Pioneer Graves in Columbia CA

Jeff of History Hunters explores the historic cemeteries of Columbia in California's Tuolumne County. Come along as he finds the graves of Gold Rush era miners, businessmen and clergy dating back to the 1850's!
#columbiacalifornia #motherlode #historyhunters #tuolumnecounty

[@jamesminear2336]

Whoa!!’ Had to back the video up!! Alfred Minear? That’s my last name and there’s very few of us!! ( we are trying to make more)... anyways My paternal Grandfather was born in Iowa but I think his Father was born in Indiana.. now you have given me a new project that I can work on in my down time!! Thanks Jeff. For me you went way and beyond this time!!❤️

[@SierraRailway]

The grave at 18:00 is that of William Hamilton Newell. Newell was born in New Jersey in 1863 and attended the University of Michigan, where he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1885. Newell quickly went on to draft surveys for railroads South of the border in Mexico, including the Monterey and Mexican Gulf Railroad, which is still in operation today as part of FerroMex. Newell eventually moved to Tuolumne County in 1898 when he was hired as Chief Engineer for the Sierra Railway Company of California. His initial project was to re-route the railroad's poorly built mainline between Cooperstown and Chinese Camp, an alignment that is still in use today; this is the section of track that runs parallel to Highway 108 at Keystone, where Back to the Future Part III, Little House on the Prairie, and Pale Rider were filmed. Newell also surveyed and supervised the construction of the Sierra Railway's branch line to Angels Camp, as well as the extension to Carters (Tuolumne), the routing of the failed Yosemite Short Line, and the Sugar Pine Railway's initial grading. Newell later served as the Chief Engineer for railroads in Chile for a few years before returning to the Sierra Railway around 1915. He continued survey work for the railroad, when the local irrigation districts chartered the Sierra Railway to build branch lines and haul materials for the construction of the original Don Pedro and Melones Dams in 1921 and 1925. Newell also drafted surveys for streets and water projects in Oakdale and other areas in Central and Northern California. He retired from the Sierra Railway in 1932, and passed away in 1948 at the age of 85. His daughter, Dorothy Newell-Deane, authored a book on the Sierra Railway in 1960 in memory of her father.

[@dwightminnich2722]

A great video. Some do not understand the interest of exploring old cemeteries. To me it is one of the few ways we have to make a direct connection to our past. I love old buildings, sometimes there is nothing more than the foundation, sometimes you find a place in the woods where a building once stood. But nothing is like a visit to the resting places of the people who lived in this great land before we were here. Thank you again Jeff.

[@jbenziggy]

You hit the nail on the head! All of those people's DNA are what make us who we are today. We couldn't have been without them. It's not just dead men's bones; its the history of humanity and each one had a story that begs to be told! Thanks for watching!

[@fountainbiker]

Thanks for the look at our Columbia history Jeff. I will venture over there from Jamestown band check out the area more closely. The current young District #5 Supervisor just purchased the yellow Victorian mansion on left as you drive past to these cemeteries.

[@alichtenwalter]

Very interesting. Have ever visited a grave early in the morning, right before sunrise. There is a bluish cast on the grave. In Virginia city the sky color is like blue and the wild horses walking the cemetery. Very eerie.

[@martindriver6026]

Thanks for taking us on your road trip. That is what my wife and I enjoying doing is visiting old cemeteries. On some We like calling out there names, because no telling how long it had been since there name was called out. If those markers could talk.

[@jbenziggy]

That’s a nice sentiment … calling out the names.

[@themiccrazy]

Loved walking that cemetery when I was a kid.

[@drawwitme8316]

What Cali like under quarentine lately?

[@glocke380]

We last visited that cemetery in the mid 1970's, it looks a lot better now. Glad to see someone has been caring for it. Good vid.

[@arthurdalton517]

There are 4 families that come to mind when you talk about arriving in Tuolumne County in 1847- 1849 Woods, Silva ,Saegrstrom and Bambacer .I believe that Silva could be tasted to1848 and Saegrstrom that same year both still reside in Tuolumne County. With that said Dambacer is still indeed in the Mix. Great job on this episode

[@arthurdalton517]

It should have been Traced to Sorry about that

[@TheGraveyardChannel]

I agree that it's very rare for a grave to be specific, right on the headstone, about the way the person died. Especially when they died tragically. I always find this to be the most interesting part of their story, though, and wish they all included it. Another impressively researched visit, Jeff!

[@jbenziggy]

Life After 65 thanks Steve! I was hoping you’d watch this one. I saw yours on Palm Springs being closed down. This is sad and hope it ends soon!

[@carolynpurser7469]

Love that you visit the cemeteries of the towns you feature in your videos. Helps to keep the memory of those who have gone before alive.

[@amywoodington6240]

Another great video Jeff, thank you! Columbia has always amazed me. I would visit on many weekends as kid and teenager. You can feel the energy left behind there. Many wonderful memories, especially the stagecoach ride! Black Bart would always rob us of the "gold" on board. Looking forward to Murphys!

[@christyrothermel1155]

I love cemeteries Jeff and history.

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you for watching! I'm glad the videos resonate with you!

[@mollyrosin2502]

I love history. You are doing a great job, thank you.

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks very much Molly!

[@melissajensen3166]

Enjoyed the video. I love Colombia. Spent some time there. Well, actually, all the mining areas in California. Gold town history is so cool. Thanks.

[@theoriginalop]

I grew up here in the 1990s. Beautiful town. The cemetery looks better than it ever did years ago, so happy to see that.

[@Corgis175]

Really enjoy these vintage historical graveyards and tombstones/plus some of the individuals' histories.

[@simonamann7775]

I am a Fan from your Videos and the History from America ( Sorry my English is not so good )! Greetings from Thuringia ( Germany ). To German ( Schöne Grüße aus Thüringen, Deutschland)

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you very much, Simon! We appreciate you watching our videos and are glad that you like them! My ancestors are Swiss Germans! My grandfather came over from Switzerland in 1870.

[@jondevon64]

I love exploring cemeteries where ever i go in the UK,and i enjoy you videos from your country.Adding bit of history is great i try here also'

[@robroiboi]

I've been to Columbia many, many times, but never to see the graveyards. Thanks for taking us there for an interesting visit.

[@jbenziggy]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@markhenry2360]

I would be honored for a tree to sprout through my earthly remains . A full circle . We are all a part of everything .

[@elchoya8770]

wow,beautiful.clear camerawork.fasinating.

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you very much!

[@ronalddawson3873]

I am a History buff and really enjoy your videos.I will keep watching. Thank You for making the videos.

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you, Ronald! As long as we have a ready audience, we'll keep doing our videos!

[@raynonabohrer5624]

Great video. cemeteries and history

[@tombob9294]

Wild West Town still up and running .... thank you very much great day for that...

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks very much for watching!

[@marygarner5249]

Love your Adventures Thanks for taking us along Happy Easter every one

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks and happy Easter!

[@KowboyUSA]

Happy Easter, Mary.

[@lisaburns2117]

So much fascinating history. I’m sure your research is endless. Great job. Thank you.

[@jbenziggy]

I certainly spend a lot of hours researching these locations in the history behind them.

[@Shermaxphil]

Hi Jeff, I really enjoy your videos of the history of the USA. There are a couple of grave markers that were of great interest to me, the two from Canada. I live about 45 minutes from the area that Daniel Stewart was from and I know a lot of Stewarts from there and most likely they are related, and of course NFL is a province in Atlantic Canada. Even though I am from Canada, I have several ancestors who lived in various parts of the states, and I have lots of relatives still living there. While doing my family history, I was rather shocked to find that one of my ancestors (Billy Stiles) was a deputy sheriff/outlaw, it is said that he rode with Jesse James. Perhaps one day you may stumble upon a grave site of one of my many ancestors and hopefully I'll be watching. Stay safe as you and Sarah journey this weekend and Happy Easter!

[@AmiJurgl]

I love pioneer history. I recommend reading "The Journals of Alfred Doten" for a first hand account of the gold rush in California and the silver boom in Virginia City. Reading journals has the effect of putting one into the "now" of those times.

[@delstanley1349]

You mentioned that the graves were moved from one location to another site because gold was found at the first location. Reminds me of the opening scenes of the movie "Paint Your Wagon." When the wagon train folks were burying a body they discovered glints of gold in the grave. Upon seeing this gold the tears stopped flowing, sadness was turning to joy, and they unceremoniously flung out the body from the grave, and the GOLD RUSH was on!

[@JenniferBristol]

Paint Your Wagon was based upon several mining towns including Columbia and Volcano. Yes, the beginning scene was based upon the Columbia Cemetery being moved. The reason it was moved to by the School House (built in 1860), was due to no gold being found there.

[@jamessnapon]

One of my favorite places and the cemetery that got me interested in cemeteries. Now I explore the ones up here in Idaho. But Modesto and all the wonderful ghost towns around use to be my stomping ground. I just love your show. Yoy share about the only thing I miss about CA, the history.

[@MrRJDB1969]

We were at the Ione Public Cemetery again today, and spotted several members of the Gillis family buried there. Possibly related to Columbia's, Hugh Gillis.

[@jbenziggy]

I was thinking that myself when I found them there earlier this year!

[@nicholedecker2979]

Thank you for the memories! I went there many times as a child and as a young adult. Love that town and cemetery!

[@teresapaskell5459]

Love your videos. Love your narration

[@jbenziggy]

Glad you like them!

[@brucetharp7610]

I enjoy these videos as I grew up spending my summers and holidays in the old town of Melones before the area became a damn lake.

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks for the comment, Bruce! I wish I could go back in time and see what was there in Melones!

[@davewait4031]

I. Really like your channel. With all the. Things you talk about to explained. WHUT happened at / during that time Of the folks life Very very nice. And where all them folks are from at that time as well. Great. News. Awesome. Job !!! Dave. Washington. State

[@8978Marty]

Once again you did a great job. As a young boy my family visited those cemeterys in the 1960s and early 1970s. I am so glad you have maybe unexpectedly continued the California’s Gold legacy that so many have enjoyed. I am gong to be a big follower. Thank you!!!

[@bettyfourman5438]

I enjoyed watching this again.

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks again! Interesting graves there!

[@richardyoung4616]

Welcome back Jeff with another interesting vid.

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you. Always looking for ways to improve what I do so if you have ideas, shoot them my way.

[@jimellison6157]

Jeff. I’ve probably mentioned this before? But I too am fascinated by Cemetaries. I’m fortunate enough to have a family cemetery, the Ellison family cemetery in Harrison county Iowa, which was started by my Great-Great-Great Grandfather who lived from 1808-1896.

[@johnrambo7630]

Another good video!

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks again!

[@MrTimerider1160]

I was surprised to see in this particular adventure that you came across the Grave of " Daniel Stewart " The fellow that fell down the mine shaft. He was from " Mt. Thom Nova Scotia a place about 70 miles from where I now live. Here in Nova Scotia the Main Hwy through the Province goes up over Mt. Thom. Mt. Thom can be a very dangerous place when bad weather hits in the Winter Time. The area is high ground and seems to attract a lot of snow, wind and ice, making driving conditions very poor. The whole area has likely not changed that much since the days of Daniel Stewart, it is sparsely populated and very rural.

[@jbenziggy]

Your message was fascinating. The place, to me, just seemed like a far off place that maybe changed names but here you are presenting it as a place that you know! Amazing! Thanks for letting me know. But the unfortunate chap in my video came someplace else and ended up falling down a mine shaft. Hazards are everywhere! Thanks for watching!

[@MrTimerider1160]

@@jbenziggy Thank You for your comments, Your travels and adventures are taking you to some Very Interesting Places. I suspect you may receive more comments in the future from others whom have some personal relationship to some aspect of your adventures. I will be following your Historic Journey's. Take Care!

[@michaelgmoore5708]

Great photography, you really know your business. Lots of research just like making a movie. People should visit these graves often since we are all going to be there in the end.

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you very much, Michael!

[@08Kaylee]

I just found your channel. Thanks for the interesting and local (for me) subject... Keep up the great work.

[@jbenziggy]

Welcome aboard! Glad you found us!

[@lotusdolphin]

Thank you very much! This was really interesting. I’ve walked that graveyard many times but didn’t know any of the history. Thank you. Really enjoyed this. So I subscribed

[@halhunter1974]

You hit another home run with this one Jeff !

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks, my friend! Your words of affirmation are great to read!

[@giggles8458]

Another nice tour, thanks.

[@jennifermcdonald658]

I just realized at 11:08 to the left of the Civil War Soldiers graves is a headstone which says Nathaniel Harding. Nathaniel died when he was 12 years old if I remember correctly and is the son of some of the Pioneers from Springfield, CA (Shaw's Flat). It is interesting to me he is not buried in Springfield Cemetery, but in Columbia. Nathaniel is the brother of my father in laws Ancestor. This video had me researching to see if any of his family are buried there, and sure enough, I came across Nathaniel. I just re watched your video and saw his headstone in the video. His family came to Springfield in 1849 with Col. Foreman. I went into Springfield Cemetery which is on a hillside in town across from the plaque in the middle of the road I believe.

[@joehiker5573]

LOVE THE CHANNEL !! THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!! =)

[@notgivinup]

Thanks for another GREAT video!!!!

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you for watching! Your support is appreciated!

[@ritasp49]

I love your videos there history is a learning experience thank you

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks for watching! Glad you like them!

[@aweirdworld]

We love exploring old cemeteries, I would like to say that Jeff you and Sarah do a lot of research and make your videos very informative. I try to do the same with my videos but don’t seem to have the charisma or knack for it that you guys do. If you two are ever in East Tennessee and want to see the sights and do some vlogging together please let me know, my wife and I would be glad to show you around.

[@timberk5]

Thank you Jeff for the interesting video. I love hearing about the history of the county I live in. Have a great Easter.

[@jbenziggy]

Happy Easter to you too! Stay safe up there!

[@chriswatts4406]

Another great video that we enjoyed watching. We understand that you guys have family here in our hometown Ocala Fl. If you guys ever come for a visit we would love to take you both for dinner or lunch. It would be our pleasure.

[@jbenziggy]

That’s very kind of you! Thanks. Sarah’s mom lives there in Ocala. We haven’t been back in years. When I do return I plan to visit the graves of my great aunt and uncle buried there! She was a dear lady and died decades ago. I didn’t even know she was buried there!

[@oldermusiclover]

love this place know a man who grew up there

[@panther7603]

Another great history lesson. Thanks!

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you for watching!!!

[@johnkelsey2482]

WOW... We live in Syracuse, Indiana about 10 miles north of Warsaw....Thanks for the vlog....

[@jbenziggy]

Wow, what are the odds? Bet you would have never known that somebody from your area would have been a part of Gold Rush history in California! The tombstone documents it for us today while records on paper become more obscure.

[@JordansToolbelt]

Very good video

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks, Shane! I appreciate you appreciating the video! Happy Easter!

[@Dive-Bar-Casanova]

Outstanding again and as always. Thumbs up.

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you!

[@digger20]

Thanks Jeff for another great video as We are n lockdown in down under so I Binge watched all your videos they got me through and kept me sane thanks

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks Anthony. Glad to hear we helped in a small way through history!

[@arnoldprewitt7914]

Thank you Jeff always enjoy your videos.

[@jbenziggy]

You're welcome Arnold and thanks for watching and commenting!

[@doggerproductions]

Very educational.....am enjoying this 🙂👍

[@jbenziggy]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@doggerproductions]

@@jbenziggy keep up the good work and stay safe 🇬🇧🙂

[@Jackielightning]

Thank you Jeff very enjoyable

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you very much!

[@raymondcoggins297]

Cool history

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you Raymond! This state has a rich history!

[@stevemccoy8138]

Hi Jeff, Love that Country over there, I hope to ride the Stage Coach someday. Sad to see so many Headstones broken. Thanks for your videos. 🇺🇸

[@jbenziggy]

Sonora is a very nice little town. Sarah and I have considered moving there but Idaho is catching our eyes too!

[@stevemccoy8138]

@@jbenziggy lots of Great places in Idaho, and it's wild and free , compared to California.🇺🇸

[@TheStowndPanda]

Another great video 👌🏼 and on a super awesome subject as my favorite place to go in California! I got a like place suggestion ... Can you find some stuff about Murphy's California? And also that old school is haunted 🐼

[@jbenziggy]

I actually was an extra, or background actor, in the TV show Seven Brides for Seven Brothers shot in Murphys in 1982. Murphys is definitely a place we will get to. I don't believe in places being "haunted" other than haunted by the memory of people who lived in that location. Thanks for watching!

[@TheStowndPanda]

@@jbenziggy that's exactly how I meant it by saying haunted. I've heard stories of children doing school work there and even things moving from time to time.

[@409rommel]

Like it!!! Visited Mr Carder yesterday. He says hello

[@jbenziggy]

I can't believe he can talk after all these years! Now that would be a FANTASTIC video! LOL

[@terribethreed8464]

You should do the full history of Columbia & Sonora. A friend of my grandmother wrote a small book about Columbias history. Did you know Columbia was in the running for being our State Capitol? I've climbed every rock & hill of Columbia when I was little & tried finding many an old gold mine when I was young lol. I haven't been home for almost 50 years & have lived in Merced all this time. I'll be 69 in September & I'm going to see if my brother will go to Sonora & Columbia with me on my birthday.

[@marcieconant5559]

Maybe they go into graphic detail on headstones regarding how people die so that we will appreciate that life is fragile and we should value it while we have it. Some of the carvings on these old headstones are quite beautiful. I'm near Warsaw, In. so I found that headstone interesting.Thank you for the tour. 💕🙂

[@jbenziggy]

I know that some of the headstones of murder victims have been engraved with graphic mentions of their death as a statement to the murderer. There is a grave in Aurora where William Carder was killed and his wife had the word assassinated engraved on his head stone.

[@hartley9958]

As usual a great video and well presented...cheers

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@shawnmarengo494]

About 30 years ago, I remember seeing 2 adjacent graves in Columbia’s Catholic cemetery. The deaths were on the same day in 1864, and they were of a young woman from Ireland and her one-day-old baby. It’s strange the things we remember and the things we don’t.

[@tangie777uk]

Brillant video, loved it .Thank you Jeff

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks very much! Your words of affirmation are very nice to read!

[@kevinmichaud8709]

Hi Jeff, I am very familiar with the Belfast, ME. It was one of a few small costal towns founded by Irish / Scot's. I used to visit the large cemetery in Belfast as it contained the graves of some Rev War Patriots. I now live about an hour away from there, but thought I'd chime in!

[@kevinmichaud8709]

By the way, the Miller fellow from Maine b.1802, Just saying if he was born in 1802 Maine did not yet exist. Maine became a State in 1820; in 1802 this was a District of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Just saying.

[@stevemccoy8138]

Good Morning Jeffrey, Columbia is a really Cool place to go ,I always wanted to ride on the Stagecoach, I wonder if LF Foster was related to the Foster in the last frame? Thanks . Happy Easter.

[@jbenziggy]

Hi Steve! Foster is such a common name that I would doubt they have a direct relationship. I think I rode the stagecoach a long time ago. It doesn't look comfortable! LOL

[@r.gordontrueblood3188]

Many thanks for another great adventure. Many tombstones have images engraved. One tombstone had a dove. A dove on a tombstone represents the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, wonder and piety,

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks very much! Your words of affirmation are very nice to read!

[@marypozzi3745]

I just love your vlogs thank you and Happy Easter to you and Sara

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you! Happy Easter to you as well!

[@maryshelly4377]

Very interesting,I visited cemetery in savannah Georgia.Has a grave,that has 300 people's from Germany from the victims of the Jewish Holicost.Also had head stones with rocks on top.Part of Jewishness tradition.That cemetery has an interesting history.I'm from Georgia.So it is very special to me.🌹🌹🌹

[@brandonbolles5405]

Love the videos keep up the great work 👍

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you very much!!!

[@OcotilloTom]

Enjoyed the video visit very much, Iv'e been to Columbia a few times reenacting as well as site seeing. I lived in Amador County for awhile, in the little Gold Rush town of Ione. it has two very nice 1850's cemeteries you might check out. Also the town of Jackson, home of the two deepest gold mines on the north American continent at the time, The Murphy and the Argonaut also the site of a big mining disaster and the site of two of the largest trace wheels still in existence. Might as well check out Volcano too, a nice large cemetery and see Old Abe the cannon and tell it's story. All are close together. As an aside you didn't mention a scene or two from the classic movie High Noon with Gary Cooper was filmed in Colombia...mainly the scene where Cooper goes to the old sheriff's home (Lon Chaney Jr.) to get help. Arizona Tom

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks for the nice feedback. You're killing me though about me not mentioning High Noon and Columbia. You need to subscribe to my channel. I did a whole show on High Noon. And the scene with Lon Chaney was not shot in Columbia, only select outside shots. But thanks for your tips. I already have been planning to head up to Jackson and Volcano. LOL

[@terribethreed8464]

I grew with & went to Elementary & Highschool with Tinny Dambacher.

[@courtneyhall7140]

well done jeff,great video.

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you again for watching and following!

[@jet7327]

What is also amazing is how many children died and are buried here at such young ages. Tuberculosis, Fever, and other diseases and illnesses children couldn't survive.

[@jamesmunro8783]

Good Job, I enjoy your videos

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks very much!

[@toplarry]

Well done

[@stubryant9145]

I had failed to realize that there were three cemeteries there. I had looked in what I imagine was the public one. Supposedly there was a long lost uncle who disappeared from Columbia during the gold rush. Some speculated that he became reasonably successful but had the good sense to disappear and not tell the rest of the family. :)

[@fresnobear63]

Great video. I help open the ice cream parlor and worked the front desk.

[@jbenziggy]

Nice work!

[@deborahdugger6099]

Alot of families…came around the “ Horn”.. from the large land owners I met..from families that stayed..raised livestock..still were ranching… Big ranches… cinderblock houses…

[@richardyoung4616]

As a huge Mark Twain fan could you do Angels Camp.

[@JenniferBristol]

Columbia does an annual Stories in Stone in Sept/Oct where you get nighttime tour by lamplight where you stop at specific graves and hear their stories firsthand by docents.

[@michaelsouza3582]

Just watched your Alabama Hills video now this on Columbia. There's another movie you might enjoy just for the history out of Columbia. Rustlers Valley 1936 version with Hopalong Cassidy.

[@mikeninneman6575]

Comments Add a public comment... Mike Ninneman That is the grave of William Hamilton Newell at 18:00. He was born in New Jersey in 1863 and graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Civil Engineerin in 1885. He went on to draft surveys for railroads in Mexico, including the Monterey and Mexican Gulf Railroad, which is still in operation today as part of FerroMex. He eventually moved to Tuolumne County to serve as Chief Engineer for the Sierra Railway Company of California in 1898, a position he held until his retirement in 1932. In his career, Newell supervised the construction of several railroads in Tuolumne and Calaveras Counties, including all of the Sierra Railway's branch lines, the initial routing of the Sugar Pine Railway near what is now Twain Harte, as well as railroads in Chile and water and street projects in Oakdale, CA, and many other locations in Central and Northern California. He passed away in 1948 at the age of 85. His daughter, Dorothy Newell-Deane, authored a book on the Sierra Railway in memory of her father in 1960. He is a well respected figure in Tuolumne County and Sierra Railway history.

[@RVBadlands2015]

I have family buried in the Jamestown Masonic Cemetary but most of the headstones are gone. It’s difficult to find where there buried there.

[@johnhoward3159]

Hello from south central Los Angeles.

[@jbenziggy]

Hi and thanks for watching!

[@r.gordontrueblood3188]

We cannot help noticing how young many people were when they died…in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Even by standards of their day, they were premature deaths. Any plausible explanation is likely to include smallpox, accidental deaths, and violence. Infectious diseases and diarrhea brought on by poor sanitation would have accounted for a good number of early deaths. The prime suspect in the early death of a woman is puerperal sepsis or what they called “childbed fever”, an infection of the genital tract at the time of labor and delivery. These people lived in a frontier setting. Even the best of medicine as they knew it in those days would not have been available.

[@jbenziggy]

Yes it was tragic that they lived such hard lives and compounding that is a lack of medical technology that could have saved their lives. However, it took centuries for medicine to advance. To think that George Washington died as the result of the practice of blood letting to rid one of infection seems barbaric today. We truly need to be thankful for the times we live in.

[@constancewessel3906]

Have you ever considered going to Ione, CA? Preston Castle, a reformatory with a murder mystery is there, as well as a very interesting cemetery just outside of town. Lots of old graves, and one very sad one where multiple children from one family are buried, obviously the victims of some sort of epidemic.

[@terribethreed8464]

I was raised in Sonora & Columbia Northern California Tuolumne County.

[@jbenziggy]

A fantastic place indeed!

[@bzerker7]

I grew up in Columbia in the '60s & '70s. This is definitely not PC (nowadays), and probably has been removed, but there used to be a marked grave in the Columbia cemetery with a headstone that read something like this: "Here lies a Chinaman. Hanged for stealing gold.' My Dad, a lifer from Tuolumne County, said it was most likely a warning for all gold thieves.

[@davewait4031]

Also we do have a very old 1800. Grave yard in in Washington state. Rite. Near. Roslyn. Wa. Just outside of cle elum. Wa. Western days. Old coal miners. All with rod arion fences. Around most of the graves Many with old. Photos. As well very very. Incredibly. Interesting. IV. Been there. So many times. Love to show you. This historic. Cemetery. Dave. Wait. Washington state

[@glblb3030]

lot of history there

[@terribethreed8464]

The Dambackers have been in Tuolumne County forever. I went to High School with Teeny Dambacker.

[@jbenziggy]

Lots of historical families are still in the area! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@shaunstrasser1]

My mom's Family lines (Senger, Ell, Schatz and Schwab are in the Minot and Fargo ND Area and Saskatchewan Canada)

[@davidfox363]

I went to Sonora high with Dan, Jim, and John