Oak Knoll Cemetery - Part 7 Mendenhall Descendant

It has been awhile since I have posted on this series. There has been a reason. I was contacted a few weeks ago by a descendant of William Mendenhall! Can you image my surprise? This descendant contacted me via email wondering if William Mendenhall's headstone had been returned to Livermore. At the time I was not certain, but let him know I would try to find out.

I contacted the president of the Heritage Guild, Jeff Kaskey, and found out that he was personally the one who had driven to Southern California to bring the headstone home. I posted a picture of the headstone and the story of it's return here. Gregg, the descendant of William's, was very happy to know that the headstone for his distant grandfather had been returned to Livermore.

Jeff was very interested when he found out I had contact with a Mendenhall descendant. He informed me that he would love to speak with any descendants of the Mendenhall's who may be contacting me. I emailed Gregg to let him know this. Gregg had stories on his mind and said he was willing to speak with Jeff, eventually.

Gregg, in his second e-mail to me, told me some of the family stories. Apparently, no one else outside the family had been told these stories. I was a bit shocked that they were told to me, and so soon after meeting me online. It was later explained to me that I showed interest in his family, doing the series of posts, and he felt who better to tell? Who else could possibly be as interested? After all he had gone a good percentage of his life with these stories, and up until this point, no one seemed interested.

Needless to say, I felt honored that he spoke so open and freely with me regarding his family and the stories. I was asked not to repeat any of it, which I didn't. Jeff in the meantime was not wanting to waste time meeting Gregg, but I told Jeff we needed to be patient until Gregg was ready for the meeting. Jeff also shared some information with me, again I was asked not to mention it to anyone, which I haven't. Now I really felt in the middle!

Gregg and I exchanged phone numbers. All of a sudden it seemed I knew more about the Mendenhall family than I did my own! Gregg suggested that we have a phone conversation before meeting with Jeff. That was fine, I let him know he was welcome to call at any time. I immediately let my husband know that at some point and time a man would be calling me and his name was Gregg.

The Story of Oak Knoll Cemetery in Livermore - Part 1

My husband introduced me to the fact that there once was a cemetery on the corner by where my children went to high school. I have lived in this city for over twenty years and was unaware of this fact. All I knew was that this area is currently known as “Boot Hill.” Very interesting indeed! With the assistance of my husband, some researching and reading, I have learned more about this cemetery that has disappeared. Let me tell you the story…

On the outskirts of Livermore there once was a cemetery named Oak Knoll. It was located on a small hill (knoll) of about 40 feet surrounded by otherwise flat land. The area was filled with oak trees, which makes it very clear how it received its name.

Many of the early pioneers to this valley were buried here. Reportedly, in the book “Centennial Year Book of Alameda County” by William Haley, the father of the founder of the city of Livermore was the first person buried here, William Mendenhall, Senior, on January 12, 1873. This book was published in 1876. (The statement can be found on page 349)

The wife of a descendant of William Mendenhall’s claims “This was evidently the first Mendenhall cemetery, for Mendenhall’s were buried there from November 1855, when Sophia, daughter of Martin Mendenhall (William’s brother) was buried there.” This was so stated by Mrs. James Swent. This statement is listed in a report in the Livermore Heritage Guild Newsletter on January 1988.

It has been said that William’s obituary notice refers to William as the first person to be buried in the “new cemetery at Oak Knoll.”

According to a copy of an 1874 map, the land surrounding the cemetery was owned by three Mendenhall brothers. They were William (Phil), Martin, and Absolom. I am not sure which of the brother’s donated some of their land for the cemetery. From what I have read it sounds like two of the brother's possibly donated the land, William "Phil" and Martin. The old map supposedly shows they would have been the ones who owned the property were the cemetery was located. This has not been verified with county records.

Accordingly then, Sophia was buried on the land when the brother’s owned it, “The Mendenhall Cemetery.” After they donated some of their land and it became “Oak Knoll Cemetery," William was the first person to be buried there.

Along with Mendenhall (we have a middle school named after this family) there were other important pioneers buried at Oak Knoll. Henry Clay Smith was considered the “Father of Alameda County.” He died in 1876. Henry C. Smith, the father of Emma C. Smith (there is an elementary school named after Emma) also had a final resting place at Oak Knoll. A physician in the area for 46 years by the name of Dr. William Stewart Taylor was also buried there in 1931. He was the last person to be buried at Oak Knoll.

Apparently there were at least 87 people buried in this cemetery, but there were many unmarked, broken and undecipherable markers. The last sexton of the cemetery left inadequate information. Because of these things, there has never been an accurate account of records, so it may never be known how many people were actually buried there, nor who they all were.