Oakland Cemeteries in the 1850s, New Members - Ye Olden Oakland Days - Oakland Tribune - 11 Jul 1920, Sun - Page 23

Mountain View Cemetery Ye Olden Oakland Days TO BLOG Sun, Jul 11, 1920 – Page 23 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

(Data Supplied by Oakland Pioneers.)

While residences are now built practically all around the Mountain View Cemetery, back in the early days it was away "out in the country." The old residents of Oakland recall that this is not the first time that the growth of Oakland has resulted in the houses reaching a cemetery that originally was considered "quite a ways out."

In the early '50s the cemetery for Oakland was situated near Oak street, between Eighth and Eleventh streets. At that time there were practically no houses above Fourth street. In connection with that cemetery it is recalled that a diphtheria epidemic swept Oakland in 1854 and that probably several hundred children were buried there within a short space of time

A short time later the cemetery was moved to a spot between Webster and Alice, Sixteenth and Twentieth streets, and a man by the time of Wilson was the caretaker. This cemetery remained until 1864, when the Mountain View cemetery was established. It is stated that some of the bodies in both of the old cemeteries were never moved. When it became apparent that the Webster street cemetery world have to give way to the advance of the city's growth, many people buried their lead in their yards, waiting the time until the new cemetery would be established.

The regular monthly meeting of the Pioneers was held Friday night in the City Hall and Vice President Charles G. Reed presided. No special program had been arranged but the members spent the evening in meeting old friends they had not seen in years and in recounting olden days.

A class of 13 new members was admitted to membership. The names and the years when each candidate came to Oakland or was born in this city follow.

John Murphy, '60; Murray Dunham, '50; Peter Lamping, '69; Myren T. Dusinbury '62; W. R. Cole, '58; Joseph Flood, '60; M. J. Roach, '62; George E. Maloon, '53; Clarence L. Selfridge, '62; Daniel S. Richardson, '67; Professor J. H. Dorman, '65.