 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!
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 George Ulmer Collins, 1835-1904 Farmer and rancher Buried in Masons’ Cemetery, Block 20, Lot 1, Grave 1 (Generic image created using Bing AI) At the time of his death, George U. Collins was a prosperous cattleman and farmer, as well as a member of the Arizona Territorial Legislature.
Born March 1835 in the state of Maine, George was the oldest child of Thomas R. Collins and Lucy W. Ulmer. The 1850 federal census of Liberty, Waldo County, Maine, records the Collinses as farmers. By 1860, young George was living in East Boston, Massachusetts, and his occupation was listed as "ship’s carpenter." Perhaps George took advantage of his proximity to sailing ships to do some traveling. At any rate, 1870 found him living in Santa Cruz, California, living with Mary Fenderson, whom he had met and married there in 1861. George was working as a tollgate keeper in 1870, and his estimated worth was $2000—not bad for the times! Evidently, George used some of his funds to move to Arizona in 1875 and purchase land. By 1880, he and his family were living on a farm in Township 1N2E, three and a half miles southwest of the original Phoenix townsite and not far from the Salt River. Collins was an early user of irrigation water, which he used to grow alfalfa. As the little settlement of Phoenix grew, George became a prosperous farmer and rancher. George’s wife Mary died unexpectedly on October 29, 1890. One of her sons was bringing an armload of firewood to the house when he saw her fall, but he was unable to revive her. She was buried in a Phoenix cemetery, most probably in what is now the Pioneer & Military Memorial Park. Two of her grandchildren were buried in City Loosley Cemetery--possibly near her--a few years later. George continued working on the family farm. Rather than relying on gravity to fill his irrigation ditches, he began digging a well in 1900. Although he struck water at 29 feet, he continued digging to assure a good source of water throughout the dry season. In 1901, he installed a 60-hp pump to bring the water to the surface, thereby making his property the best watered in the area. As an influential early settler, George joined the Masonic Order, the Knights Templar and the B.P.O.E. He was also active in local politics, being elected to the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1903. Shortly before Christmas in 1903, George came down with a cough which turned into pneumonia. He died on January 1, 1904, and was buried in the Masons cemetery. There is no grave marker. When George’s will was entered into probate, his adult sons were chagrined to learn that he had left half of his estate to the Knights Templar, of which he had been a long-time member. The other half was to be divided between his two sons. They argued that their father had been unduly influenced by one of his Masonic brethren, who might stand to benefit in some way. However, the court ruled that the will was valid, since George’s bequest was to the Order itself and not to any particular individual. © 2024 by Donna L. Carr. Last revised 30 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!  Samuel Calvin McElhaney, 1861-1905 Sarah Ella Hill McElhaney, 1872-1911 Pioneer Ranchers The McElhaneys are buried in City Loosley Cemetery, Block 4, Lots 2 & 3 (Photo copied from the McElhaney grave marker) Samuel Calvin McElhaney was born 9 October 1861 in Alabama. As a young man, he drove a herd of cattle and horses from Texas to Phoenix and settled near the Salt River, with its assured supply of water.
On January 10, 1889, McElhaney was among those who incorporated as the Fairmount Water Storage Company for the purpose of selling water for irrigation and mining purposes in Maricopa County. Another shareholder was Reuben Hill, soon to become his father-in-law. Sam married Sarah Ella Hill, daughter of Reuben Hill and Mary Perry, on April 10, 1889. The newlyweds moved to Holbrook where they enjoyed a few years of success before a severe drought forced ranchers to leave the high country. The McElhaneys then drove their stock back down to the Salt River Valley and established a farm in the old Fowler district just south of Glendale where Sam built a house for his growing family. Son Randolph Hill Mc Elhaney was born in 15 July 1890. He was soon followed by a daughter, Nina Inez, born 24 January 1892. Sam McElhaney and George Keefer were obviously good friends seeing as how Sam named his second son, born in 1894, Louis Keefer McElhaney. That child died in January 1897. More children followed. Daughter Pearl was born 21 November 1898. Another son, Coyt Ruben, was born about 1901. Byron Samuel McElhaney was born 7 April 1903. From an early age, Randolph was his father’s right-hand man. On November 28, 1905, while loading some fat hogs into a wagon to be taken to market, Sam severely jammed his thumb, causing him agonizing pain. Although he repeatedly assured his son that he was hurt in no place but the thumb, the pain was so unbearable that he fainted twice while attempting to walk the short distance to the house. He was dead, presumably of shock, by the time the doctor arrived. Following the funeral at First Baptist Church, Sam McElhaney, aged 43, was buried in Loosley Cemetery. This left Sam’s widow Ella and son Randolph to manage their farm. Ella’s last child, Samuel Jr., was born posthumously in 1906. When she died on 18 March 1911, she too was buried in the family plot in Loosley. Both Randolph and Samuel Jr. went on to establish large ranches of their own in the 1930s. Randolph settled in Chino Valley and Samuel founded the McElhaney Cattle Company of Wellton, Arizona, which remained under family control until 2010. © 2013 by Debe Branning and Donna Carr. Last revised October 12, 2015. 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!  Higinio Bernal, 1845-1912 Farmer Buried in City/Loosley Cemetery, Block 19 (Generic image created using Bing AI) Higinio was born around 1845 in Ures, Sonora, Mexico. He was one of several children born to Tiburcio Bernal and his wife. Higinio had an older sister, Trinidad, born 1843, as well as a younger brother named José Maria, born 1853, also in Sonora.
The Bernals seem to have been farmers throughout their lives. Both of the Bernal brothers were living in San Bernardino County, California, in 1872, as that is where Higinio married Juana Ruberto Albañez. According to the 1900 federal census, she was the mother of ten children total, of whom the oldest six may have been born in California. Around 1877, Higinio and Juana moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where they had four more children. These younger children are the ones who appear in the Bernal household on the 1900 census. A retired farmer, Higinio was living at 800 South 5th Avenue in Phoenix when he passed away on April 22, 1912. He had been paralyzed and bedridden for some time prior. He was buried in City/Loosley Cemetery, Block 19. There is no grave marker. His widow Juana died in 1933 and was buried in St. Francis Cemetery. © 2023 by Donna L. Carr. Last updated March 24, 2023. 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! |