BLOWS OUT HIS BRAINS . . .

Carl O Gullander was too young to die.  But apparently felt it was better than what he was going thru.  He arrived in New York on 22 May 1900 on the "State of Nebraska" from Sweden.  He moved to Portland where he married "Mary" in May 1902.  "Mary" sued for divorce in September 1907 claiming that Carl did not contribute to her support.  On January 16, 1907 a well dressed Carl walked in to the tourist hotel in Tacoma, Washington, and in front of shocked witnesses walked up to a mirror and shot himself.  His body was returned to Portland where he is buried at Lone Fir.  He left a brother.

Religious Fanatacism

On June 19, 1919, Ina Edwards, 34, was cooking breakfast for her family when her husband, Thomas, 39, walked into the kitchen and shot her point plank in the chest.  She died instantly.  He then went to the neighbors and called his brother who lived nearby and told him what he had done.  Then he calmly walked back to his wife's body, laid down next to her and shot himself. He did not die immediately but continued to quote Revelation until he bled to death on the floor. 

The neighbors described Thomas as an unemployed iron worker who was fanatically religious and had fallen on hard times.

The couple had four children.

Thomas and Ina are buried in Section A, side by side.  

While locating markers today, we were treated to a momentary peek through the clouds of the sun. 

Fate?

On 13 Jan 1934, 49 year old, Mrs. Charlotte M Marsch  was out and about on the streets of Portland when she was struck by a car and died at Good Samaritan Hospital soon thereafter.  Upon hearing of her friend's death 60 year old Maggie McNeel went out to buy a new dress to wear for her friend's upcoming funeral when she too was struck by a car and died at Good Samaritan Hospital from injuries sustained.  Both ladies' funerals were held at Holman & Lutz on 16 Jan 1934 with burials at the Rose City Cemetery.  Maggie was a single woman, while Charlotte was married and worked as a garment inspector at Jantzen Knitting Mills.

Their death certificates were inspected on 2 November 2012 at the Oregon State Archives in Salem.

Through it All

In uncovering the layers of history of Morningside Hospital, I was told recently by a former employee that from 1928 until the hospital closed, a Catholic mass was said in the large room every week and also that a local parish (Ascension) had regular volunteers who assisted and visited the patients.  Indeed, the hospital was seen as an extension of the parish and patients were included, whenever possible, in parish life.  In death, patients were given last rights and then burial in a Catholic cemetery.  According to the former employee, (who, by the way is now 80 and has a remarkably good memory of her time at Morningside) other faiths represented in the neighborhood were regularly invited to the hospital on behalf of the patients, but none other than Ascension Parish responded.  Quite remarkable!

Headstone of the Week - The Broken Chain

Several weeks ago, Dave and I were in Salem at the State Archives.  On our lunch break near the old IOOF Cemetery, (which is huge and quite fabulous, by the way), I found this old stone with a curious carving.  It shows the broken chain in symbolism that the person under the stone no longer has any ties to this earthly realm.

The stone dates from 1884 and is sheltered under a large Madrone tree, which preserves the carving nicely.  

 

The Great Mystery

Marcus Peterson was a patient at Morningside Hospital when he died on June 21, 1940 at the age of 79.  He was buried the following day in Multnomah Cemetery in Section H, Lot 20A, grave 4.

We know he was admitted to Morningside in October of 1932 with a diagnosis of "senility and atherosclerosic dementia."  We might call that Alzheimer's today. 

Marcus' time at Morningside were easy years.  He was housed, fed, clothed and looked after.  He died of pneumonia, what some call "the old man's friend."   A nurse who wrote a medical column around that time in the New York Times said that a combination of pneumonia and a little morphine was "one shallow breath away from unraveling the great mystery." 

Salacious, "En Dishabille"

In the wee hours of January 1, 1922, Mrs. Agnes Purdin and her lover, Howard Sigsby were nestled together in Agnes' home on SE 47th St., when her estranged husband broke into the house, disturbing the sleeping lovers.

Agnes and Sigsby managed to get out of the bed before Purdin shot Agnes three times in the head.  Sigsby was shot three times before Purdin took a hatchet to his head, reducing it to pulp.   

Purdin left the house and returned later to look for his things.  Three days later, a neighbor, not having seen any activity in the house, wandered over and looked through a window.  What she saw was Howard's body on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood; she called police.

The case was sensationalized in the press.  Purdin was arrested and tried and found guilty of manslaughter.  He served seven years for murdering two people in cold blood.  His attorney argued that he was insane at the time of the murder; the jury bought it.  It was improper, after all, to be a married woman and found to be "en disabille" with a man who was not your husband.

Sigsby is interred in Section B, with a small block marker.  Agnes is interred at Rose City.   Once Mr. Purdin was released from prison, he left the state.  

Our Work is Noticed!

Our work with the Lost Alaskans project and Morningside Hospital has received some good press by Katy Muldoon in the Oregonian.  For some reason the stories of these people resonates with us.  For some they were removed from their traditional home to a strange land.  For others who went to Alaska to search for their riches their journey ended with a one way ticket to Portland.  But many were helped by their stay at Morningside as well and were released and remember their stay there in a positive way.

Show Girl

While researching the interments for 1917, I came across this little flower of wisdom!
According to the obit, the mortal remains of one Mrs. Sallie M. Smith were, at the undertaking parlor of Miller & Tracy, perpetually embalmed.   Hmmm!
If my extensive college education has taught me anything, it is that the word "perpetual" means "indefinite."  That is, her remains are preserved forever.  Even with the advanced state of embalming chemicals available to the undertakers of the time, Sallie's remains would eventually deteriorate without fresh solution pumped though her body.  Perhaps she was immersed in a vat of formaldehyde to keep her fresh and life-like. Was she used as a demonstration of the latest preservation skills to convince families to embalm their loved ones?  I would think so, since embalming has a steep markup.
It's been 95 years since Sallie was "perpetually embalmed."  Gee, maybe I'll wander over to Miller & Tracy to see if she's still there!

UPDATE:  It seems that Mrs. Smith wasn't so well preserved after all. My friend, Christoph managed to get a hold of the mortuary record for Mrs. Smith.  Seems that a month after this notice ran in the paper, she was buried at Rose City Cemetery in a "Half Couch Casket" trimmed in grey velvet.  

Miller & Tracy, like so many small mortuaries in Portland, closed a number of years ago.  Their records, fortunately, are held "perpetually" in the custody of a local (and very helpful) funeral director.  

We don't know for certain that she was "perpetually embalmed" but we do know she is perpetually dead. 

Charlotte Hood, Independent Pioneer Lady

It is common in Portland cemeteries to find people who came across the infamous Oregon Trail.  People endured struggles through hardships to get to the “promised land”.  Some people even know that the Oregon Territory was once owned by the British before it became a part of the United States.  Little is mentioned about the people who were promised land by the British to populate the Oregon Territory, only to have their promise broken.

Resting in Block D Lot 60 is a small and simple complimentary marker for Mrs. Charlotte Hood.  She was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1840 according to her death certificate, but her baptismal record says she was baptized on 14-April-1838.  Either way her parents were James Flett and Chloe (Bird) Flett.  Her grandfather was a Chief Factor for the Hudson’s Bay Company and Governor in what is now Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.  The family had numerous prominent ties with the history of early Canada.  At this time the Red River colony (now Winnipeg) was becoming over populated.  The British were aware of the pending threat the Americans posed in taking over the Oregon Territory.  They wanted to populate and secure their stakes in the area.  They offered people the opportunity to come to Oregon where the Hudson’s Bay Company would grant them “houses, barns, and fenced fields along with fifteen cows, one bull, fifty ewes, one ram, and oxen or horses, with farming implements and seed”, to establish themselves with the agreement that they would offer some of their initial crops to the company.  The company would use the crops to fill the demands for grain, hides, meat and tallow for their posts in Alaska, Hawaii, and California.  So good of an offer, that 80 families signed up leading a group that spread out over a mile on 1841 led by Charlotte’s uncle James Sinclair.  They came with all of their possessions pulled in two wheeled carts called Red River carts.  They were forced to ditch their carts and continue their journey on horseback when they reached the Rocky Mountains.  The journey led them through hostile native lands and through other hardships similar to those of the Oregon Trail Immigrants.

After their 2000 mile journey they arrived at Ft Vancouver with everyone who left for the journey, and 3 children that were born on the way.  Unfortunately, upon their arrival at Ft. Vancouver, they were told that the company could not honor the offer made to them in Canada.  However, if they wanted to go to California they would be fitted with the gear they offered their usual trappers.  If they wanted to go to the American side of the river, they would receive nothing.  That if they would go up to Nisqually that they would give them seed and some farming implements, but no houses, barns, of livestock.  Some of the immigrants tried going to Nisqually, but found the grounds difficult to farm, forcing the remaining immigrants to abandon Nisqually for the fertile plains in the Tualatin valley.  After such hardships it made their decision easier to join the American side.  So much that her father and four of her uncles were a part of the men who cast their votes at Champoeg, declaring Oregon as a part of the United States creating a provisional government on the 2^nd of  May, 1842. Charlotte’s mother died in childbirth on the Tualatin Plains on the 22^nd of January, 1843, and her father died there on the 10^th of November, 1843, leaving her and her siblings to be raised by family members.  Charlotte married twice in her life.  First was to Aurora Shumway then second to Thomas Benton Hood.  Having divorced both, Charlotte had 5 children from these two marriages.  Charlotte died from an infection caused from a sliver in her hand on the 16^th of December, 1919, and was buried at Multnomah Park Cemetery were she rests by herself with a simple complimentary headstone.

Little Victories and Slow Progress

When we started uncovering markers at the cemetery more than two years ago, we knew it would be a long term project.  When we first started, we would spend three days a week in the cemetery, regardless of the weather, uncovering stones.  Now, it's more like twice a week in good weather (not freezing or pouring).  I remind myself it is still progress.  Take Mr. Peter Norberg for example.  We know he died in 1919 and was interred in Section H, but the records were a tad sketchy.  So when we uncovered the markers in Lot 19...there he was.  A small victory for Peter, for us, for Metro and for that one researcher who will at last find Peter in the records; could be huge! 

Charles R. Welch

1889 - 1918

Died in the Service

Charles R Welch has a flag placed by his granite monument in Section A.  He died while in the service.  He didn't die in battle on the European front like so many did.  Charles was stationed at the Vancouver Barracks when he was struck down and killed by influenza.  In 1918 it didn't matter where you were, or were stationed, your life would be impacted in some manner by the great influenza epidemic.   Charles' service is remembered this Memorial Day.

Our meetings with the Lost Alaskans group in Anchorage were fantastic.  The group is highly energetic and committed to knowing what happened to all of the Alaskans who were sent to Morningside Hospital and never returned home.  Our work in Portland is helping to answer those questions.
One of the things we learned was that some of the people who were being tried for being insane were able to use the judicial process to help fight those charges and at times got the sentence delayed, or even successfully fought those charges.
Of course there were people sent to Morningside who now would not be institutionalized and for whom medication now are used, but there were definitely those who could only be helped by being institutionalized/hospitalized.
Eric and David both benefitted by attending the meetings, and are extremely honored at being invited north.  The Lost Alaskans group is an awesome group of people who were very touched when they were shown photos of the markers of Alaskans in Portland area cemeteries.  We are now currently busy helping the project by helping with data extraction from the Death Certificates obtained at the Oregon State Archives in Salem, and from various quarterly reports issued by the Hospital.  The stories being gathered are poignant and ones that shouldn't be forgotten.

Tuesday May 8, 2012

     Today we had the great fortune of being shown some of the spectacular scenery that makes up the area around the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet and the Prince William Sound.    There aren't any words I can think of that really describe this beauty, but "WOW" suffices, at least temporarily.
     The month is May, but we look out of the warm vehicle and it sure looks like it's still mid-winter out there.  It really isn't winter, the trees are starting to bud, the lows are up in to the 30's, and the daylight hours are quite long.  Nothing like the long freezing nights of winter.
     The stories that emanate from this place called Alaska are thick with hope and hardship, riches, hope, brokenness, death and insanity. Lots of insanity.   The winters alone cause a certain insanity that we, in the 21st century call seasonal affective disorder, but our Victorian friends called Melancholia.  
     If you were a guy from the lower 48 states back in the late 1800's and heard of the gold to be found up here you might be tempted to drop everything and head north to find your fortune.  You would become one among hundreds.  If you were an enterprising young woman just off the boat from France you might just get an idea to head to the gold fields of Alaska and try to make your fortune through the business of selling kindness to strangers. 
     There are tales of cannibalism during the Gold Rush; harsh winters can cause that - witness the Donner Party.  One man we know of did exactly that; three men in a cabin over a brutal Arctic winter and one survived physically though the experience claimed his reason and he spent the rest of his life in an insane asylum, namely Morningside Hospital of Dr. Coe in Portland. 
     Between 1904 and 1968, Morningside Hospital became home for "paretics (those suffering from tertiary syphilis) , "homeosexuals", "morons" (though we call their condition Down's Syndrome these days), "idiots" (developmentally disabled), epileptics, sufferers of tuberculosis, and the rather general but applicable label of "delusional manic depressive."  I supposed that covers most bases . . . 
     The winters are long, hard, and cold in Alaska.  You'd better be prepared.

We drove by The Park Monday on our way to the airport.  Fitting somehow to drive by and be reminded that the reasons we're heading to Anchorage lie therein.  Juries of 6 men found their peers to be mentally insane and those people were then sent south to Portland and Morningside Hospital.  Many of those people never returned and became The Lost Alaskans.  We have found the last resting spot for quite a few of those Lost Alaskans.  A few have monuments lovingly purchased by family.  Many have 'temporary' cement markers with their names and location imprinted on them.  Some have plain markers with no name but only a location on them.  Some people unfortunately remain lost buried in unmarked graves, or in graves that have been resold. 

While in Anchorage we expect to learn and share a lot of information on The Lost Alaskans, and to meet some very fascinating women who have been involved in this project for several years now.

Janice Bevill

Janice L Bevill was born on 20 February 1938 to Mr & Mrs J W Bevill of 1709 SW Morrison. Her death is recorded in the Oregon Death Index on 17 April 1938, and her burial on 18 April according to the cemetery records.   We have not yet seen a copy of her Death Certificate.

Her temporary marker indicates she was intended to be in Section A, Lot 112, the lower half of grave 3.  Her temporary marker however, is in Section C, Lot 38, grave nr 1. 

Richard V Beymer

Richard Vani Beymer, according to his WWI Draft Registration, was born July 10, 1873 while his Death Certificate indicates he was born in 1872. Regardless, we do know that Richard worked at a mine in Ely, Nevada in 1918 while in 1920 he was living with his parents and working as a laborer in a sawmill in Falls City, Oregon. Richard never married. Richard died at home at 9704 SE 59th on July 1, 1926. Friends were invited to attend his funeral on July 3rd. He lies in Section A in the Park.

The Morning Oregonian, July 3, 1926, pg 16.

"Thank you so much for finding Hattie Abra's grave site. I have been trying to find out about her without any luck until recently when someone told me about Find A Grave. I'm saddened to find she only has a temporary headstone."

Nearly three years ago Eric and I started a project of listing the graves at Multnomah Park on the website Find A Grave.  We thought there were several thousand graves at the cemetery and frankly didn't know where the project would lead us, and really still don't know where the project will take us.  We don't know, or understand fully, what drives us to record the graves at The Park.  People wonder why we spend the time uncovering, cleaning and photographing markers and monuments for people we don't know and aren't related to; people who in life we may not have associated with or even liked.
But we both know that we feel 'called' to work on this project of recording their stories, for each person buried at The Park has a story that needs being told. 
Our efforts are appreciated.  That we know.  All you need to do is look at the many comments left by people on Find A Grave who appreciate the fact that we have taken the time to list a relative on Find A Grave. 
Part of the journey that this project is taking us on involves the history of Morningside Hospital at what is now Mall 205.  Why either one of us is interested in a mental hospital and it's story is a question.  Maybe the answer lies in the fact that both of us have relatives who were in mental hospitals at one time.  We don't know, but we do know that the stories of people sent from Alaska, prior to statehood, to Portland's Morningside Hospital touches a nerve with us.
As a result of our, and especially Eric's, interest in Morningside Hospital, Eric and I are travelling to Anchorage next week to meet up with some Alaskans who would like to know why two guys in Portland care about the Lost Alaskans.  The Lost Alaskans are people who were separated from their families for reasons as small as the fact that they were epileptic and sent from their villages in Alaska to spend the rest of their days in a foreign place.

David

Photo Essay

Cemetery Elder

In the process of completing the photo survey of Block D, Mike Dalton took this photo. Mike is meticulous when it comes to documentation of burials, for which we are grateful.

The United State was just 34 years old when Henry Huxley was born in 1810. Lewis & Clark had just returned home from their trek to the Pacific Ocean; George III was the monarch of Great Britain. James Madison was the U.S. President.

As far as we know, Mr. Huxley is the cemetery elder, having been born before anyone else who currently resides in Multnomah Park. We hope to find some interesting facts about him and post it to the blog.

Eight Loggers Die When Tree Falls on Train Near Astoria

Buried in Section D in an obscure grave with no marker is the Swedish immigrant Carl Berg who died on 23 March 1917 near Grays River, Wahkiakum County, Washington. He, along with about 140 other, mostly single, loggers were heading back to the logging camp they lived in at the end of the day. There was a serious spring storm with high winds, heavy rain, and sleet. There was coastal flooding and heavy snow and avalanches in the North Cascades.

In 1917 the loggers were transported from logging operations to a base camp by open air rail cars. The train was noisy and the wind was blowing and the rain added to the misery of travelling on open air rail cars. The train's engineer and brakeman, who were in the cab of the train didn't see it coming and were aware of anything amiss until the 18 inch hemlock hit the car right behind the engine. The approximately 140 employees didn't see it coming until it was too late. The tree hit the rail car killing 7 outright, 1 died on the way to St Mary's hospital in Astoria, and three more later died there.

A survivor, Martin Arcey, who received comparatively minor injuries, a broken arm and cuts, was able to give an account that was quoted in Portland "The Daily Journal": "It came so sudden that the first thing I knew was a black streak above and ahead of me. then the awful crash. I was thrown on my head forward, so I really did not see how the others were injured. I know that a few were directly under the tree, and others must have been against and partly under it as the train moved ahead. All of those who were killed died instantly, I believe."

The coverage in "The Daily Journal" reported: "Both of the cars which carried the men were flat cars. Falling at an angle, the tree pinned the men bneath it, and as the train moved ahead about 20 feet after it was hit, others who were not struck direclty by the tree were swept partly under it and crushed to the floor of the car. the dead were mangled."

Carl is one of two of the deceased who are buried in Portland. The other is fellow Swedish immigrant Axel Dahleen who is buried with his brother and sister-in-law at Rose City Cemetery. According to the death certificates we have located from Clatsop County four of the other deceased are buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Astoria. We have not yet located the five other deceased.

Legislative Act Senate Bill 113, 1943

In the Oregon State Senate, Military Affairs Committee, a Bill for an Act to profide for the acquisition, ownership, control, management, care and preservation of the Multnomah Park Cemetery, etc.

Passed in the Senate on February 6, 1943
Passed in the House on February 10, 1943

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE BY THE STATE OF OREGON

SECTION 1: That Multnomah County, by and through its board of county commissioners, be and said county is vested with authority to accept in the name of the county, by conveyance from the owners thereof, ownership and control of the Multnomah Park Cemetery, located in Multnomah County, Oregon, and said county, upon the acquisition of such ownership and control, shall have and is hereby given authority to provide for the restoration of the grounds, the walks and the graves therein, and the future care of such cemetery.

Section 2: Said board of county commissioners hereby are authorized and empowered to appoint a caretaker for said cemetery and to prescribe his duties and fix his compensation. Said caretaker shall serve at the pleasure of the county commissioners.

Section 3: Said board of county commissioners, upon acquiring ownership and control of said cemetery, shall thereafter include in its annual budget an expenditure covering the cost of maintenance of such cemetery.

The Oregon State Archives contains all kinds of interesting facts from the past.

Daniel Bonner

Daniel Bonner has the record for being the oldest known person in the cemetery. He appears in the 1880 Census of New York City, living with his family. The census record gives his date of birth as 1816. The earliest birth date of cemetery residents goes to Mrs.Agnes Otty, who was born in 1814. Daniel appears in the 1860 census of Philadelphia and again in 1863 in the rolls of the Union Army Draft Register of Pennsylvania. He is listed in the 1910 Census of Hillsboro at 92 year of age.
Daniel was a resident of Hillsboro, but died in the Multnomah County Poor Farm in Troutdale - now McMenamin's Edgefield Manor on November 27, 1918. He was one of over 1300 Oregonians who lost their lives during the Influenza pandemic - most in a two month period.
Daniel, a coal miner from Ireland, was a resident of the Multnomah Farm for 2 months and ten days. He had been living in the country for about 65 years, and was widowed.
His place of interment is currently unknown.

June 30, 1934

On June 30th, 1934, Portland City road crews were out in our neck of the woods taking photos of streets for the City Planners. This photo shows the Park on the left. The entrance pillars can be seen. They were painted white with a painted sign across the top. There was no fence and it looked like the grass was tall. The O.P. Lent monument can be seen. This is the first old photo of the cemetery we have been able to locate. It came from the City of Portland Archives.