Wednesday, July 29, 2020

California Birth Index, Mendenhall Surname, Part 4


Happy Hump Day!

While I was in Idaho visiting family, I wasn't able to blog much at all and genealogy was limited without my notebooks and computer. I was able to do some on my phone though. We were there for 13 days and I was able to complete the Mendenhall names in the California Birth Index for the dates 1920-1940- will be split up into different posts throughout the next couple of days.

~Dates 1920-1940, Page 1





1. Hazel Marjorie Mendenhall- already in tree- 8th cousin, 3x removed
born: 05 Nov 1930 in Los Angeles County, California
died: 06 Jan 1977 in Racine, Wisconsin, age 47
Daughter of William Frank Mendenhall (1889-1933) & Ethel Blanche Moss (b. 1890)

2. Edwin Forest Mendenhall- found in tree- 6th cousin, 4x removed
born: 25 Jun 1930 in Los Angeles County, California
died: still living or unknown death...
Son of Edwin Forest Mendenhall (1905-1987) & Florence Eva Raab (1909-1984)

3. Howard Leroy Mendenhall- already in tree- 6th cousin, 3x removed
born: 29 Apr 1930 in Los Angeles, California
died: 04 Feb 1986 in South Gate, California, age 55
Son of Jesse Wilbur Mendenhall Jr. (1896-1963) & Elsie F. Aaron (1904-1975)

Riverside National Cemetery 
Riverside, California


4. Frank Thomas Mendenhall- found in tree- 5th cousin, 4x removed
born: 28 Oct 1930 in San Diego County, California
died: Living or unknown death date
Son of Edmund Thomas Mendenhall (1887-1975) & Olive Ada Peerless (b. 1895)

5. Fred George Mendenhall- found in tree- 6th cousin, 3x removed
born: 29 Jan 1930 in Long Beach, California
died: 21 Feb 1994 in California, age 64
Son of William Robert Mendenhall (1901-1983) & Helen Ward

6. Betty Louise Mendenhall- found in tree- 6th cousin, 2x removed
born: 03 May 1930 in Los Angeles County, California
died: Living or unknown death
Daughter of James Joel Mendenhall (1897-1958) & Amy Grace Lane (1895-1971)

7. Margaret Lockey Mendenhall- found in tree- 6th cousin, 3x removed
born: 12 Apr 1929 in Alameda County, California
died: Living or unknown death
Daughter of Harrison Shepler Mendenhall (1903-2000) & Phyllis Jewett (1900-1997)

8. Velma Lorene Mendenhall- found in tree- 5th cousin, 4x removed
born: 10 Aug 1929 in Los Angeles County, California
died: 09 Jan 2010 in Kingman, Arizona, age 80
Daughter of Clifford Arthur Mendenhall (1900-1976) & Jean Mullins (b. 1902)

Photo from Findagrave.com


9. Meredith Louise Mendenhall- found in tree- 6th cousin, 4x removed
born: 02 Nov 1931 in Los Angeles County, California
died: Living or unknown death
Daughter of Edwin Forest Mendenhall (1905-1987) & Florence Eva Raab (1909-1984)

10. Floyd Robert Mendenhall- already in tree- 8th cousin, 4x removed 
born: 18 Nov 1929 in Los Angeles, California
died: 02 Aug 2009 in Reno, Nevada, age 79
Son of George Mendenhall (1902-1989) & Wilma Fay Gillette (1926-1990)



San Jacinto Valley Cemetery
Plot: GLD-97
San Jacinto, California



11. James Frederick Mendenhall- already in tree- 5th cousin, 4x removed 
born: 28 Mar 1929 in Los Angeles County, California
died: 1930, age 1
Son of George Frederick Mendenhall (1891-1953) & Agnes E. Edgington (1893-1932)

Oak Hill Memorial Park
Escondido, California


12.  Frances May Mendenhall- already in tree- 6th cousin, 3x removed
born: 07 Oct 1931 in Los Angeles, California
died: 09 Jan 1978 in Denver, Colorado, age 46
Daughter of Jesse Wilbur Mendenhall Jr. (1896-1963) & Elsie F. Aaron (1904-1975)

Fairview Cemetery 
Salida, Colorado


13. Charles Alda Mendenhall- already in tree- 6th cousin, 3x removed
born: 23 Jul 1929 in Tulare County, California
died: 28 May 1991 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, age 61
Son of Fred Joseph Mendenhall (1907-1971) & Augusta M. Andersen (1908-1995)

14. Jack Marvin Mendenhall- already in tree- 8th cousin, 4x removed
born: 06 Nov 1929 in Santa Barbara County, California
died: 04 Jul 2005 in Santa Barbara County, California, age 75
Son of Jack Roland Mendenhall (1913-1968) & Kathleen Christine Hartley (1913-1987)

15. Earl Mendenhall- already in tree- 8th cousin, 4x removed
born: 19 May 1931 in Los Angeles County, California
died: Living or unknown death
Son of Earl Mendenhall (1895-1989) & Ruth Caruthers Willis (1895-1932)

16. Gwendolyn Joy Mendenhall- already in tree- 6th cousin, 3x removed
born: 26 Sep 1929 in Los Angeles County, California
died: 09 Jan 1937 in Orange County, California, age 7
Daughter of Warren O. Mendenhall (1899-1983) & Esther Lucille Lewis (1902-1987)

17. Jay Dee Mendenhall- found in tree- 6th cousin, 3x removed
born: 05 Apr 1928 in Tulare, California
died: 08 Feb 2020 in Lone Tree, Iowa, age 91
Son of Fred Joseph Mendenhall (1907-1971) & Augusta M. Andersen (1908-1995)

Photo from Findagrave.com


18. Ramon Aubrey Mendenhall- already in tree- 7th cousin, 3x removed
born: 22 Sep 1932 in Sacramento, California
died: 26 May 1966 in Walnut Grove, California, age 33
Son of Aubrey Ray Mendenhall (1902-1940) & Margaret Rose Berry (1906-2000)

Terrible photo...
Rio Vista Odd Fellows and Masonic Cemetery
Rio Vista, California


19. James William Mendenhall- already in tree- 7th cousin, 3x removed
born: 05 Apr 1932 in San Joaquin County, California
died: 30 Nov 2010 in Elko, Nevada, age 78
Son of Clyde Lauren Mendenhall (1899-1942) & Opal Roberta Lynch (1905-1975)

20. Hugh Ramon Mendenhall- found in tree- 5th cousin, 3x removed
born: 20 Jun 1928 in San Diego County, California
died: 25 Oct 1993 in Cottonwood, Arizona
Son of John Bradford Mendenhall (1905-1985) & Rita Emma Roberts (1909-1938)




Wednesday's Portrait- Irene Rich (1901-1986)


Today's Portrait: 







This is Irene Rich, a dancer in the 1920s- not to be confused with Irene Rich, the Silent Film Actress.

This Irene Rich was born Ermel Amy Rich
Born: 14 Oct 1901 in New London, Indiana
DIed: 02 Nov 1986 in Indianapolis, Indiana, age 85

She was the daughter of Lindley Murry Rich (1864-1941) & 
Ruth Ella Hobson (1868-1910)

She is also my 5th cousin, 4x removed





Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Wednesday's Portrait- John C. Fremont High School, LA, CA, 1950



Today's Portrait: 





Junior Aggies Summer

Yearbook photo from John C. Fremont High School in Los Angeles, California, 1950


15th person listed is Charles Mendenhall (1933-2006)- my 6th cousin, 3x removed. (It's hard to count 15 in because of how uneven the "lines" are in the photo)





Saturday, July 18, 2020

Mendenhall Graves in 3 Cemeteries (Oregon)


Today, my family and I just got back from a 13 day trip to visit my in-laws in Athol, Idaho. With two small kiddos, we divided the trip into two days, staying in Bend, Oregon there and back. I was also able to visit this lovely little cemetery in Athol- although, no one I know is buried there- Mountain View Cemetery

Going through Bend gave me the perfect opportunity to see some Mendenhall graves! The first cemetery we visited was in Redmond, about 20 minutes from Bend. (All the cemeteries we went to were on the trek back home to California)


Cemetery 1- Redmond Memorial Cemetery



Redmond Memorial Cemetery is located at 3511 SW Canal in Redmond, Oregon. According to Findagrave.com, it was 5,501 graves (89% photographed). It's cemetery ID is 39326. 

This cemetery was somewhat difficult to find. First, the GPS took us to the center of the town- which made NO sense. LOL THEN, it took us to a housing development behind the cemetery, located next to a high school. We had to look at a map to find our way in. (Good thing we know how to read an actual map!)

The cemetery was very beautiful and well taken care of- there were sprinklers going off while we were there and a couple of people walking around.


In Redmond, there are 5 Mendenhall individuals buried. I was lucky in the fact that I had plot numbers for all and there was a map on site.

~Abijah Walter "Bije" Mendenhall (1896-1978)- 5th cousin, 4x removed

~Bessie E. Peterson Mendenhall (1897-1961)- Wife of Abijah




Abijah & Bessie's plot- B480

~John Walter Mendenhall (1866-1942)- 4th cousin, 5x removed (father of Abijah Mendenhall)

~Hildehard Gertrude Osborne Mendenhall (1877-1903)- wife of John 

~Donald W. Mendenhall (1919-1988)- 6th cousin, 3x removed (son of Abijah Mendenhall (above)

~Winifred A. Mendenhall (1922-2011)- wife of Donald



This stone has 4 names- John W. & Gertrude were husband and wife and then Donald was their grandson. Donald's wife Winifred is also on this stone. It's located in the "Old Section" of the cemetery between two trees- my husband helps navigate on the map LOL






Plot- Old Section, 68



Cemetery 2- Pilot Butte Cemetery



Pilot Butte is located at 1250 NE Bear Creek Road in Bend, Oregon. According to Findagrave.com, there are 7,686 graves (80% photographed). It's cemetery ID is 39268. 

This was my favorite cemetery I visited during this trip, for many reasons. First, it was just gorgeous! Second, we realized, when we got there, that the office was closed, it was late in the day and we had NO plot numbers. This cemetery is on 40 acres! There is just no way to search that amount of land, especially with 2 little ones and the sun going down. Luckily, there was a wonderful book in the middle of the cemetery that was alphabetized by name and you could look up the grave plot number! 





There are 3 Mendenhall graves in this cemetery: 

~Jesse W. Mendenhall (1928-2001)- 6th cousin, 3x removed

~Joyce Florence Mendenhall (1930-1990)- wife of Jesse


I was severely disappointed because, as you can see in the picture, Jesse's marker is gone. I emailed the cemetery about it- Not sure if it'll get taken care of or not. I did find the picture on findagrave- this is what it did look like: 


Plot: Block S, Lot 3, Space 05C & 05B

~Scott Paul Mendenhall (1975-2018)- 9th cousin, 2x removed

Plot- Block W, Lot 40, Space 13

Here are some more pictures of the cemetery: 








Cemetery 3- Deschutes Memorial Gardens


Deschutes Memorial Gardens is located at 63875 Hwy 97 North. (Don't blink, you'll miss it). It has 5,461 graves (92% photographed) and is cemetery ID 38711. 

This cemetery was my least favorite. It was well-kept lawn-wise, but not as green as Pilot Butte and not as "welcoming" I guess. I guess you could say it was a little underwhelming. The road inside the cemetery was weird in that you didn't know where they would take you and they were gravel, not paved. The few religious sculptures they had were beautiful!!





I had one Mendenhall grave to look at, but again, it was very late in the day, the sun was going down, the office was closed and there was definitely no book to give me directions, so unfortunately, I couldn't locate this grave, but here is the picture of it from Findagrave.com:

~Donald Stewart Mendenhall (1920-1989)- 8th cousin, 4x removed






Side note: I totally  understand that I can obtain all of these pictures on the internet, but I always like to visit the cemeteries and take my own.




Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Mountain View Cemetery in Athol, Idaho

Good Morning! I haven't written a post in a week or so because I have been visiting family out of town! I am still away, but I visited this quaint Cemetery about 5 minutes from my in-laws in Athol, Idaho and I thought I'd share! 

So, originally I ventured to this Cemetery because there were 17 photo requests on Findagrave.com and since I had some free time this morning, I figured it was a good opportunity to adventure over there. 


The Cemetery is right off of a main road, a fast 60 mph road and then turns right and onto a dirt road. It's also a very small Cemetery (compared to others I've been to).

The dirt road to the Cemetery is gated, hours are 8am-4pm.

Dirt Road to Cemetery  (hyperlapse video I took of the road to the Cemetery) 


The view from the Cemetery is beautiful! It definitely earns the name Mountain View. 



I was disappointed because out of all 17 names, I didn't find one grave that I was looking for! AND I searched the ENTIRE cemetery.

One thing to to note is that this area is not maintained. There's no office to speak to someone and doesn't look like anyone takes care of the grounds. The whole cemetery is quite small and has an area to drive around most of it. Findagrave.com says there's a little over 300 graves.

Here are some interesting ones I thought I'd take pictures of- 




As you can see, many of the graves Intook pictures of were decorated in a very personalized manner with stuffed animals, shoes, clothing, trinkets, etc.