Summer Supplement
July 2014
The R.I.P. Report
P
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S P E C I A L
P O I N T S O F
I N T E R E S T :

Both Thomas
Jefferson and John
Adams died on
July 4, 1826.

The average age
of the signers of
the Declaration of
Independence was
45. The youngest
was Thomas
Lynch, Jr , 27, of
South Carolina. The oldest
was Benjamin
Franklin, 70, of
Pennsylvania.
Smurthwaite House:
1317 W Jefferson St.
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
PCA Mailing Address:
PO Box 63342
Phoenix, Arizona 85082
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W i l s o n
Independence Day, or the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States. We celebrate it to commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence,
which occurred on July 4, 1776 and declared our independence from Great Britain. In 1777, thirteen gunshots,
representing the thirteen colonies, were fired in salute in
the morning and at night on July 4th in Rhode Island.
Philadelphia celebrated the first anniversary with an official Continental Congress dinner, speeches, prayers, parades, and ships decked in red, white, and blue bunting.
Today, we commonly celebrate it with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, picnics, and
many other public and private celebrations. The underlying theme is that we must remember
our history as a country, and how we have become what we are today. Some people also incorporate the concept of remembering loved ones during this time. From American Revolutionary soldiers, to family members, each person in American history has assisted in building
this country to what it is today.
The PCA is an organization that makes it its daily business to remember history. It strives to
preserve, interpret, and promote through active fund-raising and individual volunteerism the
understanding of archaeological resources as exemplified by the prehistoric, historic, and contemporary cultures of the southwestern region. Such cultures include, but are not limited to, the
prehistoric Hohokam and historic Mexican, African American, Chinese, and European groups.
It does this through its preservation of Arizona’s historic cemeteries. Its main cemetery, the
Pioneer and Military Memorial Park, holds the remains of many Phoenix’s pioneer individuals
and families. This newsletter contains several short biographies of a few of the people that are
“remembered” by the PCA. Some of them are interred in the park, and have no marker. Some
of them were moved. Some of them came to be known by the PCA for a short time, and then
moved on. If you are interested in assisting the PCA in their projects, please fill out a membership form, found at the back of this newsletter.
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J.W. Nickum — Rosedale Cemetery — by Diane Sumrall
Some PCA members, led by Patty Gault, are methodically going through the Maricopa
County Probate records, looking for additional information on burials in the Pioneer Military and Memorial Park, and possible missed information from other sources. One of the
challenges is that during the 19th century, many legal documents, such as probate and death
certificates, would list only the initials for a person’s given name. In some cases, items
need to be pieced together in order to formulate a story. Such is the case for Mr. J.W.
Nickum, a recently discovered individual who had been interred in Rosedale Cemetery.
Our PCA researchers found several documents under Mr. Nickum’s name. One of the documents is a death certificate for J.W. Nickum who died in Phoenix on “3 April 1902”. He is
listed as a 42 year old male, American, single, and who died of tuberculosis of a two-year
duration. He was buried in Rosedale Cemetery. A receipt in the probate shows an expense
of $10 for a grave in Rosedale Cemetery. There is no grave location.
Another document that was located for J.W. Nickum is his probate. On “2 April 1902”,
J.W. Nickum wrote in his will that all his debts and burial expenses were to be paid, leaving the remainder of his estate to be split between his friend, Dr. E. E. Prowell, and his two
minor children, Walter Nickum and Myrtle Nickum living near Cedar Mills, OR. He also
directed that if a woman presented herself as his lawful wife, she should be given five dollars.
A letter from Mrs. J.W. Nickum (Mary E) dated “8 April 1902” was also present in the
probate, and it was addressed to X. N. Steeves, attorney, at the Bar Association, asking why
she had not been notified that J.W. was in the hospital. She stated that she had waited three
weeks to hear from J.W. in order to find out where he was at the time. She had sold all her
household goods, packed trunks, and was waiting. J.W. suffered from lung hemorrhages
while he was in Oregon, so he had left earlier with his wife to follow. The return address
was Portland, Oregon. Later in the probate documents, Mrs. Nickum gives J.W.’s name as
“John” and corrects her daughter’s name from “Myrtle” to “Pearl”.
There were also several articles about Nickum in the Arizona Republican. On “4 April
1902” an article states that “J.W. died at the Sisters Hospital (now known as St. Joseph’s
Hospital) yesterday morning of tubercular disease of the kidneys”. The paper gave his age
as “42”, and stated he had left a wife and three children (obituaries are not always totally
reliable sources). It went on to say that his relations with his wife were not regular and he
was bitter against his family, especially his brothers. That Nickum left half his estate to Dr.
Prowell was a surprise to the latter since he had known him only since he came to town.
A telegram came from Mrs. Nickum asking to have the body buried in Phoenix and that she
would be arriving. The funeral was to be held on April 5. Nickum was a member of the
Order of Eagles and was also a Redman.
Another article on May 16 states that Mrs. Nickum, having announced that she would contest the will, had not arrived in Phoenix, and that the estate is now in the probate court after
some continuances. The contest was dismissed. Nickum had told friends that he had no
wife, that there had been no marriage relation between him and the mother of his children,
and so therefore he had inserted the clause in his will about “any woman claiming to be his
wife.” The estate was then divided between Dr.Prowell and Nickum’s two children.
An article on May 18 said that a telegram had been received from the matron of a hospital
in Portland, Oregon explaining that Mary Nickum had the smallpox and, with her two children, is in the pest house at Portland. Mary was later declared guardian for her children by
the Oregon courts and granted $45 per month for Family Allowance from the estate.
Mr. Nickum is one of the many interesting people interred at the PMMP.
“History never
looks like history
when you are
living through
it.”
- John Gardner
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Magdalena Mendivil Donnelly - Rosedale Cemetery — by Donna Carr
Maria Magdalena Mendivil was born in Mexico, most likely in Altar, Sonora. Her
birth year differs depending on the source but, judging from the fact that her oldest child
was born in 1860 and her last in 1877/1878, it was probably between 1839 and 1841. Her
surname has been rendered at different times as Mandeville and Mendibles, but it probably
started out as Mendivil.
Magdalena was living in California when she gave birth in December 1860 to a
son whom she named John Kippen . Baby John was quickly followed by a girl, Delfina,
and two more children. By 1870, Magdalena and her children had moved across the Colorado River to Arizona City, Yuma County, Arizona, where they appear on the federal census of that year under the surname “Kippin”. It is not known what became of the two
youngest children, but they have not been found in any records after 1870.
Magdalena Donnelly
Headstone — photo by
Sue Ritter
On 12 February 1872, Magdalena became the mother of another child, Amelia
Donnelly. Her next child, Isabelle “Lizzie”, was born 7 April 1874, and Catherine “Kate”
Inez was born 6 December 1878.
Years later, while living in Pinal County, Arizona, Magdalena made her will. It names five of her seven children, including all those named above. In it, she bequeathed $10 each to her four oldest children, with the bulk of her
estate to go to her youngest daughter, Kate.
On the 1900 federal census, Magdalena’s household on the Donnelly ranch consisted of her son John Kippen ,
daughter Kate Donnelly, and granddaughter Elsie Harrington. Magdalena eventually moved to Phoenix, where she
died of pneumonia on 11 February 1905. She was buried in Rosedale Cemetery, Phoenix, Arizona
When Magdalena’s will went through probate, her son John refused the $10 she had left him. Delfina, by
then married, could not be located. Amelia and Isabella collected their bequests, and Kate received an inheritance valued at about $2500.
There has been a good deal of conjecture about just who fathered Magdalena’s children. Bear in mind that no
official record of any marriages or births has so far come to light. This is not surprising, given that Arizona was a frontier territory during the time and Magdalena herself probably couldn’t read or write English (her 1898 will was signed
with an X). Nevertheless, we are left with the incontrovertible fact that her first four children appear in the public record as Kippens, and the last three bore the surname Donnelly.
Throughout his entire life, Magdalena’s son John went by the name Kippen. The 1900 federal census of Pinal
County, Arizona, lists John as a blacksmith, and he spent most of his adult life in Arizona and Nevada mining towns.
In 1900, 1910 and 1930, he listed his father as being born in Connecticut (that space is blank on the 1940 census).
So how many Kippens from Connecticut might there have been in California and Arizona between 1859 and
1869, when Magdalena’s four oldest children were being born? Only one has been documented—and he was in the
right place at the right time to have met Magdalena Mendivil.
Born 1819 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, George Kippen married Jane A. Nichols, by whom he eventually had
three children. It was probably the lure of mineral wealth that brought him out west, for by 1854 he was working as a
special messenger for the Arizona Mining & Trading Company. Between 1854 and 1862, he kept a diary while hauling supplies from California via Yuma to the mining camps in Arizona. The handwritten diary, which records his trips
across the desert and daily occurrences at the mines in Ajo, does mention him receiving letters from his wife.
The federal census of 1860 records George Kippen residing in the little town of Colorado, San Diego County,
California. Is it just a coincidence that he was living in the same boarding house as 19-year-old Madalena
Maldives (sic) and 17-year-old Manuel Maldives, possibly her brother? (continued on Page 8)
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Col. William Christy — IOOF Cemetery — by Val Wilson
Col. William Christy was an interred individual in the IOOF cemetery of the PMMP. He
died on May 11, 1902. He was later moved to Greenwood, which was common due to the
conditions of the PMMP cemetery at the time. These excerpts are from an 1896 publication by McFarland and Poole, entitled A Historical and Biographical Record of the Territory of Arizona.
“Col. William Christy was born in Trumbull County, Ohio, February 14, 1841. He was
raised in Iowa, and helped his father work the farm, along with his five brothers and sisters.
When the Civil War broke out, he was one of the many to respond and
enlisted in Company I, 15th Iowa Infantry. A Historical and Biographical Record of the
Territory of Arizona in 1896 reports that “after serving one year in that
regiment he was discharged on account of lung trouble, but in June, 1863, he
re-enlisted in Company D, 8th Iowa Cavalry, and served until cessation of
hostilities, being mustered out and discharged at Macon, Georgia. He was
sergeant at the time of his first enlistment and while in the cavalry service he
held every commission up to captain, and was mustered out as a brevet colonel.
He was severely wounded in the raid in the rear of Atlanta, being pierced by
four bullets, two of which passed through his body, one through his hand, and
another through his arm. He led a saber charge and while thus on duty received
the wounds. Colonel Christy was captured by the enemy and taken to Millen
prison, Georgia, where he was held for about six months, suffering untold
hardships during his confinement. He was paroled and afterwards exchanged on a
special parole of about 1,000 sick and wounded between Hood and Sherman. The
Colonel participated in many of the prominent engagements, the most noted being:
Shiloh, siege of Corinth, Iuka, Corinth, Sherman's campaign to Holly Springs and
all the campaigns of Gen. Sherman's army until he was captured July 30, 1864.
After being exchanged he was with Wilson's cavalry corps through Selma,
Montgomery to Macon, where he was discharged.”
In his later life, he became cashier in H. C. Sigler's Bank, was elected treasurer of the State
of Iowa, and eventually became a cashier of Merchants' National Bank of Des Moines.
Due to failing health, he came to Arizona. In November, 1883, he helped organize the Valley Bank of Phoenix. He assisted in organizing the Arizona Improvement Company in
1887, of which he became the vice-president. He was married August 22, 1865, to Miss
Carrie E. Bennett, a native of New York, and they have four sons and one daughter: Lloyd
B., George D., Shirley A., Carrie L. and William C. Colonel Christy was treasurer of Arizona Territory from 1891 till 1893 and was also treasurer of the insane asylum for two
years.”
“The past
actually
happened.
History is what
someone took the
time to write
down."”
- Brown
Whitney
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Jacob Anton Oleson — Rosedale Cemetery - by Patty Gault
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Searching for Rachel Jane — by Brad Hall
If you’re a history buff, and maybe have done your genealogy, you know that there are
many things that are “priceless” and “valueless”. Thirty pounds of marble may have some
monetary value in the market today, but thirty pounds of 165-year-old marble, with a name
on it, is priceless.
Rachel Jane
Headstone — photo by
Bob Cox
“If you don't
know where
you've come from,
you don't know
where you are.”
- Burke James
Last year, I got an email from a real estate agent who was coordinating the sale of a large
property in Phoenix. Soon to be sold and subdivided into luxury estates, it used to be “way
out in the country” and was filled with things that the previous owner had collected for all
of his life. This property belonged to Gus Brethauer, and he had a salvage yard called
“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. In his long lifetime, the property had become a spectacularly valuable piece of real estate. The stuff on it, which were treasures to him, was largely
ignored. The most monetarily-valuable stuff was hauled away, or auctioned off. But just
before the bulldozers arrived, a gravestone from 1849 was discovered. Priceless, but apparently valueless.
The reason I received the email is that I collect old photos of Phoenix, and post them to the
web. I don’t sell anything, I’m just a “hey, look at this” kind of person. Of course, I know
how careful people are about privacy, copyrights, etc. when it comes to posting on the web.
My background in Graphic Design makes me comfortable with this, but most people are so
confused about what to do, that they, unfortunately, don’t do anything. And, unfortunately,
this means that people choose to throw something away, or lock it up, rather than exposing
it on the web. And since my field of expertise is helping my clients gain exposure, not to
protect privacy, I needed the help of people who have that type of sensitivity in this case.
That led me to Bob Cox at the Pioneers’ Cemetery Association here in Phoenix.
I have to admit to having a very pessimistic attitude about the possibility of the gravestone
marker being rescued. I was sure that it was on its way to the landfill, and nothing could be
done about it. But something could be done about it, and Bob and the PCA did it. Arrangements are now being made for it to be sent back home, to Iowa, after 165 years. This is
what preserving history is all about.
S u m m e r
S u p p l em en t
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The 1918 Flu Epidemic - by Diane Sumrall
Interesting things can be found while working on other projects. While transcribing
death certificates to rebuild the burial list for Cementerio Lindo, a group of Maricopa
County death certificates were being focused on during the year 1918. The Spanish
Flu epidemic had occurred during this year. The number of deaths was amazing!
There were 1,940 death certificates online for Maricopa County in the year 1918, and
least 100 of these deaths were caused by this illness.
Cementerio Lindo
— photo by Diane Sumrall
From another list of burials in the PCA records, the first instance of Spanish Flu listed
as cause of death was Oct, 12, 1918, when a 20-year-old young man died and was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery (a part of Greenwood). From that point in time, the frequency of deaths due to pneumonia and/or influenza increases quickly. In the case
where pneumonia is listed as the primary cause of death, influenza is frequently
listed as the contributory cause.
In accounting the winter months between October 1st and April 30th for 1917/18, the
year preceding the infamous flu epidemic, there were 905 death certificates issued.
That same period for 1918/19 showed 1,603 deaths, and then it receded to 1,196 in the
winter of 1919/20. We can be thankful that vaccines and antibiotics are available to us
in these modern times.
Cause of Death Index — by Bob Cox
Many death certificates list archaic terms for cause of death. Throughout the next few newsletters, a listing of several terms will
be included for historical reference purposes. Here are those that begin with the letter “A”.
Burial List Cause
Abscess
Abscess of Brain
Ac., Acute
Acute intestinal intoxication
Accid, Accident
Aconite Poisoning
Acute Mania
Albuminuria, albuminami,
or albumuria
Alcoholism
Anasarca, Anasarka
Anemia
Aneurysm (of aorta)
Angina Pectoris
Aortic insufficiency
Appendicitis
Apoplexy
Arteriosclerosis
Articular
Ascites
Asthma
Atrophy of liver
Modern Name or Definition
A swollen, localized collection of pus in tissue, caused by bacteria
A brain infection causing severe swelling of & pressure on cranial blood vessels, death
Severe and sharp, or severe and short duration
Likely Intestinal colic, i.e., abdominal illness due to improper diet
Accidental injuries causing death
Ingestion of highly toxic substance in plants often used in traditional Chinese medicines
Extreme insanity
Kidney disease, excessive protein in liver
Chronic addiction to alcohol resulting in serious emotional and physical illnesses
Generalized massive edema or massive dropsy.
Deficiency of vitamins, red blood cells, iron, bone marrow; sickle cell and other problems
Blood vessel, artery (e.g., aorta) or cardiac chamber swells, bursts
Choking, "pain from the heart"
Inability of heart to function normally; heart attack
Burst appendix sending infected material into abdomen, often fatal before antibiotics
Stroke, paralysis
Thickening and hardening of arteries
Relating to joints or to the structural components in a joint
Dropsy, accumulation of fluid in peritoneal cavity of the abdomen (ah-SITE-eez)
Coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, difficulty breathing
Rapid deterioration of important cells in the liver
*Sources: a)”Old Disease Names”, by Sylvain Cazalet, b) WebMD, c) various print and online dictionaries, d) the author’s or PCA members’ most logical interpretations.
7
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Magdalena Donnelly, Continued from Page 3
At the end of the Civil War, George Kippen was hired as a field agent for the George F.
Hooper Company based in San Francisco. He was working as a sutler at Camp McDowell
in Arizona when he died suddenly on 22 February 1868. He was buried in the post cemetery, where his headstone can still be seen today. His diary eventually found its way into
the hands of his daughter, Mary Birdseye Kippen, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, who later
donated it to the Arizona State Archives.
Was George Kippen the father of Magdalena’s first four children? Unless and until
other corroborating evidence is found, you must be the judge.
About the paternity of Magdalena’s younger children there is less uncertainty. Between
about 1880 and 1903, Magdalena and her children lived in Pinal County about 25 miles
east of Florence, on a ranch owned by Frank Owen Donnelly.
Donnelly was a Roman Catholic of Irish descent who had been born around 1837 in
County Tyrone, Ireland. On 21 June 1859, he enlisted as a private in Battery F, 2 nd U. S.
Artillery, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The 2 nd U. S. Artillery was stationed in “Bleeding
Kansas” during John Brown’s activities there. As the Civil War loomed, the 2 nd was dispatched to protect federal installations in Little Rock, Arkansas. In August 1862, Donnelly
was discharged in St. Louis, having injured his right knee a few months previously in Sedalia, Missouri. By 1870, he was a wagon master living in Tucson.
Donnelly very likely passed through Yuma while hauling goods between California
and Arizona. This may have been how he made Magdalena’s acquaintance. But Donnelly’s old Civil War injury may have continued to plague him. In 1890, he was admitted to
the Old Soldiers’ Home in Sawtelle, Los Angeles County, California. He died there on 21
September 1894 and was buried in the National Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Magdalena may have taken her secrets to the grave, but there is no doubt that she was a
genuine Arizona pioneer.
Infant Mortality — by Val Wilson
Sadly, the loss of children in the 1800-early 1900’s was commonplace. The child mortality rate would fluctuate due to weather, war, and disease. Many children died within their
first year of life. The main causes of death were communicable diseases and food supplies. Some food supplies were impure, and the knowledge of nutrition and its importance
was not common. Many diseases, their treatments, and their prevention were unknown,
and spread throughout communities. It was not until the early 1900’s that improvements
in living conditions began to be put in place by public health departments..
Here are some recommendations from the Department of Health of the city of Chicago in
1904:




“Do not let your baby sleep with anyone in a bed. Put a couple of chairs at your bedside with a soft cover over them”
“Do not drug your baby. Do not pour drugs of which you know nothing into a body
of which you know less”
“Do not give them rich foods. The plainer the food, the better”
“Keep them in the open air all year round, and send them to the country as often as
possible.”
“The farther
backward you
can look, the
farther forward
you are likely to
see.”
- Winston
Churchill
WE’RE ON THE WEB
AZHISTCEMETERIES.ORG



PCA Officers

President:

Sterling Foster
Vice President:
Frank Barrios
Treasurer:
Val Wilson



Membership Benefits
Free access to research and materials of Pioneer & Military Memorial
Park (Cemetery)
One free ticket per membership to
Annual Historical Cemetery Walk in
March
Discounted Pioneer & Military Memorial Park (Cemetery) t-shirt
May attend monthly Board and
Membership meetings
Free attendance at monthly open
house events
Free walking map of the Pioneer &
Military Memorial Park (Cemetery)
Quarterly electronic newsletter
Your opportunity to support Arizona history
Secretary:
Bob Cox
602-534-1262
[email protected]
Historian:
Kim Kasper
Membership Application
____New Member
_____Renewal
Name(s) ___________________________
___________________________________
Phone _____________________________
Address ___________________________
__________________________________
City _______________________________
State ______
Zip code ______________
Email ______________________________
Membership categories:
Individual $20 ____
Family $25 ____
Organization $50 _____
Additional Donation $________________
Interested in becoming a volunteer:
Yes ____
No ____
Make check payable to:
Pioneers’ Cemetery Association
P.O. Box 63342
Phoenix, AZ 85082-3342
Memberships are for one calendar year, Jan. 1 st-Dec. 31st. Membership dues are deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Volunteer Opportunities:
(Check one or more)














Cemetery tour leader
Historical researcher
Recordkeeping assistance
Grounds beautification
Fundraising
Special event volunteer
Tombstone repair/restoration
Website assistant
Publicity & marketing
Graphic artist & designer
Grant writing & research
Academic liaison
Newsletter contributor
Any other ideas are welcome
How did you hear about Pioneers’ Cemetery
Association?
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Thank you for your support!
(Revised 12/2013)