Central City's Masonic Cemetery

My family recently visited Central City & Black Hawk, Colorado for a day of exploring and history. We enjoy these excursions, and are often guided by one of the many ghost town or Colorado guide books in our collection.


For this day of adventure, we started by veering off the highway just before Central City and went to the ghost town of Nevadaville. My husband had spotted a cemetery from the main road, so we headed there first. It turned out to be the Masonic Cemetery. We ended up visiting a few more cemeteries, and I will blog about those in the coming days, as well as the many fraternal buildings still standing in the two communities. Nevadaville featured the "Masonic Block" or Lodge, which was built in 1875. This, too, will be mentioned in a future post.


One thing we noticed immediately, and it was a theme that continued throughout the day, was the number of damaged markers, as well as those that have fallen victim to earth's natural movement. You could look in any direction and recognize a marker that had fallen off of its based, showed evidence of tampering, or in many cases, was leaning so dramatically, it was actually dependent on a nearby marker to keep it off the ground. Since we had our daughter with us, we had to be quite cautious; there were many headstones that I would consider a hazard to her, so didn't let her wander off much on her own, or touch many of the markers.


So far, I have been unable to locate any formal group online that is working to preserve these cemeteries beyond what the community has already done (fences, gates, etc.).

All images are ©Jen Baldwin, Ancestral Journeys, 2014. 

Note that Mr. Polglase has both the Masonic and I.O.O.F. symbols on his marker. 

An interesting example of a tree marker including the Masonic square and compass.

Jennie S. Potter, aged 43 ys, 7ms, 3d. Her Masonic square and compass also says, "Holy Bible" across the top.

Weidmann family plot. Look at how severely this is leaning to the right.

General landscape and view of the cemetery.

William Henry Harper. This headstone is new, but includes Masonic and GAR symbols, as well as his photo. 

Sadly damaged, the marker for bothers William and Freddie Faull is in two pieces.
The top piece is actually completely gone.

A white bronze marker, unusual for this area.
It also included GAR markings on another side. 

The view from the cemetery. Note the white building to right of center at the back of the property.
This was likely once a tool shed, but also has an outhouse built into the corner.
In the distant background, to the far right, is one of the casino's of modern day Central City/Black Hawk. 

The tool shed, with the Masonic square and compass at the top.
It is unlocked, but houses nothing more than a few random boards and graffiti. 

More Gifts! Cemetery Santa, Part Two

Last week, I wrote about my “Cemetery Santa.” I knew that I would have the opportunity to work with him further, but I had no idea just what he had in his bag of gifts!

I discovered him, and his assistant, working one the headstone of Jennie Carter. They were already into the process, but I was able to watch, learn and ask questions of them both as they went about their work.

Jennie’s marker had started to lean, and was sitting about 11 degrees off, towards the grave. Simply put, the earth and gravity work together to apply force to the stone, which then of course, makes it move. The task of the day was to give the marker enough of its own stability so that it could sit upright once again – plumb. (This is where that handy Bubble Level app I mentioned last time comes in. Download it now. Really.)

Some of the photos I took during the next three hours tell the story better than I could, so I will share a few of them here. When I joined the party, they had already dug out the earth from in front of the marker enough to accomplish the task. They were inserting pieces of stone underneath the marker (very carefully, I might add) so that it was level in all directions. As they worked through that process, they measured and calculated, and determined that this marker and base combined were probably around 800 pounds. They quizzed me and at some point must have made the determination that I was worthy of more education, so eventually, I was asked to come back.



Above: This is where I walked into the process. They are lifting the approximately 800 pound stone marker and base with a central fulcrum point, just a little at a time. As Cemetery Santa (he looks like Santa, doesn't he?) lifts, his assistant cleans out underneath the grave any loose debris and inserts carefully shaped pieces of stone, to build a platform for the marker to sit on top of.



Above: After the inserted the correct amount of stones to bring the marker back to plumb, they filled in some of the dirt and loose sand. Once the sand had been poured in, they added water, so that it would filter down underneath the marker and around the new platform. It works its way into the small gaps and other places, providing an even more stable base. After this picture, they also used a soft brush to clean the front of the base – the part that had worked its way underground during the last 100 years or so. This area would now be visible, so they made sure it was as clean as the rest of the area. Note the difference in the pictures below.




Above: They had carefully removed the sod from around the front of the stone before I arrived, and had done so in a particular order, placing everything on the tarp. Once the loose dirt was back in, they moved the tarp close and put those sod blocks back, in the same order. The objective was to leave as little disturbance as possible, it was very clear they wanted it to look like they had never even been there when they were done.



After putting all the dirt and sod back in, this is what the disturbed area looked like.



Above: A bit more work to get it just right. We stripped old branches of dead pine needles to add the duff back to the grave site.



Above: The project is complete! The headstone is standing erect, and you can hardly tell any work was done at all. It’s been a couple of days since this work has happened, so I’m sure it looks even more natural now. I think Jennie would be very happy with it.


I am excited to say that I will be joining them once again this coming week, and will be much more actively involved in what Cemetery Santa called, “easy re-setting.” I’m very much looking forward to getting a hands-on lesson in preserving the cemetery I care so much about. The opportunity really has been incredible.
I hope you are enjoying my journey as well! Please comment or ask questions here on the blog, I can perhaps get an answer!

The Cemetery Santa

The meeting had been planned for some time. I had weeks to prepare a list, the task deceptively simple: compile a list of the headstones in Valley Brook Cemetery most in need of attention, repair, conservation or other work.

Sure. I can do that. 

I walked the grounds, reviewed previous notes, flipped through the hundreds of photos I have taken there. I even started to plot the damaged stones on a map. I spent several hours, really, as I wanted to be sure that I was really getting to the most important memorials. My list at the beginning of this walk about at the cemetery started with about twenty names. It ended with so many more.

I was so completely unprepared. 

When I got home, I put this simple statement on my Facebook page:

"Every - and I mean EVERY - genealogist should walk a cemetery with a professional headstone preservationist. I had the pleasure of doing just that this morning, and I learned SO MUCH. Fantastic opportunity, and I am looking forward to working with them more in the next couple of weeks."

And I meant it. His name is David Via, and he is a preservation professional. He travels the country, logging around 20,000 miles a year, traveling from cemetery to cemetery. He is, as he himself stated it, engrossed in the cemetery preservation community. You can see one of the many stories of his work here, on progress-index.com, from August, 2012.  (I've posted this article, as he does not have a website of his own.)

He's been working on Valley Brook Cemetery off and on for the past ten years, starting after a large storm did severe damage in 1997. He has an outstanding memory, considering the number of memorials he touches each year. Remember Bertha's story from earlier this summer? When her headstone disappeared? He knew exactly who she was and where her site was on the grounds, and that was before we even walked away from our vehicles.

As we walked the grounds, he was able to provide commentary on what makes our cemetery unique, the types of stone used to create the markers, and more. We actually came to realize - there were five of us altogether - that our entire cemetery has shifted to the east. When you look at where the markers are from the original plotting process and where the roads are now... they are all off of the original design. We had one of each of us stand at the markers of a corner, and one in the center, and you could physically see the way the landscape had changed.

He was as excited as I was about my newest discovery here, these wooden posts that are inscribed with the various sections of the cemetery. The one pictured clearly states I.O.O.F. and I.O.R.M. on two sides, marking two of our fraternal sections (International Order of Odd Fellows and Improved Order of Red Men). Anything fraternal usually gets me excited, so to have someone else share that with me was a great moment. These markers were not necessarily unknown, but are not included in the vast majority of documentation available on the cemetery, so for many in our local community, this is new information. It was an incredible moment for me to realize that Mr. Via not only shared my passion for the historical significance of these posts, but also for the cemetery itself.

One of the seven section markers I have
been able to locate in the cemetery.
©Ancestral Journeys, 2013.

The post, labelled "I.O.O.F." on one side
and "I.O.R.M." on the other, indicating
the sections for fraternal societies.
©Ancestral Journeys, 2013

Have you heard of the pinky finger test? 

I learned so much from David Via, including the pinky test.  He showed me, quite literally, how an unstable monument can be tilted over with just the force of his pinky finger. The things he taught me to look for in terms of identifying a potentially unstable headstone were truly priceless. He described how to spot those that have had work done to them, and those that need work immediately. The lesson even included a new app on my phone, "Bubble Level." This is a digital version of the classic level, which will tell you what angle the headstone is sitting at. Anything more than 10 degrees, and the headstone needs attention.

The three hours we walked the twenty acres provided, as he put it, a "truckload of information." 

I did my best to soak it up. 

Interior of the sexton house shed walls.
©Ancestral Journeys, 2013.

He gave me suggestions on "properly" photographing a headstone for preservation purposes; because maybe the marker is ok for now, maybe it will last for several more years... but if it has to be rebuilt in ten years, will they still be able to tell what the exact dimensions were?  We had conversations on cemetery folk art and why its important. We discussed the "graffiti" on the interior walls of the sexton house shed. We talked about why Masons follow the customs they do, and how to get our local chapter engaged in the cemetery preservation effort we have put forth (he's a Mason himself). 

I can tell you, membership in the Association of Graveyard Studies has risen to the highest priority on my list. Absolutely. 

My day with David Via, preservation professional, is one I'll be thinking about for some time. I'm looking forward to working with him further, as we'll both be in and out of the cemetery in the coming days. I told my daughter he looked a bit like Santa Claus - and he does - with a long white beard, white hair and the right stature to play the part. I would have to say, he has become my "cemetery Santa." 

We Lost One

During the summer months, I am pleased to serve as a tour guide for the Breckenridge Heritage Alliance. We offer historical tours of town, mining sites, museums, and my personal favorite and area of expertise, the Valley Brook Cemetery.

From the day we moved here, I have loved Valley Brook. It is peaceful, beautiful and at the same time, alive with history and stories of our past. Here you will find many of the Breckenridge "great's", like Edwin Carter, Robert Foote, and the Detweiler family. You will find hundreds, however, whose stories have yet to be told. I am working to change that; trying to tell their stories, one person at a time. You have seen some of those stories here, on this blog.

This past weekend I was scheduled to conduct the Tombstone Tales at Twilight Tour on both Friday and Sunday. I had been in the cemetery more than once in the past few days, and had already conducted the tour a couple of times this spring, so I was more than prepared for the anticipated busy weekend. Breckenridge celebrated our "Kingdom Days" event over Saturday and Sunday, and our tours are typically at capacity while residents and tourists alike submerge themselves in the history of our community.

Two of my favorite people to talk about while we explore the vast grounds are the last two: Bertha Welch and Robert "Bob" Lott. I've talked about Bob before, so we'll leave that be. This post is about Bertha.

© Jen Baldwin, Ancestral Journeys
2011-2013

It is a wooden marker, with a significant crack down the middle.

"Bertha Welch, Born Jan 9 1883, Died Feb 12 1903."

Her death was recorded in the local newspaper, telling a sad story of a young bride, neglected and physically abused by her husband, who finally abandoned her while pregnant. She gave birth to a little boy, who at the time of publishing at least, had survived. Bertha, however, passed within days of the delivery, and was buried far from her family in California. A tragic ending to a tragic story.

 I know, without any doubt, that the marker was in its proper place at the head of Bertha's grave on 7 June 2013. I know, without any doubt, that the marker was discovered missing on 14 June 2013, just one week later. Sadly, this was the last remaining wooden marker in Valley Brook Cemetery that you could still read. As far as I am aware, the marker sat undisturbed for 110 years. And now its gone.

It saddens me, to the very depths, that this poor woman; young and alone in death, will now sit unmarked and forgotten by most in her final resting place. I am one that will never forget.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of Bertha Welch's wooden grave marker, please contact the Breckenridge Heritage Alliance. 

970-453-9767
Facebook
info@breckheritage.com

Wintermute Cross

Actually, a very tragic story. The Wintermute family in Breckenridge was short lived, and though I will spare the details, the basics of it is this: 

They married. They had a daughter. The wife died from childbirth complications. The daughter was sent to be raised by family in California. The husband was depressed and turned to alcohol. He ultimately killed himself at this site, next to his wife's memorial, and is buried along side her. 

Our Savior Cemetery, Hay Lakes, Alberta, Canada

Images from a trip several years ago to the Our Savior Cemetery in Hay Lakes, Alberta, Canada.

All images under copyright, Ancestral Journeys, 2012. 

Julius and Pauline Kitzmann, my 2nd great grandparents. 

Rosalie Busenius, my 1st cousin, 3x removed. 

Karl Busenius, exact relationship unknown, but likely brother to Rosalia. 

Tober family. Exact relationship unknown, but likely related through the family of my grandmother, Elsie (Tober) Brown. 

One monument listing people buried in the cemetery without headstones. 

Breckenridge Starbucks

If you stop for coffee at the Starbucks in Breckenridge, Colorado...

You are in their house. 

(Photo credit: Ancestral Journeys, Breckenridge, Colorado. Copyright 2012.)

Burial Site of Sarah A Simms

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting one Mr. Frey, who has ancestors in the Valley Brook Cemetery in Breckenridge, Colorado. He sent me the following photo, from his family archives, circa 1908. 

Curious, I went back to the cemetery, and briefly looked around, but didn't find the site - I'll have to go back again. However, I was able to find this image on the findagrave.com site, taken two years ago by another local volunteer: 

Here is the site as it stands today: 

Two trees have grown up through the plot, and the border around the burial site is now gone. Of course, there is more vegetation surrounding the entire area. 

The flowers were left by the recent family member's visit.