53Ancestors52Weeks Week 7 Theme: Unusual Source. Or, How a Weird Tale Solved a Family Mystery (Harriet Bluett Hurd)

 3 June 1935 Nevada State Journal

  This week's theme is "Unusual Source".  Genealogists use many sources to find out facts about their relatives' lives:  Census reports, birth certificates, death certificates, funeral records and city directories can give up a great deal of information to a family historian and help create a basic outline or timeline of a person's life span. But, these resources can be a little "dry".  How do you add a little personality to the dry facts? 

  One of my favorite resources lately has been local newspapers.  They give wonderful and  personal details that  help make people that lived their lives long ago all the more real.  You can really get a feel for  their personalities, their beliefs, their interests and sometimes even hear things in their own words if they are quoted. You may be really  lucky and get to see a photograph! 

  Using newspaper articles as a resource is not that unusual in genealogical research. But,  newspaper stories can  give up unusual details that might help answer questions that have gone unanswered through the usual methods.   I found out something very unusual from a little snippet  in the Nevada State Journal just the other day, when I was searching for articles about another cousin, Alta Powers.  It was certainly a weird story, but it helped confirm a fact that I thought was true, but couldn't prove with the usual resources. 

  For the last several years I have been researching my Hurd/Bluett families that came from Pennsylvania to California and Nevada in the mid 1800's.  They were a hardy bunch that ended up living in the mining town of Virginia City, Nevada.  My Great Great Great Grandmother was Harriet Bluett Hurd.  She and her husband had a total of 10 children, and she came to the west from Pennsylvania not once, but twice.  The first trip the family made was across the Isthmus of Panama and up the coast to San Francisco, and then by stage to Nevada City, California.  Her husband died in a mine accident in Virginia City in 1876, after the family had gone back to Pennsylvania and made yet another trip back out west to settle in Virginia City.    She lived there with her remaining children until her death in 1893 at the age of 58.  

  I had several nice resources on her life to work from, including 40 years worth of US  census records, census population records from Pennsylvania, and local County birth and death records.  I even found several newspaper snippets about her trips to visit family in Nevada City, and her last illness and eventually her death.  I did not, however, have any records of her place of burial.  I had many records of her children's final resting places, but not hers nor her husbands.  The family story was that she was buried in Virginia City, but no one could locate her actual grave. 

  My mother tells  the story of how she and her uncle and grandmother (my GGG Grandmother Harriet's granddaughter)  drove up to Virginia City, Nevada  from Nevada City, California (a day trip to be sure) in the 50's.  They went to the cemetery trying to find where the grave was.  My mom recounts the story..."I can see all of us tramping around the cemetery with the wild winds whipping the long grass around.  Spooky, especially when you are a kid!"  I too, have been tramping around that cemetery looking for relatives, with no luck.  And yes, the cemetery can be spooky with its constant winds, weeds and sagebrush. 

The Silver Terrace Cemetery Virginia City, Nevada.  From Travel Nevada.

  As I was looking for articles with the name of Alta Powers (I had been researching her story at the time) on Newspapers.com during their latest free weekend,  this headline jumped out at me. GROUND COLLAPSES AS RENO GIRL PUTS FLOWERS ON GRAVE. What? Whose grave? Was she Ok? I didn't even have Harriet Bluett Hurd on my radar that day. As I read on, the article gave the exact relationship to the deceased...her grandmother.  That would have been Harriet Bluett Hurd!  It also gave the location of the grave as "near the old Mexico Mine" in Virginia City.  Well, that would have been very close to the vicinity of the Silver Terrace Cemetery.  The grave was probably over one of the many tunnels from the mine, and the ground gave way.   And, thank goodness, my first cousin 3x removed was ok after the ordeal. 

   Considering that there are hundreds of unmarked graves in this cemetery, and at that time the ground was still under threat of collapsing, I will probably never determine the exact location of her burial.  But, now I do know that she was, in fact, buried in Virginia City in 1893.  Her husband is most likely there, too.  Too bad this very strange and weird story didn't get passed on to my Great Grandmother! 

  

Relationship Reference:  Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Harold Hansen->Vere Burrows Hansen->Elizabeth Jane Hurd Burrows->Harriet Bluett Hurd

Alta Powers was the daughter of Hattie Hurd Powers, whose mother was Harriet Bluett Hurd. Harriet was a younger sister of Elizabeth Jane Hurd Burrows. 

The Hurd Family: Valuable Heirlooms Donated To Bowers Mansion (Hurd)

 

An excerpt from the article published in the Nevada State Journal 7 March 1951

  Imagine my surprise when I found this gem of an article in the Nevada State Journal!  As I did more research, I learned that more than 500 families have donated period furnishings that are now housed in Bowers Mansion.  Within this story is a mention of the famous Steinway that was moved from the Meacham house to the Piper Opera House the night Emma Nevada gave her concert in Virginia City (3 December, 1885).  The Hurd and Powers families were very proud of that piano.  

Bowers Mansion taken in the 1860's Nevada Magazine July-August 2014

  Bowers Mansion was built by Sandy and Eilley Bowers who made their fortune in silver mining on the Comstock.  They chose to build their grand home at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains overlooking Washoe Lake in 1862.  By 1868 the silver mines had played out and before Sandy could sell his mine he died of a lung condition. Eilley turned the mansion into a public resort to help pay the bills.  She advertised the mansion as having fine baths, a piano, an extensive library, a billiard table and all the comforts of home. Two manmade ponds were available for use and there were landscaped grounds to enjoy. By 1873 the Mansion had become a premier destination with picnickers and "Pioneers" who came every year to reminisce about the early days on the Comstock.  Sadly, by 1876 Eilley lost everything at a public auction, but for the next quarter century owners and managers opened the mansion to the public.  The V &T Railroad offered affordable excursion tickets allowing locals to swim, dance and picnic as they did in the past. (Nevada Magazine July-August 2014). 

  The  Historic Bowers Mansion continues to be a summer respite for locals, as it is now located within Bowers Mansion Regional Park (Washoe County, Nevada). You are able to take tours of the home,  picnic, swim, play and enjoy the grounds May through October.  School tours are very popular, also.  

 Here is the article as it appeared in the paper.....

Original Bedstead, Other Valuables Given To Bowers By Hurd Family

 "Last week, Mrs. B.R Addenbrooke, curator of the Bowers Mansion, received some precious heirlooms that were part of the mansion's original furniture." 

  "They were gifts of the 'three Hurd girls', two of whom are living today in Reno.  Mrs. Annie Hurd Smith and Miss Edith Hurd, two of the well known 'three Hurd girls' in Virginia City in the heyday of the Comstock, live at 120 Stevenson St. in Reno.  Unfortunately many of the pictures of those historic days which the sisters had were destroyed in the flood last winter."  (The Thanksgiving Flood of 1950)

  Piano Cover

  "Now, on the piano in the Bowers Mansion is the piano cover that covered the Steinway piano sent around Cape Horn to James Fair, one of the 'Big Four' of those early days. This is a gift of Alta Powers, of Oakland."

  "It is a large cover, 6x7 feet, of beautiful tapestry. Its colors are blue and tan, and completely around the cover is a deep fringe. The piano was purchased by Robert Meacham, the only coal and wood dealer in Virginia City at that time, and by him given to Alta Powers, his granddaughter, a daughter of Mrs. Ina Powers Sample, of Pasadena, California. (Correction:  Ina was Alta's older sister, not her mother). Mrs. Sample died a few years ago, and the piano was disposed of, but Alta Powers kept the piano cover, which is now the property of Bowers Mansion."

Other Gifts

  "From Mrs. Annie Hurd Smith and Miss Edith Hurd, the mansion received some exquisite pillow slips, bordered in crocheted lace seven inches wide, with insertions set between clusters of hand run tucks.  At the same time Miss Hurd and Mrs.  Smith gave Bowers Mansion some pillow shams, less ornate, embroidered in turkey red thread, and some splashers, fringed and embroidered in turkey red hem are handmade, indicating that the women of that day had much time to spend on work of this kind."

  "But probably the most valued gift received from the members of the Hurd family was one of the original bedsteads that was purchased for the mansion by Eilley and Sandy Bowers, bought from them by Robert Meacham and in turn turned over to the Hurd family. The chair, table and bureau of the early days that were part of the bedroom suite are in Pasadena, but the original bed has never left Nevada, and in the spring will be placed in a suitable room in Bowers Mansion."

 Former Teacher

  "Edith Hurd, who came from Pennsylvania to Virginia City when she was six months old, knew the 'Big Four' of that era very well.  She taught school later in Virginia City.  Her father, William Hurd, was a mining engineer in Virginia City and her brother, John H. Hurd, ran a hoist in the old C and C Mine."

  "The 'Three Hurd Girls' are the survivors of a family of 11.  Their father, William Hurd was killed in an accident in Virginia City.  Mrs. Hattie Hurd Powers was one of the three sisters and Alta Powers is her daughter."

  "Both Miss Gloria Mapes, president of the furnishing committee, and Mrs. Addenbrooke, curator of Bowers Mansion, were very happy yesterday when they got the history of the old bedstead, one of the original pieces of furniture in the mansion.  The response of the 'old timers' who wish to see the mansion restored to its original splendor has been remarkable, and the work of completing the job has been speeded up through the cooperation of many to whom the early day history of Nevada has become highly important."

  All genealogists have to do lists.  Making a phone call to the curator of Bowers Mansion in May (they are currently closed) is now on my list of things to do.  I would love to see if they have any of these items still in their possession, and determine exactly which bedstead belonged in our family.  With COVID restrictions being lifted, I may even get to take a tour!  I have to admit; I have lived in this area for almost 40 years and I have not yet been inside Bowers Mansion.  Now, I have an extra special reason to do some exploring.  Field trip!!

  There are several interesting articles and videos on the Bowers Mansion website through Washoe County.  I especially recommend the article from Travel Nevada entitled Legendary Nevadans: Eilley Bowers of Washoe Valley and the video from Wild Nevada (Episode 509) where you can see the furnishings and accessories inside the mansion.  The clip is about 8 minutes into the video.  The site can be reached at: 

https://www.washoecounty.us/parks/specialty_facilities/bowers_mansion.php

  These are just more tidbits of information I have found from my research that remind me everyday of what a unique connection my family has to this area I have called home and have loved for 36 years.  I hope my grandchildren down the line will  appreciate this also.  I bet my Great Grandmother Hansen never once thought about having a great granddaughter of the future who would be so interested in learning about where she came from and the people that helped get her there!

Relationship Reference:  Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Harold Hansen->Vere Burrows Hansen->Elizabeth Jane Hurd Burrows.  

The "Three Hurd Girls" were Elizabeth Jane's younger sisters.  Her sister Hattie Hurd Powers was the mother of Ina and Alta Powers. 

52Ancestors52Weeks Week 2 Theme: Family Legend HER PATRIOTISM UNBOUNDED (Vere Burrows)

Daily Evening Tidings (Published in Grass Valley, California) May 21, 1903

Week 2 Theme:  Family Legend

  In my post of June 25, 2020, I touched briefly on a family story that my Great Grandmother, Vere Burrows Hansen, was the only one to shake hands with President Teddy Roosevelt during his train stop in Colfax, California on May 19, 1903.  I suppose you could say that it was a family legend of sorts.  Merriam Webster defines legend as a story handed down from the past, popularly regarded as historical but not verifiable.   This story has indeed been handed down! But, as intriguing as that story was, I hadn't found any real proof that Vere was actually at the train depot, or had really  shaken the hand of Teddy Roosevelt. 

Nevada County Narrow Gauge Rail Road advertisement for transportation to Colfax.  Ladies and Children were only charged 50 Cents. 

   At the time I wrote the post of June 25, I had not yet rummaged through all the papers and photos that my Auntie Claire had in boxes that were semi organized.  I spent the rest of the summer combing through newspaper snippets, receipts, unidentified pictures, obituaries, and report cards belonging to my grandfather and his brothers.  I came across a fragile pile of whole newspapers from 1903 and 1904 that were published in Grass Valley and Nevada City,  California.  I could tell that several were saved as they contained  articles relating to the death by suicide of my Great Great Grandfather, Alexander Burrows in 1904.  He was Vere's father.  Then, I came across two very brittle newspapers that I carefully unfolded and read several times, as I could not figure out why they were important enough to save.  Lo and behold, this headline stood out in a small article on page 8 of the Daily Evening Tidings, printed May 21, 1903.  HER PATRIOTISM UNBOUNDED it said....

Here is the transcribed article in its entirety. 

DAILY EVENING TIDINGS May 21, 1903. Page 8. HER PATRIOTISM UNBOUNDED Young Lady of this City Receives Unusual Distinction. ________________ Miss Vere Burrows has the Honor of Being the Only One of Her Sex to Shake Hands with the President. _________________ Miss Vere Burrows of this city is a most enviable young lady. She has the distinction of being the last to shake the hand of President Roosevelt during his recent stop at Colfax. That is certainly an honor to be proud of and she is carrying the distinction with becoming grace. This young lady is nothing if not patriotic. She is imbued with the spirit which has made Columbia celebrated in prose and poetry for the daring and patriotism of her sons and daughters. When the idea of tendering a reception to the President was first mooted she made up her mind that she would see him. It would be her first glimpse of a President and she reasoned that it would be an honor worth going miles to witness. She was among the hundreds who left on the excursion Tuesday afternoon and when she reached Colfax her patriotism was ablaze at the sight of so many thousands waiting to do homage to the distinguished guest. She waited patiently for the President’s special to arrive and when it hove in sight her enthusiasm knew no bounds. When the train stopped she was one of the first to elbow her way to the platform on which the President stood. Nothing could cool her patriotic ardor or deter her from her purpose to get close to “strenuous Teddy,” as he is familiarly called. She jostled and elbowed with the good natured crowd until she found herself directly below the rear platform of the train on which the President travelled. Then the improvised platform from which the presentation speech was made was brought forward and she was crowded somewhat out of place. For a moment she was chagrined at being forced from her position, but for a moment only. She stood and watched the President as he intently absorbed every word uttered by Judge Nilon and when he began to speak she was brimful of enthusiasm and patriotism. What a pity it would be to permit such a splendid opportunity to pass without shaking the President by the hand. In a moment she was on the improvised platform standing face to face with the nation’s chief. The engineer had already whistled the signal to start and she saw the opportunity slipping from her when she reached out her hand and exclaimed “Mr. President I would like to shake hands with you.” “Glad to have the honor, young lady,” replied President Roosevelt, and he extended his hand and gave her a hearty strenuous shake. Just then the train pulled out and the President was quickly out of sight. That’s the reason why her friends are envying her the honor he had bestowed on her. And in the after years, when the evening of life begins to cast its shadows like the edge of an approaching shroud, and when the hair that is now beautiful and fair shall be supplanted with locks of silvery gray, she will delight in gathering her loved ones around the hearthstone and telling them that out of hundreds of women who went to Colfax to see the President she was the only one to shake him by the hand.

Nevada County Daily Morning Miner Thursday May 21 1903 Page 5.  This paper was published out of Nevada City, California. 

  So, my Great Grandmother did indeed shake the hand of President Teddy Roosevelt! I had found verifiable proof that she not only was there, but that the family story was true.   She had her "15 minutes of fame",  and then  went on to lead a life full of patriotism and pride in her country.  

  The local Grass Valley paper, The Union, recently published a story that involved this incident in Vere's life.  The author, Steve Cottrell, was writing a series of stories on Teddy Roosevelt and his whistlestop tour that included Colfax, California.  Margaret Hansen Boothby (my mother) relayed the information and the newspaper articles that I had discovered to Mr. Cottrell,  thinking he could use the story somehow. He did  use Vere's story as "bookends" to his story on the search for the Navy ship the Levant. Here is the article as it appeared in The Union December 25, 2020.   I especially loved how he used Vere's High School Graduation picture from 1900. He got the  marriage date wrong by a year...she married in 1904.  And so, her story continues! 

Searching for an uncharted Pacific island

The search for an uncharted island

News NEWS | December 25, 2020

By Steve Cottrell | Special to The Union

Last month we explained how three Nevada County men arranged to present President Theodore Roosevelt with a collection of gold specimens when his train stopped at the Colfax depot on May 19, 1903. It was a brief stop, less than 15 minutes, but those who were present never forgot seeing and hearing the president — especially Vere Burrows.

A 1900 graduate of Grass Valley High School, Vere managed to nudge her way through the crowd and stood below the train’s rear platform as Roosevelt spoke. When he finished to loud cheers, Miss Burrows called out, asking to shake his hand, so the president reached down and obliged.

Roosevelt then began motioning to James Hague, president of the North Star Mine and one of the Nevada County men who arranged for the Colfax ceremony. Hague and Roosevelt knew each other as members of the elite Century Association, a private club in New York City, and the president wanted his friend to join him as the train proceeded to Sacramento.

While Vere Burrows and other Nevada County residents headed home with life-long memories, Hague sat with Roosevelt in his private car, explaining why a search of the Pacific Ocean south of Honolulu, in an area where Navy sloop-of-war Levant apparently met with tragedy in 1860, was needed. The Navy had long ago concluded that Levant foundered in a storm, but Hague believed it wrecked, not foundered, and some survivors might still be alive on an uncharted island. He needed Roosevelt’s help to undertake a search.

Hague’s theory was based in large part on a mast that washed up south of Hilo in May 1861. It was consistent with a Levant mast and had spikes driven into it in a manner suggesting it came from a jerry-rigged raft. The August 4, 1861, New York Times reported that if the mast was from Levant, “it would go far to sustain the belief that the ship had been wrecked on some shoal, reef, rock or island, and not foundered.”

James Hague was 24, living in Hilo, when Levant set sail for Panama, and prior to its departure had become friends with the ship’s commanding officer, William Hunt, and several sailors. Forty-three years later, with TR’s assistance, the 67-year-old Nevada County mine owner hoped to solve the mystery of the vessel’s disappearance.

Asking Roosevelt to make a ship available to hunt for an uncharted island more than four decades after Levant disappeared may have been stretching their friendship, but in 1904, as part of a May shakedown voyage for the freshly christened Navy cruiser USS Tacoma, Roosevelt and Secretary of the Navy William Moody authorized the ship’s commanding officer to work with a special passenger, James Hague, to search for a possible Pacific island and any evidence of it having been a safe haven for survivors of Levant.

SEARCH

Nearly 8,000 square miles were covered during a zigzag search hundreds of miles south of Honolulu, but no uncharted land was spotted. Although Hague’s charts encompassed about 30,000 square miles, Tacoma, running low on coal, was forced to return to San Francisco after only four days of searching. On June 3, 1904, the Associated Press reported that in addition to needing more coal, “(Tacoma) carried no appliances for deep-sea sounding, so her exploration was wholly superficial.”

Three months later, Hague spoke at a session of the International Geographical Congress in New York City, introduced by Arctic explorer Robert Peary. His topic, naturally, was Levant’s 1860 disappearance and the search for an uncharted Pacific island.

“I had the honor to bring the matter to the attention of President Roosevelt,” Hague told the IGC delegates, “and thereafter…Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Moody, determined to send an expedition as soon as one or more suitable vessels could be spared for the service.”

Although the ill-prepared search was unsuccessful, Hague remained optimistic, suggesting to his audience that the ship’s company “might have landed without the loss of a single life, in which event there might still be some survivors.”

During his lecture Hague talked about a possible second search, but it never materialized. And on August 3, 1908, the 72-year-old owner of the North Star Mine died at his summer home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

As for Vere Burrows, 45 days after shaking TR’s hand she married miner John Hansen, a native of Norway and veteran of the Spanish American War. Vere, a founder of the Grass Valley PTA and charter member of the Nevada County Historical Society, died in Grass Valley in 1974.

Historian Steve Cottrell, a former Nevada City Council member and mayor, can be contacted at exnevadacitymayor@gmail.com.

Navy sloop-of-war Levant sailed from the then-Sandwich Islands in September 1860, bound for Panama, but never reached port and was thought to have foundered during a storm. North Star Mine owner James Hague, however, believed Levant wrecked, not foundered, and in 1903 asked President Theodore Roosevelt to authorize a search for an uncharted Pacific island.
Courtesy Library of Congress

James Duncan Hague was a prominent Nevada County mine owner, geologist and friend of Theodore Roosevelt. In 1903, Hague asked Roosevelt to exercise his presidential powers and help him search for an uncharted Pacific island — a request the president fulfilled in 1904.
Courtesy Searls Historical Library

Grass Valley native Vere Burrows Hansen, a 65-year member of Manzanita Parlor No. 29, Native Daughters of the Golden West, was reportedly the only female to shake President Roosevelt’s hand when he spoke at the Colfax railroad depot on May 19, 1903.
Courtesy Patricia Alden and Margaret Boothby

Relationship Reference:  Me->Margaret->Harold Hansen->Vere Burrows Hansen

Alexander Burrows: A Colorful Life Part 3 (Burrows)

 

Daily Morning Union, Grass Valley and Nevada City, Cal., July 28, 1904

  I knew that my Great Great Grandfather, Alexander Burrows, took his own life while living in San Francisco in the early 1900's.  I discovered this brittle, fragile newspaper in my Auntie Claire's research files. The short article tells about a sad ending to a very colorful life.   How did Alexander go from being  a successful lawyer in a growing mining town to "subsequently loosing it all, owing to his friends and the public deserting him on account of his manner of life"?  (The Daily Morning Union, July 27, 1904 front page).  That is a good question. 

  Alexander had built up a strong practice since his marriage to Elizabeth Jane Burrows around 1874-5.  According to the newspaper reports, he  frequently and successfully defended accused murderers  and also participated in some important cases regarding mining law.  He was a colorful lawyer, and was on occasion involved in verbal and physical altercations with prosecuting  lawyers.  He seemed to get along with the community and was esteemed enough to be elected City Attorney.  

  He and E.J. had twelve children in all.  E.J. herself was admitted to practice law.  They seemed to be a family that was popular in the community.  But, there were tragedies that happened from time to time that possibly led to their eventual divorce. Their son Frank was born in April 1887 and died in August of  1887. In January of 1892 their young daughter Lillian died from diphtheria.  In February 1892 their son Edison was born, but died later that August. Their son Herbert's admittance to the Napa State Hospital was never spoken of, and since he was unable to list any relatives on his WWI Draft Registration card (relatives "unknown") it looks like he was abandoned by his family.  The original name of the hospital was the Napa Insane Asylum. There must have been stress around the decision to admit him.  Did E.J. want to keep him at home? Did Alexander want to put him away? Did Herbert's  behavior or lack of intelligence reflect badly on Alexander's practice?  Alexander may have had a brother back home in Sligo that lived in a Workhouse.  The only family member looking out for him was a brother in law, and the court system. Unfortunately, this is what happened to many family members who were deemed  cognitively  impaired , insane or criminally insane.   

  According to the Morning Union on the 13th of December 1894 Mrs. Lizzie J. Burrows was granted a divorce from her husband , A. Burrows, the lawyer.  The complaint charged was cruelty and inability of the couple to live happily together.  Did E.J. resent the fact that she had twelve children and was not able to practice as a lawyer like her husband?  Was she jealous of his success?  Was he not able to emotionally support her during family tragedies? Were there personality traits in one or both parties that we are not aware of?  Was the fact the Alexander was busy and constantly working a factor?  Or was is something else entirely? This is all purely conjecture on my part.  There are always two sides to every story, and I am not in possession of all the facts, nor will I ever be.  So, I will go on with the story.  This next snippet from the Union might give some clues.....look carefully at the date. 

Morning Union, Volume 52, Number 7405, 14 December 1894

Burrows' Compliments

A. Burrows, the well-known attorney-at-law, was a visitor at the county seat yesterday.  His business of course was at the court house, but not for the purpose of filing complaints, demurrers, answers or notices to call up, etc., but for the simple purpose of having the clerk issue to him a certain document, authorizing any Judge, Justice of the Peace, priest or minister of the gospel of any denomination to perform certain ceremonies.  And being a member of the bar and not wishing to slight any of the attaches of the court house, he magnanimously treated the Clerk's and Sheriff's offices to a large box of "Roma F.K.H. Habana Regalia Chica Fina" cigars of many sizes and varieties.  The boys all agree that cigars, like wine, improve with age.  

In other words, he obtained a marriage license.  He married a Miss Dodge, a native of Forest Springs, Nevada County.  They married sometime in  early 1895.  

Morning Union, volume 53, 24 March 1895

LOCAL BREVITIES

A. Burrows has moved into the M.P. Stone house on Richardson street, until recently occupied by Dan Morgan. 

Morning Union, Volume 54, 21 August 1895

PERSONALS....Mrs. A. Burrows was a guest in the Gurary Hotel at Denver which was destroyed by an explosion, the same day the accident occurred , she left a few hours before the dreadful affair took place.  Mrs. Burrows was in Leadville yesterday en route home.  

Note:  This was the new Mrs. A. Burrows.   Elizabeth Jane Burrows still lived in Grass Valley on Townsend Street, a short distance away from the new Mrs. Burrows. She was often referred to as Mrs. E.J. Burrows in the paper. 

  Alexander Burrows still worked hard at his profession.   He was elected City Attorney on January 5, 1897. And, he continued his quarreling ways in court...

Morning Union, 18 February 1897

Attorneys Fight

The usual quietness of Justice Trebilcox's court was disturbed yesterday afternoon by Attorneys Burrows and Kitts becoming involved in a wordy duel during the progress of the case of Mrs. Stead vs. Irving.  The quarreling lawyers also attempted to strike each other, but were separated before they succeeded in doing any bodily harm.  Justice Trebilcox fined each $20, or in default of which to serve one day in the county jail, for contempt of court.  They were given until this morning to pay the fine. 

Morning Union, 19 February 1897

LOCAL BREVITIES

Tomorrow morning the case of the People vs James Hoskings, charged with keeping open his saloon after midnight, will come up before Justice Paynter and a jury.  C.W. Kitts will appear for the defendant, and A. Burrows, City Attorney, will conduct the prosecution.  It is stated that the defendant will attack the validity of the ordinance on legal grounds.  

Note:  Burrows and Kitts also paid their $20 fines, per the Union. 

Morning Union, 25 February 1897

LOCAL BREVITIES

Dr.s Brown and Jamison, assisted by Dr. Hays, performed a laparotomy on Mrs. A. Burrows for the removal of an abdominal tumor.  The patient rallied well and is progressing as favorably as can be expected.  

Morning Union, 28 February 1897

Died This Morning

Mrs. A. Burrows, on whom an operation was performed a day or so ago for the removal of a tumor, died in her home on Richardson street this morning about 3 o'clock.  The deceased was a lady of considerable literary ability, and was of a sunny disposition.  Previous to her marriage to Mr. Burrows about two years ago she resided at Sacramento.  She was a native of Forest Springs, Nevada County.  

Morning Union, 2 March 1897

LOCAL BREVITIES

Mrs. Lameter, sister of the late Mrs. A. Burrows, and husband, have arrived to attend the funeral which takes place this morning from the residence on Richardson street at 11 o'clock.  The services will be conducted by the Rev. E.R. Willis of the Methodist Church.  Internment will be at Greenwood Cemetery.  

Morning Union, 3 March 1897

LOCAL BREVITIES

The funeral of Mrs. A. Burrows took place from her late residence on Richardson Street yesterday morning and was well attended.  The Board of City Trustees followed the remains to their last resting place in a body.  The pallbearers were: John Muhoy, Thos. Buckett, Fred Trebilcox, R.D. Lawrey, Wm. Paynter and Wm .P. Rodgers.  

  So, Alexander's new found happiness with his second wife was over in two short years.  

The next place I find Alexander Burrows is on the 1900 Census.  He was still living in Grass Valley on Richardson street.  His occupation was still lawyer, he  was listed as head of his household, divorced, and the census also listed  a Celia Armstrong (aged 28) as his "housekeeper".  This may be why the public deserted him, "on account of his manner of life."  I  don't know for sure.  By 1904 he was in San Francisco living at in a hotel at 416 Turk Street. 

The Daily Morning Union of Grass Valley and Nevada City, July 27, 1904 

GAS ENDS THE LIFE OF A. BURROWS AT THE BAY

Former Grass Valley Attorney Wrote Flippant Farewell in Verse and Turned on Deadly Fumes

After writing a flippant farewell in verse to the coroner, A. Burrows, an attorney, formerly of Grass Valley,  killed himself this morning by inhaling illuminating gas.  Despondency over failure to secure employment is supposed to have been the cause of death. 

  Burrows gave no sign of his intention when he went to his room at 416 Turk street last night.  Shortly after 7 o'clock this morning Charles Wheland passing through the hall, detected the odor of gas.  He notified G.W. Shrinker, the landlord, and C. McCarthey, the janitor, who broke into the bathroom adjoining Burrows' room, and found the unfortunate man on the floor, dead. 

   Burrows had evidently started to kill himself in his own room, as the cracks of the doors and windows had been stopped with paper, but later decided to end his troubles in the bathroom.  With glue he pasted papers under the door and between the window sashes.  

  In the dead man's room this verse to the coroner was found:

"Coroner, to you I will confide

This is a case of suicide:

The causes they are multiplied;

Let them remain still mystified. 

All my old friends, the true and tried,

Have passed on that other side.

In plainer words, have chilled and died.

Alone am I--the suicide.

Back to old earth I journey blithe.

To her embrace, whate'er betide,

We all return howe'er allied;

And thus to go I'm satisfied."

Several verses on suicide he had partly destroyed.  One fragment read: "Or gas turned on--Or a swallow of poison, not carbolic acid.  But some of the kind that is bitter, but placid.  Like morphine, queen of the night and of sleep.  That induces repose and a coma so deep that its patron glides over the valley of death.  As a child in its joy sometimes runs out of breath."

Another verse addressed to Mount Shasta begins:

"Great giant of the hills, you pierce the cloud......shroud,...and ends:  "To thee all time is eternal now, Great sentiled (?) of eternity art thou." 

The article continues...

  He was a man of great brain power, had the law at his finger tips and might have risen to almost any height had he chosen to put his talents to their proper use. 

  He was twice married in this county.  Both ventures were unhappy.  Divorce ended the first and the death of his second wife, who was a Miss Dodge of Davisville, left him again free.  He became a cynic and a pessimist of the deepest dye, and gradually went down and down, morally and physically, but retained his keen mental powers. 

   About a year ago he left this city (Grass Valley) to accept the editorship of the Pacific Coast Miner.  When that journal gave up its San Francisco office some months ago Burrows lost his position.  He then took up the practice of law at Aetna Mills, but left there on July 1st, weary of life, unsuccessful and broken down, his life misspent and no light gleaming ahead in the darkness.  Worst of all, he was without funds.  An old friend here sent him some money to tide him over, but from the tone of Burrows' letters it was evident he had determined to end his life.  In fact, he seemed to have been thinking of it for three months past, having mentioned the fact in more than one letter. 

  Burrow's first wife and a large family still make this city their home.

I will continue in the next post with the repercussions of Alexander Burrows' suicide on his family.