Early Deaths of Children of Mariano & Louisa Coronado

My grandparents, Mariano and Louisa Coronado had thirteen children born between 1885 and 1906.  Ten children lived to be adults and three children died at an early age.

Marianita Coronado

The firstborn, Marianita, was born 27 July 1885[1] in Napa, before the family moved to the Vallejo area.  According to my mother’s memory of what her mother used to say about Marianita: “She was a perfect child”.

Three more children were born in the next few years: my Uncle Dolph, my Aunt Hess, and my Uncle Guadalupe Serapio, born 30 September 1890[2].

However, when the new year of 1891 began, 5-year-old Marianita fell ill and died on 26 January 1891.  I don’t know whether the death was sudden, but the physician recorded on the death certificate that she died of tubercular meningitis[3] – an infection of the tissues covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges)[4].  It must have been a terrible shock and a very emotional time for the young family.  They were living on the Tobin Ranch in Vallejo and had not yet purchased the land on the Napa Vallejo Highway that would become their family home and business location in later years.

Even though Mariano and Louisa lived in Vallejo, Mariano’s family friend and brother-in-law, Manuel Madrid, offered burial space for Marianita in the cemetery plot in Napa that he had bought for his father.  Mariano’s younger brother, Marciano, was already buried in the plot.  Mariano & Louisa accepted Manuel’s offer and Marianita, their beloved first child, was buried on 27 January 1891 at the Tulocay Cemetery in Napa.[5]

But tragedy struck again three months later when 7-month-old Guadalupe fell ill in March and died 11 April 1891[6].  On the death certificate, the physician noted that he had cared for Guadalupe from 20 March 1891 until the day he died and the cause of death was “dentition”[7].  Dentition was listed as a cause of death in this period of time because of issues surrounding the baby’s teething.  The teething process and infection or fever related to teething was a problem for doctors into the early 20^th Century.  In addition, they did not have antibiotics to treat such an infection.[8]

The 7-month old Guadalupe was buried next to his sister in the Napa Tulocay Cemetery on 12 April 1891[9].  It must have been a very difficult year for the young Coronado family.

When I visited the Tulocay Cemetery earlier this year, both Marianita and Guadalupe were listed in cemetery records, but there was no marker on the cemetery plot.  I arranged to have a stone marker prepared and placed on the plot to properly identify the location of where the young Coronado children are buried.

A third young Coronado child, Juan Pilar, died in 1897 and was buried in the Vallejo cemetery, but I will save the specifics for another time.

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[1] There are no birth or baptism records that I could find for Marianita.  The birth date is a calculated one based on her date of death and the number of years (5), months (5) and days (30) that she was alive.  Certificate of Death, Marianita Coronado, City of Vallejo Death Certificate, Book 1, Page 350, located at Solano County Genealogical Society Library.

[2] Baptism, Guadalupe Serapio Coronado, St. Vincent’s Church Baptisms, Book 1, Page 479, located at Solano County Genealogical Society Library.

[3] Certificate of Death, Marianita Coronado, City of Vallejo Death Certificate, Book 1, Page 350, located at Solano County Genealogical Society Library.

[4] http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000650.htm

[5] Death Record for Marianita Coronado, Office of County Clerk, Solano County, California.

[6] Certificate of Death, Guadalupe Coronado, City of Vallejo Death Certificate, Book 1, Page 362, located at Solano County Genealogical Society Library.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Here is the explanation of the medical term from a genealogy glossary: "Dentition or Teething - The entire process which results in the eruption of the teeth.  Nineteenth-century medical reports stated that infants were more prone to disease at the time of teething.  Symptoms were restlessness, fretfulness, convulsions, diarrhea, and painful and swollen gums.  The latter could be relieved by lancing over the protruding tooth.  Often teething was reported as a cause of death in infants.  Perhaps they became susceptible to infections, especially if lancing was performed without antisepsis."  http://genealogy-quest.com/glossary-terms/diseases/medical-terminology-beginning-letter-t/

[9] Death Record for Guadalupe Coronado, Office of County Clerk, Solano County, California.

Where Was Loretto Coronado Buried and Why?

When last I reported about my great-grandfather, Loretto Coronado, he had died on the streets of Yountville, California – a small village just north of Napa City.  He was 60 years old.

He left an estate valued at $600 according to the probate of the estate[1] -  of that amount $500 was the value of the 160 acres of land and $100 was the value of farm animals and equipment.  As far as I can tell there was no cash to pay for his burial.

It happened that Napa County had set aside a portion of the Tulocay Cemetery in Napa for those families that could not pay for burial.  In Cemetery records it is listed as “County Burials”.  It would be reasonable for a local jurisdiction to have such a burial area identified and set aside for those who have died without family or those families who could not afford a burial.  In years past these areas might be called potter’s fields or common graves.

On a visit to Napa last year I went to Tulocay Cemetery to research their records.  Indeed I found Loretto in the “County Burial” records.  He died on October 27, 1887, with the coroner listing the cause of death as “old age”[2].  He was listed as “County Burial Number 438”[3].

According to Peter Manasse (former high school classmate of mine and manager of the Tulocay Cemetery) over the years wooden markers identified the spot where someone was buried in the “County” section.  There were also metal points placed at the burial site.  Peter said that there had been a fire many years ago, probably destroying any wooden markers, and he said that many of the metal points had sunk into the earth.  So in the “County” area of the cemetery it was hard to be certain where particular bodies were buried.[4]

After Loretto’s death in 1887, his wife, Guadalupe, sold the 160 acres of land in the Napa hills and lived in the City of Napa at 21 Vallejo Street for a while with her son, Enos, and daughter, Pauline[5].  She died on August 5, 1902[6] at the age of 72.  Since this family could also not afford a burial site, Guadalupe was also buried in the “County” section.  She was listed as “County Burial Number 827[7].

So today there is a large expanse of grass in the “County” area with a few gravestone markers placed here and there.  All the markers were likely added years after the original burials.

I felt there should be a permanent marker showing where our ancestors were buried – so that others would not have to look up the information in the cemetery records.

So I arranged to have a “pillow-style” granite marker created and placed in the unmarked “County” area of the cemetery.  Both Loretto and Guadalupe Coronado names are listed on the stone.  The single stone with both names was placed in the general location of where Guadalupe was buried, on a grassy rise overlooking Napa.

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[1] Probate of Estate, Letters of Administration for Loretto Coronado.  Napa County, California, Superior Court records, 1887, case number 278, Loretto Coronado.

[2] Napa County, California, County Recorder, Register of Deaths, Book 1, Page 43.

[3] Tulocay Cemetery, Napa, California, County Burials, page 216.

[4] The majority of Tulocay Cemetery is laid out in Blocks and Lots with careful records of who purchased the lots and who is buried at each site.  It is only the “County” section of the cemetery where it is difficult to identify who is buried where.

[5] Ancestry.com database online.  1900 United States Federal Census, California, Napa, Napa, District 0096, page 19.

[6] Napa County, California, County Recorder, Register of Deaths, Book 1, Page 53; and Ancestry.com database online. 1900 United States Federal Census, California, Napa, Napa, District 0096, page 19 for Guadalupe's date of birth.

[7] Tulocay Cemetery, Napa, California, County Burials page 237.

Harrison McIntosh Turns 100 - A Special Day

It is rare that a genealogical blog, steeped in the past, has the opportunity to celebrate a living family member whose past, whose life and whose present has brought renown to the family.  This is the focus of today’s posting, where we celebrate the One Hundredth Birthday of Harrison McIntosh, our famous California ceramic artist.

Those of you who have followed the family relationships will remember the recent posts in which I discussed the courtship and 1913 wedding of Harry McIntosh and Jesusita (Hess) Coronado, the eldest daughter of Marion & Louisa Coronado.

The newly married couple settled in Vallejo where Harry worked as a musician and then for the Sperry Flour Company.  Two sons were born to the young couple, Harrison (born: 11 Sep 1914) and Robert (born: 11 Mar 1916).  Both sons would grow up and mature professionally in Vallejo, Stockton and the Los Angeles area to become internationally known artists.  Harrison would concentrate on ceramic arts while Robert would become a portrait, landscape and movie animation artist.

Today cousin Harrison is celebrating his 100^th Birthday.[1]  I send my best wishes to him and wish him many more years.[2]

We visited Harrison four years ago at his home in southern California and toured his former home and studio in Padua Hills in Claremont, California.  Although his eyesight is fading, his alertness and memory are as sharp as a youngster.

As a testament to his life and professional career I have assembled photos[3] that show Harrison over the years.

Brothers Robert & Harrison McIntosh - 1926 (Photo Credit: James Coronado)

Juanita Coronado (wife of James), Hess, Harrison, Harry, Juanita Coronado (daughter of Juanita on the left), Robert - 1926 (Photo Credit: James Coronado)

Family Photo - Harry McIntosh, Hess, Harrison, Louisa Coronado (grandmother of Harrison & Robert), Robert - 1941 (Photo Credit: James Coronado)

Harrison McIntosh applies brush work to a large bowl in his studio in Claremont, CA - 1953

Harrison McIntosh at his potter's wheel - 1966 (Photo Credit: Sam Calder)

Harrison McIntosh in his studio - 1977

Harrison McIntosh in his Padua Hills studio - 1992 (Photo Credit: Marguerite McIntosh)

Harrison McIntosh in his retrospective exhibition at the American Museum of Ceramic Art in 2010  (Photo Credit: Catherine McIntosh)

Harrison McIntosh celebrates his upcoming 100th Birthday with his wife Marguerite at a family lunch in Claremont, CA in August 2014  (Photo Credit: Catherine McIntosh)

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[1] Harrison’s brother, Robert, passed away in 2010 at the age of 94.

[2] The American Museum of Ceramic Art, in conjunction with the Claremont Museum of Art, is presenting a special exhibition, HM100: A Century through the life of Harrison McIntosh, from September 13 to October 26, 2014.  For information: http://www.amoca.org/hm100/

[3] Photos assembled with the assistance of his daughter, Catherine McIntosh.

Loretto Coronado Dies in Yountville

In earlier posts (Loretto’sLand - Part One and Loretto’s Land - Part Two) I discussed how my great-grandfather, Loretto Coronado, and his wife, Guadalupe Villa Coronado, raised a family in the Napa Valley beginning in the 1850s.  I wrote about how he applied for and eventually received 160 acres of homestead land and planted one of the early vineyards in the Napa foothills.

Guadalupe Villa Coronado and her husband Loretto Coronado.  This is the only known photo of Loretto and was probably taken about 1885, shortly before his death.  Guadalupe lived until 1902, when she died in Napa at 80 years of age.

But then in March 1886 Loretto was involved in a terrible accident when his horse went off the steep road on the way to his farm and pulled the buggy with Loretto over the side of the road – apparently the horse and buggy rolling over Loretto several times.  He suffered dangerous internal injuries as well as bruises to his face and shoulders.

About a year and a half later in October 1887, the following items about my great-grandfather appeared in the local newspapers:

Died from Drink

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     Loretto Coronado, a Mexican, who is well known in Napa, was found dead in Yountville Wednesday morning, with an empty whisky bottle lying beside him.  Coroner Lawrence went up and held an inquest.  The verdict of the jury was that Coronado came to his death from exposure and drink.

     The funeral of Loretto Coronado took place yesterday.  The interment was in the Napa cemetery.[1]

Found Dead

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     Thomas Hopper came down from Lake County yesterday, stopping at Yountville Tuesday en route.  He says at an early hour Wednesday, Loretto Coronado, a well known Spaniard, was found dead in the street of Yountville, opposite Mrs. Gill’s.  Beside him lay an empty whisky bottle and it is supposed that overdoses of the tangle-leg[2] caused his death.  He had been on a long spree and had of late been indulging freely.  The Coroner was sent for.  Coronado leaves a large family.

LATER

     Coroner Lawrence and James Giles returned from Yountville at 1:30 o’clock this afternoon.  At the inquest the jury found that deceased was a native of Mexico, aged 60 years and that he came to his death through drinking and exposure.[3]

I was originally bothered by the manner of Loretto’s death when I first learned about it.  But on reflection I’ve tempered my thoughts.  He was 60 years old living in the 19^th Century when life expectancy was less than it is today and access to medical care was limited.  Loretto led a long and tough life – farming in the rough foothills of the Napa Valley and raising a family of five children.  To add to this was his horse and buggy accident in the previous year which may have and probably did leave him in constant pain.  On the other hand, coroners in the 19^th Century were not necessarily medical doctors and there was no autopsy performed.  He could have died of an unnoticed ailment with whisky and exposure to the elements a contributing cause.

Loretto left his estate, valued at $500 for the 160 acres of land and $100 for farm animals and equipment, to his wife Guadalupe.  Apparently unable to sign her name, Guadalupe marked the probate court documents with an “X” and appointed her son Marciano as administrator of the estate.[4]

The probate court documents[5] tell us a few things about the family Loretto left behind in 1887.  Living in Napa were his wife, Guadalupe (63 years old)[6], son Marciano (26 years old) and Ignacio (22 years old) and daughter Paula (19 years old).  Mariano, my grandfather, was 28 and living in Vallejo with his new wife Louisa and their two children.  Angelita Coronado, the eldest (age 29) had married Manuel Madrid the previous year and was living in Vallejo.

In a future post, I will discuss the circumstances and location of Loretto’s burial in Napa’s Tulocay Cemetery.

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[1] Napa County Reporter, Napa, California, 28 Oct 1887, 3:3, accessed by microfilm at the Napa County Library, Napa, California

[2] “Tangle-leg” or “tangle-foot” was a colloquialism for any intoxicating liquor.  A Dictionary of Slang and Colloquial English by John Stephen Farmer and William Ernest Henley, G. Routledge & Son, 1905, page 465.

[3] Napa Register, Napa, California, 28 Oct 1887, 3:4, accessed by microfilm at the Napa County Library, Napa, California.

[4] Probate of Estate, Letters of Administration for Loretto Coronado.  Napa County, California, Superior Court records, 1887, case number 278, Loretto Coronado.

[5] Ibid.

[6] If the estimate of her age is correct, Guadalupe was relatively old when she began to have children (34) and when she had her last child (44).

Remembering My Childhood (Cecelia Coronado) - Part Six

 (This is the sixth in a series of posts based on audio recordings made by my mother, Cecelia Coronado Phipps in 1983.  Here she remembers her brother, Dolph, and his first wife, Etta.)

Dolph and Etta

Dolph was the oldest of the brothers.  He was rather spoiled.  He was very brilliant and handsome and well liked by all the girls, so he had many girl friends.  He had his own thoroughbred horses, the best horses and the best carriages in Vallejo.  He married a beautiful young lady, Loretta (Etta) Kelleher, who was an only child.  She was born and raised in San Francisco.  Right after the earthquake, her mother and father came to Vallejo.  I understand the mother never forgave the father from taking her out of San Francisco – she loved San Francisco.  What a wonderful father she had.  He was maitre d' at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco – a perfect gentleman and very handsome. ... I never knew the mother very well.  She was an expert seamstress.

The only work Etta ever did was at a candy store in Vallejo, where she dipped chocolates.  That was her profession, she dipped chocolates.  Her mother made all of these beautiful dresses for her.  She was the best dressed young lady in Vallejo.  She was Miss Vallejo at one time – a beautiful girl.  But she wanted to learn how to sew.  One day she bought some beautiful material, what she thought was beautiful.  She brought it home and she thought her mother would teach her how to sew.  Well I guess her mother was a little bit offended at this.  She just took that beautiful material and tore it to shreds.  Well Etta lost hope then.  She never learned to sew or cook.

Eventually Dolph married her and they had two girls, Lillian and Dorothy – very special young ladies.  Lillian was beautiful.  She inherited the coloring that my mother had, which none of the rest of us had - high color in the cheeks, which just does not rub off.  My mother would tell us that when she was tiny, the kids would get her on the ground and try to rub the rouge off her face, but it was natural. ...Lillian was plump and Dorothy was dark – had dark hair, olive skin, like her Dad.

The mother, Etta or Loretta was my godmother.  My middle name is Loretta, Cecelia Loretta.  Loretta died before she was fifty, and her daughters, Lillian and Dorothy, also died before they were fifty.

It was a difficult life for Etta.  She was such a good person.  But she only knew happy times.  It was difficult for her to cook and never could sew.  Both the girls became very good at both. ... Frankie was her little chauffeur.  He lived with them for a while and he chauffeured Etta around and the girls.  There was one party after another, picnics, parties, and all good times.  Dolph was busy at work at the garage.  He had the original Coronado Garage in Vallejo.  Later Frank had the Coronado Garage, and brother Paul worked for him.

Dolph Coronado driving his new 1912 Overland on the Old Napa Road bordering the Coronado property in Vallejo.  His father, Mariano Coronado, planted the eucalyptus trees along the road.

Hess & Harry Wedding Photo Explained

My July 31, 2014 web post carried a photo of the McIntosh wedding in 1913 where I misidentified some of the wedding party members, particularly and most importantly where the groom and the bride were standing.

Cousin Catherine McIntosh was kind enough to point out to me in a comment that she thought that her grandfather, Harry McIntosh, was the man on the left in the photo with his bride, Hess, standing next to him and not Dutch Coronado.  She is right.  I did a little more research (with a pronounced red face) and hope to now correctly identify the people in the wedding photo.

The McIntosh wedding party posed for this photo on the steps of St. Vincent’s Church in Vallejo.  It was just after noon on July 14, 1913.  On the steps from left to right is Harry McIntosh; Jesusita (Hess) Coronado McIntosh; Marion (Dutch) Coronado, the best man; and Hallie Osborne, maid of honor.  The flower girls in the front are from left to right: Marian (Toots) Coronado and Cecelia Coronado.  The girl on the fourth step on the right is Alice Anderson.[1]

Hess Coronado was born in 1888 and was the oldest surviving daughter of Mariano and Louisa Coronado.  My mother, Cecelia Coronado, born in 1906, said that Hess helped raised her and her sister, Toots (born 1905), in the large Coronado family.

Harry McIntosh came with his mother, and his sister, Isabella, and brother, Walter, from Quincy Massachusetts around 1910[2].  Harry was a piano tuner[3] and piano player.   He played the piano for Mariano at the Coronado Inn and spent a lot of time with his good friend, Dutch Coronado, at the Coronado property on the rural Napa Vallejo Highway.

“Harry always admired our oldest sister, Hess”, says Cecelia.  “She was tiny.  In fact he found her at the stove most of the time where she was even too small to reach the kettles to stir.  Mama put a little stool there for her.  That’s where Harry discovered his future bride.”[4]

Since Dutch was a good friend of Harry, he was a logical choice for best man at the McIntosh wedding.  The maid of honor, Hallie Osborne, is a mystery to me.  She may have been a good friend of the bride, but I could not find any reference to her in family records or census records.  Any help from family members would be welcome.

Flower girls and sisters, Cecelia and Toots, were born about 15 months apart and look like they could be twins in the wedding photo.

The girl high up on the steps in the photo on the right side is 13 year-old Alice Anderson.  She was the niece of Harry McIntosh.  She came with her mother, Isabella, her grandmother and her Uncle Harry from Massachusetts and settled in Vallejo where Alice and her mother, “Belle” lived.  Her mother ran a rooming house on Georgia Street.[5]

Cecelia says that “since Harry had a job with Papa playing the piano, Alice used to stay with us a lot and I think one time stayed all summer long.  Alice remembers staying with us during the school year too and riding the buggy to school.  Mama used to say to Toots and me, ‘You two girls are fine.  But let Alice come around and she gets you two in mischief’.”[6]

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[1] Coronado Newsletter, Vol 1, No 3, May 1994, page 8.

[2] I don’t think that all members of the McIntosh family came to Vallejo at the same time.  Harry was listed as a boarder living at 332 Georgia Street in Vallejo in April 1910.  According the 1910 Federal Census he was a piano tuner working for a piano manufacturer.  Isabella McIntosh Anderson, her husband, George, and her daughter, Alice, were in Quincy Massachusetts in April 1910 living at 76 Rover Street according to the 1910 Federal Census.  Isabella and her daughter, Alice, probably left soon afterwards for Vallejo because Harry and Alice were closely associated with the Coronado family as Harry was courting Hess.  Isabella remarried in 1916, so either George Anderson died or they were divorced by then.  Ancestry.com database online. 1910 United States Federal Census, California, Solano, Vallejo Ward 2, District 0190, page 3.  1910 United State Federal Census, Massachusetts, Norfolk, Quincy Ward 2, District 1140, page 30.

[3] Ancestry.com database online. 1910 United States Federal Census, California, Solano, Vallejo Ward 2, District 0190, page 3.  By the time of his wedding Harry worked for the Sperry Mill Company in south Vallejo.  Cecelia Coronado Phipps, Coronado Family Memories, Coronado Newsletter, Vol 3, No 3, May – August 1996, page 3.

[4] Cecelia Coronado Phipps, Coronado Family Memories, Coronado Newsletter, Vol 3, No 3, May – August 1996, page 3.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

Remembering My Childhood (Cecelia Coronado) - Part Five

(This is the fifth in a series of posts based on audio recordings made by my mother, Cecelia Coronado Phipps in 1983.  Here she remembers her brother-in law, Harry McIntosh, and her brother, Dutch.)

Harry McIntosh

Dutch told me years later that he and Harry McIntosh, who married my sister Hess, became good chums, good friends.  They would sleep in the garden in the summertime.  In those days the summertime was real hot.  Hess and Harry were going together at that time and he played the piano for my father.

Let me tell you a little story about Harry. Dutch always had a motorcycle.  Harry was inclined to be rather slow moving.  He was a swell guy.  We all loved him. ... Dutch had the motorcycle going in the back yard and said, "Jump on Harry.  Get on, we're going into town."  Well he thought that Harry had jumped on.  By the time he got into town, which was three miles away, there was no Harry! ...

Harry's mother brought him and his sister from Massachusetts.  She was a widow and ran a boardinghouse in Vallejo.  Alice, his half-sister, was practically raised with us; she spent so much time with us.  One time, Mama said, "Pick a few apples, Alice."  Well, she not only picked a few, she took every apple on the tree.  So there were no apples left on that tree.  We have fond memories of Alice, who grew up almost like our own sister.

Harry & Hess Wedding Day 1913.  Dutch in center with light-colored hat as best man.  Sisters Toots & Cecelia as flower girls.  Alice on steps at far right. (Revised 8/21/2014)

Dutch

Let me go back and tell you a little "ditty" that Dutch talks about.  He was sent to school when he was four years old.  He was a very large boy, big boned. ... He was just not ready for school at all.  Apparently they wore these little sailor hats at that time.  All he wanted to do was hit the teacher with his sailor hat.  He just provoked her so much, that finally she sent for my father.  He came and the teacher said, "He is just not ready for school yet.  All he wants to do is fuss."  The teacher said to let him come back in a year's time, so Papa took him home.  Well, when the year was up, he was certainly ready for school.  Everything then came so easy for him.

Dutch Coronado driving the beer truck in 1914.  Man standing on the truck bed holding the child may be his brother, James.

Dutch, as a beer truck driver, in front of The Coronado Inn