St. Catherine of Siena Cemetery Martinez, CA

I've been sitting on this post for well over a week now. You may remember some time ago there was a cemetery nearby that I was having trouble getting in to. After several attempts lasting about 6 months I was finally able to get in. Please read the background story. Now that you've done that here we are 6 months later. I wrote the deacon again just after visiting and I was all ready to come here today and write a scathing article after giving him a week to respond to my email. At first I wasn't going to send an email at all but decided it was best to find out the details before launching into a bunch of accusations. It seemed to me that the cleanup and/or restoration project I spoke about 6 months ago had stalled. Since this cemetery is on a hill I decided I'd start at the top and work my way down. It was then that I noticed the huge piles of rocks and leaves that were supposed to be cleaned up were sitting at the back of the cemetery hidden from the view of the nearby street. As you can see in the second picture here one of the piles appears to be covering someone's grave. And I couldn't tell due to the size of the pile if there were more under there? I thought to myself how careless the people cleaning the cemetery must have been to allow this to happen. The landfill is not too far from here. Couldn't they have just taken it there? Well of course that would probably cost money. Money that maybe the church didn't have at the time. I am still trying to understand the situation without being too upset about it. There is so much work to be done here it seems overwhelming. My emails have now been forwarded to the cemetery maintenance committee. This is where my correspondence stalled last time. My plan is to not let this issue go. People are still being buried here. When I visited there was a fresh grave that still had the funeral flowers on it. Another problem plaguing the cemetery is rampant vandalism. This I cannot point blame at the church, although there are several holes in the fence that could be repaired in the back. It's disheartening that people would come to a cemetery and do this level of destruction. I tried to lift a couple of the stones to see how heavy they were and there's no doubt that this vandalism has been done by a group of people. Most likely young adults or a group of teens that have nothing better to do than destroy history. The cemetery dates back to around 1860 and for somebody to destroy history on this level or at all is beyond description. I have added more pictures of the destruction to my photobucket account. I would also like to end this post with the correspondence between Deacon Albert Dizon and myself. I'm also asking anyone concerned to please email the Deacon (dcnadizon@yahoo.com) and express your concerns if possible. I think if we don't let this issue drop we will get something done here...

Deacon Dizon,

My name is Joe Dallmann and I wrote to you some 6 months ago regarding the state of the cemetery. Yesterday after many months of trying to obtain keys from the police department I was able to finally visit the cemetery itself. I'm not sure if you've personally had a chance to visit it. I was very sad when I visited. There has been a ton of vandalism there and it seems the dead branches and trees I saw them cleaning up on my last visit when I wrote my story on it have been piled at the back of the cemetery. I don't wish to take an accusatory tone as I did in previous emails without knowing the full details of what's going on there? Is there something preventing people from hauling this debris off? I will attach a couple pictures to show what I'm talking about. It seems the piles in the back actually cover some of the graves. No doubt vandalism has plagued this beautiful place. It troubles me to think that people are capable of such destruction in a cemetery. Last time we spoke I volunteered my assistance in helping out here and I can probably get a few others to assist as well. I would again like to extend that invitation and hope that someone will contact me regarding assistance. My company owns a truck and trailer and although it's small we can assist in clearing some of the wood piles and possibly the concrete debris in the back of the cemetery. Originally I intended to write a scathing article regarding the state. And yes I understand that most of these plots are purchased with the intent that the families will take care of cleaning. But what do we do when some of the plots are more than a hundred years old? I can't lift the stones by myself nor do I want to risk damaging them further. I am asking for your help in correcting this problem. Please look at the pictures in case you don't already know what's going on there. Here is the article I wrote 6 months ago... http://cemeteryexplorers..blogspot.com/2009/07/restoration-project-at-st-catherine-of.html

His response:

Hello Mr. Dallmann,

I am so sorry that I did not respond to your email right away. The truth is, I did not open this email until today. I have forwarded your email and pictures to our maintenance committee and our cemetery maintenance coordinator Mr. Pete Carpenter. I am sure he will contact you soon to take you up on your offer.

Thank you for brining this up to our attention and being so understanding with the situation.

God bless you.

Deacon Albert Dizon
St. Catherine of Siena Parish
1125 Ferry St.
Martinez, CA 94553

http://stcatherineofsienamartinez.org/

James Rankin 1848-1901

James Rankin is buried at Alhambra Pioneer Cemetery in Martinez California. He wasn't included in my original Alhambra post because I wanted to give him his own bio instead of a short blurb included in that post. James Rankin emigrated from Scotland at the age of 17 and landed in New York. In 1869 he headed to San Francisco and eventually ended up finding work in the Black Diamond Mines located between what is now Pittsburg and Clayton California. Between 1869 and 1884 he worked hard in the mines and rose to the rank of Mine Manager while owning a number of hotels and general stores in the lost towns of Nortonville, Somersville and Stewartsville.He was married in 1869 to Sarah who was the sister of his business partner Sam Brown. In 1884 James was elected to the position of Sheriff of Contra Costa County. This prompted him to move his family to Martinez where they renovated a new home to accommodate his growing family. Between the late 1880's and 1890's Rankin stayed very busy splitting his time between Martinez, the mines, and a 650 acre grain ranch he developed near what was then called New York Landing (Pittsburg, CA). In 1899 amid difficulties the Bank of Martinez asked Rankin to become it's president. He held that post until his death in 1901 at the young age of 53.

Martinez is one of the few cities in my area that have seemed to be able to balance the history of the town along with newer construction. In the downtown area many of the houses of the original pioneers can still be seen and are adorned with plaques indicating who lived there originally. I drove around Martinez looking for the Rankin house to no avail. It still exists I just couldn't find it. Part of his land was turned into what is now Rankin Park. It's a beautiful park with lots of trees and a few hiking trails located not far from the cemetery. James Rankin is no doubt an interesting man who had many accomplishments in his lifetime. One of the people that came here in search of the American dream and actually seems to have found it. I'll leave this post with a bit of speculation. I believe his death was most likely due to his work in the Black Diamond Mines. Many of the people in that area died at an early age. Some due to disease and others just from breathing coal dust for a number of years. I can't imagine that to be healthy.

Alhambra Pioneer Cemetery Martinez, CA

Well another attempt to gain access to the St. Catherine of Siena cemetery has failed. After having a nice walk and lunch in the historic downtown area of Martinez we decided to visit the police station to obtain the keys that would allow us to visit St. Catherine. I knew there was trouble when the officer began searching through the keys and taking way too long to find them. He came back and said that somebody must already have them. So we decided to take the keys to Alhambra just in case. Alhambra is located directly across the street from St. Catherine. Upon arrival, there was nobody in St. Catherine. So I shrugged my shoulders and we went inside Alhambra.Burials at the Alhambra Pioneer Cemetery are believed to be dated back as far as 1851, however, the first recorded burials began in 1854 with the last being as late as 1999. It is possible that more deeds in the cemetery exist, however, the cemetery overseer may have sold some of the plots to more than one person. The land was originally part of the land grant given by Don Ygnacio Martinez. There is no doubt in my mind that the cemetery site was originally chosen for it's picturesque landscape at the time. Now you see a more industrialized view of what used to be a clear view of the delta. A trainyard and construction area is now located behind the cemetery.Pictured here you see the grave of Eliza Nottingham. For awhile this headstone was missing from the cemetery. I have heard several accounts of how it was found. One says that a man found it in his backyard while digging a swimming pool. Another says that it turned up in an antique shop. In any even Eliza's headstone is now back where it belongs. She was born in Kentucky and there is no information as to when or how she came to California. But Eliza is no ordinary woman. At the age of 9 she was on a family outing and rescued a 4 year old boy from drowning in a creek. That boy later grew up to become the 16th president of the United States. Yes Abraham Lincoln. What would the world be like today if it weren't for Eliza Nottingham? Sometimes the unknown pictures are worth more than the famous ones to me. I felt honored to have stood before her grave.There is so much I could write about this cemetery so I'll probably end up doing individual biographies in future posts but I could not leave this post without talking about the Potter's Field. See Matthew 27:3-8 Buried within the Potter's Field are the bodies of some 600 unknown early California pioneers of Chinese, Mexican, Scottish and Irish descent. Each burial is marked by a stone with a number and is no larger than a loaf of bread. This was the only place in the cemetery where I felt a little strange. I just felt sorrow for all these people who were buried as unknowns most likely due to their lack of status. These were mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters who no doubt meant something to somebody at the time but didn't have enough money for a proper burial. All in all this was a nice trip. Since we had to get a key to get in we had the run of the cemetery by ourselves. It was a really relaxing and peaceful day and I really had fun learning all this information about this cemetery and the people buried within it's gates.

Restoration Project at St. Catherine of Siena Cemetery

When I first visited this cemetery a few months ago I was disappointed to find out that the gates were closed and I could not gain access. The cemetery initially had the appearance of neglect which could partly be attributed to my disappointment and lack of access. I decided I would email the St. Catherine of Siena Parish which is associated with the cemetery. I would like to take this time to apologize publicly to the parish for the accusatory tone I took with my initial email where I stated that I saw the cemetery in a state of disrepair and dilapidation. I was quickly corrected by Deacon Albert Dizon who has been a wonderful help in my research despite my initial accusations. So in light of the information provided by Deacon Albert I decided I would visit the cemetery again and correct my errors in judgement. On my second visit I was glad to see people hard at work clearing dead branches and brush from the cemetery grounds. This is just one of a few measures the parish has taken to assist with the upkeep of the cemetery grounds. They have also hired a number of goats and sheep to assist with weed abatement and it was even covered in the Oakland Tribune. They are currently working E’Clampus Vitas to repair markers as well as organizing volunteer clean up days open to people of all ages to assist with clean up and maintenance of the cemetery grounds. This is a beautiful cemetery which has unfortunately experienced some vandalism no doubt from people with little or no regard for the deceased. I hope to fully explore soon and has a rich history of pioneers, beautiful architecture and that old world feel that attracts me to most of these places. It is said that Don Juan Salvio Pacheco co-founder of Concord is buried here as well as Sam (Simon) Rodia who designed and built the famous Watts Towers in Los Angeles to name a couple. The cemetery gates remain closed, however, access is available anytime by borrowing a key from the Martinez Police Department or from St. Catherine parish office at 1125 Ferry St. between 8:30am and 5pm - Monday to Friday, except holidays. The St. Catherine of Siena Parish itself also shares a rich history in our area and in 1999 their 125th Anniversary. This cemetery is a must visit for any cemetery enthusiast or just anyone wanting to take themselves back to a time long ago. I applaud the efforts of the parish and hope to be able to contribute personally to their restoration project. Again I would like to thank Deacon Albert Dizon for his time and effort contributed to this article. Without his assistance this article would have been nothing more than speculation. So thank you Deacon Albert for providing the facts on this project.