We have something in our property room that probably has the distinction of being one of a kind!  I believe that others may have one of these, but we think this is one of the oldest! And what could this item be?

A little over three years ago, Chief Peter Hewitt came into our office and just casually mentioned to us that he had an item in the trunk of his car that we needed to get and "take care of'. This item turned out to be a marble tombstone weighing close to one hundred fifty pounds! This may not be the most unusual item in any property room except that this one is 130 years old! Some friends of his had found it along the side of a highway and, not knowing what else to do with it, decided to bring it to him and turn it in. Even though it was found in another jurisdiction, Chief Hewitt asked us to "take care of it". When was the last time you said "No" to your Chief?

The only information on the stone was the name of the deceased, Adlia M., the name of her husband, T.C. Whitted, and that she died on July 1, 1870 at the age of 31. Where could it possibly have come from? Since it had been found shortly after Halloween, we believed that it had been removed from an old cemetery as a prank and then casually discarded when it was no longer wanted.

Janet Kusy began calling every cemetery that was in the vicinity to try and determine where it might belong. No one could give us any information since their records didn't go back that many years. Janet couldn't bring herself to just discard the stone because "she" (Adlia) needed to be put back where she belonged! And so the stone languished in a comer of the property room, where it was always in sight. Janet vowed that someday Adlia would go home.

Many times during this period, Janet would try and make other inquiries to find out where this stone belonged, but she could not come up with any information. She always got similar answers, that it was too old and cemetery records did not go back that far. We had discussed the possibility of having our local newspaper do a story on the stone to see if anyone recognized the name or could provide any information, but because of the busy work schedules and day-today routines, that idea was placed on a back burner for a while.

Finally, Janet contacted a reporter from the newspaper and described what we had, asking if he would be willing to do a public interest story. He seemed a little reluctant but said that he would come over with a photographer in a few days. Pictures were taken, interviews were completed, and a few days later the article appeared in the paper. Since that day the telephones seldom stop ringing, and the FAX machines are just about worn out. The reporter told us that he has had more positive telephone calls and e-mails on that article than on any other that he has ever written.

One of the readers had been doing some genealogy research and was able to come up with some vital information. She was so excited when she called Janet that she could hardly talk! She brought in some records that traced the family all the way back to Coos Bay, Oregon, and to a son that was born eight days prior to Adlia's death. With all of the information that has come in, Janet has been able to locate, and talk to, two great-great-granddaughters of Adlia. Both now live in central California. They provided much more information about the family, however the final resting place of Adlia is still not known. It is possible that she was buried in a cemetery in Coquille, Oregon that no longer exists. It is also possible that she was buried in a family plot on a ranch or farm, which was fairly common in those days.

For now, the tombstone will remain in the property room with the permission of the relatives until we can obtain more information on where she might belong. Janet will not be satisfied until Adlia finally goes home.

But the mystery remains ... how did the tombstone get from Oregon to Hemet, California?