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Livermore-Amador Genealogical SocietyRobert Graham Mortuary RecordsIntroduction |
Gary Drummond of the Livermore Heritage Guild, after learning that L-AGS had established a Web site featuring local cemetery records, informed us that the Guild owned a set of very early, previously unpublished records from the Robert Graham Mortuary in Livermore. He suggested that we add the records to our online site. We readily agreed to do so.
The Guild's records are in the form of a typescript believed to have been made by Elmer Still, former editor of the Livermore Echo. According to Guild Archivist Barbara Bunshah, the document was in the possession of local historian Janet Newton, and it passed through her estate to the Guild. Entries cover the dates from January 14, 1878 to February 27, 1893, with a long gap between February 11, 1887 and January 7, 1893. The typescript was made from the original, presumably handwritten, mortuary records, the whereabouts of which are not known. Apparently the typewritten document originally had no gap: pages 17 to 22 are missing, implying that the original mortuary records and the typescript were complete, but those pages of the transcript have been lost.
As far as is known, the Charles Graham Mortuary of Pleasanton, mentioned in our section, "Cemeteries of Pleasanton and Dublin, California," was not connected with the Robert Graham Mortuary of Livermore, with which this section is concerned.
Spelling of names in the records is erratic. Whether they were carelessly recorded or carelessly transcribed is not known. When looking for a surname in the list, creative spelling variants should be tried.
We thank the Livermore Heritage Guild for allowing L-AGS to post these rare records on our site.