http://thesmilingspiderblog.com/2008/03/13/early-settlers-want-to-say-hello-evergreen-cemetery-east-los-angeles/ My love story with Los Angeles in words, sights and sounds Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:48:47 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 http://thesmilingspiderblog.com/2008/03/13/early-settlers-want-to-say-hello-evergreen-cemetery-east-los-angeles/#comment-108 Ofelia Esparza Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:48:21 +0000 http://frankiely.wordpress.com/?p=68#comment-108 Dear Frankie Thank you for writing about E.L.A there is such a rich history there. The oldest cemetery Everegreen Cemetery is now in the heart of ELA/Boyle Heights where once it must have been the outskirts of Los Angeles. That is why you will find at least four other cemeteries within ELA boudaries. My daughter, Rosanna and I have walked through some of these where one can experience an awareness of the history and demographics of LA at its beginnings. The Chinese cemetery is in my neighborhood and you can find the earliest graves of Chinese immigrants in the 1840s and -50s up to the present. Besides Calvary Cemetary , the largest Catholic in Los Angeles, there is also a Serbian and Croation cemetery close by with its ancient chapel and Orthodox Crosses. The Jewish cemetery on Whittier Blvd, is another cemetery that dates back to early times. But The Evergreen Cemetery, I find is most interesting for reflecting such a diverse representation of our city. We found my children's paternal great- great grandparents an some their children buried there, with a very old grave marker that was still legible. This Esparza patriarch immigrated from Mexico was born in 1846 and died in 1930. This information has provided some imprtant leads to the geneology and history about our family. Did you know that Biddy Mason,the first freed African slave woman in California to become a landowner and entrepreneur is also buried at Evergreen Cemetery? There is also an improtant memorial to Japanese Nesei Veterans of WWII along with a large number of other Japanese burials there. This is not only a relevent resource for me and for my family in our altar-making work for Day of The Dead, but it is also a source of reverance and inspiration to explore our history,our sense of place and belonging. Dear Frankie Thank you for writing about E.L.A there is such a rich history there. The oldest cemetery Everegreen Cemetery is now in the heart of ELA/Boyle Heights where once it must have been the outskirts of Los Angeles. That is why you will find at least four other cemeteries within ELA boudaries. My daughter, Rosanna and I have walked through some of these where one can experience an awareness of the history and demographics of LA at its beginnings. The Chinese cemetery is in my neighborhood and you can find the earliest graves of Chinese immigrants in the 1840s and -50s up to the present. Besides Calvary Cemetary , the largest Catholic in Los Angeles, there is also a Serbian and Croation cemetery close by with its ancient chapel and Orthodox Crosses. The Jewish cemetery on Whittier Blvd, is another cemetery that dates back to early times. But The Evergreen Cemetery, I find is most interesting for reflecting such a diverse representation of our city. We found my children’s paternal great- great grandparents an some their children buried there, with a very old grave marker that was still legible. This Esparza patriarch immigrated from Mexico was born in 1846 and died in 1930. This information has provided some imprtant leads to the geneology and history about our family. Did you know that Biddy Mason,the first freed African slave woman in California to become a landowner and entrepreneur is also buried at Evergreen Cemetery? There is also an improtant memorial to Japanese Nesei Veterans of WWII along with a large number of other Japanese burials there. This is not only a relevent resource for me and for my family in our altar-making work for Day of The Dead, but it is also a source of reverance and inspiration to explore our history,our sense of place and belonging.

]]> http://thesmilingspiderblog.com/2008/03/13/early-settlers-want-to-say-hello-evergreen-cemetery-east-los-angeles/#comment-105 Ofelia Esparza Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:05:04 +0000 http://frankiely.wordpress.com/?p=68#comment-105 Zanlovesela.com Zanlovesela.com

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