Paranormal Fakelore, Nevermore - Shannon Bradley Byers' New Book!

Everyone loves a good scary story, especially if it is said to be based on a true story. Unfortunately, nowadays it appears that with all of the "paranormal" programs on television, books, and even movies, people will do anything to make a buck, even going so far to sensationalize or literally make up false history to profit off of it. When these sorts of stories pick up steam and start to be spread, there are some people out there who are lurking in the background, watching, listening and waiting. Waiting for a chance when they can expose these charlatans, these false stories and debunk the lore surrounding it, to give the public the factual story. One of these people is Shannon Bradley-Byers, and her book is "Paranormal Fakelore, Nevermore." 

I met Shannon a few years back, after finding out that she had written an in-depth investigation about the story of Bathsheba Sherman. If anyone knows my writings, they would know that I debunked the false story that had been unfairly spread about Bathsheba Sherman, no thanks to Andrea Perron and Lorraine Warren who started the whole "Conjuring" mess to begin with. You see, it only takes a person ready and willing to search the records and get to the facts, to find the truth. Sadly though most people today are too lazy and unwilling to do the legwork to get to the truth, so it remains buried alongside the very dead they are writing about. That goes against everything that both Shannon and I stand for as historians. 

Once I read Shannon's chapter on Bathsheba, and found that she had uncovered the same information that I had, I realized that she was a kindred spirit and that she was a truth seeker. Not only does Shannon cover Bathsheba Sherman's story in her book, she also covers and debunks many stories that anyone intrigued with urban legends or paranormal lore would be interested in reading. By scouring the old archives, public records and newspaper microfische of the time period, Shannon unveils hidden facts and documentation that exposes the hallowness of many myths, urban legends and local folklore that had been taken as gospel for far too long. 

Let's take the Myrtles Plantation as one prime example of her expert sleuthing skills. Not only does Shannon give you a break down of the history of the property, she also skillfully and with such precision dissects the ghost stories that have been promoted or spread over the years, by comparing the facts to the "fakelore," as she puts it.  After reading this one chapter, you will never again believe the stories you may have heard about the Myrtles Plantation before. 

Besides the Myrtles Plantation, she also successfully debunks the story of Pearl Bryan and the alleged connection to Bobby Mackey's Music World in Wilder, Kentucky.  Then she takes you down to Louisville, to the Waverly Hills Sanatorium, again using facts over fantasy, and giving her readers the truth behind this massive hospital's history. Shannon also covers the story of Lavinia Fisher & the real history behind the movie "Cold Mountain," as well as several other legends and tales that she has investigated over the years. 

Shannon Bradley-Byers' work shows her commitment to searching for and shining a light on the truth. That is a quality in a journalist that is often rare to find these days, as so many have proven themselves to be more interested in fabricating or embellishing a story, just to make their work more entertaining. Shannon needs no sensationalism in her tome, as she proves with her veracity that fact is always stranger than fiction. Another thing Shannon does without even meaning to, is she deflates all the paranormal television shows' investigations and exposes them for their (a) lack of real research, or (b) intent to over-embellish a story for higher ratings. You see, once you know the facts to a story, you can no longer un-see it, or un-read it and that is a good thing. 

So, folks, if  you want to read a book with substance and truth, one that not only opens your eyes but pushes you to question things moving forward, a book that not only provides answers to some of the most interesting stories of places and people but also a book that is concise enough to read in one sitting, I strongly suggest you order a copy of Shannon's book today. You won't be disappointed! I wasn't.

CLICK HERE to order "Paranormal Fakelore, Nevermore" on AMAZON! 

Happy History Hunting!

(Copyright 2019 - J'aime Rubio. www.jaimerubiowriter.com) 

Eliza's Lonesome Grave -- Amador County History

Perched on top of the hillside of Jackson on Church Street rests the home of Armstead C. Brown. Constructed for one of Amador County's oldest and important early pioneers, the home itself was built in 1859. It survived the great fire of 1862, which burned many of the buildings in Jackson, including the National Hotel and the old Hangman's tree on Main Street, but A.C. Brown's home, being situated on top of the great hill near the cemetery was saved. It has stood there now for over 160 years, and it is still just as beautiful as ever. I just didn't realize until recently, that property has a history that is older than the home that sits on it.

I have been visiting this home off and on for many years, ever since I was a child, since it has been the Amador County Museum for many, many years.  I had always been drawn to it, but I didn't realize until years later, as an adult, that there was a lonesome grave on the north side of the property. When I inquired about it inside the museum, the docent explained that the wife of a friend of A.C. Brown was staying there, and the young woman had died in childbirth, so the family buried her in their yard. 

I visited the grave with sad thoughts in my mind, imagining how her last moments must have been, in agony giving birth and then passing on along with her child at such a young age. Given the fact I hadn't been told a lot about the circumstances of this young woman's death, I simply assumed she had died in the house, since the story told to me was vague.

Well, I was just up there this weekend again, and while Roland was visiting Hein's estate sale down the hill, I ventured up to the museum all by my lonesome to visit Eliza. While I was there, I took in the beautiful atmosphere all around me:  the breeze, the cool shade of the trees and the fragrance of the plants in the air. I felt safe, secure and at peace. 

As I was walking back towards my car, I thought to myself, "this is such a beautiful spot, like going back to a simpler place in time." Within moments Roland surprised me walking up the cement staircase to the property and we sat there at a picnic table under the shade of the tall trees. I told him that this property is "one of my favorite places in Jackson."  I also mentioned that if it were just a regular home, and if I was rich, I would want to buy it and live in it because I love the feeling I get on the property itself! (It's funny that I said that and I will get to that reason in a moment.)

So I went home and uploaded my photos, got busy with researching Eliza's story further. Well, just as I had stated before, the house on that property was built in 1859. I didn't know that initially, it wasn't until digging deeper into my research. That was when it dawned on me, "Eliza died in 1856!"

That was three years before the home was built.

According to the Amador Dispatch, Eliza did in fact die during childbirth, but apparently she didn't die on the property itself. It says she was buried on the Brown's property on a "small knoll." 

Eliza was the wife of Leon Sompayrac, a native of France, who was not only a jeweler by trade, but also one of the original Trustees of Jackson when the town was first established, as well as a founding member of the Grand Jury. Not much is known about Eliza except that her maiden name was Hart, and she was born July 25, 1835. I could not find a marriage record, nor could I find any record of where Eliza was born or who her parents were. 

Eliza's grave itself was constructed by brick and covered with iron doors from her husband's jewelry shop. If you visit Eliza's grave (or above-ground crypt) now, you will see there are no iron doors, so either they were removed later or stolen. All that is left is the brick structure and an ornamental iron fencing around part of it, where wandering vines of ivy have crept through and grown quite beautifully around it. 

Her marker is a little confusing, because the top part reads:  "Eliza Hart, Born July 25, 1835"

While the bottom part reads: "Eliza Sompayrac, Died May 31, 1856." (both of which are two separate pieces of stone attached to the above-ground crypt). 

I searched the only newspaper of the time, the Volcano Weekly Ledger for an obituary or death notice but I found no mention of Eliza's passing. Sadly, it appears that it didn't make the newspapers back then. In newer archived articles of the Amador Ledger Dispatch, there are mentions of Eliza's passing, and the "Friends of the Amador County Museum" sponsored an annual Memorial Day Celebration at Eliza's grave back in 1986. The ceremony took place at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 25.  The article also stated that the group decided to honor Eliza on her 130th anniversary of her death, and that Eliza died "close to what would later become Memorial Day" and she "was buried on a spot she had loved in life, which was near the site on which A.C. Brown would later build his house."

So, Eliza wasn't buried there because of dying on the property. In fact, there is no documentation that I am aware of that states where she died, although we know it was somewhere in Jackson. However, it was noted that A.C. Brown had her buried on the spot that she "had loved in life."  This obviously means she loved and appreciated that beautiful hillside, just as I do, and it must have been so apparent that she loved that spot so much, that her husband and his best friend A.C. Brown, picked the very best spot that she would want to be buried: right there on that hillside. 

Unfortunately, there have been sheds and structures built around her grave over the years, so the view she once saw is not the view we see today. But if you visit the Amador County Museum and you walk that property, you will feel what Eliza felt. The same feeling that I get when I visit, too. It is a sort of soothing calmness that sets over you, and you feel at peace. 

After Eliza and her baby passed away, her husband eventually moved back to France. There are news advertisements for Leon Sompayrac's business "Fixury & Company" which he co-owned with Mr. Fixury, closing by mutual consent, and a notice in August of 1857, stating that he would be moving out of the country by August 20, 1857 and any debts owed to him that were not paid by that date would be cause for him to sue. It appears that Leon never came back to the states.

And so, Eliza and her baby rest peacefully in one of the most serene spots in all of Jackson while the world has continued to go on for the past 163 years, mostly forgetting that she is even there. With that, let's remember Eliza (and her unborn child) and their final resting place, so they will be forgotten no more. 

(Copyright 2019 - J'aime Rubio,  www.jaimerubiowriter.com) 

Sources:

Volcano Weekly Ledger, August 15, 1857

Amador Dispatch, February 3, 1966

Amador Ledger Dispatch, May 14, 1986

Find-a-grave

Jackson's Forgotten Cemetery

The city of Jackson, located in Amador County is one of the most beautiful and historic areas in the gold country of the Sierra Nevada mountains. A place where history can be found literally everywhere you look, and step. It's no wonder then that even the simplest places could hide a story, and a history, time itself has forgotten. Located just outside of town sits an old, abandoned cemetery. A sad and lonely space of land, bedraggled and overgrown with weeds, rocks, dirt and debris, this cemetery is truly an archaic reminder of those departed souls who pioneered this land long before us.

Memorial Plaque

The cemetery, so small if you blink you will literally pass it, has proven to elude many citizens in this county for years. Honestly, I didn't even realize the cemetery was there at all, until recently when I spoke with my friend Amy Doran. It was then that I learned of this very unique and special place. You see, Amy drives down Jackson Gate road every day to and from work, and she contacted me to ask if I knew anything about the small cemetery on the side of the road with one lone grave. She wanted to know who was buried there, and why was it so neglected? It seemed abandoned and very gloomy, and immediately I was intrigued. I didn't know of a separate cemetery on Jackson Gate Road, so I did some digging and came up with some very interesting history.

First off, before Amador County was established in 1854 it once was considered a part of Calaveras County. So I am assuming that the burials on this plot of land were considered residents of Calaveras when they died, because this cemetery appears to pre-date Amador County itself. From what I could find, there aren't a lot of records, if any, that tell us who might be buried under that hallowed ground except for one burial, Thomas Tormey.

Thomas Tormey's lone marker

The lone standing marker, which is said to be the oldest burial marker in all of Amador County, sits weather beaten and worn by time and the elements. It once read: "Thomas Tormey, native of Ireland, died October 9, 1850."  Thomas was about 29 years old, so his year of birth should be about 1821. Not much more is known about Thomas, such as how he died and if he had any family in the area. Unfortunately, there were no local newspapers that I can find in circulation in the area back then, thus no obituaries available since the Volcano Weekly Ledger (Amador County's first newspaper) didn't even begin until October of 1855, and the Calaveras Chronicle started a year after Tormey's death in 1851.

After making a small post on my Facebook, several friends wanted to get involved in the hunt to find out who Thomas was, and where he came from.

Friend and fellow genealogist, Debbie Lowe Myers found an immigration record for a "Thomas Tormey" from Ireland, born in 1821, who landed in New York on July 18, 1849. He also came with a Mary Tormey, age 21. Could this be our Thomas? It is possible, but there really is no way to tell for sure.

I did find a notice in the Daily Crescent newspaper in New Orleans dated January 4, 1850 noting that there was a letter for Thomas Tormey waiting at the post office for him to pick up. Could Thomas Tormey have traveled from New York to New Orleans in order to take a steamer to Panama, via the Isthmus and traveled to California? Well, we know he had to have come one way or another, and at that time period, you usually crossed the Isthmus or took a ship around the Horn. But again, since I couldn't locate his name on any of the ships manifests to San Francisco, I cannot confirm how he got to California. He could have came over the mountain range via a wagon train, which was also another way settlers managed their way to the west.

Then another Facebook friend and fellow genealogist, Sharon Healey Bartholomew found a Thomas Tormey born in 1818 in Westmeath, Ireland, the son of Bridget and Edward. Who died on October 11, 1850 in California at the age of 32. Could this be our Thomas?

Besides Thomas being buried at the cemetery, past archived records of the Ledger Dispatch state that in all there are about 30 burials on that piece of land. Again, there is no mention on the plaque outside of the cemetery of who is buried there or how they died; however, the fact that the land belongs or belonged to the Perano family, and being that there are numerous amounts of Perano's buried at other cemeteries in the area, it leads me to believe other earlier members of the Perano family were more than likely buried here in their own family cemetery.

Again, as I mentioned before, back in 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2004 there were articles in the Ledger Dispatch that mentioned an effort to restore and preserve the cemetery.

The Jackson Cemetery Committee along with the Perano family and others such as:
Jackson's Womens Club, Stan Lukowicz, Margaret Dalton, Ralph Merzlak, H. Gordon Miller, Al Nunes, Brian Drake, Terry Watson, Les Miller, Roark Weber and Warden Mike Knowles and his work crew at Mule Creek Prison all got involved to make this happen.

Sadly, time went on, and with it went the drive to keep this cemetery maintained. Since then, people have passed on, others became busy with their own businesses and lives, and little by little the cemetery became forgotten once again. My hope is that this time the community will work together to not only restore the cemetery once and for all, but keep it preserved.

Thomas Tormey deserves a proper headstone marking his grave and all the other forgotten ones buried within the property should be mentioned on some sort of memorial marker as well. It is my hope that we can make this happen somehow, some way.

I have recently contacted several people at the Ledger Dispatch as well as a reporter at the Sierra Lodestar. I am waiting to hear back from them, and maybe we can get the ball rolling with some attention being brought back to the cemetery again.  I also plan on contacting the City Cemetery Committee at City Hall as well as the local Boy Scouts, Masons, Odd Fellows and the local VFW Hall to see if any of these groups would be willing to join in on the effort to preserve what should be known as Amador County's oldest cemetery. Hopefully this idea will get the community's attention and action can be taken to move forward and honor these forgotten ones buried and abandoned for far too long.

(Copyright 2019 - J'aime Rubio  www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

Old photo of Thomas' marker when you could read the writing on it. 

Thomas' marker today. Worn and weather-beaten.