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From: Jeremy Nichols <>
Subject: [CASONOMA] Re: CASONOMA-D Digest V01 #45 (Petaluma Cemeteries)
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 15:22:28 -0700
References: <200109291700.f8TH0Cu00707@lists2.rootsweb.com>


> Can anyone on the list tell me the names of the cemeteries located in
> Petaluma ? Trying to track down the burial site of my G-aunt Edna Potter (died 1911)
> Thanks! Joanne, Salem OR.

Joanne,
There are two cemeteries in Petaluma that were in use in 1911 (and are still in use):
1. Calvary (Catholic) telephone 707-762-8462.
2. Cypress Hill (everyone else), includes B'nai Israel ("Petaluma Jewish") Cemetery, telephone 707-762-6683.
These two are side by side on Magnolia Avenue. Your relative is likely to be at one or the other.

A cemetery known as Oak Hill was in use during the 1800s but was closed because the land was subject to flooding (so Cypress Hill was created). The city required that all remains be removed from Oak Hill (now a city park) around 1900 but some
people buried there had no one to move them, or the family didn't want to, couldn't afford to, etc. Consequently, there are still unmarked and unknown graves on this property.

There was a very early burial place at what is now Hill Plaza Park and a later one at the corner of Washington and Howard Streets. No known burials are at either site today.

For more details, contact Mrs. Lucy Kortum at the Petaluma Historical Museum, telephone 707-778-4398 or email . Ask Lucy about her article in volume 12, number 1 of the newsletter "Update" published by the museum.

There are also cemeteries outside of Petaluma, for example Liberty Cemetery, that could be considered to be "Petaluma" cemeteries, but the two above should be checked first. With a death date of 1911, California law required a death
certificate be made out by the officials in the county in which the person died. The death certificate will have the name of the cemetery. You can call the Sonoma County Recorder at 707-565-2645 and they should be able to check for you, at
least to learn whether there is a death certificate on file. If you want a copy, they will want money (of course).

All of the above will be discussed in nauseating detail in my forthcoming book, "Cemeteries of Sonoma County, California," to be published next year (God willing).

Jeremy Nichols
Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California


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