RANCHO CORDOVA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Exhibitor at Family History Day

Did you know that Rancho Cordova was once home to many great vineyards and farms? Or that Art Linkletter helped christen one of the first subdivisions in the area? Come to a Rancho Cordova Historical Society meeting and find out more!

The Rancho Cordova Historical Society (RCHS) was established in 2009. The founding Board of Directors include Craig Osborn-President, Lynne Fulgham-Vice President, Linda Budge-Treasurer, Janet Huddle-Secretary, Marjorie Boulton-Historian, Daphne Gill, Dr. Merlin Mauk, Katherine Weedman-Cox and JoAnn (Cabral) Wilson. It is affiliated with the Cordova Community Council and the City of Rancho Cordova.

The vision of the newly formed RCHS is to be a trusted steward of historically valuable artifacts and an innovative educator for the public. Their geographic reach covers the local area broadly, expanding beyond the limits of the City of Rancho Cordova.

RCHS members in period clothing
at the Kick-off celebration

During the recent Family History Day and RCHS Kick-off celebration with the American River Grange, the RCHS was able to capture many oral histories, gave tours of the Kilgore Cemetery and help the residents of Rancho Cordova celebrate their history.

Meetings are held the 4th Thursday of every month at 5:00 P.M. at the Rancho Cordova City Hall 2729 Prospect Park Drive, Rancho Cordova, CA. All meetings are open to the public. In the works is a monthly “RC Social” where folks can set the board meeting details aside and celebrate with stories and conversation.

Did your ancestors live in the geographic region now known as Rancho Cordova? The RCHS invites you to visit their exhibit at Family History Day at the California State Archives and talk to Society members about their growing collection of photographs, memorabilia and oral histories.  Also, learn about their current effort to compile a list of local residents who want to share their great memories and photographs of living in this area.


For further information, contact us via email at RanchoCordovaHistSoc@yahoo.com.

DAUGHTERS OF THE UTAH PIONEERS, Exhibitor at Family History Day

It is a pleasure to introduce the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers who will be an exhibitor at Family History Day at the California State Archives.

The International Society of Daughters of Utah Pioneers, ISDUP or just DUP is an association devoted to preserving the legacy of those pioneers who came to the State of Deseret/Utah Territory before the railroad in May 1869. More than 60,000 pioneers traveled in more than 300 companies to find their place in the west. The objective of DUP is to perpetuate the names and achievements of those men, women and children by preserving old landmarks, marking historical places and collecting artifacts and histories.

The State of Deseret/Utah Territory covered much more than the present-day state of Utah and, in fact, covered much of southern California. Some of these Mormon pioneers first settled in California before relocating to Utah. Locally, the Slough House Pioneer Cemetery is the burial spot for many of the Sacramento pioneers with tombstones dating from the 1850‘s. It is owned by the ISDUP and maintained by the many companies and camps in the Sacramento area.

Members of DUP meet monthly in camps to learn more about and share pioneer histories and artifacts. Camps and Companies are organized in geographical areas.

Visit our exhibit at the Family History Day to see pictures and newspaper articles about the Slough House Cemetery and other local DUP historical markers. We plan to have internet access available for visitors to search the indexes listed below. (The actual photos and histories are not available for viewing online, only the indexes.) We will also have a book display of other DUP publications that can be purchased online.

Photo index - The photo department houses, maintains and preserves a collection of over 25,000 images of pioneers, their homes, communities, organizations and artifacts. Copies of photo prints or CD images can be ordered and purchased online.

History Card Index - The history department presently has over 100,000 pioneer histories on file of pioneers who came to the geographic area covered by the Utah Territory/ State of Deseret. It also includes those who died crossing the plains and those born in the Utah Territory before May 10, 1869 and some locality histories.

Pioneer Pathways Index - Volumes 1 through 11 consolidated index - Each year DUP sponsors the publication of historical material which has been used as lesson material in the camps. At the present time, there have been 5 multi-volume sets of books published. Pioneer Pathways is the latest of them.

We look forward to meeting others interested in pioneer legacy at Family History Day.

International Society of Daughters of Utah Pioneers
Headquarters

Pioneer Memorial Museum

300 North Main Street

Salt Lake City, Utah

SACRAMENTO OLD CITY CEMETERY, Exhibitor at Family History Day

Adorned with beautiful statues, dramatic markers and lush gardens, Sacramento Historic City Cemetery is an outdoor museum recording California history from the Gold Rush Era through today.  It is the oldest existing cemetery in Sacramento. 

Since its establishment in 1849, the City Cemetery has become the resting place of many remarkable Californians, demonstrating the diversity of California history and culture. Visitors will discover the burial sites of Sacramento mayors and California governors as well as numerous group plots honoring members of the Pioneer Association, Masons, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Volunteer Firemen, the Improved Order of Red Men, the state government, Donner Party survivors, Civil War and other military veterans, and the victims of the 1850 Cholera Epidemic.  A treasure trove of stories about the lives of these pioneers awaits the family history researcher, including their role in the history of baseball and the railroad in Sacramento. 

Keeping with the popular style of the times, the cemetery was designed to resemble a Victorian garden with monuments symbolic of Victorian funeral customs. Traversed by pathways and grand avenues, the cemetery provides a park-like setting for exploring history. Today, volunteers with the Adopt-a-Plot program take over the gardening of plots - a task once performed by long since departed relatives.

Could your ancestors be buried here?  Visit our exhibit at Family History Day and talk to the docents about accessing the burial index, guided and self-guided tours, and year-round events.

Sacramento Historic City Cemetery

1000 Broadway

Sacramento, CA 95818

(916) 448-0811