After the conference I completed the first official part of my grant. I made my way to the San Francisco History Center which is located on the 6th floor of the San Francisco Public Library. Phineas Gage died in San Francisco in the company of his mother and sister. He died from epileptic seizures which he began experiencing after his seven years in Chile. At the San Francisco History Center I was able to view the book in which Phineas Gage's death is documented. It was so neat to hold the book in which his death was documented! The book was a funeral record for Lone Mountain from 1850-1862 and was put together by N. Gray and Co. Holding that book solidified to me even more that Phineas Gage was a living person, just like you and me, who survived a horrendous accident. (He probably would have never even been famous had it not been for that fateful day when blasting through the mountains went horribly wrong.) The book, several hundred pages in length, was handwritten in fountain ink. I was not allowed to make any photocopies from it, but I was able to take pictures. (See the end of this post for multiple pictures.)
I was also able to view a registry put together by the Daughters of the American Revolution in the mid 1900s that documents where Phineas Gage was originally buried. The book contains the San Francisco Cemetery Records and documents burials from 1848-1863. This book was created using a typewriter, and even when I located Gage's name, it did not contain a specific plot number. Once again, though, it was amazing to be able to hold and look through such an intriguing piece of history!
Another site I wanted to see in San Francisco was Gage's grave. Gage was originally buried in Lone Mountain Cemetery, but when it became clear that the cemetery was not going to be large enough and San Francisco was rapidly expanding, all of the bodies were moved to Cypress Lawn Memorial Park just outside of San Francisco. I was hoping to visit Gage's grave at Cypress Lawn, but it turns out that there is just a memorial for the Lone Mountain graves that were moved and no individual headstones. I did not realize this fact until I called and spoke with someone at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park. While I am disappointed that Gage's burial is not specifically marked, I am excited to view the most important part of his body in Boston: his skull!
A big "thank you" to Tom Carey, a librarian at the San Francisco History Center, who pulled the books together for me before my visit! Your help was much appreciated!
