S. McFarland, Boothill Grave Yard, Tombstone, Arizona

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

One of the first interments I happened upon while strolling through Boothill Grave Yard in Tombstone, Arizona was this one:

That surname jumped out at me, as one of the Lashbrook brides was married to a McFarland.  My ole leaky memory kept screaming at me, 1882. 1882?? 1882.  Really??

As soon as we returned to Tana for the evening I dug into the data base, and found:

Alexander McFarland, born around 1848 in New York, married February 14, 1878 in Stacyville, Mitchell County, Iowa, died by October 1883, probably in Mitchell County Iowa.  Alexander had married Julia Ann(a) Lashbrook.  Julia married her second husband Charles Benjamin Cummings on October 15, 1883 in Mitchell County, Iowa.

Alexander and Julia had one son, Ernest.  Ernest was born October 1, 1878 in Osage, Mitchell County, Iowa, and died June 15, 1949 in Osage, Mitchell County, Iowa.  We learn from Ernest's obituary the following tidbit:

"Mr. McFarland's father died when he was a boy. His father was a tutor in Mitchell. His mother was a Lashbrook and died about 12 years ago."

I have yet to find a death or burial record for Alexander McFarland in or around Mitchell County, Iowa.

There is a booklet you can purchase for the small sum of $2.00 with data on the interments at Boothill Grave Yard.  They sell it at the visitor's center/gift shop at the cemetery.  In it they give, briefly, information on each burial in the cemetery.  The entry for S. McFarland, reads, simply:  "S. McFarland, 1882".  I was disappointed to be sure.

So, that 1882 date knocking around in my ole leaky memory was close, and the name was close, darn that initial tho, I need an "A", not an "S".  It is just a coincidence - - SIGHHHHHHH

Oh, well, got the old genie blood pressure raised up a bit for a few hours.  Hopefully when we get  back on the grid in a few weeks I will be able to take a few hours and see if there is anything new I can learn about Alexander, seeing that it has been a while since I have searched for him.