Benjamin Franklin Ingalls and Sophronia Thomas

Grave site of Benjamin Franklin Ingalls and Sophronia Thomas.
Date October 27, 2008. Location Chapel of The Chimes, Hayward, Alameda County, California. Digital Image. Photo by Cheryl Palmer. Privately held by Cheryl Palmer,[address for private use] California. 2008



First my attention was caught on how tall this monument is. Then I saw the name, who could pass up a picture of the name Benjamin Franklin! Ok now, I really didn't believe Benjamin Franklin was buried here in California by any means, but I had to know more about this Benjamin Franklin.

This is actually Benjamin Franklin Ingalls, son of Wm Ingalls. Born in Sullivan, Maine on July 12, 1812. Died December 19, 1879.

Benjamin Franklin Ingalls wife was Sophronia Thomas was born in Eden, Maine on August 28, 1912. Died January 1, 1970.

We can also see that Benjamin's father was William Ingalls. I did a quick look up and found that Olive Preble may be his mother. Actually I found a family tree that looks like this Benjamin fits nicely into. I tried to contact the owner of the tree, but she chose not to have contact from anyone. Hopefully she will catch this post and contact me! (I changed the title just for this reason, maybe it will catch the right eyes) I will have to see if there is any way I can contact this person. If it were me researching this family I would want the picture!

Ghosts, Goblins and Cemeteries

Ghosts and goblins and witches and more
Houses are spooky and haunted for sure
Skeletons hiding in closets all night
Waiting to give you such a big fright!

Cemeteries are dark and scary too
Halloween is not a night there for you
Traipse across a grave and you may find
A scream of "Boo", you'll go out of your mind!


Halloween time it is. What better time to find out about haunted cemeteries? In South Alameda County the cemetery with all the action is supposedly Lone Tree Cemetery in Hayward.

The entrance of the cemetery and it's main area is apparently where whispering and thumps have been heard. Grave sites and headstones have had things moved from them and put in places that no one can understand or explain. Whispers and strange movements in the darkness have been reported. Other strange noises along with bells ringing and flashes of lights are also on top of the happenings here.

Can you imagine being in a cemetery and all of that going on? What if you saw a strange circle of light before you, for no reason, and it disappears as suddenly as it came? I understand this has happened and has been captured on film. Along with film evidence strange voices and sounds have reportedly come across on video.

Well for me, I haven't been to this cemetery, yet, anyway. Am I a believer in the supernatural? Can places be haunted? Do things like this really happen? I personally don't believe in these things, but many people do. Some quite strongly. Strange things do happen that no one can explain, this is true. But I am not convinced...I don't think I am convinced...gee, am I convinced?

I think when I plan to attend Lone Tree Cemetery, I will have to do a post announcing this travel date.(I may be a little apprehensive about being on these grounds, this post has me re-thinking my views...) After all, if there were no more posts on this site, wouldn't you want to know that maybe, just maybe, the cemetery got me?

(And no, I will not be going on Halloween!)

Happy Halloween!

Chapel of the Chimes in Hayward, California

Chapel of the Chimes Memorial Park and Funeral Home. Date October 26, 2008. Location 32992 Mission Boulevard, Hayward, California. Digital Images. Taken by Cheryl Palmer. [Address for private use] Alameda County, California. 2008

Choosing Chapel of the Chimes as the first to write about may be because it has special meaning to me. My mother and grandmother are buried here, and my sister's in law's are also buried here.

Chapel of the Chimes has been in existence since 1872. They have a beautiful location with flatland and hillside locations for burials. I believe the cemetery covers over 60 acres. There are two levels, one on the ground level and one on a road up into the hillside. I understand on a clear day you can see the San Francisco Bay from the Hillside Gardens. They have indoor and outside mausoleums. I do know that Chapel of the Chimes has the only round mausoleum in California, "The Circle of Peace" which you can see in the back of the upper left hand picture.

I went to Chapel of the Chimes a few days ago. I visited my mother's and grandmother's graves, which are in the "Garden of Honor ll". I remember my mother wanting a plot that was up on the lower hillside and under a tree, and she received her wish. The surrounding grounds are beautiful and green, it was a glorious day for this visit.

I spent a good hour or more at the cemetery, but only on the outside and only on the main level. I visited my sister's in laws. They are located at the opposite side of the cemetery from my family, in an above ground entombment located in the Garden of Memory. The last time I was there, one of the names and dates hadn't been added as of yet, but now the full information is available. A unexpected picture for my personal genealogy.

I took a lot of pictures, and know I need to go back for more, I couldn't cover everything in the time I had allotted on this day. I learned the cemetery has more to it than I have ever noticed before. This time I was more open to exploring, and not just "visiting" which makes a big difference in how you "see" a cemetery.

The entrance to this cemetery does not have an opportune place to stop for picture taking, as you can see in the right hand picture above. As I was turning on my green light into the entrance, I snapped the photo. Never was the car or light in my view until I came home and downloaded the pictures. Next time I visit this cemetery I will walk from "somewhere" to the entrance to take a better photograph. One of the things, among many I be learning, as a Graveyard Rabbit, is to be sure to take good photos!

This Rabbit Will Hop Between These Cemeteries And Cities

I spent the day, and it was a beautiful one at that, out and about taking photos at a couple of cemeteries in Hayward, California. I used up my memory card and ended up having to delete other photos to take more pictures. I wanted to cover two cemeteries today, but the second cemetery didn't get the coverage I would have liked as my camera battery died!

I have to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed myself! I took many photos, but haven't been able to download them as my battery is charging. :-) You can expect to see some photos soon!

The purpose of this post though is to let you know the cities/areas/cemeteries in Alameda County that I plan to cover as a Graveyard Rabbit. They are as follows:

All Saints Cemetery, Hayward
Centerville Pioneer Cemetery, Fremont
Chapel of the Chimes, Newark
Decoto Cemetery, Hayward
Dublin Cemetery, Dublin
Fremont Memorial Park, Fremont
Holy Ghost Cemetery, Fremont
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Hayward
Irvington Cemetery, Fremont
Lone Tree Cemetery, Hayward
Memory Gardens Cemetery, Livermore
Mission San Jose Cemetery, Fremont
Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Hayward
Mt Eden Cemetery, Hayward
Oak Knoll Cemetery, Livermore
Ohlones Cemetery, Fremont
Pleasanton Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Pleasanton
Presbyterian Cemetery, Newark
Roselawn Cemetery, Livermore
San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery, San Lorenzo (unincorporated)
St. Josephs Cemetery, Fremont
St. Michaels Cemetery, Livermore

To the best of my knowledge at this point and time, I believe these are all of the cemeteries in the area I am covering. If there are any that have been missed or any that are not existing any longer, this list will be updated.

I am excited about future posts, be sure to check back soon!

Welcome from a Graveyard Rabbit

Welcome to my new blog, "Graveyard Rabbit of South Alameda County." I am honored and excited to be included as a Charter Member of this Association. Let me introduce you to the Graveyard Rabbits!

The founder of the Graveyard Rabbits is Terry Thorton. His Graveyard Rabbit blog is "The Graveyard Rabbit of the Hill Country." Terry chose the name of this association from a poem by Frank Lebby Staton, an American poet from the deep south. The poem is actually called "The Graveyard Rabbits" and refers to graveyards, superstitions and you got it, rabbits!

Blog members of this association will be contributing information on cemeteries in the geographical areas the blog title pertains to. These bloggers will being posting pictures, writing about grave markers, customs, and the historical value of graveyards. We strive to see vandalism in graveyards stopped. We plan to bring you information you can use, and hopefully learn from, including historical content.

You will find a list on the side of this blog that will give you links to other Graveyard Rabbits in various locations. Included will be various Genea-Blogger links that I follow and hope you will also enjoy. I will be working on getting this all updated for you as soon as possible. As time progresses, make sure to check for new Graveyard Rabbit blogs added on this site, we hope to see this list expanding, or should I say multiplying, quickly. Wow, wouldn't that be just like rabbits?

Hope you enjoy my new blog and all of the other Graveyard Rabbit's blogs, I know we will enjoy bringing posts from the cemeteries to you!