Jacksonville Cemetery
One of Mozzie’s favorite places for daily walks is Jacksonville’s Pioneer Cemetery. Today Mozzie is in the City Section, visiting the grave of the Boddy family, casualties of the Modoc Indian War. William and Louisa Boddy, 2 sons, a daughter, and a son-in-law immigrated from Australia to the Klamath Valley in 1872 to establish a cattle ranch. Only a few months after their arrival, the Bureau of Indian Affairs ordered the Modoc people to be moved into settlements with the Klamath and Yahooskin tribes, their historic enemies, sparking a war between Native Americans and settlers.
A driverless, bloodied wagon was the first sign of trouble for the Boddy family. When Louisa and her daughter Katherine were approached by Native Americans asking if there were men in the house, Katherine took her daughter and ran. They returned a week later only to learn that all their menfolk had been killed. The 2 women were reportedly the only survivors of the Modoc Indian Uprising, and Louisa Boddy was the only woman to receive damages from the U.S. government for her losses. A claim for $6,180 was processed through an Act of Congress and paid by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Louisa and Katherine relocated to Jacksonville, and in 1881, Louisa had her family exhumed and reburied in the Jacksonville Cemetery. She had this elaborate marker made by Ed McGrath, a San Francisco marble carver. Both Louisa and Katherine remarried and moved away, but when Louisa died in 1904, Katherine brought her mother to Jacksonville to be buried with the rest of the family.
The newly painted house (Mozzie definitely admires the new color combo) was built around 1898 by Thomas J. Kenney. Kenney’s father, Daniel M. Kenney, had opened the town’s first trading post in 1852, a tent structure at the corner of Oregon and California streets. His mother was Elizabeth T’Vault, daughter of lawyer, politician, and newspaper publisher William T’Vault.
At age 8, Thomas began working as a “chore boy” in a livery stable, became an apprentice harness maker at age 10, and at 25 opened his own harness and saddle store. He subsequently sold insurance, invested in mines, accumulated considerable property, and conducted a hardware and grocery business becoming one of the town’s leading merchants. He served on the school board and city council, was active in various lodges, and was regarded as one of Jacksonville’s legendary patriarchs, creating his own legacy!