Sunday, March 17, 2024

Main Street Melee -- The Death of Lewis A. Collier (Amador & Calaveras County History)


San Joaquin Republican, 9/17/1851

Most people don't realize that Amador County originally was part of Calaveras County. Needless to say, there was contraversy about where the County Seat would be initially from its inception. According to the book, "A History of Amador County," by Jesse D. Mason, the County of Calaveras was "organized in the session of the Legislature, in 1849-50. It is said that it took its name from an immense number of skulls found on that river.......the county took its name from the river."

William Fowle Smith was the County Judge; Colonel Lewis A. Collier was the County Clerk; John Hanson was the Sheriff, A.B. Mudge was the Treasurer; and H.A. Carter was the Prosecuting Attorney. These men basically made up the local government of early Calaveras County. At that time Double Springs was chosen as the County Seat. 

According to an 1849 edition of the Placer Times, there were advertisements for the sale of  "four wooden houses, 12x24 feet, two rooms each," on their way from China, on a schooner by the name of Petrol. It has been assumed these houses were for Double Springs; However, there are historians who disagree and claim that three houses, not four, were actually purchased at Sam Brannan's Sacramento store, which was located in present day "Old Sacramento." 

By 1850, the three houses were erected as one large building which were used as a Courthouse, small living spaces for the government officials, and of course, a saloon. Driving by Double Springs today, you will only see a roadside marker that states you are driving through an historic spot. Little is left of any trace of Calaveras County's first County Seat. 

Moving along, by April 26th of 1851, there was a Democratic County Convention held at Double Springs, organizing the Democratic Party of the County. Judge Smith was elected President and Col. Collier was elected Secretary. There were many named in the San Joaquin Republican, listing just who would be the committee members and that they were "appointing committees of three in each judicial district, to act as town committees and to report to the county committee from time to time, as the interest of the Democratic party shall seem to require." 

With Smith and Collier having to work together on this committee besides their regular work for the County, it is quite possible that they both got on each others nerves, or worse.

Later, there was an election to change the county seat to Mokelumne Hill, while others wanted Jackson's Creek (present day Jackson). This was where things turned for the worse between Smith and Collier.

In Larry Cenotto's book, Logan's Alley (Volume IV) he briefly mentions this story on page 7, stating that "voting shenanigans" had taken place which led up to the story I am about to share with you.

Going back to the History of Amador County, Jesse D. Mason brought up that: 

"When the first count or estimate was made up, Mokelumne Hill was said to have been the successful town and a team was sent to Double Springs to remove the archives; but a subsequent count by Judge Smith made Jackson the county seat. Smith was openly charged with fraud in the second counting. The whole affair was probably as near a farce as elections ever get to be. The seat however remained at Jackson until 1852, when it was transferred by election to Mokelumne Hill."

This was the first time Collier and Smith butted heads over the election results. From July of 1851 to May of 1862, the County Seat was in Jackson.

In regards to the personalities of Smith and Collier, Mason also notes:

"Very contradictory reports are current in regard to the characters of the officers. "Fowle Smith," an eastern man, was represented by some as a miserable concentration of all meanness that was supposed to characterize that kind of men; stinginess, cowardice, and "all that sort of thing." Others say that he was honest, and would not countenance Colonel Collyer's peccadillos, hence, their mutual dislike. He has since taken to preaching, and is said to be causing great revivals ins ome of the Eastern States.

Colonel Collyer, according to the same authority, was a southern man, with southern virtues in exess; pompous, portly, genial, brave, and reckless, with a habit of calling everybody, who crossed his will, a "d---d son of a -----" and threatened to cut his heart out; a treatment be had applied to Judge Smith, until the latter was seriously afraid the Colonel was in earnest. Among the peculiarities of Collyer, was the pocketing of all fees received in his official capacity, leaving Judge Smith to collect his salary, or extras, as he might.

Collyer is said to have naturalized sixty foreigners in one day, charging them one ounce each, all of which he applied to his own benefit. "---

So, what was this incident that happened on Main Street in September of 1851?

The details on the exact date that it occurred are sketchy at best. Some newspapers claimed the event took place on September 11th, 1851, which would have been a Thursday, while some say Monday, which would have been the 15th, but I am obliged to believe the other two newspapers which stated that it was Saturday, September 13th when the event took place. 

Judge Smith had been in Sacramento on County business and arrived in Jackson to collect the return of votes that were cast in their latest election, one of which determined the possible re-election of Col. Collier as County Clerk against Joseph P. Douglass who was also running for the position of County Clerk. According to this account, Judge Smith came on that date, being that the 10 days that were allotted to collect the votes had expired and the votes were past due for counting. 

Smith arrived at the clerks office at around 9 o'clock in the evening. So where was the clerk's office?

You must remember, at this time Jackson didn't have a courthouse or regular offices as we did later on.  The Calaveras County Court of Sessions or supervisors were held in the French Hotel which was located where present day 105 Main Street is located, on the westerly side of Main Street where the "Main Event Bar" is today. It appears that the clerk's office would have been adjacent to the Frech Hotel.  You have to remember, our courthouses and government offices for Amador County hadn't even been built yet, because we were still part of Calaveras County at the time.  The old jail site, which was a small log cabin, was actually located on or around where present day 16-18 Court Street is located.

When Judge Smith got there he was met by Judge Williams, who said that he was in charge of that office and Collier was not there. Smith told Williams he would go "canvassing" for votes but it had to be done before midnight. Judge Smith and J.T. Powell and Deputy Sheriffy Chovan canvassed for less than an hour, also looking for Collier to no avail. So they returned to Collier's office.  Chovan and Powell saw that no one was there, so Smith sent for them to look for Judge Williams to open the office so Smith could collect the voting returns.

Around 10 p.m., Judge Smith broke into the office on his own to search for the returns himself. This is when Chovan and Powell came back and found Smith inside the office. Smith then orders the two men to help him search for the returns, which they did reluctantly. According to the newspapers of the time, they claimed that Smith found nothing. Smith then handed Powell a paper to file with the court and he left the office empty handed.

Jesse D. Mason's account written in 1881, stated that Smith broke into Collier's desk,  counted the returns and issued the certificates of election to the successful candidate, Joseph P. Douglass, who, according to Mason's account, received the larger number of votes. According to this account, it was Collier who was in the wrong, hiding the votes to prevent the results showing that he had lost the election to Douglass.

A little after Midnight, Collier finally returned to the clerk's office to find out from Powell and Chovan that Smith had broken into it. He became infuriated, and Powell stated that Collier even drew a pistol on him for telling him the story, forcing Powell to arrest him. As Collier was being taken to jail, he swore he would shoot Judge Smith "upon sight."

It appears that Collier was released in the morning, and once Judge Smith and Powell were going about their daily activities, Powell "proposed a walk with Judge Smith, and he first declined upon the ground that the route suggested would lead them past the clerk's office, that he was courting a collision, but finding that the clerk's office was closed he consented to go."

As the newspaper accounts go, as they were walking by the office, Collier walked up on them and started screaming obsenities to Smith. Collier claimed he was going to let the world know what a "dead villain" Judge Smith was. After this first confrontation, Smith started to walk back towards his hotel. This was when Collier came back on his horse, with a revolver on his waist, and as he dismounted and was tieing his horse up to the hotel, he started to scream at Smith again. 

When Collier approached him, Smith "threw up his hand and said "Col. Collier, I don't want you to come near me; stand back, sir, and let me alone." Collier however, advanced and struck the Judge a severe blow in his face, whereupon Smith drew a small revolver from his pants pocket and fired at Collier, wounding him in the right arm, piercing his body between the liver and kidneys, and wounding him also in the left shoulder. Collier did not have time to draw his pistol, and Judge Smith, in extricating his from his pants' pocket had one barrel discharge itself through his pocket. Col. Collier died about 12 o'clock on Monday last."

Smith was arrested, and some accounts said he turned himself in immediately. He was then taken before Judge Bayrington, but requested Judge Williams to oversee this case, and requested his counsel, Captain Ward for legal defense. Judge Smith was tried for Col. Lewis A. Collier's death on September 17, 1851. On September 23, 1851, Judge William Fowle Smith was acquitted of all charges as the jury returned a verdict of "justifiable homicide" given the circumstances of the case.

After looking over all of the particulars surrounding this case, I see that there was election tampering, and it appears that it may have been occurring on both sides. Being that Smith was openly accused of fraud in the previous election in 1850 determining the county seat situation, shows he was capable of doing it again; However, the fact that Collier hadn't turned in the votes in time, possibly to collect more votes in his favor, and it also appears he was hiding the collected votes to prevent revealing the actual results, was also illegal.

Both men's personalities clashed like oil and vinegar according to the previous accounts mentioned, so it is not hard to see that there was likely to be a bad skirmish between the two at one point or another. Sadly, though this one ended with one person dead, all because of election results. 

Do I think that Judge Smith should have been put in prison for Collier's death? No, I do not. Collier was a hot head, and even if Smith had done something wrong, Collier knew the law, and he went after the Judge with the intent to kill him, and ended up being the one dead himself. 

According to Jesse D. Mason,  by the time he was writing his book on the history of the county, and claimed that Smith had "taken to to preaching, and is said to be causing great revivals in some of the Eastern states." Did Judge Smith have a change of heart, and left politics? It is quite possible, however, I found a W.F. Smith in Alameda in the 1860 census listed as a Lawyer, so it is possible that he just moved away. 

In 1851, California was still very much living in the "Wild West," and many times, simple disagreements ended up in horrible stabbings, attacks and even duels. Remember the infamous duel of Judge David S. Terry and Senator Broaderick? What about the unfortunate murder of Judge Gordon Belt on the streets of Stockton? There are so many, I cannot even begint to list them all. 

With that being said, I do not believe Col. Lewis A. Collier was an innocent victim in this affair. His hot temper ultimately sealed his own fate.  Documented accounts show that both of these local politicans were crooked in their own ways. Smith, having committed fraud in an election, while Collier collected fees for various reasons during his time as County Clerk only to pocket the money himself, and more than likely he was trying to hide the election results himself. It seems to me that both men were not on the up-and-up when this unfortunate incident occurred. A lesson to be learned that politics can literally kill, and that election fraud and tampering has been going as long as elections have been around. It sure goes to show that some things never change!

(Copyright 2024, J'aime Rubio www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

Sources available upon request.  







Friday, March 8, 2024

Horrific assault prompts suicide at old Amador County Courthouse



For several months there has been talk of paranormal tours taking place at the old courthouse in Jackson. For the record, I am not a part of any sort of paranormal tour at this location, but it came to my attention that some of the history being discussed on said tours was not accurate, and it bothered me that erroneous history was being shared. 

Thankfully, one of the persons involved in the tours has reached out to me and seems sincere about revising her tour to depict a more accurate telling of the courthouse's history. However, there are still a few people out there, who are also advertising paranormal tours, whom I worry may continue to share  inaccurate information not only regarding the history of the courthouse but also around Jackson itself. This is worrisome to me, because I actually care about the true history of this beautiful area and I am a firm believer in facts. Please remember, anything you read online or hear from another person regarding local history, I strongly urge you to take with a grain of salt unless they can back their story up with documented facts to suppor their story. I am a huge believer in facts, not sensationalism. Why create fictitious stories about our beloved historical landmarks when these locations have plenty of real history all on its own?

I had planned on sharing this story solely in my upcoming book, "Stories of the Forgotten III: Tales of the Mother Lode," but given the fact the old county courthouse has been the focus of many posts lately on Facebook and other social media platforms lately, I decided to share my research on a factual story that did take place there, and I can back up my story with sources.

On Monday, February 22, 1909, a man by the name Joseph Coholich committed a very heinous crime. Now, the newspapers reported his last name as Chahalich or sometimes Chachalich, and even his Find-a-Grave memorial spelled his name as Choalich, but his death record in the California Death Index was recorded as Coholich.

Per the Amador Dispatch, dated February 26, 1909:

"Early in the afternoon of Monday a horseman, greatly excited rode into town and notified Sheriff Gregory that Mrs. Lintillac had been shot by Chahalich. Gregory and Leverone immediated started for the Lintillac place. Upon their arrival there they found Chahalich gone and questioned the woman, learning from her the following particulars: Mrs. Lintillac shortly after dinner, was hanging out clothes near the house, and Chahalich, who had worked about the place, approached her carrying a shot-gun and demanded of her $25.50 which he claimed was coming to him for wages.

She replied they did not owe him that much as he had not worked for a time during the rainy weather, and also that he was indebted to them for baord in the sum of $20, besides $2 for brandyl that all he had coming was $7, and told him he had better see her husband about it. Chahalich, who was standing about six feet from the woman, raised his gun and shot her in the legs twice."

The article, which is lengthy, goes on to state that the Sheriff went on to the Campanola's cabin where the suspect had been known to stop by for the past two weeks. The authorities found the shot-gun and a blue short that the suspect had been wearing, and so they knew he had stopped there before moving on. When questioned, Campanola denied any knowledfge of the situation. It was ascertained that Joseph Coholich had walked across Campanola's property, through the fields approximately seven miles, all the way westward to Jackson, avoiding roadways.

By the time Joseph Coholich reached Jackson, he made the steep trek up Summit Street to the old Courthouse. According to testimony by eye-witness Thomas Lemin, Coholich was walking back and forth in front of the courthouse at about 5 p.m. that evening. The two men struck up a conversation, as Coholich sat down on the steps and began eating an orange.  Shortly thereafter, Coholich belted out a painful groan and fell backwards into convulsions. When the onlooker tried to help him, he shook his head and stated that it was "too late." Still, two doctors arrived to the scene, Dr. Sprague and Dr. Gall, who both realized that he had been poisoned. They moved Coholich to the courtyard of the jail, and he expired within about 10 minutes. 

When the body was searched, they found a vial of strychnine in his pocket and about 25 grains were missing. They believed he had put the poison in the orange that he ate, committing suicide instead of facing the legal consequences for his actions. Joseph Coholich had no family in the states, and it was assumed his wife was still home in the "old country." The newspapers stated that he was originally from Austria, yet his Find-a-Grave states he was from Italy. It is obvious that he may have been from Austria, having travelled to the U.S. by way of Italy, but by the spelling or pronunciation of his name it is obvious he was of Serbian or Croation descent. 

Joseph Coholich was buried without a marker in the Jackson City Cemetery just next door to the Catholic Cemetery.  

While continuing my research, I discovered that Mrs. Lucie Lintellac was forced to have her limbs amputated due to her grave injuries;  one limb being amputated just below the knee, while the other just at the ankle bone. Sadly, it appears that her wounds never healed properly that her health continued to decline. As of the March 12, Amador Ledger, her funeral notice appeared. Although the newspapers stated she was buried in St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery, I have been unable to locate her gravesite as of yet. I am still avidly searching for that piece of the puzzle, as I would really like to pay my respects to this innocent victim of this very wicked assault.

In my line of work, I stumble upon some of the saddest stories. I share them for one reason, so that their names and their lives will not be forgotten. Mrs. Lintellac, and even Joseph for that matter, have been forgotten in the pages of archived newspapers and old dusty death indexes that have been shelved for over a 100 years. My effort is to bring back those people's stories, to give them back a voice. To share their story for them, since they obviously can no longer share it on their own. 

I hope that although this history was a bit dark, and unfortunately did not have a happy ending, that you can appreciate it is still a part of local history, nonetheless.  Thank you for taking the time to read this and to remember the stories of the forgotten."  (J'aime Rubio, Copyright 2024)

Some of my sources: California Death Index, Amador Ledger, 3/12/1909; Amador Dispatch, 2/26/1909; Bluelake Advocate, 2/27/1909; Stockton Independent, 2/23/1909; Union Democrat, 2/27/1909; San Francsico Call, 2/23/1909. 



Monday, February 5, 2024

Historic Roseville slaying offers insights to ‘cursed’ family

 

Los Angeles Herald

26 Feb 1876

Do you believe that death and tragedy seem to follow certain people?

In the case of David Turley, they indeed seemed to follow him, leading him straight to the gallows. The question for modern history lovers is, why?  It was April 1, 1875, and a group of men were headed back to Roseville on horseback, returning from a race at a ranch several miles beyond the city limits. 

Among the group was William H. Shaw and David Turley. Several newspapers reported both men, who worked in Roseville as Sheepshearers, were intoxicated when they started to quarrel nearby the 12 Mile House, once located at South Cirby and Old Auburn Road. Other newspapers claimed the incident took place on Old Marysville Road, 12 miles from Roseville. Today, it is hard to be certain of the exact location.

What words were exchanged still remains a mystery. Some accounts even suggested that it was an April Fools’ joke gone wrong. Whatever was said, it prompted Turley to challenge Shaw to a duel — a threat designed to make the other take back whatever negative remark was said. Shaw refused to duel Turley and tried to get away from him. Turley pulled his pistol out and fired two shots in Shaw’s direction, hitting and killing him.  

The trial was held in Sacramento and became highly publicized, making headlines in papers all the way to Los Angeles. One of the witnesses, Creed Haymond, stated for the defense that Turley was too intoxicated to have known what he was doing, therefore he believed it wasn’t his fault. The other four witnesses together confirmed that Turley did in fact shoot Shaw as he was attempting to leave.

Turley insisted that his actions were caused by an inherited mental illness. He also claimed that this inherited psychosis contributed to many deaths in his family; however, Judge Ramage did not allow this information in the trial. When all was said and done the jury found Turley guilty of murdering Shaw. The defendant eventually took his appeal to the Supreme Court, alleging errors were made during his trial. The Supreme Court came back unanimously on November 16, 1875, deciding that the initial court ruling was correct, and that Turley’s conviction would remain the same.

So was the story Turley claimed about his family true, or just a desperate attempt to spare his own life?

Extensive research into the matter reveals that David Turley’s tragic family background was stranger than most would imagine. His father, Jesse Turley, was a wealthy and well respected farmer. According to Missouri historian Rhonda Chalfant, Jesse Turley was the first landowner in the Pettis County to free his slaves due to his support for the Union during the Civil War, prompting his own neighbors to engage in two attempts to murder him. Both times he was shot and survived. Sadly though, Jesse Turley’s life ended at his own hand, after his own gun discharged by accident while he was mounting his horse during a stint in the Missouri State Militia. He was hit in the abdomen and died shortly thereafter. 

David Turley’s mother, Lucy, was also killed by an accidental bullet — shot by one of her other sons, William, while he was sleepwalking with his gun. Like David Turley, William Turley was also in the state militia, and was never the same after killing their mother. William was later done in during a raid in the Civil War involving Confederate General Joseph Shelby. One of David Turley’s sisters had a stroke, rendering her brain damaged for life, while his other sister couldn’t handle the bizarre death of their mother, and literally went insane. She also died in a relatively short period. A third brother, John Turley, was killed in Kansas around 1875, while a fourth brother, Thomas, was shot in Texas the same year.

 David Turley had left Missouri to California in 1857 after getting into some sort of “trouble.” Following his father’s death, he inherited a large amount of money and so he moved back to Missouri. He opened a saloon in Georgetown and moved in with a well-known woman of ill-repute. David’s surviving brother, James, had tried to convince a doctor to have him committed to an asylum at Fulton due to erratic behavior. The Sedalia Bazoo Newspaper stated that besides being his own best customer at his saloon, David Turley was known to get into fights at the drop of a hat and quick to draw his blade or his gun — often times shooting at people for “imaginary offenses.”

It was after getting into too much trouble in Georgetown that David decided to head back to California. 

James Turley, a.k.a. “Sedalia Jim,”  was a former policeman who ultimately spent his entire savings, an estimated $2000, to help with David’s defense for killing Shaw. James tried to prove that his brother was mentally ill.  It was James who wrote Colonel John F. Phillips, asking him to help gather affidavits to prove David was insane, a danger to himself or others, and that he needed to be committed rather than executed.

Even after a petition was sent to California Governor William Irwin with numerous signatures begging for a reprieve, nothing was done to explore if David Turley suffered from mental illness. By 8 a.m. on Feb. 25, 1876, David Turley was given notice that Irwin was not going to grant him clemency.

The Daily Alta California newspaper chronicled the last hours of David Turley’s life in detail, including his request to meet with Father Patrick Scanlon to be baptized as a Christian and be read his last rites. It was noted that people were lined up outside the building in hopes of catching sight of the hanging. At 2 p.m. Turley was marched up to the scaffold, a large shroud was placed over his clothes and a hood over his head. After a short prayer, it was documented that Turley shouted, “Mother, mother I am coming!”  as the rope dropped.  Although his neck was broken instantly, his pulse continued for another fifteen minutes until the doctor pronounced him dead. 

In the end, although Turley was not given a chance to prove his mental state to the courts, we now know that he obviously suffered from something that made him very violent. Whether the Turley family as a whole suffered from inherited bad tempers, some sort of psychosis or chemical imbalances, they all seemed to have been affected by it. Most of David’s brothers were shot in the same way that Turley shot Shaw: Death didn’t just follow the Turley Family, it seems to have chased after them with a vengeance. Yet, by the lifestyles that they chose, the male members of the Turleys died the very way in which they lived. As the saying goes, “live by the sword, die by the sword,” so all men are responsible to face the consequences of their own actions, just as David Turley did on that day in 1876.

 By: J'aime Rubio --

Originally published on March 27, 2015 in the Roseville Press-Tribune.  Reposted with permissions Courtesy of Gold Country Media.

 

 

Friday, January 26, 2024

Finding The Officially Recognized Photograph of Julia Bulette - Putting the Revisionist Ideas To Bed At Last!

 

1. Official Carte-de-Visite of Julia Bulette, Nevada Historical Society
2. Photograph of Alfred Doten, Nevada Historical Society 

Back in 2019, I covered the story of the Comstock's most famous courtesan, Julia Bulette in its entirety. From explaining and debunking fakelore surrounding her ever ellusive backstory, down to sharing the particulars surrounding her death and even her burial. As I explained in my blog, "The Comstock Courtesan, Part 1" and in the chapter (of the same name) in my book "More Stories of the Forgotten," no one knows exactly where Julia came from. This is a fact. 

Despite sharing all of this with the world, one thing seems to keep popping back up, the debate on what Julia Bulette looked like. This ongoing debate has gone on since at least the 1930s or 1940s, when the McBrides hung a photo in their "Bucket of Blood" Saloon, claiming to be the likeness of Julia Bulette and causing controversy.

FALSE PHOTO- NOT JULIA BULETTE
dated Circa 1880s

There's one problem. It's not Julia!  The photograph posted just above which I have titled "False Photo," was actually examined and dated by a professional, and it turned out that the woman in the photograph could not possibly be Julia, as it was determined to have been taken in the 1880s. 

According to Sheryln Hayez-Zorn, Curator of History at the Nevada Historical Society, the photo in question is not Julia Bulette. Given the fact the photo was dated to the 1880s, and Julia was murdered in 1867, this alone proves that specific photograph could not be our Julia. Anyone who knows the common dress and hairstyle of different time periods would know that, but still, it didn't stop the unknowledgable from making such claims.

Still, these debates have gone on for too long. So, today I am going to share with you what I have been trying to tell everyone for a very, very long time.  The only photograph of Julia Bulette known in existence is the one taken in the Sutterley Brothers studio in Virginia City.

Ms. Hayes-Zorn confirmed that the well-known carte-de-visite of a woman standing in the Sutterley Brothers portrait studion next to a fireman's hat in the dark dress is the ONLY officially recognized photograph of Julia Bulette. 

To add more credence to this, I have taken it upon myself to line up two photographs side by side for comparison at the top of this blog post. 

"The Alf Doten photo of him wearing the fireman's helmet and with the same background only adds to the authentication of her photograph. There are other's of the early Comstock time period that can be seen with the same background."-- Sheryln Hayes-Zorn, Curator of History, Nevada Historical Society

The first photograph on the left is of Julia Bulette, and was taken on the Fourth of July, 1866. The photograh to the right, is of Alfred Doten, taken on the Fourth of July, 1867. As you can see, they are both standing in the same studio with the same backdrop. The photos, taken one year apart show that they were taken around the same time period in history. 

The day that the photograph of Julia was taken was said to have been a very special day for her, as reports mention that she was chosen to be a honorary member of the Fire Company #1 on that date, and that was the day she was able to ride in the parade with them for the Fourth of July Festivities. 

The newspaper spoke of the entire city taking part in the festivities, including many different groups appearing in the parade. One mention was that "Virginia Engine Company No. 1 had a magnificent six-horse team attached to their engine, beautifully decorated with flowers and evergreens."

Think about that for a moment. Why wouldn't Julia have wanted a photograph to remember this special day? Especially given the fact that she wasn't rich and famous as many people have made her out to be over the years. This was her day to shine, and for once she wasn't just a prostitute, she was somebody even if just for the day, and for that day she was treated like a "somebody." I am sure that was a good memory for her. 

If you examine the photograph, you can see she is standing next to a fireman's hat, wearing a fireman belt buckle with the number 1 on it.  Her dress is plain, as was the attire of the period for any woman at that time. The belt buckle correlates her connection to Fire Company #1, whom cared for her so much that when she died, they were the ones who held her body until the day of her funeral, and they buried her in a plot that was reserved for the firemen in the original old Pioneers Cemetery, also known as Flowery Hill. 

That's another thing people don't seem to understand, in regards to why her grave is so far out there and why its location is virtually unknown today. So why bury her way out on Flowery Hill and not in the other cemeteries? Well, when Julia died, those other cemeteries didn’t exist yet. You have to remember, this was 1867. The only cemetery there at the time was the old Pioneer Cemetery or Boot Hill Cemetery which was known as “Flowery Hill.”

 According to “Mercantile Guide and Directory for Virginia City, Gold Hill, Silver City and American City,” compiled by Charles Collins, 1864-65, it states: “This city can now boast of a public burial place for the dead, the ground formerly known as the Flowery Hill Cemetery has been purchased for its owner, J.B. Wallard, by the city, at a cost of twenty-five hundred dollars. The City Council are taking the necessary steps to have the grounds, laid off in a manner which, when completed, will reflect credit on the good taste of its projectors. The tract contains 27 acres. A portion of the grounds has been reserved and laid off for the exclusive use of the firemen of this city.”— 

 Another publication “A History of the Virginia Exempt Firemen’s Association Cemetery” states “Although a firemen’s section had been laid out in the Pioneer Cemetery on Flowery Hill years before, in May of 1868 the Virginia Fire Department purchased a section of the Silver Terrace Cemetery for its use from undertakers Charles M. Brown and Josh W. Wilson for $50.00."

So, you can see the fire department loved her, because they buried her in their section of the cemetery that was reserved for them. The only reason they no longer buried their own in that same area was because two years later they purchased a different section of the newer Silver Terrace Cemetery, and the old pioneer cemetery became defunct and forgotten over time. 

Back to the subject...

Going back to the subject at hand, there are some who still question whether this carte-de-visite really was Julia, because she was dressed rather plainly for a prostitute.  

In reality, what do you think a prostitute looked like in 1867?

In my research, many times, I have found that prostitutes outside of their boudoir would dress the same as any other woman of the time period. It seems that the world has a romanticized view of what they think a prostitute looked or dressed like based on television and movies. 

I recall a historian telling me once many years ago that the only difference between a lady and a prostitute at that time period was that a lady didn't look up and stare a man in his face, as it was improper; However, a prostitute didn't have the fear of improprieties and would have no problem looking a man in the face as she spoke to him.  The point the historian was making was that during normal daily activities outside of the brothel, a prostitute would have dressed in the normal fashion of the day.

When I asked Ms. Hayes-Zorn on her opinion about this subject, she confirmed this with me by saying:

 "Julia and any other woman or prostitute that went outside of their bedroom or home, would dress according to Victorian standards on the types of activities or time of day. In her photograph, she is wearing good quality clothing but it is not competing with the fireman's belt or helmet.  You are correct, I believe people have a romanticized view of how a prostitute would dress or behave due to movies and television.  Women wouldn't stare at men or talk with strangers (men) without a formal introduction by friends and family, or be alone with a man without a chaperone."-- 

So, today we have discussed the facts that there is only one officially recognized photograph of Julia Bulette in existence, and the fact that just because she looked "plain Jane" in her photograph didn't mean it wasn't Julia, just because she didn't "look" like what some people think a prostitute should have looked like back then.

Writer, Susan James once said on the subject of Julia, "So little was known about her life that her attributes could be greatly enhanced without fear of contradiction…writers speculated about Julia’s ancestry. The fact that she might have lived in Louisiana was all they needed to transform the fair-skinned Englishwoman into an enticing New Orleans Creole. Exotic beauty was not among Julia’s assets, but it didn’t hurt to stretch the truth a bit.” --"Queen of Tarts"

In reality, we will never know for certain just where Julia Bulette came from. What we do know is what she looked like. No, she wasn't a dark skinned or mixed raced prostitute. She wasn't even remarkably beautiful by societal standards of the time, but she was cared for by those who chose to remember her and honor her after her death. 

In life, I do not believe she lived well, nor do I believe she was treated like a lady by any means, but I do believe that everyone deserves their stories to be told and we all owe the dead the truth. Julia lived a hard life in a time where life was hard enough as it was. She didn't make life any easier on herself chosing the oldest profession in the book, but that was the choice she made. Love her or hate her, she did however leave her mark in Virginia City, one that cannot easily be erased.

Rest in Peace, Julia Bulette.

(Copyright 2023 - J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com) 

A big thanks to Sheryln Hayes-Zorn and the Nevada Historical Society for helping me with this additional project!

Some of my Sources:

"More Stories of the Forgotten," J'aime Rubio, 2019

Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]), 05 July 1866

Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, January 22, 1867

A History of the Virginia Exempt Firemen’s Association Cemetery, Steve Frady, 1980-1987

Mercantile Guide and Directory for Virginia City, Gold Hill, Silver City and American City, Charles Collins, 1864-65 

“Queen of Tarts,” by Susan James in Nevada Magazine, Sept/Oct 1984

Thursday, November 16, 2023

Deaths at the Gate -- Jackson Gate, Amador County




Today, we are going to delve into a couple of the deaths that took place at the area known as Jackson Gate. Many years ago, I had stumbled across an old newspaper clipping mentioning that in the early days,  several people had died from cholera after drinking in the creek near the Gate after something had been contaminating it. As it turns out, when I went back recently to research that, I couldn't find the clipping, so as of right now, I am still trying to find that specific reference. When I do find it, that will be cited for reference with more details. For now, that is part of the lore at The Gate. 

Well, this memory of finding that clipping is what led me to the interest in learning more about the history of that specific spot known to locals as "The Gate," or Jackson Gate, and if anyone else had died in that general area. 

After more research, I found a couple of documented deaths, and so I wanted to share them with my readers.

One of the stories that I dug up during my research into the history of the old hangman's tree on Main Street in Jackson was the murder at Squaw Gulch.

In 1851, two Frenchmen were butchered in Squaw Gulch which was "near Jackson Gate." As the history of Amador County states "One was stabbed with a long bowie-knife thirteen times, dying immediately. The other, though cut five or six times, lived for several days." 

According to Larry Cenotto's research records, "Monsieur Pontanier and an unknown French "companion" on  May 20, 1852, were attacked while they slept in their tent in Squaw Gulch near the Gate." The men had been stabbed to death. The deaths of these two men was what led up to the formation of the Jackson Vigilance Committee. The committee offered a $300 reward to anyone who helped apprehend or deliver the murderer(s).

Initially, another man Gregorio Soberano was arrested while at a bistro in downtown Jackson, but he was later exonerated. Later on, another man was brought on charges. His name was Cheverino. He had been examined and sent to the "log jail," to be held until he could stand trial, but that night a mob of people (let me make this clear it was NOT the Vigilance Committee) broke into the jail and dragged Cheverino out to the oak tree on Main Street.

The first of two hangings took place around 8:30 p.m. on the evening of June 10th, 1852. He would be the 3rd execution by way of the hanging tree in Jackson. 

According to records, the rope was put around his neck and he was pulled up while his hands were free. So, he began clenching onto the rope around his neck, struggling to survive. This allegedly went on for about ten minutes before they dropped the rope, and tied his hands behind his back and then raised the rope again. It was said that Cheverino had admitted guilt in the murder of Pontanier.

His accomplice, Cruz Flores had been found out by chance when another Mexican, Mariano, who had been arrested for horse theft in Sacramento, implicated Cruz Flores, as the other man who murdered a Frenchman near Jackson Gate, or "The Gate."

Flores, the 4th man to be one of the Hanging Tree's executions, was hanged the next day on June 11th, 1852.

Another tragedy that took place near "The Gate" was the death of William Holder. His story is a little bit more detailed, as I was able to find a lot more about him than the last two mentioned above.

William Holder was born in England in 1855, and had immigrated to the United States in his early adulthood. By 1880, he was living in the home of William Bryant and family in Pine Grove, working as a blacksmith. By July 3, 1881 he married Frances "Fanny" Hawkins Younglove, who had just been divorced by her 1st husband Dwight Younglove, who appeared to have been habitual womanizer, getting married only to divorce shortly after. 

Perhaps William was Fanny's "knight in shining armor," and even though she had a young son from the previous union, it did not deter William from marrying her. Sadly, on February 22, 1884, Fanny passed away from what appears to have been a short illness, and was buried at the Ione Cemetery. She was originally from Missouri, and grew up in Lancha Plana, currently where Lake Camanche rests. 

Interestingly, it appears that William loved his wife so much, as he fought over the custody of his stepson, Albert, against Albert's father, Dwight Younglove, upon Fanny's passing. Per Fanny's will, she named William and her brother, Melville as executors of her estate, and requested that her young son to remain with her mother, Mary Ann.

Only 8 months after Fanny's death, it appears that William or "Billy" as locals called him, fell in love again, this time to Margaret "Maggie" Guerra. Maggie's mother was from Mexico while her father Deonisio Guerra was from Chile, and worked in the mines, as did her brothers Frank and Albert. 

Maggie and William married on October 22, 1884.



Maggie ran a local laundry business out of her home at 156 Main Street in Jackson, where she would wash and iron clothes for locals to make money. When she purchased her home in 1878 from then owner, George Stasal, she paid $450.00, which would have been equal to $14.323.17 today as a "real price" as measured by inflating the amount by the Consumer Price Index or (CPI.) 

For the record, there is no evidence of Maggie being a madam or prostitute as some people may have insinuated on other websites. I feel that is not only disrespectful to the memory of Maggie and her family, but is also very ignorant to make assumptions without having documentation to back up said claims. The records show Maggie was just a normal lady, living in Jackson, working in the laundry service business, and I have found nothing to suggest she was a "lady of the night."

William would go on to have a child with Maggie, a son, William Jr., who was born on November 21*, 1885. 

(*What is neat about this story, is that their son was born on my son's birthday, and their marriage took place on my father's birthday, so that was interesting.) 

Their newfound happiness would end in tragedy though, as young Billy died at the age of 2 years old on June 8, 1888. The couple would go on to have two more children, daughters Della and Amelia, born in 1888 and 1892.  These two would grow up into their adulthood.

The Amador Ledger shows that by 1893, William was selling wagons that he was manufacturing and advertising in the newspaper. 

Going back to the story.....

The death of William Holder took place Tuesday evening, January 12, 1909. According to the Amador Dispatch,  Holder had been found that following morning, "lying face downward in the sand and the mud of the north fork of Jackson Creek, the lower limbs partially in the water."

His boss, V.J. Chichizola, whom Holder was working as a blacksmith for, discovered his body that morning around 8 a.m.  He was found just west of the Chichizola store, across the road where the creek is located.  Upon examination by Coroner Potter, it was ascertained that Holder had been seen at Casazza's saloon the evening prior. Witnesses stated that he came to the bar around 8 p.m. already very inebriated, and although he stayed for about an hour he didn't drink any more while there. He left the bar around 9 p.m. and stumbled out of there on his way home to his small cabin across the creek just north of Teresa's Place. 



I am not 100% certain, but I think it is possible that William's drinking habits may have put a strain on his marriage at some point before Maggie's death in 1896, because I couldn't find any records of their dwelling together in the same home in the 1890's, plus they are not buried with one another, nor are they even at the same cemetery. She's in the Catholic Cemetery in a large plot, while William in a very small spot at the Jackson City Cemetery nearby.

At the time of his death in 1909, William was living in this little cabin near his job, while his two young daughters were being raised by Maggie's family.

The weather that night was very stormy and the creek had risen significantly. It was stated that "instead of using one of the foot bridges one some distance above and another below the blacksmith shop, Holder attempted to cross at a point near the cabin ass was his custom when the water was low." The article goes on to mention that Holder was "carried off his balance by the current, he had fallen into the muddy water from which he was unable to rise owing to the stupor of his condition, and was drowned."

So basically, he tried to cross the creek and it knocked him off his feet, and being as drunk as he was, he didn't have the strength or stamina to pull himself up and he drowned. The sand in his hair and the pockets of his clothes were evidence enough that the water had risen up higher than normal in the night, and sadly, Holder didn't make it.

Just to quell any suspicions of foul play -- the Coroner determined based on evidence that it was an "Accidental Drowning." Holder wasn't murdered and no one robbed him, in case anyone wants to make those assumptions.  There would be no reason to have killed him. He didn't have any enemies, and he didn't have anything of value on him, except the new shoes on his feet, which were found on his person when they discovered his body. In fact, he had just purchased those shoes that day at the Chichizola Store.  

Holder was known around Jackson, and everyone seemed to like him. Only on one documented occasion was he involved in anything that made the newspapers, and it really wasn't his fault. It appears that on the Fourth of July, 1907, during the festivities an Indian (native American), who was overly inebriated, assaulted William in public and they duked it out, which landed the Indian in jail. William walked away from the altercation with his hands clean, (meaning he didn't go to jail).  

Although he was known for his intemperate habits towards the end, he was spoke of as "unassuming, courteous, always cheerful, never boistress.... and was liked for his better qualities, while pitied for the degenerate condition to which his appetite dragged him."

It appears that in his early years he had been a very hard working man, and had even owned two shops, one of which included the wagon making business, and was considered a "prosperous business man," so it is very sad to see how he ended up.  With all of that potential, he allowed his bad habits and addictions to get the best of him, which ultimately led him to losing his family, his businesses, his prosperity and eventually his life.

He was buried at the City Cemetery in Jackson in a small plot. Hopefully now he has the peace he struggled to find at the end of a bottle.

Photo: Courtesy of Steve Jones on Find-a-Grave

May William Holder rest in peace....

(Copyright 2023, J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com) 



Thursday, April 13, 2023

Three Men Killed In the Kennedy Mine - Peter Garcia, Sam Martinez & Liberto Mendes

 





No matter what I do, my work always seems to come full circle. Almost 11 years ago, I published my first historical non-fiction book, "Behind The Walls." based on the history of the Preston School of Industry (a.k.a. Preston Castle), little did I know that while researching for my 5th historical non-fiction book "Down Below: A History of Deaths at the Kennedy Mine," I would find stories that are intertwined with Preston in one way or another.
One such story is the horrific explosion at the Kennedy Mine that took place on February 13, 1932, when four miners: Peter Garcia, Sam Martinez, Liberto Mendez and Felix Achavan were victims of an unfortunate dynamite accident.

According to the Amador Dispatch, it was an explosion at the 4800 foot level of the mine that took place around 4 a.m. in the morning on Saturday, February 13, that caused the fatalities.

The miners were prepping the area for blasting, and while rounding the holes, they found that the water leaking down the walls of stope was preventing several of the fuses to ignite. So in order to fire the fuse, they had to re-cut them. Unfortunately, they re-cut them too short, and since they had about 46 fuses to fire, by the time they lit the last fuse, the first one went off.

According to the only surviving witness, Felix Achavan, the supervisor on duty overseeing their work, Peter Garcia, had warned them he thought it was time to go, and just as he spoke those words the explosion went off. Both Peter Garcia and Sam Martinez died instantly, while Liberto Mendes and Felix Achavan were rushed to the hospital at the Preston School of Industry, in Ione. Sadly, within hours of arriving to Preston, Liberto succumbed to his injuries. Felix stayed several days at the hospital but recovered.

The dead were brought to Daneri's Funeral home and the funerals for the miners were all held individually at St. Patrick Catholic Cemetery in Jackson. Sadly, none of the miners have marked graves, and you can only know they were buried there because of the newspaper clippings and cemetery records showing they were buried there.

Peter Garcia was only 39 years old and was a native of Spain. He had lived in Amador County for many years and was very much a beloved member of the community. Sam Martinez was only 23 years old at the time of his death, and was also a native of Spain. while Liberto Mendes was 36 years old and a native of Mexico.

You can visit their virtual graves here on Find-a-grave and leave them virtual messages and "flowers" here:





After recovering from his injuries, Felix was interviewed for the Coroner's Inquest and his story was published in the local newspaper which is posted below.

Amador Dispatch – 2/26/1932

“Lone Survivor Tells Story of Mine Accident—

At an inquest conducted on Monday evening by Coroner J.J. Daneri, Felix Achavan told the story of the recent accident at the Kennedy mine when three miners lost their lives and Achavan miraculously escaped a like fate.

According to the story told by the witness at the hearing, he was working in a stope on the 4800 foot level of the mine and with companions had prepared a round of 46 holes for blasting. He stated that after loading had been completed, he was assisted by Foreman Garcia in lighting the fuse. Samuel Martinez and Foreman Garcia standing by to give assistance that might be needed; that difficulty was experienced in lighting some of the fuse because of dampness from water that had dripped upon the fuse, making it necessary to again “spit” them, at operation causing considerable delay. Finally Garcia made the statement “we have been here too long, let’s get out” and barely had the word been uttered when an explosion occurred.

Mr. Achavan stated that all were thrown to the ground by the force of the explosion. His position on the opposite side of the stope from the first explosion afforded him a measure of protection and probably accounted for his escape from death. He expressed the belief that the others were in the direct path of the flying rocks rendering escape impossible. He immediately crawled from the scene. Peter Garcia and Samuel Martinez were killed instantly and Liberto Mendez died a few hours following his removal to the Preston Hospital. Achavan gave a vivid recitation of the experience but the recollection of the unfortunate accident was one that unnerved the man and caused him to leave the room sobbing. 

Following the hearing of the testimony the following verdict we rendered by the jury: “The cause of death was the discharge of powder when the deceased were delayed in their work by damp fuses while they were employed in blasting in the north drift of the 4800 foot level of the Kennedy mine near Jackson.”---

May these miners, and the rest of the 43 miners who have all lost their lives at the Kennedy Mine during its years of operation rest in peace, never forgotten. 


TO READ MORE STORIES ABOUT THE MEN AT THE KENNEDY MINE, PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK HERE! 


(Copyright 2023- J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com

Sources:

Amador Dispatch – 2/26/1932

Amador Dispatch – 2/19/1932

Amador Ledger - 2/13/1932

Colusa Herald, 2/13/1932;

Healdsburg Tribune 2/13/1932

Saturday, February 11, 2023

GoFundMe Fundraiser To Replace Bathsheba Sherman's Headstone Reaches its Goal




This blog post is more of an update of sorts concerning my efforts to help the Burrillville Historical Society raise funds to replace Bathsheba Sherman's headstone. 

As of yesterday, February 10, 2023, we have now reached and surpassed our goal!!

I want to thank everyone that was involved in donating towards this cause and I want to list everyone by name at the bottom of this list. I cannot begin to thank everyone enough for this generosity of contributing to and in some cases just sharing the link. With everyone's help we have reached that goal and now Bathsheba will get the headstone she so deserves, so that she can now rest in peace alongside her family, as she had always done before the nightmare of vandalism plagued her poor stone, because of "The Conjuring."


I am not one to shy away from speaking my mind, even if it ruffles a few feathers, and I won't be tiptoeing around this either. Plain and simple, the film "The Conjuring" brought a lot of attention to Burrillville, the Old Arnold Estate on Roundtop Road but especially to the grave of Bathsheba Sherman located at the Riverside Cemetery in Harrisville. In turn, that bad publicity influenced others to deface and vandalize Bathsheba's final resting place because they believed the lies perpetuated in the movie. In turn television shows, YouTube & TikTok videos, blogs and countless other means of social media posts then began to spread like wildfire continuing to share this false history concerning Bathsheba, only further sullying her reputation and defaming her character posthumously. 

But we cannot lay all the blame on the movie or social media posts, we have to go all the way back to the people who first started the erroneous rumors concerning Bathsheba. Who were those people?  Well, someone plucked Bathsheba's name out of thin air and attached it to this sinister entity that the Perron's claimed was terrorizing them at their home. But who was the one who started it all? 

Whether you want to lay blame on the Perron family or the Warrens is not for me to say.  I cannot point the finger at one person and say for certain which one it was who started it. Did Lorraine Warren come up with the name while strolling by the cemetery? Or was it Carolyn who saw the name on a walk one day? We will never know, because we were not there. 

Bathsheba had nothing to do with the house in any way, and like I have proven in my blogs and my book, "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered," Bathsheba was never accused of any wrongdoing in her lifetime. She was not a witch, not a murderer, not a bad person. She did not hang herself on the property either, as the film portrays. Like I mentioned, the people who created the movie got their information from somewhere, and those people are to blame for the slander done to Bathsheba over the years. That is a fact. 

But one thing is for certain, there was no Mr. McKeachern and there were no rumors about Bathsheba prior to Earl Kenyon's passing, which was when the house was later sold to the Perron family.  You do the math. It's just plain common sense. The stories started AFTER Mr. Kenyon's death and subsequent selling of the Arnold farmhouse in the 1970's.

The unfortunate thing in all of this is that those people who continued to perpetuate the false narrative surrounding Bathsheba did nothing to right these wrongs over all of these years. They could have made an attempt to do so, they could have even started a fundraiser like I did, to help replace her headstone years ago. Still, nothing was done. 

As I stated in a previous blog, I had reached out to many people in "paranormal celebrity" circles in the past 2 years, and only a handful responded and only a very few donated, but those who did I am forever grateful for that. 

When I was first interested in helping Betty at the historical society I wanted to see if any groups such as the Masons, Odd Fellows and the Eagle or Boy Scouts would be interested in donating their time to restore her headstone. I reached out to all of those groups and never got a response. I reached out to a few stone workers asking if they would be willing to help with the stonework for her headstone and again, I received no reply.  The GoFundMe proved to be the only means to draw enough attention and response to promote this effort.

I am glad to announce that we have now reached our goal and the headstone will be replaced once and for all. The biggest donation that helped us meet the mark was made by the new owner of the Richardson-Arnold house on Roundtop Road, Jacqueline Nunez. Her very generous donation helped us reach and surpass the amount needed to fulfill this goal. I reached out to her yesterday and thanked her personally for doing that. She also made a post on Facebook to reiterate that Bathsheba had nothing to do with the house, she was NOT a witch and was NOT a murderer and for people to leave her grave alone. That was very much appreciated as well.

For the record, although I do not agree with Richardson-Arnold house (a.k.a. The Conjuring House) being a tourist attraction for ghost tours, I do appreciate Mrs. Nunez's help in righting a wrong that was done to Bathsheba. As one of my friends pointed out yesterday, "Just think, this whole time the Warrens Legacy Foundation, NESPR, Tony Spera or any of the Perrons could have done what she just did, but they chose not to."  And that is absolutely right. So, I truly appreciate the donation that Jacqueline made yesterday. 

Just think, out of all the people who have made a fortune off of this "Conjuring" franchise, be it through the film, books or televisions programs related to the home, out of all those people, only one person, who by the way is only recently affiliated with this property, chose to get involved. That speaks volumes about who is sincerely interested in setting the record straight, and who may "talk the talk," but their actions (or lack thereof) proved the opposite. Jacqueline's actions showed she actually cared enough about the situation to help us, help Bathsheba.

I have been promoting this fundraiser all over the internet since 2021, I have reached out to countless people within the paranormal field and in reality it was just regular people who took the time to donate and share to help Bathsheba. It wasn't a bunch of paranormal celebrities, it was just regular people who read about what happened and wanted to help any way that they could. And for that I am forever grateful.

I hope that moving forward this begins the new chapter, with the tide turning in favor of spreading the truth about Bathsheba far and wide, so that she will no longer be portrayed in a bad light. She was a decent human being and deserves to be respected in death, as she was in life. She deserves that much and so much more. 

Thank you to all who helped us make this happen!  -- J'aime Rubio, Author & Historian

Also: A BIG THANK YOU to Sandy Seoane at NRINOW News: 

https://nrinow.news/2021/11/04/historian-looks-to-repair-final-resting-place-of-burrillville-woman-defamed-by-conjuring-story/

and THANK YOU to  Bella Pelletiere at The Valley Breeze:

https://www.valleybreeze.com/news/historians-wanting-to-honor-bathsheba-sherman-raise-funds-to-repair-headstone/article_60381b78-a657-11ed-9282-ab63cb3d5841.html?fbclid=IwAR3-X7BR21Al-Wq_H-fAsnf4efD74Wzub20c9nSf01Lyry9RnIblT8LnIOI

(Copyright 2/11/2023, www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

Photo Credit: Kent Spottswood