Mare Island Naval Cemetery - A Story Uncovered

For the last couple of years I have been posting YouTube videos about mudlarking on the River Thames in London and the stories behind the finds. There are several reasons I love the act of mudlarking. One of them is the feeling of calm and solitude which I experience when Im searching. Another is the anticipation and excitement of what I might find - but I think the most important is the stories which Im able to follow up behind some of these finds. People and places can be brought back to life for a while when you find an object with a place or a person's name which links it to to the object. This has always emphasised to me how all of our stories are so important and how we all have one which we will one day leave behind. The question is, will anyone know about it? The video I am posting today is not like most of my other mudlarking videos (firstly it's not about mudlarking!). But - it is a story uncovered. A story uncovered through a name on a gravestone in the USA. It happens that over 150 years ago, one of the family members detailed his thoughts through a series of letters - which I was fortunate enough to be able to use with permission from the descendants. As far as I know, very few people know of it apart from the family. I was very inspired by this unexpected story and so would love to share it with you here. It's not mudlarking. But, it's a story from the past. You get a preview here, It's my summer holiday gift to you. I hope you enjoy it.

In January 2019 whilst visiting Vallejo, California - A friend took me to visit the Mare Island Naval Shipyard which opened in 1854 and closed in 1996. It was the the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean - and it exudes a fascinating history.

Whilst there, and quite by chance, as it is not usually open to the public without prior arrangement - we had the opportunity to visit the Mare Island Naval Cemetery - as it happened to be open that day.

The Cemetery is the Bay's oldest Naval Cemetery with burials beginning in 1856 and continuing until 1921. Most of the 900 or so graves belong to US servicemen but there are other graves belonging to their family members.

I enjoyed exploring the cemetery and took some footage which I only just looked at in July 2019 on my return to the UK. I then started to research some of the names on the headstones.

I stumbled upon the story of Adeline Coy Davids and her family and felt it was a story that needed to be told. Thank you to Thomas McFarland for allowing me to use the resources on his ancestry site - including photos and letters. What was revealed is a story of a family in the 19th century who experienced a tragic loss but a love which endures now almost 150 years through the letters of Henry S Davids - a US Naval Engineer during the mid 19th Century. His correspondence after his wife's premature death to her parents expresses not only his grief and anxiety for his 3 year old daughter, but his desire to create a lasting memorial to Adeline Coy Davids in the form of a gravestone in the Mare Island Cemetery which would always be cared for.

This is particularly poignant now as the Mare Island Naval Cemetery is somewhat in a state of disrepair.

Having said that, although the Naval Cemetery is currently in a state of disrepair due in part to the closure of the actual Mare Island Naval shipyard - and lack of funds and resources for its upkeep, it exudes a feeling of peace and many stories.

At the time of writing, in July 2019, a bill has been passed to provide much needed funds for its repair and upkeep.



I do hope that in time more people can go to visit this beautiful cemetery and pay their respects to the many servicemen and others for whom Mare Island Naval Cemetery is their final resting place.

Nicola White
www.tidelineart.com

mare island naval cemetery,mare island naval shipyard,mare island vallejo,mare island,vallejo,naval cemetery,vallejo naval cemetery,