Valencia Disaster 1906

This memorial is located in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Seattle. It is dedicated to the unknown dead from the Valencia disaster of 1906. I grew up in this area but had never heard of the Valencia. I went to Historylink, an online encyclopedia for Washington state, and discovered


"On Monday, January 22, 1906, the coastal passenger liner SS Valencia, en route from San Francisco to Seattle with 108 passengers and 65 crew aboard, passes the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca in foul weather, and runs aground on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island. The ship is on a reef, trapped between sheer rock cliffs and pounding breakers. Uncharted rocks and fierce storms make it impossible for rescue vessels to approach the Valencia from seaward. Scores of passengers drown when their lifeboats are wrecked or capsize in the surf. Over the next 36 hours, terrified people huddle on the hurricane deck or cling to the rigging as huge waves slowly break the ship apart. Finally, as rescuers watch, horrified and powerless, a huge wave sweeps the remaining passengers and crew into the sea. There are 37 survivors, but 136 persons perish in one of the most tragic maritime disasters in Pacific Northwest history."
Link to Article

John W. Smith - Surfman No. 1

On a family trip to Long Beach, Case and I snuck away for a hike. On our drive up to the trail head, we came across the Oysterville Cemetery. It was a historic small cemetery with many of the pioneers fo the town buried there. I haven't found much on this surfman but still love the headstone. I would love to know how he passed away at the age of 44 years old. Maybe doing what he loved at Ilwaco beach life saving station.

John Thomas Donnelly

I found this grave stone in Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California where my grandma and great grandparents are buried. The plaque reads

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Whereas

God in his all wise providence having been pleased to take from amongst us our dear friend and messmate John Thomas Donnelly and

Whereas

In the sorrow that has gone to us with his loss, we deem it our duty to put on record our appreciation of those qualities of head and heart which in life endeared him to us and

Whereas

In the circumstances which attended his death he displayed a heroism and a devotion to duty which won the unstinted praise not alone of his captain and officers but of the president of the United States and secretary of the Navy therefore

Be it resolved

That while we sincerely mourn his loss we gratefully acknowledge the glory which his heroic death has reelected upon the naval service upon the ship which he loved and upon us individually and that in fullness of our comingled sorrow and pride we promise to hold his name in lasting remembrance amongst us and to cherish as an inspiration his devotion to duty, his patriotism, and his sincere good-fellowship

Be it resolved

That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the relatives of our departed friend with the assurance of our abiding sympathy and our congratulations on the honor which our departed comrade conferred upon them both in the uprightness of his life and the heroism of his death

December 1904

The Enlisted Men of the Battleship Missouri

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I did a little research to see if I could figure out how he had died.

"On 13 April 1904, while engaging in target practice, a twelve-inch gun in USS Missouri's after turret "flared back" hot gasses into the turret when the breech was opened for reloading. A bag of propellant was set afire and the conflagration spread from the turret into the ammunition handling chamber below. Though the fire was confined to those two areas, it took the lives of 36 of the ship's officers and crew." (http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/bb11-k.htm)

I was only able to find one small article in the Los Angeles times from April 14, 1904 on the accident. Can you imagine the media coverage an accident like this would get today?

Also on the headstone are the names of several of his family members:

Patrick H. July 19, 1926 (Father)
Helen F. May 30, 1946 (Mother)
Alexander M. Dec. 24, 1953 (Brother)
Mary A. August 10, 1983 (Sister)
M. Emmett August 22, 1954 (Brother)
Florence M. September 17, 1972 (Sister in Law; Michael Emmett's wife)
John P. July 13, 1981 (?)

In honor of my new buddy Chad's birthday, I am going to showcase a photo from Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island. Chad, Darlene, Case, and I had fun hunting around this cemtery on my east coast vacation last month. According to my new book on cemetery symbolism, a hand pointing down is a reference to "the presence of the Almighty...emerging from the clouds". I am going to do a little more digging to find out more about this stone as the book indicates that often the hand shows three fingers pointing down and this stone has only one finger.

Carl Jr. and Norma (McNair) Hodges

I found this headstone in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Seattle, Washington. Carl and Norma were married in 1948 and were together until Carl died in 2002. Norma died in 2006 and it appears that the love note was etched into the stone at this time. I would love to know more about their love story and the origins of this love note.