This timeline includes a range of information regarding Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles, the neighborhood around it, and the residents in these spaces. In addition to highlighting events that took place in or around Evergreen, this timeline includes how its residents made their own mark on history.

Isaac Lankershim, impressed with the wild oats filled former ranch lands of the San Fernando Mission seen during a stagecoach tour, gathers a group of San Francisco investors and purchases 60,000 acres of former mission land for $115,000. He establishes the San Fernando Farm Homestead Association, later renamed the Los Angeles Farm and Milling Company. He and son in law Isaac Van Nuys develop the San Fernando Valley in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Bridget Biddie Mason, along with son in law Charles Owens, founds and forms the Los Angeles branch of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church; its first African American congregation began having services in Mason's living room.

Evergreen Cemetery is officially established in eastern Los Angeles. The proposal that permits the building of Evergreen is passed by the City of Los Angeles, as long as the cemetery agrees to allocate five acres towards a "Potters Field" or place for the unclaimed corpses of the city.

David Waldron is buried at Evergreens and his faithful dog refuses to leave the freshly turned patch of earth; the spotted coach dog returns a total of four times, always piously howling.

A stranger asking for lodging awakens the keeper of Evergreen Cemetery, Mr. Corcoran, and after being sent to where he might find a place to sleep, the rough looking man declares "I do not want lodging, I want money." A threatening move causes Mr. Corcoran to reach for his revolver but it is unloaded; he delivers a blow to the assailants face but the robber manages to escape with an accomplice that was hiding in the dark.

The Los Angeles Times is informed about the inappropriately shallow 2.5 by 3 ft. graves being dug at Evergreen Cemetery. After the funeral of John P. Varnum, when the coffin does not fit the hole, the clergyman and undertaker inform the half drunk cemetery keeper about the occurence to no avail.

The Chinese community in Los Angeles builds a Shrine at Evergreen to honor their ancestors. Like all non indigent customers at Evergreen, the Chinese are required to purchase a burial fee. Unlike other customers, the Chinese are buried in the "Potters Field" section of the cemetery. Nearly 100 years later, the Shrine is designated an historic landmark but the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California is required by Evergreen to purchase the 40 plots that constitute the space the Shrine makes up and the Society spends over $100,000 cleaning and fixing the Shrine which had been flooded over the years.

12.22.1889

The Los Angeles Times investigates rumors that a woman's burial was stopped by a bereaved relative after discovering moisture on the glass of the coffin. Upon investigation, the reporter discovers that indeed the funeral was halted but that the woman is dead and from the sexton the writer reports that moisture may sometimes gather in coffins due to the embalming process.

1890

Home of Peace, Los Angeles early Jewish Cemetery is built at 4334 Whittier Boulevard.

Bridget Biddie Mason is laid to rest. Former slave, nurse, mid wife and humanitarian, Mason is one of the most beloved daughters of Los Angeles.

The Mayor, the Police Commission, two police officer squads, and delegations from the Odd Fellows and the East Los Angeles K. of P. attend the burial of police Officer Chase at Evergreen Cemetery.

Frank George from Kings County, Washington preselects his plot at Evergreen and marble marker from the Los Angeles Marble Works on Los Angeles Street. He is discovered dead from an apparent morphine overdose in a paid up room at Mrs. Bauds rooming house. Explanation arrives with a letter to Evergreen with $100 and the words from George: "Dear Sirs. Inclosed (sic) please find $100. Please do the best you can for the money, and I will meet you in a better world if we make the proper connections. Frank George"

Magdalena May Schlador Chandler passes away. She is wife to Harry Chandler and originally from Galveston, Texas.

30 year old Amelia Pelka from Redondo demolishes the home of an African American family near Evergreen, strips naked, and goes to the cemetery to perform a nude dance across the graves. It takes over an hour to catch Pelka who explains her actions as directions from God for refusing the marriage proposal of her boyfriend. According to Pelka she is advised to destroy everything in the "colored peoples house" which she does. She is held in front of the Lunacy Commission the following day.

Vito Casino, along with almost a dozen others, is killed during a fireworks explosion at the Columbus day celebration.

L.A. Carey, described as one of Southern California’s oldest dairyman commits suicide at Evergreen near the grave of his son, who had also committed suicide.

The Los Angeles Times reports on a sensational rumor that Chinese residents were displacing white bones at the old cemetery (not Evergreen). After speaking with Health Officer Steddom it is discovered that the Six Companies are overseeing the removal of Chinese bones in order to send them back to China. Steddom reports that one grave was discovered to be displaced but it had occurred previously and city workers immediately put it back in order after the disinterring of the Chinese bodies. Approximately 20 Chinese bodies are removed and returned to China.

Sam Haskins, the first known African American firefighter in Los Angeles, is killed in the line of duty when he is struck by a carriage en route to fight a fire. His grave remains unmarked for over 100 years until 2004.

The Los Angeles Cemetery Association submits a communication to the City Clerk announcing to the Mayor and Council of the city that it declines its request to continue the burial of paupers in Evergreen Cemetery.

F. Gerard Mitchell and Mrs. Mary Black are laid to rest side by side at Evergreen Cemetery, an arrangement made inadvertently by two different undertakers, despite the their stormy and storied past. Mrs. Mary Black left her husband and children in England to continue an affair with Mitchell. They arrive in Los Angeles six weeks after spending time in San Antonio, Texas with Blacks brother. Upon discovery of her real identity, which she claims goes back to Mary Queen of Scotland, Black committs suicide at the Long Beach Hotel. Mitchell committs suicide a few days later. Their respective relatives plan to inter the remains elsewhere but settle on Evergreen unbeknownst to each other.

Frank W. Conant is interred at Evergreen. He is the former treasurer for the Old Grand Operahouse, now the Orpheum and the Los Angeles Theater. Conant comes to Los Angeles from Ohio in 1883 as "a helpless invalid" and greatly benefits from the climate. He is 35 years old when he dies.

During the annual observation of Memorial Day at Evergreen Cemetery, war veterans and 500 school children from Boyle Heights honor those who served the nation. The event includes a march with a drummer and fife player from Main Street to Evergreen, formal speeches and the decorating of graves with flowers. Reverend E. J. Inwood reminds the crowd: "The final test of heroism is its value to successive generations. It is in this sense that the fame of great achievements grows with the ages." During the event, a lone woman is found crying over the grave of her son, who is not a soldier, and does not have a single flower. A young woman quickly offers her some flowers from her brothers grave, which is overflowing with blooms. She thanks her through her tears.

The Old City Cemetery (not Evergreen) on High School hill is desecrated. Tombstones are overturned and smashed, statues are relocated, the fence is demolished, and flower offerings are shredded. The offerings are replaced with "mocking" tin cans filled with weeds and withered bouquets; local neighbors inform the Sanitary Officer of the occurance.

Pioneer Manufacturer and Merchant of Los Angeles, James Hill is buried at Evergreen Cemetery. Under the name The James Hill Company, Hill engages in the pickling business and organizes the Alberhill Coal and Clay Company that produces a large part of the clay used in the manufacturing of ornamental brick. Dr. N. H. Morrison, chief surgeon of the Santa Fe for 33 years and for the Electric and Gas Company for the last 25, is buried at Evergreen.

The "notorious and terrible pair" Birdie Childs and Blanche Chesbro of Alameda and New High Streets are fined $25 for their drag race by carriage to Evergreen Cemetery in which they side swiped a young man and their return from the burial ground when the police were finally able to stop the horses and arrest the drunk young women who had hired the horse and buggy.

02.24.1904

Miss Pearl Groover throws herself on the casket of her former lover Percy A. Calhoun during his funeral, in front of his wife and children. Calhoun portended such a scene prior to his suicide, having stated to a friend: "Youll see the newspapers have my name in big headlines before long, and the whole thing will be sensational enough for anybody!"

LAPD Chief Hammel is informed about two ghosts that haunt Evergreen Cemetery and its surroundings. The spirits are believed to be Alice Williams, a woman who owned a general grocery store with her husband on Dakota and East First Street where "sprees and orgies" took place, and their neighbor Charlie Glass. Both were murdered by Mexicans; Alice was burned and Charlie stabbed with bottles. The investigation yields the discovery of an empty beer keg but no ghosts.

After taking his life, Irwin A. Armstrong is quietly buried in a far corner of Evergreen. All attendees swear to secrecy as Armstrongs father forever vows to erase his eldest sons memory while demanding a headstone never be erected over the grave due to the sons shameful suicide.

09.04.1905

According to the Los Angeles Times, a "race war is threatened" in the neighborhood around Evergreen Cemetery when John Crum, an African American gardener, purchases a home at Madison and Clinton streets. Crum was warned prior to his purchase of the home that many resented his coming to the community which had been previously free of African Americans, despite the entry in 1892 with Amelia Pelka from Redondo. Crum reported to the Los Angeles Police Department of an attack on his home and threats. A mob attacked his home the previous Saturday night and threw rocks through the windows, injuring an older woman and an infant who were sleeping. In response to his report, the Los Angeles Police Department advises Crum that they cannot help him as his house is not within city limits. Crum seeks assistance from the Sheriff s Department.

C. Beard, former Evergreen grave digger, complains to the District Attorney about the intrusion of occupied cemetery land for interrnment of new bodies. The buried coffins are broken and the bones set aside to make way for new burials. Victor Ponet, President of the Evergreen Cemetery Association and Belgian vice consul in Los Angeles, vehemently denies the claim stating "The thing is impossible! Absurd!" The District Attorney informs Beard that unlike the destruction of headstones, the latter is not a criminal act and that the disturbance of the bones might constitute an offense. The matter is taken into advisement.

Guards are placed at the receiving vault of Evergreen Cemetery to ensure the body of "Olga Miller" is not stolen and/or destroyed. As it turns out, Olga Miller is really Bertha Bellstein, an heiress to a Pennsylvania fortune, who murdered her mother in 1899. Bertha had escaped from Dixmont Penitentiary and Asylum and was aided by a family friend who sent her to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, Bertha changed her name to Olga Miller and eventually got a job as a "dining room girl" at the Rosslyn Hotel where she earned $30 a month. Miller was also able to find a fiance who loved her, despite knowing of her violent, criminal past, but before she is married, Miller dies suddenly. Upon learning of her death, relatives in Pennsylvania immediately concoct a false story that Bertha had taken a trip to Europe. Other relatives determine this to be a hoax and contact the Los Angeles Police Department, who in turn, contact Evergreen s Superintendent who post guards immediately.

08.04.1908

Two masked men rob Evergreen Cemetery but are sympathetic to the "workingman." Mr. C. Ohnemuller, Evergreen Cemetery s keeper, was awakened by two masked men pointing guns in his face. The two entered their home by jimmying a window. After drilling open the Evergreen Cemetery Association s safe and removing $190 the two robbers examined Ohnemuller s watch, the Ohnemuller child s silver thimble, and take $2 from his pockets, but then return all stating they didn t want to "rob a workingman." The two escaped after cutting the telephone wires. The police believe they are the ones responsible for a slew of safe crackings over the past few months are still at large.

Thomas Thomagos, a Greek ranchman from Gardena, shoots his wife at the Evergreen gravesite of their deceased firstborn. The child had perished due to lack of nourishment and Thomagos blames his wife for the death. He is arrested and awaits an attempted murder charge.

01.14.1911

Lau Yok Jew s life is celebrated at a party at 315 1/2 Apablasa Street including a feast of roast pig, fireworks, a drumming performance, and finally a procession to the cemetery. He is buried within the Chinese burial ground at Evergreen.

02.14.1914

Charles Roshong and local neighbors complain of the excess water that sits in the cemetery, often stagnating. Superintendent Ohnemuller counter charges that he has taken care of the drainage issues and that Roshong s intent is to create ill will for the cemetery to push for the removal of the cemetery should the problem persist. According to Ohnemuller, the problem has been taken care of with the bringing of at least 100 loads of dirt into the spots.

George A. Ralphs dies in a freak accident while hiking with his wife in the San Gabriel Mountains. He is the founder of the Ralphs Supermarket chain.

Former LA Mayor, District Attorney and City Attorney, Cameron Erskine Thom dies. He is responsible in part for the division of Rancho San Rafael which formed part of contemporary Glendale and fights for the Confederacy in the United States Civil War.

An open air memorial service at Evergreen for Dr. Masuji Miyakawa is held at Evergreen. Miyakawa is the first and only Japanese lawyer admitted to practice in the United States courts, and his funeral brings American and Japanese community members together.

Famed defense attorney Earl Rogers dies. The character of Perry Mason is modeled after him. His brilliant career is cut short at 52 when he dies of a stroke, attributed to a life of alcoholism.

Reverend William J. Seymour dies of a heart attack. Seymour is the founder the Azusa Street Church in Los Angeles and considered a pioneer of the Pentecostal religious movement.

Julius Kaderli reports of being the victim of a con at Evergreen Cemetery and tells of becoming friends with a gentleman in 1922 who wanted to engage him distributing charity funds to the city s poor. To undertake the job, Kaderli was required to withdraw $2500 and deposit into the hands of his new friend and another person who take Kaderli to Evergreen Cemetery to discuss the entire proposition in full and ultimately taking the entire sum and Kaderli for a ride. The police are very familiar with Kaderli s story, as the two con men have victimized many in the same manner over the last year.

The husband of Carrie Miller, Charles F. Miller kills himself at her grave at dawn in Evergreen. The 85 year old man is grief stricken after the passing of his wife and spends numerous nights at her grave following her death in 1922. When the Superintendent of the cemetery hears the gunshot at midnight, he correctly guesses the outcome, having seen Mr. Miller s abject pain. Miller is the former Chief of Police for an unnamed Kansas city.

Head of the Sheriff s Office, Captain Bond and a sheriff squadron investigate the reporting of unearthly shrieks, laughter, and weird sounds coming from inside Evergreen Cemetery. The Sheriffs discover the source of such macabre noise; a barrom (with a barrel of whiskey and one of wine) inside the cemetery s Superintendent s house. Superintendent Zurenberg is arrested, found guilty, and fined $500.00.

Alice Rollins Crane Morajeski, writer/author and lecturer on Indian History and lore is interred at Evergreen. As a young woman, Crane Morajesk lived with Apache Indians for 5 years and studied their lifestyle; she is the author of the Lucy bill which was passed and signed by President McKinley.

James Herman Banning and his co pilot complete the first Negro transcontinental flight from Los Angeles to New York. Banning will die in the following year in a plane crash in San Diego while a passenger in a bi plane during an air show. Unconfirmed date of death.

Earl Bell Gilmore builds the famous Los Angeles Farmer s Market next to his home on 3rd and Fairfax, one of todays premiere tourist attractions in Los Angeles.

Jolly John Larkin passes away leaving behind a legacy of film which includes 50 film appearances as he was once known as the "highest paid negro actor in Hollywood."

Bertha Oliver passes away at her home on Norton Avenue. Oliver is a former teacher at Los Angeles High School where she worked for over 40 years, teaching English and History. She is buried at Evergreen.

Funeral services are held for Boyle Workman, who is buried at Evergreen. Born in his family s home in an area then known at Hollenbeck Heights, settled by Workman s maternal grandfather Andrew Boyle in 1857. Workman contributed much to Los Angeles in particular in its financial infrastructure. He served as City Council member and President, part time acting Mayor, and assisted in building City Hall. He is the author of The City that Grew, a standard textbook in its fifth printing and used in classrooms.

Memorial services are held for George Gushiken who died in action in France during World War II. Mayor Fletcher Bowron attends the services and remarks: "Through him and his fellow heroes with their records of glorious and inspiring valor, the Japanese place in Los Angeles has been established, never to be questioned again."

Military honors and a traditional Buddhist service are held at Evergreen Cemetery for Sadao S. Munemori, who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for his service in World War II. Specifically, in a battle near Seavessra, Italy, Munemori single handedly destroyed German machine gun nests and then flung his body on top of a live grenade to lessen its impact and save the lives of his fellow soldiers, dying in the process. Munemori was born in Los Angeles in 1922 and graduated from Lincoln High School. Munemori volunteered for the United States Army in February 1942. In addition to his service that ended his life, Munemori was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge for his action on the Anzio beachhead.

80 year old Nellie M. McClure passes away and is buried at Evergreen. McClure was an organizer of the Wednesday Morning Club. She lived for many years at "the old McClure home" on North Broadway, the current site of Lincoln High School.

442nd Nisei Memorial is dedicated to the 442nd Regimental Combat Japanese American unit that served in WWII. The 442nd is the most decorated unit in United States history earning an astounding amount of medals, honors, and even Presidental Unit Citations (the nation s top award for combat units).

Iranian refugee Harutun Avedissian who died in Stuttgart, Germany at the age of 77 has a final wish realised when the German consulate clears the way for Avedissian to be buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles and near his three sons and daughter who live in Los Angeles. According to B.G. Otto of the J. H. Riedeman Mortuary, it was the Avedissian family s hope: "that they might all be reunited here some day." Avedissian died without ever having visited the United States but is interred at Evergreen Cemetery.

Jesse Belvin co writes the hit song for The Penguins named "Earth Angel."

300 mourners attend the burial of slain store owner Sergia Markarian, who was 32 years old. Markarian was gunned down by during a robbery of his liquor store at 4600 Whittier Boulevard. Markarian leaves a wife and two children and was a vital force in Los Angeles Armenian community.

Jesse Belvin a hit singer and ongwriter dies with his wife in an automobile crash outside of Little Rock, Arkansas after performing the city s first integrated concert. It is believed that his car was tampered with as he received at least 6 death threats prior to performing the concert. He is the author of such classics as Goodnight My Love, Earth Angel, and many others.

Mary Emily Foy, the first woman head librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library, dies. She is known as a strong willed woman and suffragette.

03.11.1962

The County Board of Supervisers, under recommendation by the County Development of Real Estate Management, declares the area known as "Potter s field" as "excessive property," although it is where the city s unclaimed bodies and Chinese residents were buried until the 1920s. In so doing, the Board of Supervisers tacitly agrees to the Cemetery s plan of adding four fourteen feet of dirt over the existing graves. There were approximately 11,809 burials in the section in question though the Cemetery responds that many of the Chinese bodies were sent back to China. There are an estimated 700 documented cases.

Louise Beavers dies of a heart attack at age 60 with an astonishing 160 screen appearances most notably as an Aunt Jemima like pancake maker whose light skinned daughter abandons her to pass for white in society on "Imitation of Life" in 1934. Over four hundred people attend her funeral at Evergreen on November 1.

Earl Bell Gilmore, entrepreneur and heir to the Gilmore Company, passes away. In 1934 Gilmore builds the Farmer s Market. In 1987 he is inducted into the Indianapolis Speedway Hall of Fame for his contributions to racing.

Former star of Negro League Baseball, James Mackey passes away.

Charlotta Amanda Bass, a newspaper publisher and activist extraordinaire, passes away. She led a remarkable "Don t Shop Where You Can t Work" campaign urging other African Americans to boycott places known for discriminating when hiring any associates to their company.

Eddie Rochester Anderson, a long time comedic actor who appeared on screen as well as played radio roles for "The Jack Benny Show," passes away of long standing heart ailments.

Matthew Stymie Beard dies of pneumonia. He is most known for playing in The Little Rascals.

Sam Haskins. The monument for Sam Haskins is finally unveiled.

A private service is held for Kiyoshi Okamoto, Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee founder, to celebrate the discovery of his final resting place. Okamoto is born in Hawaii and is known for starting the only organized World War II draft resistance movement from within one of the 10 War Relocation Authority camps to protest the unconstitutional incarceration of people of Japanese descent into US concentration camps. He will serve time in Fort Leavenworth for his protests. His grave is finally found by the efforts of Marie Masumoto, wife to Okamoto's nephew grand nephew Earnie Masumoto. Masumoto credits the Chinese Historical Society, Nikkei for Civil Rights and Reparations, Japanese American National Museum, and Albert Gaskin and Craig Garnett at the Los Angeles County Crematory for helping in her quest.