A Man, His Land And His Monument

William Meek was born in 1817 and died 1880. He was one of the first pioneer farmers in Alameda County. He grew up in Iowa and Ohio and traveled to Oregon after he lost his first wife. In Oregon he and Henderson Lewelling developed a nursery. In 1859 Meek sold his share of the nursery and moved to Alameda County.

About ten years later Meek bought at least 3000 acres of property, and his friend Lewelling also purchased land next to Meek. The area became known as "Cherryland" because Meek planted so many cherry trees. These trees came from Iowa by wagon train. They were the first grafted fruit trees to come to this coast.

In 1869 his estate was built. After he died, his sons cared for the home until 1940. By this time pieces of the land had been sold here and there. In 1940 Dr. William P. Ream purchased the home and ten acres that was left.

In 1964 the house was looking to be leveled and a new housing development put in. Citizens and H.A.R.D., Hayward Area Recreational Department, bought the estate and keep the bulldozers from having a field day on the property.

In 1973 the "Meek Estate" became a Historical Landmark. I remember when the Estate was open for wedding receptions. The grounds are very nicely kept and it has a beautiful setting. The estate was rented for parties also. I read that "over use" and the need for "greater supervision" were the reasons H.A.R.D. stopped renting the home. However, I also read that you still can get married on the property.

Meek was very involved in the community in many aspects, and was a councilman for four terms. He had many other fruit trees on his estate besides the cherry trees.
Meek and his estate are very well known in this area, as is Lewelling.

Meek is buried in the San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery, the one I showed you had been vandalized and is now being renovated by The Hayward Area Historical Society. As you can see from this picture, the Meek Tombstone is in great shape and looks like it had been spared from any vandalism.

Meek Estate, and Cherryland were part of my old stomping grounds.

NAMES IN STONE

Here is a link to "Names in Stone" - a cemetery mapping site.

http://www.namesinstone.com/

It is a beautiful website! You can map a cemetery and preserve it's history! You can join the site and become a research assistant if you so desire. Decorating a grave with virtual flowers and banners is an option, and subscription memberships ($7.95 a month or $39.99 a year) receive emails about new or modified information that match their research. Subscription members can also save a list of the cemeteries they are interested in, and receive discounts.

There are only a few states that are covered so far on this site. California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Ohio, and New York are the ones I am aware of, with Utah having the most cemeteries listed. Not all cemeteries are covered in these areas. You can search by name, birth year, death year, site, or cemetery, the search is free! (Subscription memberships get the added extras)

When you go to this site, please be sure to read the "about us" information. It has a wonderful story! To entice you to go to the site and read this story, here is what NAMES IN STONE has to say directly after the story:

"We love this story. It confirms to us the value of cemeteries as a source of history and a source for answers. This is what NAMES IN STONE is all about
. . . preserving cemetery information and making it available in such a way that questions can be answered, and loved ones remembered."

You can encourage your local cemeteries to participate by sending photos and information. The public and cemeteries both, may update the information as often as may be needed. This site is set to benefit cemeteries, genealogists and the general public. Remember, this is a growing site, maybe you can help it grow!

Visit the cemeteries without leaving home!

Cemetery Vandalism

It has been a busy time of year for this Graveyard Rabbit! Christmas season tends to eat up my days much to quickly. I hope everyone had as nice a Holiday as I did! I wanted to do a post on Christmas in the graveyards, but unfortunately couldn't squeeze it into my schedule this year. I have missed posting to this Graveyard Rabbit site! 

I wanted to share with you some of the damage that you may see in cemeteries. The pictures I am sharing with you I took at the San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery.



You may remember this cemetery is under renovation by the local historical society. When I visited I was surprised how much of the shrubbery and weeds had been cleaned up, and the tree trimmers were working trimming the trees while I was there.



I actually took many photos of the damage to headstones and grave sites, these are just a few to give you an idea. Some of the headstones were totally missing, others laying on the ground. Then there were those that were crushed into smaller pieces. Headstones were so far from their actual grave sites, it was amazing.



Walking through this cemetery pulled at my heart, so much damage, so sad. I am sure there are many cemeteries with more massive damage. I could have posted a couple dozen more photos, but I know you have the idea. The light at the end of the tunnel for the San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery ~ It is being renovated, and I have already seen improvements! Many thanks to the Hayward Area Historical Society!

Holy Sepulchre Cemetery

This catholic cemetery is located on Mission Blvd. in Hayward. From what I have read I understand the cemetery began in 1913 and as of a year ago entails about three thousand graves.





This is the entrance of the cemetery. It is quite nice, as cemetery entrances go. Not being catholic myself, I had never been inside this cemetery. For some reason I almost felt as if I wasn't suppose to be on these grounds. I am not sure why I felt this way.




The cemetery is probably the most organized looking cemetery I believe I have ever been in. The grounds were nicely kept and the headstones were lined up in rows so perfectly everywhere you looked. I felt such a sense of perfection. Maybe that is one of the reasons I felt I wasn't suppose to be on the grounds. Maybe because it was a catholic cemetery and it looked so perfect?

I took the above picture as I admired the difference in this memorial. There is a surname, but I don't remember finding dates or any other information. There are a few memorials like this one throughout the cemetery.




Here is a picture of the mausoleum. This is such a beautiful building. Next time I visit this cemetery maybe I will feel comfortable enough to actually going inside. I spent about an hour on the grounds and felt more comfortable the longer I was there. And, as usual, the more I explored the more I wanted to explore!


In the future I will share more pictures and a story or two of some of the more prominent people buried here. For now I wanted to introduce the cemetery to you and give you a flavor of age, beauty and perfection.

Family Friends With Mr. Parade!

Who would have thought when I ran across the headstone of "Mr. Parade" That Ed Kinney would have such a connection with a few of my family members!

As mentioned in my last post I have a relative who was a past mayor of Pleasanton as was Mr. Kinney. My relative was Warren Harding. It turns out that Warren and Ed did know each other. I inquired with another first cousin once removed and here is what she told me.

"Ed Kinney was also a friend of mine. He had the name Mr. Parade as he always narrated the Alameda County Fair Parade from the top of the Pleasanton Hotel and was the person who started the "Good Times Parade" in Pleasanton when two of the announcers on some program on TV had a bet and one was to wheel the winner in a wheelbarrow in a parade. Ed volunteered to have it in Pleasanton, it may have been the years he was Mayor. Ed was also part of our Presbyterian Church and I believe he marched with the Balloon Platoon in the parades. He was a friend of Warren's and they served on the council and also the same church. Ed was very active in the Museum on Main St. (In Pleasanton) and their lecture series is named after him. He had a great laugh and always had a funny story to tell. He had worked one time for a drug company and when asked what he did he always responded with "I sell drugs." We all miss him."

She went to to tell me that she had recently run into Ed's wife and filled me on the rest of the family and what they are doing now.

It is very interesting what my cousin told me here, it is so in sync with everything I had read about Mr. Kinney, with a couple added extras. I wasn't familiar with the Balloon Platoon so I looked into it and found this link if you are interested in knowing more!

http://www.centerpointechurch.info/connect/centerpointe-adults/enjoy/balloon-platoon/