 Alexander Chapman Lansdon, 1834-1899 Soldier, Miner, Carpenter Buried in Rosedale Cemetery, exact location unknown (Photo from FamilySearch, courtesy of Clinton DeWitt) Alexander Chapman Lansdon was born in Russellville, Kentucky, on July 18, 1834. He was the son of Zachariah Lansdon and Frances Hambleton. The family moved to Illinois sometime between 1834 and 1838. The federal census of 1850 records the Lansdons living in Eden, Schuyler County, Illinois.
By 1861, Alexander was in California. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in Company B (Old), 2nd California Cavalry in San Francisco on September 21, 1861. As a member of the historic California Column, he marched from Los Angeles County, California, to the Río Grande River early in the war. Private Lansdon re-enlisted in Co. B (New), same regiment, at San Francisco on July 1, 1864. He was promoted to sergeant five months later and saw service at posts in New Mexico and Nevada. On November 17, 1865, Lansdon was wounded in a fight with Indians at the Black Rock Mountains in Nevada. He was court-martialed for an undisclosed reason and dishonorably discharged at Fort Churchill, Nevada, on April 20, 1866. Around 1872, Alexander returned to New Mexico, where he met Maria Francisca Garcia. She had previously been in a relationship with a Captain George A. Burkett, by whom she had three children born between 1867 and 1872: Camilla, John C. and Mary Inez. Coincidentally, Burkett had been stationed at one of the posts where Lansdon had served, although there is no evidence that they were there at the same time. Since no marriage record for Captain George A. Burkett and Francisca has been located, it is not known whether they were ever formally married. At any rate, Lansdon and Francisca set up housekeeping in 1872 and remained together until his death many years later. By 1880, Alexander and Francisca had left New Mexico for Arizona, initially living in Bisbee where Alexander worked in the copper mines. Later, they settled in the small community of Dos Cabezas. Their household included Francisca's three children from her alliance with Burkett, as well as three more children she had with Lansdon: James, Lola, and Marguerite (Maggie). After the mine where Lansdon was working played out, the family moved to Willcox, where Alexander found work as a carpenter. He and Francisca had a fourth child, Henry, born in Willcox in 1889. Early in 1898, the Lansdons moved to Phoenix so that Alexander could seek medical attention for a throat affliction, likely the result of years of mining. They lived with Francisca's oldest son, John C. Burkett, who lived on West Lincoln Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. Alexander died there on February 12, 1899, and was laid to rest in Rosedale Cemetery. Francisca passed away on September 4, 1901, and was also buried in Rosedale. © 2022 by Donna L. Carr. Last revised 23 December 2022. If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers!
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 Theodore Buck, 1824-1896 A Union Artilleryman at Vicksburg Buried in Porter Cemetery, Block 33, Plot C (Grave marker photo courtesy of the Pioneers Cemetery Association) Theodore Buck claimed to have been born in 1824 in Prussia.
Buck was older than the average recruit when he enlisted in the Union Army on November 23, 1862, in Clinton, Illinois. While serving as a private in Battery F, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery, he suffered deafness in both ears, likely caused by the incessant cannonading during the Siege of Vicksburg in 1863. He was discharged July 27, 1865 with the rank of private. By 1878, Buck was in Phoenix, where he registered to vote. The 1880 federal census of Phoenix, Arizona, shows a Theodor Buck, born Prussia 1825, unmarried, living in the household of Miguel Peralta, a general store proprietor. Buck was working as a porter in the store. Theodore Buck was a founding member of the John Wren Owen GAR post. In 1887 and again in 1892, he visited the hospital at the Old Soldiers Home in Leavenworth, Kansas, for medical attention. He applied for and received invalid pension #771,427. When he died on October 24, 1896, Buck was living at the Star Lodging House and working as a janitor at the Five Points School. He was buried in Porter Cemetery, Block 33, Grave C. His grave has a military marker. © 2024 by Donna L. Carr. Last revised 8 November 2024. If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers!  William Belcher, 1846 – 1898 “The Cockney” Buried in Rosedale Cemetery, exact location unknown. (Image generated using Bing AI) William A. Belcher was born in London, England around 1846. Not much is known about him prior to 1880, when he was living in Missoula, Montana. At that time he was working as a watchmaker and living on Front Street. According to news reports, William inherited $5,570 from his mother who had died in England. William quit his profession and began enjoying his money.
William migrated to Phoenix, Arizona and began bartending for Rose Gregory, aka Minnie Powers, a well-known madam. They began living together and, because William had a problem with alcohol, Rose became his money manager. William and Rose had a tumultuous relationship because of his drinking and her profession. William would end up in jail because of his behavior and while he was gone, Rose would entertain other gentlemen callers. He would become jealous of her relationships with men and threaten to kill her. After his release from jail on September 17, 1898, he went for a few drinks and obtained a .44 caliber handgun. He then went to where Rose and he were living at 720 Railroad Avenue in Phoenix and entered the residence around 9 a.m. William found Rose alone and asleep in bed. He shot her in the head and then shot himself, falling across her. They were not discovered until 1 p.m. when Flora Wilson, one of the other women living in the house, found the bodies. William and Rose were buried in Rosedale Cemetery. William’s location in the cemetery is unknown, as there is no grave marker. © 2018 by Patricia Gault. Last revised February 2018. If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers!  Ida Emma Guenther (1853-1904) Shrew Buried in City/Loosley Cemetery, exact location unknown. (Generic image created using Bing AI) According to the federal census of 1900, Ida (maiden name unknown) was born in Denmark, April 1853, and arrived in the United States in 1865. One can only guess what contributed to her fondness for conflict and drink.
Mrs. Ida Bailey first came to the attention of Phoenix authorities when she was charged along with Fred Steffans with “mutually maligning each other and the employment of language which is not admissible to mail bags” on April 2, 1893. Shortly after that incident, Ida married Joseph P. Murray, a blacksmith, on April 23, 1893. Witnesses to the marriage were Frankie Hill and H.C. King. Frankie Hill (aka Minnie Drum) was a known madam in Phoenix. At the time of their marriage, Ida was 40 years old and Joseph was 57 years old. The Arizona Republican paper reported that the newlyweds were off to the World’s Fair on honeymoon. However, the romance—if romance it was—didn’t last long. Barely two months later, Ida was living in a crib in the alley behind the Central Hotel in Phoenix. That area was known for all sorts of criminal behavior, the main problem being prostitution. On June 23, 1893, one of Ida’s neighbors, Annie Marchand, complained to Night Marshal Blankenship that Ida had tried to fire a shot at her with a Smith & Wesson handgun. Ida was arrested and fined. “Inspired by whiskey and morphine," Ida retaliated by charging that Annie had been calling her names. On July 1, 1893, a fire swept through the residences in the alley behind the Central Hotel. The flames were so intense that they threatened the hotel. It was learned that Ida had moved all her belongings out of her shack prior to the fire, but Annie lost everything. Although Ida had openly boasted that she “was going to make it hot” for Annie Marchand, there was no direct evidence linking her to the fire. Ida Murray next married Herman Guenther, a gunsmith, on September 18, 1899 in Phoenix. Herman had been born in Germany in December 1835 and arrived in the United States in 1871. He had been previously married and had two sons who were in California. The Guenthers invited Nicholas Brecht and his wife Maria Gilmore to their home on July 11, 1899 for a drink. The affair became a two-hour drinking contest before everyone said their goodbyes. Sometime later, Maria realized her purse was missing and returned to the Guenthers. A fight broke out and police were called. All were brought to court and fined. Ida died in Phoenix on May 5, 1904 at the age of 50 and was buried in Loosley Cemetery. Herman died on August 10, 1904 at the age of 69. He had attempted to walk to the cemetery where his wife was buried and lost his way. He was found unconscious and brought back to his residence where he later died. He is also buried in Loosley Cemetery. Neither Guenther has a grave marker. © Copyright 2018 by Patricia Gault. Last revised 9 May 2018. If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers!  William B. Casey, 1870-1898 Troublemaker Buried in Rosedale Cemetery, G58 - there is no marker. (Image generated with Bing AI) William B. Casey was born in New York state in 1870 but went west at an early age. He was described as being tall and athletic but of a quarrelsome disposition.
Casey’s nature did not improve upon his move to Arizona. In November 1892, Casey partnered with a Mr. McNulty in a milk delivery service, but the partnership went sour after a few years due to Casey’s frequent run-ins with the law. On September 7, 1898, Casey was working on the ranch of Ben Anderson, north of Phoenix. Casey had been told to saddle a horse for Anderson’s granddaughter, so she could go riding after dinner. Taking offense at the order, he picked a fight with Anderson’s son-in-law, Charles Balis. Casey attacked Balis with a pitchfork, beating him into insensibility and breaking his leg. The next day, Casey was hauled into court on charges of assault with intent to commit murder. Released on bail, he decided to settle a few more scores. Having heard that James Marler, another rancher, had made disparaging remarks about him, Casey and two of his pals went in search of Marler on the morning of September 11. Finding Marler out irrigating his fields, Casey started cursing at him. Getting no satisfaction with a mere verbal assault, Casey went after him with a club. Marler told Casey to drop the club, which he agreed to do on condition that Marler also drop his shovel. Both parties agreed, but as soon as the weapons hit the dirt, Casey struck Marler with his fist, knocking him down. Casey then directed his attention to George Moudy, a hired hand at the ranch, whom he also accused of making insulting remarks. When Casey rushed at him, Moudy fired two shots in self-defense. One shot was fatal, penetrating the heart. William Casey lay dead. Fearing that Casey’s pals would try to exact revenge, Moudy fled to the White Tank Mountains. The day after the shooting, a coroner’s jury was impaneled to rule on the matter of W. B. Casey’s violent death. Witnesses told of the beatings and fights of the last few days, all instigated by the dead man, and how Moudy had warned Casey three times before shooting. Certain now that Moudy would not be charged in the slaying, his friends got word to him. After Moudy recounted his testimony, the court ruled that Moudy had acted in self-defense. William B. Casey was buried on September 12, 1898, after a Catholic funeral service. Despite his bad temper and reputation, a large crowd of family and friends were there to pay their last respects and follow his coffin to Rosedale Cemetery. © 2014 by Karen Krause. Last revised 24 November 2021. The original blog post is on line at https://waddellhistory.wordpress.com/2014/09/ If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers!  Bertha Belmont, 1870-1905 Con Artist Buried in City-Loosley Cemetery, exact location unknown (Image generated using Bing AI) Bertha Belmont was born about 1870. Not much is known about her early life or even whether this was her true name. Bertha had a career as a confidence woman associating with three men from Texas.
Supposedly, Bertha was married to an Ed McClain. McClain had been born in Texas in 1870. He was associated with Elmore “Elmo” Barnett, Comby Barnett, and Cicero Ernest Nash AKA the Texas Kid. McClain is believed to have been be the half-brother of the Barnetts. In the late 1890s into the 1900s, these four travelled together from Iowa to San Francisco, plying their trade of thievery and scams. One scam involved representing themselves to be respected businessmen from out of town needing cash. They would present the victim with a check in return for a cash “loan.” The victim would realize later the check was worthless and a forgery. Using various aliases, they avoided capture most of the time. The group was involved in an argument while in a San Francisco saloon over who would pay for the drinks. The dispute ended when Elmore pulled out a gun and started shooting up the bar. All four were arrested at that time, but later released. Shortly after McClain committed a robbery in Iowa in 1905, Bertha fell ill with tuberculosis. She came to Phoenix seeking treatment at Sisters Hospital. At this time, Ed McClain was being sought by law enforcement as was Comby for a prison escape in Texas; the wanted men were believed travelling together. A sharp-eyed law enforcement officer saw the ‘Wanted’ photos of McClain and Comby and remembered seeing them in Denver. A tip led officers to believe that the gang was headed for Phoenix. Sheriff’s officers mounted surveillance on Bertha, waiting for McClain to show up. When he did, he and Comby were arrested. Bertha died on January 31, 1905, just as McClain was taken into custody. He was given the option of staying in Phoenix until her burial. He declined and was taken back to Iowa where he was tried and sentenced to prison. It was discovered that his companion was not Comby at all, but Comby’s brother Elmore. Elmore was not wanted at the time, so he was released. Bertha was buried in an unknown location within City Loosley Cemetery. © 2021 Patricia Gault. Last revised August 2021. If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers!  Alexander P. Petit, 1819-1895 Architect The Petits are buried in IOOF Cemetery, Block 4, Lot 2, Graves 1 & 2 (Generic image created with Bing AI) Alexander Peter Petit was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania about 1819. However, the Gold Rush brought him and his wife Catherine to Sacramento, California, in October 1849. Although Petit was listed as a carpenter on the 1850 federal census, he was also a self-taught architect.
Petit spent the next several years building theaters and government buildings throughout northern California. With his partner James Queen, he went into the brickmaking business, and their South Sacramento brickyard was quite successful. Petit also became active in the community and was elected to the Sacramento city council. Around 1879, Petit and his wife moved to Phoenix in the Arizona Territory. Shortly after his arrival, he designed the Irvine Building on First and Washington Streets, one of the first two-story brick buildings in Phoenix. His plans for the new Maricopa County courthouse and jail were accepted in August of 1879; however, construction was never begun because of funding issues with the County. Petit and Catherine then decided to pursue opportunities in Tucson, a more mature community. There, Petit designed and built several of the commercial buildings along Congress Street, including the Henry Buehman Photography Studio and Gallery and a school near Military Plaza. The Arizona Daily Star building, erected in 1883, is the only remaining evidence of Petit’s work in Tucson. The Petits returned to Phoenix where in February 1891 Catherine died after a short illness. She was buried in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Cemetery—later one of seven cemeteries that constitute the Pioneer and Military Memorial Park near downtown Phoenix. Petit continued his architectural work for four more years. His last design was the Rosson House, located at 6th Street and Monroe. The Eastlake-Queen Anne style Rosson House was completed a month before Petit died on March 28, 1895. As a 50-year member of the Odd Fellows fraternal organization, he was buried in the IOOF cemetery next to his late wife. Over the years, Alexander Petit’s contributions to Arizona’s history have been largely forgotten. While the Petits’ graves may have had headstones at one time, the original markers disappeared. In 2015, the Pioneers’ Cemetery Association, through its Memorial Marker Program, placed two new markers on the Petits’ graves. © 2020 by Patty Gault. Last revised 27 April 2020. If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers!  Wilson Augustus McGinnis, 1850-1899 Architect Initially buried in AOUW Cemetery; later moved to Greenwood (Generic image created with Bing AI) Wilson Augustus McGinnis was born in Dyer County, Tennessee, in February, 1850. He was the youngest of ten children belonging to John S. McGinnis and his wife, Martha Mathis (or Matthews?).
By 1884, Wilson was in Phillips County, Arkansas, where he married Letitia “Lula” Vaughan on February 15th. Their first child, Neil Weston McGinnis, was born about a year later across the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee. Eula, their second child, was born in August 1886 in Texas. By July 20, 1888, the McGinnises was in Phoenix, Arizona, where four more children were born to them. Wilson McGinnis was a very busy architect, surveyor and civil engineer in Phoenix and central-northern Arizona. He formed a partnership with another architect, Fred Heinlein, and, in 1890, they were the architects for the territorial insane asylum. He served as Phoenix’s city engineer until February 1893, when he resigned over a disagreement with the City Council. McGinnis owned an almond orchard in south Phoenix. In July 1895, the trees were bearing nuts. He was also interested in growing ramie, a natural fiber. On June 27, 1896, Fred Heinlein, the architect originally selected for the Normal School in Tempe, was discharged and the position given to McGinnis. A year later, he received a contract to examine the unfinished boys’ reform school in Flagstaff and design plans to convert it into an insane asylum. However, the contract was cancelled in August, 1897. W. A. McGinnis was the Maricopa County surveyor until he suffered a breakdown in 1898. In June, he was remanded to the asylum he had helped design. His wife took him back to Tennessee in July in hopes that a change of scenery would benefit him, but to no avail. McGinnis’s illness left two of his projects unfinished. Evidently the Board of Control decided that one insane asylum was enough for the Territory. The reform school in Flagstaff was converted instead into Northern Arizona University. Architect James Miller Creighton stepped in to finish Old Main at what is now ASU. McGinnis died on August 2, 1899. He was buried initially in the AOUW cemetery, Block 18, Lot 3. His remains and those of his little daughter Etta were later moved to the newly-opened Greenwood Cemetery. McGinnis had an AOUW life insurance policy which paid $2,000 on his demise. The money was used to pay off the mortgage on his almond orchard in the expectation that it would provide an income for his family. © 2024 by Tim Kovacs and Donna L. Carr. Last revised 14 August 2025. If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers!  Harvey Reid Leonard, about 1826-1896 Civil Engineer and Architect Buried in City/Loosley Cemetery, exact location unknown (Generic image created using Bing AI) An architect and bridge builder, Harvey Reid Leonard spent most of his professional life on the Pacific Coast. Born in Illinois, he seems to have used the names Harvey and Henry interchangeably, at least at first. The federal census of 1860 records him as a simply a carpenter in Sacramento, California, where he was living with his wife Amanda and infant son.
Between at least 1860 and 1869, Leonard partnered with other architects who were active in the city at the time. According to San Francisco city directories, he maintained offices at 432 Montgomery Street and, later, 240 Montgomery Street. Between 1871 and 1873, Leonard was in Portland, Oregon, with offices located at the corner of 1st and Ash Streets. While in Portland, he designed an engine roundhouse and a railroad bridge. By 1882, he was back in California as an employee of the Pacific Bridge Building Company, specializing in railroad bridges. It appears that, sometime after 1880, Leonard’s wife Amanda died and he remarried. Perhaps it was not a happy match, as his second wife, E. M. De Lisle, eventually divorced him on grounds that he had deserted her when he moved to Arizona. H. R. Leonard relocated to Phoenix about 1890, probably with the intention of retiring. However, he found ample scope for his talents in the Salt River Valley and continued to work well into old age. In 1890, he was working with William Hancock to map sites for reservoirs. He designed a schoolhouse in Mesa in 1890 and one in Tempe in 1891. Brick was a popular building material in Phoenix, as very little lumber was available locally. Initially, manufacturers used molds of different sizes. In January 1893, Leonard joined with several other Valley architects to call for the standardization of brick sizes. On May 6, 1893, Leonard undertook a reclamation expedition to see about the feasibility of building a water reservoir for northwest Yuma County. It must have been an arduous undertaking for a man in or approaching his seventies. In February 1894, concerns were expressed about the structural soundness of the Phoenix Opera House for an upcoming performance. Architects Leonard and Petit were appointed to examine the structure. Leonard ruled that the performance could proceed, but the building should be remodeled with more exits and safety features incorporated. When H. R. Leonard died on February 2, 1896, of cirrhosis hepatitis at the age of 85, he was buried in City/Loosley Cemetery. There is no grave marker. © 2025 by Donna L. Carr. Last revised 25 August 2025. If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers!  Paul O. Gutike, 1842-1898 Soldier and Architect Buried in Rosedale, G85 (Grave marker photo courtesy of Pioneers’ Cemetery Association, Inc.) Paul O. Gutike was born about 1842 in Berlin, Prussia, supposedly to a good family which afforded him an excellent education. He arrived in New York on October 2, 1862, aboard the ship St. Bernhard, hoping to find work as an architect. However, the Civil War interrupted his career plans.
Scarcely three weeks later, on October 23, 1862, Paul found himself in Company K, 53rd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment (later became the 162nd). He may have been short of funds and enlisted voluntarily, but it’s also possible that he was more or less "drafted." On December 11, 1865, Gutike reenlisted in the 3rd U. S. Cavalry, being discharged three years later on October 1, 1868, at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. He signed up again at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to serve in Company H, 5th U. S. Infantry, but deserted on May 28, 1870. He was dishonorably discharged December 4, 1870, at Fort Harker, Kansas. Gutike was not yet done with the military. In 1874, he reenlisted in Chicago, Illinois, and deserted again in 1878. He was apprehended and sent to David’s Island, New York, where, after several months, his court-martial was remitted. He reenlisted again in Baltimore, Maryland. 1880 saw him stationed at Fort Washakie, Wyoming. He deserted again on July 2, 1882, and was apprehended January 5, 1883. When finally discharged in November 1884 because of a disability, he was serving at Fort Verde, Arizona Territory. Given that the Army always took him back after multiple desertions, it can be presumed that Gutike had particular skills that were useful on Western military posts. By 1887, Gutike had found work as a draftsman for James Riely Gordon in San Antonio, Texas. Gordon eventually gained national renown for his Texas courthouse designs. Gutike’s career as an architect and civil engineer burgeoned in Arizona. In 1889, Mrs. Vina Brown commissioned him to design some apartments at 4th Avenue and Adams in anticipation of providing quarters for winter visitors coming to Phoenix. The following year, he designed the plans for the Burke Hotel in Prescott, Arizona. The Burke was advantageously located on the corner of Montezuma and Gurley Streets and included ground-floor shops along with well-appointed rooms. (Advertised as the only “fire-proof” hotel in Arizona, The Burke was nevertheless destroyed during Prescott’s Great Fire of 1900. St. Michael’s Hotel is located on the site today.) Gutike hadn’t forgotten his years in the military, either. In 1891, he drew up plans for two new buildings to house troops at Fort Whipple. Paul became well known in Phoenix, but according to his obituary, had a propensity for drink. He died in July 21, 1898 of gastritis and was buried in the Rosedale Cemetery. © 2019 by Patricia M. Gault. Last revised 25 August 2019. If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers! |