their new cemetery.
In 1853 Dr. John Strentzel moves to the Martinez area after he buys 20 acres directly from the Martinez family in 1851 to grow grapes, fruit and nut trees. Louisiana Strentzel, upon learning that the name of her new home "Valley del Hambre" meant "Valley of Hunger", had the name replaced with "Alhambra".
We do know that Don Ignacio Martinez held the original land grant (referred to as "Rancho El Pinole"), that included all of the land which Alhambra Cemetery, Saint Catherine of Siena Cemetery and Potter's Field now reside. Ownership of the cemetery was later passed down to his daughter Juana Martinez de Estudillo, although it was never officially organized as such.
As a result of extremely high taxes accessed by the United States Government, the property was seized for lack of payment.* Through a sheriff's auction, it was sold to Beverly Holliday and John Livingston in 1854. As partners they officially dedicated the land as the Alhambra Cemetery, establishing it for upper and middle class residents of Martinez and Contra Costa County.
*This was quite common at the time due to the United States gaining control of Alta California as a result of the Mexican-American War of 1846 -1848. The US government very much wanted their land for expansion but had promised the former Mexican land owners they would recognize their rights.
In order to grab the land the US government set in motion three things:
1) They heavily taxed the former Mexican land owners
2) Limited their ability to generate income
3) Encouraged large settlement of their lands**
If they did not pay their taxes, then the land was seized and sold at auction. The end result of these actions was that most, if not all, of the land was successfully taken by these means.
**As settlers began to pour into California, they would homestead on what they thought was open land. The true land holders would have to go to court to prove their claim, which would take a lot of money and between fifteen and twenty years to settle. By the time the initial case was adjudicated another 100 -1000 settlers would have poured in starting their own claims.
We do know that Don Ignacio Martinez held the original land grant (referred to as "Rancho El Pinole"), that included all of the land which Alhambra Cemetery, Saint Catherine of Siena Cemetery and Potter's Field now reside. Ownership of the cemetery was later passed down to his daughter Juana Martinez de Estudillo, although it was never officially organized as such.
As a result of extremely high taxes accessed by the United States Government, the property was seized for lack of payment.* Through a sheriff's auction, it was sold to Beverly Holliday and John Livingston in 1854. As partners they officially dedicated the land as the Alhambra Cemetery, establishing it for upper and middle class residents of Martinez and Contra Costa County.
*This was quite common at the time due to the United States gaining control of Alta California as a result of the Mexican-American War of 1846 -1848. The US government very much wanted their land for expansion but had promised the former Mexican land owners they would recognize their rights.
In order to grab the land the US government set in motion three things:
1) They heavily taxed the former Mexican land owners
2) Limited their ability to generate income
3) Encouraged large settlement of their lands**
If they did not pay their taxes, then the land was seized and sold at auction. The end result of these actions was that most, if not all, of the land was successfully taken by these means.
**As settlers began to pour into California, they would homestead on what they thought was open land. The true land holders would have to go to court to prove their claim, which would take a lot of money and between fifteen and twenty years to settle. By the time the initial case was adjudicated another 100 -1000 settlers would have poured in starting their own claims.