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Taphophilia (dot) Com...
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Nearly gone . . . but not forgotten |
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Written by JoseyWales
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Saturday, 05 February 2005 |
as LULAC tries to save Hispanic burial site in south Phoenix
Feb. 4, 2005 12:00 AM
Tall weeds and dilapidated buildings hide the little-known Sotelo-Heard Cemetery in south Phoenix, once the dusty burial grounds for poor Hispanics
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More than 100 years ago, it was the resting place for ranch hands, farmers, their babies and even a young Mexican man killed at a pool hall in 1916.
Neglected and all but forgotten, the cemetery lies next to a house near 12th Street and Broadway Road. Rundown stores and a youth center stretch to the south and east. The cemetery has been inactive for years, has had several owners and has gone unnoticed by most. advertisement
Until now, that is.
John Ramos, president of LULAC South Phoenix Council 1098, said his group and others are ready to raise money to gain control of the property and restore the cemetery. The plot may be the final resting place for many Phoenix Latinos who were here more than 100 years ago.
Ramos and others hope to contact the property's California owners to see if they will donate the land to them.
For once, he said, there is "a historical something" tied to Latinos in south Phoenix. He fears that one day developers might want the property.
"I know I would not want my people's burials to be unearthed for the purpose of building sleek condos over them, because that is disrespectful," Ramos said.
He's not alone.
For most of his life, Ruben Abril, 43, knew nothing of the cemetery or its importance to a Hispanic legacy. But in November, he learned that some of his ancestors were buried on the lot not far from his home.
One was a 5-month-old girl who died in 1915 after drinking infected milk.
The night Abril learned of the cemetery, he was disheartened by its condition.
"How can this cemetery go so long without a fence or without a marker?" he asked. "I want a ban on development in this area, a wrought-iron fence to circle the property and the names of the people buried here on a stone marker. These are my people, my relatives."
Abril, a League of United Latin American Citizens member, consulted his uncle, Joe Abril, 73, a longtime family historian. The retired educator has spent decades researching family stories.
This branch of the Abril family settled near Ninth Avenue and Hadley Street. The second generation of Abrils grew up on streets named after Mexican states, like Chihuahuanear Mohave Street. Sonorita was the barrio name where Joe's generation of Abrils grew up.
Joe Abril, who is writing a book about his family, said his mother had 22 children, including eight boys, but several siblings died before he was born in 1932.
Though his mother did not disclose where she buried the children, Joe is sure that remains of his siblings are at the Sotelo-Heard Cemetery. He now is on a mission to complete the book.
"I was elated that these things had been found and some of these are my brothers and sisters," he said. "I think a cemetery would be nice."
Achieving the Abril family's vision to restore the Sotelo-Heard graveyard plot is a challenge because it is private property. The cemetery has changed hands about five times over 100 years, and the current owners are John H. and Karen Cochran of Irvine, Calif., who apparently are interested in selling the property for development.
A historical group, Pioneers' Cemetery Association Inc., advised the couple against selling the property on the open market and suggested that they transfer the property to LULAC.
K.J. Schroeder, a member of the cemetery association's board of directors and an archaeologist, researched the Sotelo-Heard graveyard and wrote to the Cochrans in January. He said that if they donated the land, the association would look into the possibility of refunding delinquent taxes that the Cochrans paid.
"I can only encourage the two of you to do what I consider to be the right thing for the Hispanic Community, history, and yourselves," Schroeder wrote.
The Cochrans seemed interested in giving the property to a non-profit group shortly after buying it in the mid-1990s. They and their real estate agent could not be reached for a comment.
Arizona laws prohibit government or private entities from disturbing burial grounds without permission from the Arizona State Museum in Tucson.
Schroeder's historical account of the cemetery's history is recorded in An Historic Sketch of the Sotelo-Heard Cemetery in South Phoenix. His work shows that the cemetery received heavy use between 1896 and 1922 in a community where a majority of the residents were of Mexican descent and settled, farmed, or dug irrigation canals in the Lower Salt River Valley.
Many were laborers on the Bartlett-Heard Ranch or other Anglo-owned ranches in the area.
Schroeder notes that a Michael Wormser held the deed to the cemetery from 1882-89 and that the property later was acquired by Bartlett-Heard Ranch in a land deal.
"The cemetery appears to have served as a burial place for the Mexican ranch hands, their families during the period the cemetery was owned by the Bartlett-Heard Land & Cattle Company," he wrote.
The book lists names, backgrounds, cause of death and anecdotes of the dead that Schroeder confirmed using records belonging to mortuaries, churches and doctors.
The Cochrans acquired the property by paying property taxes that had lapsed. Before they had it, the Isaac Forney family had owned the cemetery property since 1918. In 1969, the Sotelo-Heard cemetery appeared in the news when vandals carted away headstones.
The city of Phoenix indicated interest in the property but found out it did not have the authority to buy a new fence for the grounds, Schroeder said. One city official said City Hall was aware of the cemetery but could not say if it would qualify for historic designation.
Schroeder believes the list and stories of people buried is incomplete and hopes that more names and stories will be added to the list soon.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/centralphoenix/articles/0204ext-southcemetery020441Z4.html |
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Taphophilia?
taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)
ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"
DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries
Quote Repository
“Fear no more the heat o' the sun Nor the furious winters' rages; Thou thy worldly task hast done, Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages The sceptre, learning, physic, must All follow this and come to dust.” William Shakespeare - Cymbelin
Shirtless and Sculpted
The Men of Mortuaries 2008 Calendar is now available! All sale proceeds benefit KAMMCARES, a breast cancer foundation.
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