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UPDATE:
In late July 2004, several San Gabriel Valley newspapers ( San
Gabriel Tribune and Pasadena Star News, among others) reported
an impending threat to the 150-year-old Savannah Memorial Park,
also known as El Monte Cemetery and Savannah Pioneer Cemetery,
situated in current-day Rosemead. The El Monte Cemetery Association Board of Trustees cited financial troubles as the underlying reason for the possible sale of the 4-1/2 acre cemetery to developers. Sale
of the cemetery would require that all of the 3,000-4,000 residents
be disinterred and relocated, involving an expensive and lengthy
legal process.
The cemetery is essentially the last remaining evidence of El
Monte's rich pioneer legacy as the End of the Santa Fe Trail
and those who lived to make it there. It may well be the first non-Catholic cemetery in the Los Angeles region. If time has been kind, weathered and damaged gravestones stand or lie, fallen, to memorialize hard-fought pioneer lives. In
many other cases, only the cemetery records remain to whisper
names of many of the San Gabriel Valley's founding and most important
families: Blackley, Cleminson, Cuddeback, Dodson, Dobyns, Durfee,
Elliott, Ellis, Franklin, Freer, Guess, Jackson, Johnson, Samuel
King, Lewis, Maxson, Mings, Shobe, Shugg, Slack, Nicholas Smith,
Snoddy, Steele, Stout, Thurman, Tweedy, and Waldron.
The cemetery holds several Civil War veterans, both Union and Confederate soldiers, at least two veterans from the War of 1812; and several veterans of the Spanish American as well as more recent wars. Samuel King was killed on a Monday afternoon in a gunfight with Micajah Johnson. John Holt, one of the veterans of the War of 1812, was a Mormon who, with his two wives, fathered at least 15 children over a span of about 50 years.
SCGS member Mark A Evans, who has several family members interred in the cemetery,
recently donated an interment directory for this cemetery to the Library. It soon became evident that the SCGS could provide a valuable service to our members, as well as other cemetery supporters, by doing free lookups in this directory and by adding our voice to the rising chorus of opposition to any plan that would adversely affect this historic cemetery.
A loose collaboration of organizations and individuals, including California
Saving Graves, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, SCGS, and others,
is monitoring the situation and working with officials to build documentation
for an application of historical recognition. We are indebted Donna Crippen
of the El Monte Historical Society for her assistance.
Sue Silver of California Saving Graves (CSG) has put together a comprehensive
website, complete with biographies, photos and obituaries of people buried
in the cemetery, as well as newspaper articles and other news reports about
the cemetery that are being submitted to her for posting. The website
is: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ca/state/El_Monte_Cemetery_Rpt.htm (The shortened URL for the website is http://tinyurl.com/4bcsy .)
If you have family members in Savannah Memorial Park, aka El Monte Cemetery, or if you just want to stay updated on this important project, email Paula at phinkel@pacbell.net or
drop us a note at the SCGS Library. We'll add you to the contact list. If
you have biographical information or photographs that you would like included
on the website, we'd love to post them. A goal of this project is to compile
family histories for all of the permanent residents of his historic cemetery.
If you are not sure whether your loved ones are buried in this cemetery, the
SCGS Board has authorized the Research Team to conduct free lookups in the
cemetery directory. Drop an email to scgs@scgsgenealogy.com or
request a lookup by sending a mail request. Please follow these guidelines
when requesting a lookup:
1. Submit one surname per request. Lookups will be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis.
2. Include as much information as possible on this family's members that may be buried at Savannah Memorial Park. Specifically helpful are birth/death dates, maiden names of females, and any alternate spellings that may be relevant.
3. It would be very helpful if you would indicate your relationship to the individuals you have listed.
4. Include your name, address, telephone number and email address, in case we need to call for clarification or for further information.
5. Emailed or postal mail requests will be accepted. Please, no phone calls. For postal mail requests please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Send requests to:
scgs@scgsgenealogy.com
OR
Savannah Cemetery Lookups
Southern California Genealogical Society
417 Irving Drive
Burbank, CA 91504-2408
UPDATE:
With a new Board elected in July 2006, the fate of the cemetery
looks more positive. We will keep you posted as new developments
materialize. In the meantime, you can contact the cemetery Board
at SavannahCemetery@yahoo.com
For updates on the Savannah Pioneer Cemetery, check the blog:
http://savannahpioneercem.blogspot.com/
2008 Calendar
Read the Cemetery's newsletter
Septembery 2006 (attached - 200609)
December 2006 (attached - 20061219)
March 2007
June 2007
September 2007
December 2007
March 2008
For more information about what was posted in 2004, go to:
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ca/state/El_Monte_Cemetery_Rpt.htm
Information on the cemetery is located on the SCGS website at http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/savannah-cem.htm
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