Corrections to
Permanent Californians
Judi Cuthbertson and Tom Randall's Permanent Californians: An Illustrated Guide to the Cemeteries of California is often taken in hand by eager tourists exploring the Colma Necropolis. This book is filled with errors. The purpose of this page is to correct as many of these as the author can find and to point out other significant Colma graves. The corrections apply only to Chapters 16 and 17.
| Page | Text | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| 239 | About the Hearst Family Mausoleum: "The family name was removed from the outside of the mausoleum during the 1970s after the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, although it appears inside." | The Hearst name never appeared on the outside of the family mausoleum. The removal story is pure urban legend. |
| 247 | Near the "Lucky" Baldwin Mausoleum | The authors seem to have walked right past one of Colma's most interesting graves, that of Hugh Whittell. Whittell is buried under a large pyramid bearing inscriptions attesting to his lifetime of travel and humanist philosophy. |
| 248 | "The Niebaum mausoleum next to Larkin is interesting for its delicate filligree design work...." | Gustav Niebaum founded Inglenook Winery. |
| 250 | The Hitchcock Mausoleum: "The family's most famous member, Lillie Hitchcock Coit (1843-1929), is no doubt disappointed by the structure's lack of fire-fighting decoration." | Coit is buried in a fire-fighter's uniform. In addition, a small shrine inside includes fire memorablia. These items are not visible from the outside. Lillie is probably quite happy. |
| 252 | "At the corner where Sections F, D, and I meet is a seated woman, so large as to be startling. In her hands she holds two-foot-long keys." | This monument is not of a woman, but of the Archangel Michael. The wings and sword fell off in the 1906 earthquake and were never restored. |
| 256 | "The monument commemorates, in part, those who were moved out of Laurel Hill Cemetery in downtown San Francisco." | Laurel Hill was located atop Lone Mountain, in the Western Addition. |
| 256 | The Laurel Hill Monument | The authors neglect to mention that this is the burial site of Senator David Broderick, killed in a duel with David Terry. |
| 257-8 | "One is a Hell's angel gang member who was buried with his motorcycle. To prevent disinterment of the Harley-Davidson, the cemetery does not give out the location." | Harry "the Horse" Flamburis is marked on the Cypress Lawn tour maps. He is on the Palm Mound. |
| 263-4 | Olivet Cemetery | If the authors had stopped at the main cemetery office, they would have known that the Olivet Columbarium shelters the remains of Ishi, the last Yahi Indian. Ishi is the subject of a famous book by Theodora Kroeber, wife of anthropologist Alfred Kroeber and mother of Ursula K. LeGuin. |
| 264 | The Showfolks of America Memorial. "The site was originally purchased in 1918 to bury 56 showfolk who died in a train wreck in Indiana." | The year was 1934. |
| 264 | "Earp was buried in a Jewish cemetery by his sister Josephine (1861-1944), who was married to Max Weiss (1870-1947)." | Josephine Earp was married to Wyatt. Who is Max Weiss? No one knows. |
| 265 | "Across the road in Home of Peace, along the same row as Earp's marker but at the end by Middle Road, is the large mausoleum of Levi Strauss (1830-1902)." | Look in this area and you won't find the Levi Strauss mausoleum. It is one row down the hill from Earps, in the middle of the section next to the elaborate Heller mausoleum. |
| 265 | "In this vincinity are members of the Sutro family. Adolph Sutro (1830-1898) was a benevolent patriarch...." | The text does not mention that Adolph Sutro himself is not buried here, but was cremated and his remains placed in a secret spot on Sutro Heights. The exact location is passed down from mother to daughter. |
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