Where did the gravestones in Pioneer Cememeteries come from, especially during the years of 1860-1900? I suspect by ship to Crescent City or Rogue River, yet I would like evidence or a source regarding a stone worker or mortuary in SF.

-- Laurel A. Gerkman (gerkman@harborside.com), December 09, 2001

Answers

Hi Laurel,

As surprising as it seems, many small towns had stone cutters that made tombstomes. If there weren't any in the town itself, there was usually one in the next nearest large city.

You might even be surprised to find that along with all the day to day essentials, you could even order tombstones from the Sears catalog.

For the names of stone cutters/tombstone makers in San Francisco I would suggest just checking old SF city directories. They are usually an excellent source for that kind of info.

-- Glenn Koch (Glennk1112@aol.com), December 09, 2001.