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.
[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.
