 Plenty of weeds were found throughout the cemetery. Unfortunately, we were not able to get far in Potter's Field where in some places the weeds are higher than the markers.  Group of LDS members work clear and clean the Rossetti plot and area  Maria Connell, who has "adopted" the Ingraham's, is working at one of their plots  Two LDS church members de-weeding by the front gate.  One of six trash bag sites collected that day.  The main crew of Clampers that organized the clean up on October 12, 2024 taking a funny pose for MCPA. Thank you, E. Clampus Vitas for providing plenty of food and beverages to cover breakfast and lunch.
Peggy had been looking for her stillborn uncle. She got in contact with the MCPA through Find-A-Grave. MCPA's genealogist is the memorial manager for approximately two-thirds of Alhambra Cemetery's decedents. 9-23-24: Thank you so very much for sharing an updated, and clearer picture of my Grandmother's stillborn son's grave marker. I greatly appreciate your taking the time to do this. The marker looks to have been cleaned, which is also very appreciated. The two pictures on this website are the only evidence my family has, to date, that this little boy existed. I hope you know how much your efforts mean to the families. We continued to help Peggy find more information on her stillborn uncle. As a family historian, I definitely appreciate that you care to document, preserve and share this information. Not everyone has your heart and compassion for complete strangers, this is why I wanted to thank you personally. If I may ask, if you go out there again, can you please verify that they year on the grave says, "1961"? I'm pretty sure that is what it says, but the weed is in the way of the last digit for absolute certainty. I have a call in to the city, who is going to put me into contact with someone who can check the cemetery records to see if I can find out any more information about this little boy. Thank you again, you are much appreciated! The City of Martinez's decedent lists are very sparce. That is when MCPA volunteered to help Peggy out. We let her know that the County Clerk's office might be able to help her. We also started digging through Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com to see what we could find. 9-23-24: I have worked under the assumption for the last 16 years that this little boy is the son of my Grandmother, but need to find out if there is any more information to be gained from checking the burial record. I am trying to obtain a stillbirth certificate, but am waiting to hear back on whether they will allow me to have one. The state's recording said that stillbirth records are only given to the parents, but both parents are deceased at this point. I'm approaching this from every angle I can think of to find out, for certain, that Baby Boy Waltrip is ours. 9-24-24: Good morning! Thank you very much for the help. That is too bad that the records are so lacking, and that the mortuaries are all gone. History is potentially being erased, and that is devastating. I was originally going to request a death certificate for him, but when the automated message mentioned a stillbirth certificate, I thought that took the place of a death certificate. Do you think they can find a death certificate for him if I have such limited information? Also, do I use the standard form found at the link below? I am confused whether I am ordering an authorized copy, or an informational copy because he would be my uncle, and that is not listed under the "Relationship to person on certificate" option. 9-24-24: Speaking of, do you know if he is in Potter's Field, or near it, as the decedent's list says? I am seeing both locations listed, one on Find A Grave, and one on the decedent's online list. Is Potter's Field Mortuary Section the same as Potter's Field? I didn't realize that some members on the decedent's list were already listed as having been cremated, I'll have to read the list more carefully. We explained to Peggy that where the identical blocked markers are is the main section of Potter's Field. Above and to the left is a section of mortuary markers amongst the trees and brush. Since used to be part of the County's property, we believe that this section is still part of Potter's Field. 10-19-24: Judie, thank you so much for explaining, that is very fascinating! Destroying records, UGH, what a tragic loss. I am so happy to hear that you and your team are taking the time to clean the cemetery, I'm so glad to know that people care. I sent off my paperwork for Baby Boy Waltrip's death record, now we wait. 12-02-24: Hi, Judie. I received his Death Certificate. He's ours, I am so happy! Do you know if there is a way to add details to the cemetery's decedent list from this certificate? We explained to Peggy that there is no one on the City staff at this time who is updating the their Alhambra Cemetery decedent lists; however, she was welcomed to add the information to the MCPA's restored Alhambra Cemetery decedent list. We explained that we hoped one day the City of Martinez would accept our help. 12-02-24: Thank you. 483 pages? The only decedent's lists I have access to shows 133 pages and 7 pages on the City of Martinez website. I would love to investigate the larger list. Here is what I see. . . On 12-04-24, Peggy sent us (via email) a copy of his death certificate so that we could fill in the "holes" in his decedent listing on the MCPA decedent list. She also requested that we transfer his Find-A-Grave memorial page from us to her. That was immediately done. We were happy to send her the entire 483 pages of the MCPA's restored Alhambra Cemetery Decedent list. Hopefully, we can soon get the listing on our website for everyone to view and use. 12-05-24: I will add information to his memorial page, feel free to use that and the fetal death certificate I sent you to update the decedent's list. Hugs back to you, thank you so much.
12-05-24: Wowsers! You are a busy bee! Thank you for being so awesome. |
AuthorsJudie & Joseph Palmer are two of the founding members of the Martinez Cemetery Preservation Alliance (MCPA) and the Potter’s Field Project. Both have a passion for discovery, history, genealogy, anthropology and archaeology. Archives
December 2024
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