Mark Lee Marsh Mark Lee was the 2nd child of Cader and Sarah (Lee) Lee. Mark was born 14 Dec. 1799 in Hawkins County, Tennessee. Mark settled in Arkansas as a young man, engaged in farming, and became the owner of both a plantation and a distillery. Mark first married Matilda Lucinda, daughter of George L. Patrick. Children by this 1st marriage were: Sarah (b.ca.1820-25), Mary (b.ca.1825-30), and Susan (b.ca.1825-30). Lucinda died sometime between 1830 and 1833, leaving Mark with three very young daughters. Marks 2nd marriage, Apr. 18th, 1833 in Pope County, Arkansas, was to Nancy Hickey of Tennessee (born c.1815; daughter of John Hickey and Mary Merritt)* (see end note.) Children of the 2nd marriage (all born in Arkansas) were: Martha J. (b.13 Apr. 1834), a son (b.1835-40), Lucinda Lucy (b.ca.1835), Jasper Newton (b.ca.1838), Elizabeth Lizzie (b.ca.1840), Charles (b.ca.1842), William Cader (b.ca.1843), George W.(b.1845), and Milton Harvey (b.ca.1847). Some time around 1845-49, Marks first three daughters married; Sarah to Ferick Partin, Mary to Calvin R. Linsey, and Susan to a Burnly. When news of the California gold rush reached Mark in 1849, he was probably enthralled with the possibility of easy riches. It was said that a man only had to bend over and pick up the pure metal nuggets -- there was enough for everyone. Disposing of his property, he bundled his wife and 101 children of the 2nd marriage into ox-drawn wagons and set off for California that same year. In doing so, Mark would found the California branch of the family, who would be lost in family annals and records until I began my research some 140 years later. In no previous genealogy have I found a reference beyond Marks marriage to Nancy (or reference to their children). With one exception, it is unknown who else made the trip with Mark and his family. The exception was said, on the word of his grand-daughter (my great-grandmother, Losy Viola Lee), to have been a Dr. Samuel J. Merritt (Nancys cousin). Since Merritt, a bachelor of some note, lived with his sister and mother in Oakland, California, they may also have been part of the wagon-party or they may have come later. Becoming Mayor of Oakland and having a lake named after him are only some of his accomplishments, and his story is told elsewhere. Since no record of Marks first three daughters can be found in California, it is assumed that they and their families remained in Arkansas. In any case, Mark and company made the trek west from Arkansas by the southern route (the Santa Fe Trail) through Arizona and Mexico to San Diego1. California had just changed from Mexican to U.S. territory the year prior (after signing of the Treaty of Guadelupe Hildago -- the President was Zachary Taylor). The following year, California became the 31st state, and most of Nevada and Utah were organized into the Utah Territory (with Brigham Young as Governor). In San Diego, Mark sold the wagons and ox teams, and the trip to San Francisco was completed by ship. Since books listing ship passenger arrivals from 1850 and later do not list this Lee party, they probably arrived late in 1849. Unfortunately, shortly after their arrival in San Francisco, Mark was taken ill with brain fever (meningitis of the brain), and died in 1850 at the age of fifty-one. San Francisco, in those days, was a hell- hole. Sometime between 1850 and 1852, Nancy and children moved to San Jose (a much more civilized town), and are shown there in the California 1852 census with 6 of her children (daughters Martha and Lucy having married in the interim, and whereabouts of the son born 1835-40 unknown). On June 24th, 1853 Nancy married Archibald W. Naylor of Kentucky, a carpenter and early California settler. When old enough, several of the boys worked as day laborers and carpenters, probably with their step-father. Between 1854 and 1856 two additional daughters arrived; Ellen Ella and Anna Annie (both Naylor). In later years, Ellen married Lewis Hadsell (Sep. 10th, 1876), had a son, and sometime later married a Gordon. Anna died in 1867 at the age of 11. Because they are not part of the Lee bloodline, they have not been traced any further. In 1852 Elizabeth married, and between 1852 and 1860 Charles left home. The others followed between 1860 and 1870. The stories of these children are told separately under their own names. Archibald Naylor died in San Jose Jan. 26th, 1891 at the age of 89 from old age, Dr. Thomas Kelly attending. Nancy Hickey-Lee-Naylor died in San Jose two years later on June 20th, 1893 at the age of 78 from old age, Dr. J. Secord attending. Both are buried in San Joses Oak Hill Cemetery, as are many other members of this family. Mark, however, is not. San Francisco, when Mark died in 1850, had only two graveyards; Mission Dolores and Yerba Buena (the latter being the original name of the city). Mission Dolores was for Catholics, Yerba Buena for all others. Since Mark is presumed to have been non-Catholic, he must have been buried in Yerba Buena Cemetery. In 1870 Yerba Buena was to be eliminated, and those bodies not claimed or moved to other locations by relatives or friends were sent to the new Golden Gate Cemetery (often referred to as City Cemetery, since it was run by the city). Golden Gate Cemetery was to be eliminated in 1909, and bodies unclaimed were left where they lay; the headstones used to build a breakwater. The Lincoln Park Golf Course was then created upon this land. In the 1930s, after several failed attempts by real estate promoters to acquire cemetery lands, the citys voters finally approved removal of all cemeteries from the city (additional ones having been founded in the intervening years). All unclaimed bodies were sent to a common grave in Colma, in the neighboring San Mateo County. From the historical facts above, it may be assumed that Mark was buried in Yerba Buena Cemetery in 1850. When the move was made from Yerba Buena to Golden Gate in 1870, his wife Nancy (then Naylor) was living in San Jose. While she may have had his body moved, a check of the Oak Hill Cemetery in San Jose (the only one existing in Santa Clara County at the time) reveals no listing of a Mark Lee. A check of all cemeteries in neighboring San Mateo County also yields no entry for a Mark Lee. It must therefor be assumed that his body was moved from Yerba Buena to Golden Gate Cemetery. By 1909, when Golden Gate closed and the bodies were to be moved or left as is, his wife Nancy Lee-Naylor and daughters Elizabeth, Lucy, and Martha were dead. All his remaining children, other than George, had moved to other counties, and were probably unaware of the proposed move. Sons Milton and Jasper were living in Fresno, and the whereabouts of Charles and William at that time are unknown. Since there is no listing for Mark Lee in San Joses Oak Hill Cemetery, it must be presumed that son George was either unaware of the proposed move, or chose to leave his father where he was. Therefor, one must assume that Mark Lee lies under the Lincoln Park Golf Course. And, since the cemetery records cannot be found, the exact location of his grave is a mystery which may never be solved. 1. Per Geo. W. Lee in History of the State of California and Biographical Record of Coast Counties, California, Prof. J.M. Guinn, Chapman Pub., Chicago, 1904. I can account for only 9 children; Geo. may have incorrectly counted his « sister Ellen. 2. Nancy Hickey, wife of Mark Lee, was the daughter of Charles and Lucinda Hickey.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 01:00:20 +0000
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