 Benjamin Joseph Franklin, 1834? – 1898 Arizona’s 12th Territorial Governor Buried in Rosedale Cemetery, Block 36, Grave 7 (Photo from the Arizona State Archives website) Benjamin Joseph Franklin was born in Kentucky. By 1860, he was practicing law in Leavenworth, Kansas. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Franklin, a Southern sympathizer, moved to Missouri so that he could enlist in the Confederate Army. He served for the duration of the war, rising to the rank of captain.
Since Franklin had been an officer, he was forbidden to practice law or hold public office after the war until he had taken an oath of allegiance. From 1865 to 1868, he farmed in Columbia, Missouri. After taking the oath of allegiance in 1868, he moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and opened a law office. Franklin was married to Anne Barbour Johnston, stepdaughter of Alfred William Morrison, previously the treasurer of the state of Missouri. From 1871 to 1875, Franklin was the prosecuting attorney for Jackson County. In 1875, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives and served two terms before returning to his private law practice. In 1885, Franklin travelled to Washington, D. C., where he successfully lobbied President Grover Cleveland for an appointment as U. S. Consul to China. His family accompanied him to Hankow, where they lived for the next five years. In 1890, the Franklins returned to California. By 1892, they were in Phoenix. Aware of efforts to have territorial governor Hughes removed from office, Franklin decided to seek the office himself. He persuaded several prominent local men to send letters on his behalf to President Cleveland. Cleveland responded by appointing him the twelfth territorial governor of Arizona on 18 April 1896. Franklin’s son Alfred served as his personal secretary. During his term in office, Franklin pushed for statehood and tax reform, feeling that many businesses and individuals were not paying their fair share of taxes. Although as a fiscal conservative he was averse to soliciting funds from Congress, he knew that only the federal government could build the dams that Arizona so desperately needed. In January 1897, Franklin had suffered a heart attack but recovered through “sheer force of will”. After Republican William McKinley was elected President, he replaced Franklin with a man of his own party, Myron Hawley McCord. On 22 July 1897, Franklin left office and returned to his private law practice in the Fleming building, with Alfred as his partner. Franklin is generally regarded as having been personally honest and competent although not particularly effective as a governor, given his short tenure. After he left office, Franklin’s health declined further. When he did not wake from a nap on 19 May 1898, it was determined that he had died of a recurrence of his heart trouble. He was buried in Rosedale Cemetery following an Episcopalian funeral service. © 2012 by Donna Carr. Last revised 12/7/2012. 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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 John Tabor Alsap, 1830-1886 First Mayor of Phoenix Buried in Masons Cemetery, Block 3, Lot 1, Grave 5 (Photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_T._Alsap) John Tabor Alsap was born 28 February 1830 in Frankfort, Kentucky. He was the only son of Rev. John Alsap (sometimes spelled Alsop) and his wife Keziah Randall. After studying medicine in Ohio, young John went to California in 1853, intending to practice medicine there. Once in California, however, he developed an interest in mining—an interest which brought him to the Walker diggings in Yavapai county in November 1863.
Alsap’s medical skills came in handy in 1864 when he accompanied King Woolsey's second punitive expedition against the Apaches as the party's surgeon. His reputation thus established, he was appointed territorial treasurer in late 1864 by Gov. John Noble Goodwin. He soon opened the first saloon in Prescott, a shrewd business move which brought him into contact with much of Prescott’s electorate. On 6 June 1866, Alsap married Louise A. Osborn, daughter of pioneer John Preston Osborn. Tragically, she died barely a year later. Alsap became Yavapai County's representative to the territorial legislature in 1868. However, his larger political ambitions were not to be fulfilled in Prescott. In 1869, he moved south to the Salt River Valley, where he helped to select the 320 acres comprising the original Phoenix townsite. He was one of the original commissioners of the Salt River Town Association, formed in 1870 to promote settlement along the Salt River. Alsap now turned his attention from the practice of medicine and mining to the practice of law. As the fledgling community along the Salt River gained a foothold, he petitioned to have a new county created, with Phoenix as its seat. Following the creation of Maricopa County in 1871, Governor Safford appointed Alsap its first probate judge. As judge, he sometimes officiated at civil weddings when no minister was available. He also served as superintendent of public education. Between 1873 and 1879, Alsap held a seat in the territorial legislature. On 7 September 1876, he wed Anna Dugan Murray, one of the eight daughters of William P. Murray and his wife Margaret. All the Murray girls married well-connected men and founded some of Phoenix’s "first families." Alsap's contributions to the city of Phoenix were recognized when he was elected its first mayor in 1881. Alsap was an ardent Mason throughout his life. A photograph taken in Contra Costa, California, shows him dressed in his Masonic regalia. He was the first master of the Azlan Masonic Lodge in Prescott and also of the Arizona Masonic Lodge in Phoenix, and he chartered the Royal Arch Masonic Lodge. Upon his death in 1886, he was buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Phoenix. A modern granite headstone marks his grave. ©Donna Carr, 2013. Last revised 7/24/2013. 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!  Trinidad Silvas 1866-1911 Struck by Lightning Buried in City/Loosley Cemetery, exact location unknown. (Image courtesy of Microsoft clip art) Trinidad Silvas was most likely born in Mexico around 1866. In the summer of 1911, she and her long-time partner, José Alvarez, were working for a local rancher and temporarily living in a tent on his property about four miles northeast of the Phoenix townsite.
During the night of July 16th, a terrific thunderstorm blew up. Alvarez had been lying awake on his cot and listening to the roar of the thunder for quite a while. Then, all of a sudden, he saw a bright flash of lightning and heard a loud thunderclap. It seemed to him that a ball of fire rolled into the tent! Alvarez was tossed across the floor of the tent and lost unconsciousness for a few minutes. When he came to, he ascertained that his thirteen-year-old daughter, who was lying on a pallet, had not been harmed—in fact, she had not even awakened. Trinidad, however, had died instantly, the hair on one side of her head burned away. Alvarez ran to the nearest habitation and poured out the tragic news. Coroner Johnstone was summoned and ordered that the body not be moved pending an inquest on the following day. The investigation revealed a small hole with charred edges, burned in the tent canvas. It was speculated that the tragic event had been an example of a rare phenomenon known as "ball lightning". In the same neighborhood—and almost at the same time-- a valuable gray horse belonging to W. Bivins was also struck and killed by lightning. Trinidad was buried in City/Loosley Cemetery. It is not known what became of José Alvarez and the couple’s young daughter. © 2011 by Debe Branning. Last revised 9 November 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!  Magdalena Mendivil Donnelly, -1905 Rancher’s Wife Buried in Rosedale Cemetery, Northwest corner (Photo courtesy of the Pioneers’ Cemetery Association, Inc.) Maria Magdalena Mendivil was born sometime between 1832 and 1839 in Altar, Sonora, Mexico. She came north around 1857 with three of her brothers. While her brothers went on to Monterey, California, in search of work, Magdalena remained with family friends in Yuma. By the time the brothers returned, however, they found that Magdalena had moved in with George Kippen, an agent for a mining company, who was about twenty years older than her.
To date, no record of an actual marriage has been found. Very likely this was because George Kippen was already married to Jane A. Nichols of Fairfield County, Connecticut, by whom he had three children. Sometime after the birth of the third child, George left Connecticut for good. By 1852, he was working as a miner in California. The 1860 federal census of Colorado, San Diego County, California, shows George Kippen and Madalena Maldives [sic] living there in the same household, although not married. Their first son John was born 1860. John was quickly followed by a daughter, Delfina. Having had little success at mining, Kippen got a contract to haul supplies from California to the military outposts in Arizona. He was at Camp McDowell, working as a sutler’s clerk and pharmacist, when he died suddenly on 22 February 1868 and was buried in the post cemetery. Because Kippen was a civilian employee, his body was not transferred to the national cemetery in San Francisco when the post was decommissioned in 1891. His headstone can still be seen today at Fort McDowell. With Kippen dead, Magdalena was hard-pressed to support her children. By 1870 the family was living in the household of a Charles Foster in Arizona City, Yuma County, Arizona. They appear on the 1870 federal census under the surname “Kippin”. Around 1871, Magdalena met and married a wagon master, Frank “Owen” Donnelly, in Yuma, Arizona. Donnelly, an Irish Catholic, had been born around 1837 in the village of Tyme, County Cork, Ireland. Upon immigrating to the United States, he found few job opportunities for Irish immigrants. So, on 21 June 1859, Donnelly enlisted as a private in Battery F, 2nd U. S. Artillery, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and served until he was discharged on 2 May 1862. Frank “Owen” Donnelly and Magdalena’s first child, Amelia was born 12 April 1872 in Yuma. Isabelle “Lizzie” was born 7 April 1874, and Katherine “Kate” Inez was born 6 December 1878. The Donnellys eventually moved to a ranch near Florence, on the San Pedro River. By 1890, Frank Owen Donnelly was infirm and living in the Old Soldiers’ Home in Sawtelle, Los Angeles County, California. He died there on 21 September 1894 and was buried in the National Cemetery in Los Angeles. Magdalena received a widow’s pension based on his Civil War service. On the 1900 federal census, Magdalena was recorded living in Pinal County, Arizona, on the Donnelly ranch with her son John Kippen, daughter Kate Donnelly, and granddaughter Elsie Harrington. She died of pneumonia in Phoenix on 11 February 1905 and was buried in Rosedale Cemetery, Phoenix. ©2012 by Donna L. Carr. Last revised 30 November 2013. 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!  Elena Redondo Garfias, 1862-1890 Wife of Marshal Henry Garfias Buried in City/Loosley Cemetery. There is no grave marker. (Photo from the archives of the Pioneers’ Cemetery Association, Inc.) Elena Redondo was born in 1862, probably on the family ranch outside of Yuma. She was one of eight children born to Piedad Contreras and Jose Maria Redondo.
She married Henry Garfias on April 13th, 1883, in Yuma, Arizona Territory. The newlyweds subsequently established their home in Phoenix. They had two children: Maria Claudina, born in 1884, and Emmanuel Henrico “Manuel Henry” in 1887. Elena died 22 March 1890, apparently due to complications from her third pregnancy. Elena’s husband, Henry Garfias, led a colorful and well-documented life in Phoenix. However, his wife's family history is also a notable record of Hispanic influence in the Arizona Territory; California; and Sonora, Mexico. The Redondo family's roots go back to Spain, but they had been in Sonora, Mexico, for several generations prior to Elena's father and other family members going to the gold fields of California in 1849. Jose Maria Redondo married Piedad Contreras in California and in 1859, they and their two children (with one more on the way), moved to Yuma, Arizona Territory, along with Piedad's extended family. They first established a home in Laguna outside of Yuma, where they ran a bakery and store in the mining community. Eventually, Jose acquired a very large ranch in Yuma called Hacienda de San Ysidro. He dammed the Gila River and used the water to irrigate vineyards, orchards, and fields of grain and vegetables as well as growing fodder for cattle, horses and sheep. He was the first grower of lettuce in Yuma County. He had mining interests as well and served in the Arizona Territorial Legislature, where he was instrumental in getting the Territorial Prison located in Yuma. Elena's brother, Jose “Joe” Redondo, ran the first Hispanic newspaper in Phoenix, El Progresso. Although there is little information about Elena after her marriage, Henry Garfias' status in Phoenix must have meant they were socially active in both the Hispanic and white communities. Elena is buried in the City/Loosley Cemetery at the Pioneer Military and Memorial Park in Phoenix, Arizona. © 2018 by Susan Wilcox. Last revised 28 October 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!  Dr. Joshua A. Miller Jr., 1846-1901 Superintendent of the Insane Asylum Originally buried in Rosedale Cemetery; moved to Greenwood 1920 (Generic image created using Bing AI) Joshua Abston Miller, Jr., was born in Macon County, Missouri, on May 5, 1846. His parents were Joshua A. Miller, Sr., and Nancy Jane Turner.
Joshua attended high school on the other side of the Missouri River in Brownville, Nebraska, with the intention of becoming a physician. Under the tutelage of Dr. William Arnold, he applied for and was admitted to the University of Michigan medical school in 1868. While a medical student in Michigan, Miller met and married Mary Crampton on September 21, 1869. Upon graduation in 1872, Miller opened a practice in Michigan. In 1879, Miller traveled to New York to gain additional experience at Belleview Hospital. He then moved his family to Kansas City in 1882, where he helped establish a medical school at the University of Kansas City. He was for six years the head of orthopedic surgery there. Perhaps the deaths of two of their young children had strained Joshua’s and Mary’s marriage to the breaking point. At any rate, she does not appear to have accompanied Miller when he moved to Prescott, Arizona, in 1888. On December 16, 1890, Miller married his second wife, Minnie Hume, in Prescott. In 1892, Gov. N. O. Murphy appointed Miller superintendent of the territorial insane asylum in Phoenix. When Miller assumed his position, there were 87 inmates, some of whom had originally been sent to asylums in California. Having them back in Phoenix made it possible for family members to visit and see that they were properly cared for. It appears that Miller took his responsibilities seriously. He had the asylum grounds landscaped with trees and walkways. His wife Minnie, who was a nurse, served as matron. In 1898, Gov. Murphy again appointed Dr. Miller to take over management of the insane asylum from outgoing superintendent Dr. Hamblin. This time, there were 177 patients. One of Miller’s accomplishments was to help found the Maricopa County Medical Society so that the 12 to 14 medical practitioners in the Salt River Valley could meet regularly to discuss new developments in their profession. Scientific curiosity led to Miller’s interest in prehistoric societies of the American Southwest. In 1895, he was elected president of the Arizona Antiquarian Society, and in 1901 he conducted the first excavation of Pueblo Grande, a prehistoric site east of Phoenix. Dr. Miller was on his way to New Mexico on Saturday, July 19, 1901, to observe the annual Hopi snake dance at Walpi when he fell ill and had to get off the train at Flagstaff. Taken to a hospital there, he was diagnosed with pneumonia. He died on the evening of July 22nd. His body was returned to Phoenix for burial in Rosedale Cemetery. © 2024 by Donna L. Carr. Last revised 12 August 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!  Dr. Edward Nathan Gerard, 1834-1904 Physician and surgeon Originally buried in Rosedale Cemetery; moved to Greenwood Cemetery (Photograph attached to Gerard’s Find A Grave memorial, #50912700) Edward Nathan Gerard was born in Rensselaer, Ralls County, Missouri, in 1834. He was the youngest child of William Gerard and his second wife, Elizabeth Ann Ayres. The Gerards had moved to Missouri around 1814. By 1850, William was a successful farmer, with an estate reportedly worth about $3000. He went on to be elected to the Missouri State Legislature.
On June 18, 1857, Edward married Priscilla Drane in Marion, Missouri. Determined to go into the medical profession, Edward studied first with Dr. J. B. Hayes, a local physician. Then he moved to Keokuk, Iowa, to study at the University of Iowa Medical School. His wife Priscilla seems to have remained in Rensselaer, as their three oldest children were all born in Missouri. After Edward graduated in 1861, the Gerards settled on a farm near Monroe City, Missouri. To date, no evidence has been found of Edward serving during the Civil War. In June, 1864, the Gerards moved to the town of Shelbina, where Dr. Gerard opened an office. He took Dr. Jacob D. Smith into his practice in 1873, a partnership that lasted until 1876. Gerard was said to be an able surgeon, and he was active in local medical societies. Dr. Gerard practiced medicine in Missouri until 1895. Then, their children grown, the Gerards moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where Gerard continued to see patients at his office on Washington Street, in the Irvine Block. In 1900, Dr. Gerard returned to Missouri and brought back with him his son William Wilson Gerard, a schoolmaster who had contracted tuberculosis. At this point, the Gerard family relocated to Mesa. Unfortunately, William did not recover; he died on November 9, 1903, and was buried in Rosedale Cemetery. Dr. Gerard’s health was deteriorating, too. He died in Mesa of chronic cystitis on March 18, 1904. The funeral took place at Trinity Episcopal Church in Phoenix, followed by interment in the family plot in Rosedale. After Gerard’s widow Priscilla died February 20, 1913, in Oakland, California, her remains were brought back to Phoenix for burial. In 1920, family members had all three burials removed to Greenwood Cemetery. © 2024 by Donna L. Carr. Last revised 2 August 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!  Dr. Carl P. Wormser, 1856-1903 Iowa Physician Buried in Rosedale Cemetery, North Section (Photo courtesy of Pioneers' Cemetery Association) When Michael Wormser died in 1898, he was the largest landowner in Phoenix, Arizona, with 7,435 acres. It was speculated that he had a poverty-stricken childhood, and this experience may have carried over into his adult life.
Wormser was born on June 27, 1827, in Mittelbronn in the Alsace-Lorraine (now Moselle) region of France. He came to the United States in 1850 to join his cousin Benjamin Block in San Luis Obispo, California. After Block’s livery stable failed, Wormser moved to Arizona and went into business for himself. In 1864, he opened the first general store in Prescott in an adobe building near the corner of Goodwin and Montezuma Streets. In 1873, Wormser acquired a store in Phoenix. However, he lost it in 1876 when the price of grain dropped suddenly and his customers’ outstanding bills became uncollectable. Having acquired some land along the San Francisco Canal, Wormser had to resort to farming. From his unsold store inventory, Wormser advanced seed, tools and provisions to his Hispanic neighbors along the canal. He also encouraged them to gain legal title to their land. Once they owned the land, it could be used as collateral to buy more supplies from “Don Miguel” as they called him. It was also speculated that this arrangement may have taken advantage of his neighbors’ who spoke Spanish to get hold of their land, as they often did not understand the contracts they had signed. When they fell behind on their payments and eviction notices were served, they had no legal recourse. In this way, Wormer managed to acquire ownership or control of about 9,000 acres of irrigable farmland along the Salt River in south Phoenix. Wormer widened the San Francisco Canal and experimented with growing sugar beets. As a major landowner, he was elected in November 1880 to a four-year term on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. 1892 was the year of the Great Flood on the Salt River. Since Wormser’s irrigation ditches had been washed out, he became a plaintiff in a landmark Arizona water case, Michael Wormsor et al. versus the Salt River Valley Canal Company, et al. The case resulted in the Kibbey Decision which established the principle in Arizona that water belonged to the land and that early users of water had priority over later users. The verdict was a victory for Wormser, as he was one of the “early users.” Wormser died on April 25, 1898, and was initially buried in one of the city cemeteries, probably Loosley. Charles Goldman, his executor, eventually valued his estate at $221,396, a considerable sum for 1900. Since Wormser had intended to donate land for a Jewish cemetery, Goldman set aside a parcel at 35th Avenue and Jackson for that purpose. Beth Israel Memorial Cemetery opened in 1903, whereupon Wormser’s body was exhumed and moved there. The cemetery is still active today. © 2017 by Patty Gault. Last revised 27 September 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!  Dr. Scott Helm, 1862-1897 First Surgeon-General of the Arizona Territory Buried in Porter Cemetery, Block 12 Photo from Arizona Memory Project A native of Kentucky, Dr. Helm was a graduate of Princeton College, Rush Medical College in Chicago and Heidelberg University in Germany. He was undoubtedly one of the best educated and respected physicians in Arizona. In 1891, he joined the National Guard of Arizona and was appointed surgeon-general, serving in that post for six years. During that time, he tirelessly promoted Arizona in medical journals as an ideal destination for sufferers of tuberculosis, arthritis and other ailments. He was also an active member of several fraternal organizations.
In 1889, he met Miss Norma Jackson, a Southern belle who had come to Arizona for her health. They were married 12 February 1890. Unfortunately, even his expert ministrations could not cure Norma, for she died on 30 April 1891 at the age of 28. In July 1891, Dr. Helm was accused by two other physicians of having performed an abortion on Alice White, granddaughter of Ira Stroud of Phoenix. The case went to trial and, in March 1892, Dr. Helm was acquitted of any wrongdoing. Later in 1892, Dr. Helm married Miss Jane Beeler. Helm loved horses, but he told friends that he would probably meet his death in a horse-related accident. His premonition came true on 8 October 1897. He was at the train station in downtown Phoenix when his fractious horse, Montrose, reared and fell, throwing Dr. Helm to the pavement. Dr. Helm died two hours later of intracranial bleeding. An impressive obelisk of polished red granite marks his grave, which is on the walking tour of Porter Cemetery. © 2012 by Donna L. Carr. Last revised 11/17/2012. 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!  Nathaniel “Nathan” Sears, 1810-1885 Farmer and Stock raiser Buried in City Loosley Cemetery, exact location unknown (Generic image created using Bing AI) Nathaniel Sears, or Nathan as he was usually known, was born about 1810 in Kentucky. His parents were Jesse Sears and Margaret Ellen Cox. Nathan’s paternal grandfather, John Lewis Sears, Sr., was a veteran of the Revolutionary War and had acquired bounty land there.
On April 16, 1830, Nathan married Nancy Mills in Pulaski County, Kentucky. Their first two sons, Jesse and Thompson, were born there. However, around 1835, the Sears family removed to Missouri, where Nathan and Nancy had five more sons in quick succession. The 1850 census of Missouri records them as small farmers. By 1860, the Sears family was living in West Point, Bates County, Missouri, and Nathan was running a grocery store. Sons Eli, Winfrey, and Alexander were still in the household, but the older boys were married and gone. At least three of the Sears sons fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, although it is not known whether they served in regular regiments or as irregulars. At any rate, they all left Missouri after the war. 1870 found Nathan and Nancy farming near Anaheim, California. Five of their sons--Thompson, James, Eli, Winfrey, and Alexander--were also farming nearby. Surprisingly, Nathan and Nancy’s household included two young African American children, George and Rhoda, who had been born in Missouri. Sometime between 1876 and 1879, sons John Marion and Eli moved to Phoenix, Arizona. The 1880 federal census lists their occupation as freighters/teamsters. Nathan and Nancy were also in John Marion’s household, although by then they were retired. Nathan’s wife Nancy must have died between 1880 and 1882, for Nathan married a widow, Furlisa (Felicia?) Ann House Howerton, on November 16, 1882. Nathan and Furlisa had only three years together, as he passed away on their wedding anniversary, November 16, 1885, in Tempe. It is presumed that Nathan Sears was buried in the Pioneer & Military Memorial Park, that being the only cemetery in use in 1885. However, no grave marker has been found. While Sears did have a will, it was not entered into probate until January 9, 1893. His estate was estimated to be worth about $7,000. Per a prior agreement, he left half of his cattle and all his horses to his son John Marion, who was a rancher. The other half of the cattle were to be divided equally among his other sons. To his widow he left five milk cows and any offspring they might have. Sons John Marion and James were named as co-executors. There is no explanation for the seven-year delay in probating the will. © 2024, Donna L. Carr. Last revised 22 June 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! |